Throughout movie history, there have been a number of blockbuster movie franchises that has time and again redefined Hollywood.
Behind many of these movie franchises are music composers who played a major role in helping their respective franchises find their rightful places in movie history. Here is a look at five (5) of these legendary composers.
John Barry – Bond Films
British Secret spy James Bond is one of the most recognizable characters in movie history. The franchise encompasses 27 films to date, starting with “Dr. No” in 1962 and continuing until the 2021 release of “No Time to Die.”
Each Bond film features the adventures of super spy Bond and his amazing assortment of innovative weapons and modes of transportation. From 1962 until 1987, British composer and conductor John Barry Prendergast (1933-2011) was charged with scoring the first 11 James Bond films. The music that moviegoers heard in movies like “Casino Royale” (1967) and “Live and Let Die” (1973) was provided by one of the most talented and beloved movie music composers of all time.
It was Barry’s knack for capturing the suspense of each and every Bond movie moment that serves as his signature and brand. It’s noteworthy that Barry was awarded the Academy Award for his amazing scores in the films “Dances with Wolves” and “Out of Africa”.
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Ennio Morricone – Dollars Trilogy
Widely considered one of the greatest movie composers of all time, Ennio Morricone (1928-2020) was responsible for scoring over 400 films while also composing over 100 classical pieces of music art.
Born in 1928, Morricone began his movie composing career in Italy, working with some of the top Italian movie talent ever immortalized in film. His movie-composing anthology includes award-winning films like “The Thing” (horror), “Once Upon a Time in America”, “The Mission”, “The Untouchables”, “Bugsy”, In the Line of Fire, and “The Hateful Eight”. It’s noteworthy that he did receive the “Best Original Score” Oscar for The Hateful Eight in 2016.
If there is one movie franchise that best defined Morricone’s style, it would be the “Dollars Trilogy.” The Dollars Trilogy included the following Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns: “Fistful of Dollars” (1964), “For a Few Dollars More” (1965), and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966).
John Williams – Star Wars
The talent of John Towner Williams (1932-present) is unquestioned. In a composing career that spanned seven (7) decades, Williams was responsible for creating the music that brought some of the biggest movie hits to life. That impressive list includes award-winning blockbusters like “Valley of the Dolls” (1967), “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971), “Jaws” (1975), “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982), “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), and “Saving Private Ryan” (1998). He also scored the “Home Alone” comedies, all “Indiana Jones movies”, and the first three “Harry Potter” films.
Of course, it was the “Star Wars” franchise that established Williams as one of the greats. In these films, Williams was able to create a music score and soundtrack that took moviegoers on epic space-age film adventures.
For his efforts, has been the proud recipient of 25 Grammy Awards and 5 Oscars.
Alan Silvestri – Back to the Future
As a music composer, Alan Silvestri (1950-present) made his mark as both a TV and movie composer.
He began his composing career scoring top TV shows like CHiPs. With movie credits that cover well over 100 films, it was his introduction to director/producer Robert Zemeckis that launched his legendary movie scoring career.
It all started in 1984 when he wrote the score for the Zemeckis-directed film “Romancing the Stone” (1984). Some of the other Zemeckis films that carry his signature compositions include “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), “Forrest Gump” (1994), “Cast Away” (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007), and Flight (2012). Non-Zemeckis credits include “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011), “The Avengers” (2012), “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).
It’s worth noting that his best efforts may have come when scoring the “Back to the Future” trilogy (1985–1990). It was his musical connection to the adventures and misadventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown that captivated moviegoers all over the world.
Howard Shore – Lord of the Rings
While the Canadian-born composers Howard Shore (1946-present) might not have as big of a resume as the other composers on this list, he has certainly made his mark on Hollywood over the last 20 years. His early scoring credits include “Big” (1988), “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991), and “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993).
His most notable successes came between 2001 and 2003 when he scored the “Lord of the Rings” blockbuster trilogy. That included “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003). It’s noteworthy that he received the Academy Award for “Best Original Score” for two of these three films.
