Film Scores by Ennio Morricone
Hello, Everybody! I’m Santiago Brion and today I did a list of Film Scores composed by the late great Ennio Morricone who recently passed away a few days ago. He has composed many iconic movies over the years including Spaghetti Westerns.
10. The Mission
The story of a Jesuit priest traveling to South America with the purpose converting the natives to Christianity wouldn’t happen without the brilliant music from Morricone by using a native style and using several indigenous musical instruments. Beginning with the Spanish/Guarani theme “On Earth it is Heaven” and then with other themes like “Penance”, “Conquest” and the Spanish rendition of Ave María.
9. Days of Heaven
The movie that earned Morricone his first Oscar nomination, Morricone reportedly used three flutes for certain scenes. The main theme referenced “Aquarium”, the seventh movement from Camille Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals, a pastoral melody and then a love theme. The song “Swamp Dance” was sung by Doug Kershaw who was seen during the harvest party. The soundtrack was later remastered and re-released on multiple platforms in July 2011.
8. The Untouchables
Brian de Palma and Morricone collaborated in this magnifcent movie. Despite its corniness and simplifications Elliot Ness' crusade against Al Capone is nothing but brilliant. Morricone relied on electronic instruments for the opening title and also capturing the dynamic between Eliot Ness and Al Capone and the poignancy of idealism.
7. The Hateful Eight
This is the movie that finally won Morricone his Oscar for Best Original Score. The Eighth movie in Quentin Tarantino's filmography, the score had throwbacks to many of the spaghetti westerns that he composed for. It mostly takes place inside a cabin with Sam Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth and Bruce Dern squaring off against each other with Morricone's iconic instrumental sounds.
6. Cinema Paradiso
An Italian movie composed by an Italian man! A celebration of Italian cinema, the beautiful score consisted of wind instruments and string instruments. Love Theme will forever be cemented in his legacy.
5. A Fistful of Dollars
Morricone had a name for himself composing Spaghetti Westerns alongside director Sergio Leone numerous times. The first movie in the Dollars trilogy and a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, Morricone used a lullaby for the opening theme and used Peter Travis' version of Woody Guthrie's Pastures of Plenty and Travis recorded lyrics for the themes as well.
4. Once Upon a Time in the West
Another Spaghetti Western on this list, Sergio Leone's epic western inspired the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and Vince Gilligan. Morricone used the sounds of the harmonica whenever Charles Bronson appeared. With other themes like Final Duel and Farewell to Cheyenne cemented Ennio Morricone as a legendary film composer
3. Once Upon a Time in America
This epic crime drama was the final collaboration between Leone and Morricone and was released in 1984 5 years before Leone passed away. This was more a swan song to their legendary partnership with Morricone's instrumal sound playing during the backdrops of Brooklyn. Deborah's Theme was originally supposed to be used for another film but was rejected and was later used in this gangster classic.
2. The Thing
The first horror movie on this list and John Carpenter and Morricone's second collaboration(he composed Halloween). Morricone used conducted the signature instruments to create an unsettling sound for this iconic horror movie. You can feel the tension when the score starts to intensify and make you feel claustrophobic. From "Humanity, Part I" to "Despair", Morricone made The Thing a really scary and uncomfortable experience.
Honorable Mentions:
- The Battle of Algiers
- Navajo Joe
- For a Few Dollars More
- The Bird with the Crystal Plummage
- In the Line of Fire
- 1900
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
It's iconic music may seem familiar to you when you were a kid. The third and final installment in the Dollars trilogy, it's highly regarded as the greatest and most influential western movie of all time for a reason. Every theme is iconic and the soundtrack will forever stand the test of time.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment below.
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