RIP Ennio Morricone 1928-2020. Ennio was the greatest movie composer of all time – in every genre, he made movie memories for decades.
From his scores in horror to drama from Sergio Leone to Quentin Tarantino, it’s hard to comprehend his impact on our collective movie consciousness. Over 500+ scores going back to 1960 – a staggering achievement.
It’s almost not enough to call him just a mere composer, he was also like a co-filmmaker and co-screenwriter in his work.
I missed seeing Ennio Morricone perform live a couple years ago in Paris by a day – damnit! I remember thinking, next year I’ll catch him forgetting my motto that today might be the last. Now, someday, but it’ll have to be on the other side.
There are too many scores to emphasize, but some of my favorites —
For me, his greatest was Cinema Paradiso! That score!
And Roland Joffe’s The Mission. The solo oboe just dances out there in the air pulling the heart strings.
And, finally, Brian de Palma’s The Untouchables.
