A few of my all-time favorites: Lalo Schifrin Bernard Herrmann Blake Neely John Barry James Newton Howard Ennio Morricone Mark Snow (“X Files”) Pino Donaggio (“Body Double”) John Harrison (“Creepshow”) Vic Mizzy
I am a huge fan of Soundtracks, here are a few of my favourite composers: Bernard Herrmann (Hitchcock) Basil Poledouris (Hunt for Red October) Masaru Sato (his soundtracks for Kurosawa, After the Rain) Shinichiro Ikebe (Kagemusha) Fumio Hayasaka (Kurosawa) Toru Takemitsu (Kurosawa) Takashi Kako (Letter from the Mountain) Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Le Hussard sur le toit) Philippe Sarde (Cesar et Rosalie, Un Coeur en Hiver, Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud) Maurice Jarre (Doctor Zhivago) Dimitri Tiomkin (High Noon) Max Richter (My brilliant friend, The Leftovers, Taboo) Henri Mancini (Touch of Evil) Jerry Goldsmith (Rambo First Blood) John Barry (Dances with Wolves, Bond movies) Lalo Schifrin (Bullit) Luboš Fišer (Valerie and Her Week of Wonders) Jiří Šust (Larks on a String) Manos Hadjidakis (Never on Sunday) Michael Nyman (Le Mari de la Coiffeuse) Nicholas Britell (If Beale Street Could Talk) Tan Dun (Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) Javier Navarrete (Pan’s Labyrinth) Zbigniew Preisner (Le Double Vie de Veronique, Trois couleurs: Rouge) Michael Galasso & Shigeru Umebayashi (In the Mood for Love) Yann Tiersen (Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amélie Poulain) Stavros Xarchakos (Kokkina Fanaria, Kosme agapi mou) Alex North (Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf) Eduard Artemyev (Sibiriade) Alfred Schnittke (The Ascent, The Glass Harmonica, Commissar, Agony) Robert Israel (love his music to silent films) François de Roubaix
Jerry Goldsmith- The Best Lalo Schifrin Bernard Hermann John Barry Leanard Rosenman Christopher Young
Along with some of the others already mentioned, I really like David Shire's work (The Conversation; The Taking of Pelham, 1,2,3; Return to Oz; Zodiac). I particularly love his scores for The Conversation and Return to Oz, which fit the films perfectly. Wendy Carlos' scores for the Kubrick films, and Tron are also big favorites. In a more obscure corner, I love Claudio Gizzi's score for Andy Warhol's Dracula; whatever the merits of the film (it's certainly interesting), Gizzi's score has a beautiful melancholic feel that's almost at odds with the movie.
If I only had to choose a handful Bernard Herrmann and Ennio Morricone would be among the top positions but there are so many great composers. Yesterday I was watching an episode of "From the Earth to the Moon" and was suddenly reminded of the great Elmer Bernstein and his wonderful Soundtrack of "The Great Escape". Thinking about my favourite movies makes me think about Anton Karas and his theme for "The Third Man". I am sorry for posting so many names and titles but for me this is a bottomless pit: Ry Cooder (Paris, Texas) Patrick Doyle (Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, Needful Things) Jo Yeong-wook (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) Klaus Doldinger (Das Boot) George Delerue (Le Mépris, Platoon)
I’ve probably got more CDs by Morricone than anyone else due to the sheer volume of his work, and he’s still a very active composer. For me he’s the greatest living film composer. I second Herrmann. The last scores he composed are some of his finest: SISTERS, IT’S ALIVE, OBSESSION, TAXI DRIVER.
John Debney is another great composer who did Cutthroat Island, The Scorpion King, and the Playstation 2 video game Lair. Richard Marvin (U-571 has an amazing soundtrack) James Horner (Aliens, The Land Before Time, Avatar, etc.)
Korngold has to be near the top of the list. John Williams has imitated his style on more than one occasion.
Favorite Movie Scores, a Top Ten: Excalibur Leon: The Professional What Lies Beneath Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan The Music Man Dr. Zhivago Blade Runner The Godfather Oklahoma! Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, Patton, Planet of the Apes, Boys from Brazil, The Man From UNCLE -original TV theme, Star Trek) Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, Sisters, Psycho, North by Northwest) Elmer Bernstein (The Magnificent Seven, Elmer Gantry) Lalo Schifrin (Mission:Impossible, Hellstrom Chronicles) Dominic Frontiere (The Outer Limits, The Invaders, The Stunt Man, Hang ‘Em High) Randy Newman (Ragtime, Pleasantville) Leonard Rosenman (East of Eden, Fantastic Voyage, Bound for Glory, Star Trek: The Voyage Home) John Williams Basil Poledouris (The Hunt for Red October, Flight of The aNavigator) Ennio Moricone John Barry Surprised to see so few mentions for Jerry Goldsmith one of the most innovative composers of his time
Like others have mentioned, the first Film Composer who comes to mind for Quality & Quantity is: Ennio Morricone I also have really enjoyed the few Jonny Greenwood(Radiohead) Soundtracks that I have heard so far including: 1. There Will Be Blood(Film Composer, Hans Zimmer in 2016 said the score was the one that had most "stood out to him" in the past decade, describing it as "recklessly, crazily beautiful"). 2. Phantom Thread 3. Bodysong Greenwood has been a busy person the past 10-12 years, as there are several other Soundtracks he also has completed including: You Were Never Really Here The Master Inherent Vice Norwegian Wood We Need to Talk About Kevin Greenwood has also been involved with several other Music Projects. Now, I can see why there are several Years between Radiohead Albums. Speaking of Radiohead, I like Thom Yorke's Soundtrack for 'Suspiria', despite not caring for his first 2 Solo Albums and Atoms for Peace.