In my post earlier today about Julie Christie, I mentioned Michel Legrand's wonderful score which unquestionably adds to "The Go-Between"s effect on audiences. Legrand was of course a master of the art of composing for film. His great scores include "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" which won him his first Academy Award nomination. I feel his best score - and certainly best song - was for the 1968 "The Thomas Crown Affair" (the orignal and not the poor remake with Piers Brosnan) for which he won the Oscar for best song "Windmills of Your Mind". This has been covered by endless major artists. I just think the original sung by Noel Harrison is still the best. Great lyrics and scintillating music.

Another 'great' is unquestionably Ennio Morricone. One of his masterpieces is surely "The Mission" set in South America at and near the Iguazu Falls as Church and State come to blows over colonisation. "Gabriel's Oboe' theme is utterly beautiful and haunting, the more so when set against the gruesome tale unfolding on screen. Unfortunately when you include visuals from the movie, the theme is not nearly so pronounced. So I include 2 vdos, the first with an orchestra; the second with visuals from the movie.

Of the great film composers, we naturally must include John Williams (who owes at least some of his success to the classical composer, Richard Strauss!), Bernard Herrmann who scored many of Hitchock's movies, Franz Zimmer who has won two Oscars, the French Alexandre Desplat who has also won two Oscars and wrote the music for "The King's Speech", "The Queen", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and the charmingly witty "The Grand Budapest Hotel". We should not forget some of the older composers like Nino Rota who wrote the music for "The Godfather" Parts I and II and a host of movies by the great directors Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini. And of course Burt Bacharach for "What's New Pussycat" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".

Let'a also not forget some of those who wrote for a mix of serious and lighter movies, composers like the great Henry Mancini. The Pink Panther series, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Days of Wine and Roses", and my favourite, "Victor Victoria".

 

Master and Commander with Russell Crowe and  Paul Bettany has a great classical music score which is somewhat unusual for a naval battle movie.