Popular Film Composers

Which composers have given us moments of musical genius, with tunes we can hum away at work to or tunes that evoke a certain memory or feeling in us.

There are many film music composers in the industry, but the list below are some of the more popular ones who may have taken us on many a magical, musical journey at some point in our lives.


John Williams – Superman, Schindlers List, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, ET, Harry Potter, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Hook, Saving Private Ryan.
'So much of what we do is ephemeral and quickly forgotten, even by ourselves, so it’s gratifying to have something you have done linger in people’s memories.'


Jerry Goldsmith – Star Trek, Planet of the Apes (1968), Von Ryan’s Express, Man From UNCLE.
'I like the variety. But basically my choice of films is a small intimate film. Quiet film, no action, just people in relationships. That’s what I like the most.'


Ennio Morricone – The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, The Thing, The Untouchables and a few Darlo Argento thrillers.
'I come from a background of experimental music which mingled real sounds together with musical sounds.'


Vangelis – Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, Alexander, 1492: Conquest of Paradise.
'When the teachers asked me to play something, I would pretend that I was reading it and play from memory. I didn’t fool them, but I didn’t care.'


Hans Zimmer – Gladiator, Inception, Sherlock Holmes, Batman.
'A good score should have a point of view all of its own. It should transcend all that has gone before, stand on its own two feet and still serve the movie. A great soundtrack is all about communicating with the audience, but we all try to bring something extra to the movie that is not entirely evident on screen.'


Danny Elfman – Batman, Beetlejuice, A Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland, Hellboy 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
'I think that there’s a lot more freedom in the low budget, the independent films where, unfortunately, you don’t have the money, necessarily, to get the orchestras in there to play a lot of stuff. But, you have a lot more freedom.'


Maurice Jarre – Lawrence of Arabia, A Passage to India, Fatal Attraction, Dr Zhivago.
'In that long sequence, when Lawrence enters in the desert to rescue a lost man, Lean listened the music I wrote and wanted to extend the scene to let my work stay completely'


James Horner – Aliens, Titanic, A Beautiful Mind, Braveheart, Avatar.
'The mood of the film dictates a certain sound in my head and that is what I try and connect with right away, way before I’m writing melodies or anything like that. I’m trying to find an orchestration for the film that says what I want to say musically.'


Howard Shore – Se7en, That Thing You Do, Gangs of New York, King Kong, Lord of the Rings, Twilight.
'There is considerable dramatic latitude to writing film music but, in terms of pure music, of what you would write for a record or a concert hall, there’s a lot more room.'


Bernard Herrmann – Vertogo, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, North by Northwest, Psycho, Fahrenheit 451.
'I have the final say, or I don’t do the music. The reason for insisting on this is simply, compared to Orson Welles, a man of great musical culture, most other directors are just babes in the woods.'