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Who Are Your Favorite Film Composers & Why?

A lot of great composers mentioned, I'd like to pitch for Lorne Balfe - not only for some really great themes and compositions, but also for his willingness to share his work with the community to support a variety of fundraisers throughout the pandemic. My daughter has had a blast practicing the theme of his dark materials (as well as enjoying the show itself).

Also a nudge to Christopher Franke. As someone who was completely hooked on Babylon 5 in the 90s, the music for that show was amazing.
 
A lot of great composers mentioned, I'd like to pitch for Lorne Balfe - not only for some really great themes and compositions, but also for his willingness to share his work with the community to support a variety of fundraisers throughout the pandemic. My daughter has had a blast practicing the theme of his dark materials (as well as enjoying the show itself).

Also a nudge to Christopher Franke. As someone who was completely hooked on Babylon 5 in the 90s, the music for that show was amazing.

Lorne Balfe is probably my 3rd favorite of all time after Ludwig and Hans, and his willingness to share his work with the community is a big reason for why I love him so much, I always looked forward to his MIDI screencast videos he used to put out and then he decided to start releasing actual project files, still can’t believe I actually have access to all the amazing stuff he’s written
 
Apart from enjoying the work of just about everybody already mentioned, although if I had to nominate anyone I'd go for Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Alan Silvestri, James Horner and Jerry Goldsmith, I'd like to put forward Ramin Djawadi, especially for his work on Game of Thrones, and Henry Jackman, a favourite of mine being Captain America: The winter Soldier.
 
Apart from enjoying the work of just about everybody already mentioned, although if I had to nominate anyone I'd go for Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Alan Silvestri, James Horner and Jerry Goldsmith, I'd like to put forward Ramin Djawadi, especially for his work on Game of Thrones, and Henry Jackman, a favourite of mine being Captain America: The winter Soldier.

The Winter Soldier is one of my favorite scores of all time, that industrial inspired theme with the haunting disembodied scream he created for the character is brutal and amazing, some of the best sound design I’ve ever heard across the entire score
 
Too many to list....
Herrmann- one the greatest composers of the 20the century who created a unique style and sound
Korngold- virtuosic, and stunning thematic composer
Prokofiev- well, just because the dude was brilliant
Williams- exceptional balance of technique, reverence to the masters but also an uncanny ability to compose memorable themes that seem simple but are far from it
Goldsmith- the mad scientist, a consummate genius whose perspectives and approach to marrying music to image was uncanny and innovative

There are many others but these are my top composers
 
I've loved so many! Lingering in the front of my mind: Hermann, Morricone, Elfman (it's time to watch his musical again!), but one score that just blew me away was Daft Punk's score for Tron Legacy. I enjoyed the movie but the score almost carried it!

And a shout out to Elmer Bernstein, who scored so many of the movies I grew up on. The Ghostbusters soundtrack was amazing, but there are just so many more. Magnificent Seven, True Grit, Airplane! So many great themes.
 
Basil Poledouris was such a good fit for Conan. A bit like Robert E. Howard in his own discipline, both creators of some of the best musical phrases in the world of fantasy.

James Horner made me cry on several occasions. I recently discovered just how much material he actually borrowed from classical sources. Oh well. I still think he was special.
 
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