What does this forum think about Ennio Morricone?

[Quintus 5,399]

OMG CHECK THIS OUT, ITS AMAZING    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ3u3fTG70Q

I'm so pleased with myself for just finding this    

You Tube has a trunk full of Morricone stuff on there!

The english horn solo in the beginning was great. The rest of the stuff

was nice 30 years ago.I can't take it anymore.

Bah!

Hope you don't think that about the score to Jaws too.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

That performance gave me goosebumps.

[Quintus 5,399]

Indeed, in fact I may be at risk of actually prefering it to the original recording. The superior sound quality helps.

[alfredo 0]

Morricone is amazing. But I really did not need to be convinced that Williams, Goldsmith, Zimmer and anyone else who write music is a hack to accept that as the writer had assumed.

[Red 75]

That performance of "Ecstasy of Gold" was fantastic. The performance of TGTBATU? Not so much.

[Quintus 5,399]

That performance of "Ecstasy of Gold" was fantastic. The performance of TGTBATU? Not so much.

Agreed. That piece was NEVER designed for full orchestra, though more could've been made of it in that performance.

[Alejandro 26]

Here's the Wyatt Earp trailer with Morricone's Time of Destiny score used for the trailer music. The theme kicks in around 1:20. Very nice.

http://trailers.warnerbros.com/web/play.js...ws&speed=300000

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Not sure if this has been made or not, but from the time I've been here I haven't seen his name mentioned at all.

So let's begin discussing what I believe to be the second greatest composer ever!!

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

All I know from him is "Gabriel's Oboe," which is gorgeous, and the main theme from The Untouchables, which is a nice motivational piece.

Ray Barnsbury

[Koray Savas 2,251]

All I know from him is "Gabriel's Oboe," which is gorgeous, and the main theme from The Untouchables, which is a nice motivational piece.

Ray Barnsbury

The Mission is very beautiful and touching, but he has 300+ scores that are all magnificent.

A Fistful Of Dollars

For A Few Dollars More

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Once Upon A Time In The West

Once Upon A Time In America

Duck, You Sucker

Il Mercenario

The Thing

Two Mules For Sister Sara

Days Of Heaven

The Untouchables

...to name my favorites.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

You've listened to all 300+ of his scores, and they're all magnificent? Wow!

Ray Barnsbury - who can't help but recall that horribly awkward Oscar night fiasco whenever Morricone is mentioned

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Are you implying that he's not a great composer because of my comment? I don't quite understand. I have not heard all 300+ of his scores, because about half are for Italian films not released in the U.S. As for his films and scores released in America, I have heard most of them, and yes, they are all magnificent. If I wasn't so loyal to John Williams he would be the #1 composer of all time, IMO.

[Romão 2,274]

I love The Sicilian Clan.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Are you implying that he's not a great composer because of my comment? I don't quite understand. I have not heard all 300+ of his scores, because about half are for Italian films not released in the U.S. As for his films and scores released in America, I have heard most of them, and yes, they are all magnificent. If I wasn't so loyal to John Williams he would be the #1 composer of all time, IMO.

No, I was just surprised that you'd heard all of his scores, and that all of them were so terrific! Your second reply makes much more sense.

Ray Barnsbury

[King Mark 3,631]

I need to know which one of his scores have those beautiful haunting themes,as opposed to his "spaghetti western" style

By haunting theme I mean Once upon a time in America,Legend of 1900,Lolita,Once upon a time in the West,The Mission....ect..

K.M.

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

If I had money, I'd buy me The Untouchables. Beautiful stuff, that.

[oierem 152]

Morricone is a great composer ... innovative, emotional... And The Mission deserved an Academy Award to the best score. Absolutely. I have some friends that love the oboe theme.

[nicholas 1]

Two words: "Cinema Paradiso"! Such a wonderful score for such a wonderful - if borderline schmaltzy - film.

Does anyone know "Orca" by Morricone? Orca, the film, was the bastard son of Jaws, a shameless cashing in on the fear of big fish. But the score is typically Morricone: idiomatic and very haunting, and the most obscure soundtrack I own.

Another favourite of mine is "Days of Heaven" which has a lovely child-like quality, and ravishing string writing. Sadly, the only version I have (twinned, inappropriately, with "Two Mules...") is of such poor sound quality it's almost too painful to listen to...

[AI 0]

The Mission, Lolita, Frantic.

Those are his scores that captured my particular attention. He has written a lot of other good scores too, but those are, imo, the ones to have.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

Ray Barnsbury - who can't help but recall that horribly awkward Oscar night fiasco whenever Morricone is mentioned

Yes, it did seem rather unrehearsed and awkward, and made even worse by a certain questionable decision by the academy that fateful night.

I only have a few scores by Morricone, and all but one are Westerns:

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Once Upon a Time in the West

A Fistful of Dollars

For a Few Dollars More

the lone one is Mission to Mars, from which I have about 8 cues.

[Red 75]

The Untouchables, The Mission, and the Man With No Name trilogy are all complete classics.

I doesn't hurt that Morricone is the author of probably the most identifiable Western music ever . . .

[Neimoidian 14]

Here you will have some clips from this year's concert in Cracow, which I thankfully attended. Unfortunatelly, neither of these clips shows his recent cantata he performed there.

marvellous "The legend of the pianist on the ocean" from "The legend of 1900".

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Someone stole my topic, I had a Morricone thread and now I can't find it. Oh well this one seems more successful so I'll go along with it.

I completely agree with the post quoted from IMDb, Ennio Morricone is the greatest composer of all time. I was shocked to read a post in my thread that said I've only heard The Mission and The Untouchables. The man is a genius, plain and simple.

I enjoy nearly every John Williams score, but I enjoy EVERY Ennio Morricone score.

My favorites...Once Upon A Time In America, The Good The Bad And The Ugly, A Fistful Of Dollars, The Mission, Two Mules For Sister Sara, Once Upon A Time In America, For A Few Dollars More, The Untouchables, Days Of Heaven, etc. etc.

EDIT: Oops!! Seems my thread was molded with this one, apologies from before.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

No one ever mentions The Thing, why does no one ever mention The Thing?

I rank it right next to Psycho.

[JWfangirl1992 18]

I've never heard of him really but one day I was working at my church's rectory and the priest comes in and asks what I'm listening to and I say John Williams and he was in shock and then we talked about williams but then he went on about morricone and had nothing but good things to say about "The Mission" I believe it was.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

No one ever mentions The Thing, why does no one ever mention The Thing?

I rank it right next to Psycho.

I mentioned The Thing a few posts up, it's in a list of my favorites. Excellent score, haunting and eccentric, the way Morricone does best.

[Vaderbait1 1]

I'd like to hear more of Morricone, but it seems that he is better listened to in a compilation format. A sort of "Best of..." CD would probably cover him well I've heard.

[King Mark 3,631]

The Mission, Lolita, Frantic.

Those are his scores that captured my particular attention. He has written a lot of other good scores too, but those are, imo, the ones to have.

I agree about Lolita,the main theme is probably his most beautiful I've heard.It was on TV and I just had to get that score.

also his c.d.'s get repetitive really fast.I usually stop The Mission at the halfway point....so yes compilations of his best themes seem to work better because his underscore isn't that good.

[nicholas 1]

I love the solo viola theme from Morricone's "Hamlet". Its hesitant melancholia perfectly depicts the character of the depressed Dane.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I'm not upset. Just disappointed by your totally "out-of-style" reasoning. Expected more from you I guess.

Alex apparently does not watch foreign movies.....

[Morlock 11]

Subtitles must give him headaches, poor dear.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Considering were he is from, he must have grown up with them.....

[Jarbas 1]

Morricone is simply a master! Maybe my second favorite composer...

I love these ones:

The Untouchables

Cinema Paradiso

The Mission

The Legend of 1900

Once Upon a Time in the West

and most recently:

Cefalonia

Fateless

Il Cuore nel pozzo (The Heart in the Well)

[filmmusic 1,829]

I have not followed this thread from the beginning but I saw yesterday a documentary on Morricone with intereviews and such and I was a bit shocked:

I didn't like his character at all as it came out!

He sounded too much arrogant and conceited!

He said that if he didn't like a director he "fired" him.

And he couldn't stand being told what to do because HE is the composer and doesn't take other people's opinions into account.

HE knows music so HE knows what is best.

Very different from the Williams character I've get used to from interviews!

[publicist 4,643]

Very different from the Williams character I've get used to from interviews!

You're in for a surprise, then. Morricone basically says what a composer like Williams discreetly writes into his contracts.

[MSM 126]

Together with Williams and Woijiech Kilar the only old school film composers still alive and kicking.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I asked what the forum thought of Morricone, it replied:

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[Quintus 5,399]

I have not followed this thread from the beginning but I saw yesterday a documentary on Morricone with intereviews and such and I was a bit shocked:

I didn't like his character at all as it came out!

He sounded too much arrogant and conceited!

He said that if he didn't like a director he "fired" him.

And he couldn't stand being told what to do because HE is the composer and doesn't take other people's opinions into account.

HE knows music so HE knows what is best.

Very different from the Williams character I've get used to from interviews!

Yeah, Ennio is a character, like Bernard Herrmann. It's what makes them great.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I agree.

I find Williams' character rather boring actually. I do hope there is more to him privately...

[Quintus 5,399]

I wouldn't go that far about Williams.

On the contrary, I think he's a fascinating character, a refined gentleman with class.

[Brónach 1,302]

I find JW interesting because his personality doesn't come out easily like others, you're left wondering what he's like.

As far as Morricone goes, I'm long overdue of listening to more of his.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Well. no rush. he's only done about 600 scores...

[Sandor 797]

Morricone is easily my favorite composer besides Williams.

[Muad'Dib 1,802]

As far as we know, in private or at work, Williams can be very much like Morricone of Herrmann. He just has a different education of being polite in interviews and public appearences, because he's a different person when he's not doing music.

But anyways, anwsering the original question, I love Morricone on the same level as Williams. But they can't be compared because their styles and sensibilities are radically different. In a way, Williams music is more American, while Morricone is more European. That's because of their respective nationalities, of course.

Would love to hear what they have to say about each other, though.

[Thor 7,506]

Arriving late in this thread.

Morricone has always been on/off for me. I can't stand his more dissonant efforts, while some of his beautiful elegiac melodies are among the best things ever written. I also sometimes have an issue with his tendency to "alienate" the beauty of certain themes with oddball counter-effects, but that's just part of his style, I guess.

I attended the Morricone concert in Royal Albert Hall last year, and it was absolutely wonderful! What a vibrant and energetic man too, despite his age.

Together with Williams and Woijiech Kilar the only old school film composers still alive and kicking.

Don't know about that. We still have guys like Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin etc. -- other composers from Williams and Morricone's generation.

[King Mark 3,631]

Same opinion

Great themes and individual tracks, but most of the underscore is unlistenable

[Admiral Holdo 16]

I love how he has no fear to get as crazy as he can, regardless of listenability. One of my favorites of his is Escalation, which is this menagerie of sound effects (as in, the sound effects ARE the music, not music overlaid with sfx), classical-pop fusion, and the Dies Irae given the acid rock treatment. It's not a coherent album or anything, but the amount of warped genius required to come up with something like that is astounding.

[Quintus 5,399]

Same opinion

Great themes and individual tracks, but most of the underscore is unlistenable

Have you ever heard his desert music in TGTBATU? It's some of the best underscore I've ever heard.

[Jurassic Shark 12,078]

On 12/4/2011 at 8:06 PM, Thor said:

Arriving late in this thread.

 

Ditto.

 

On 12/4/2011 at 8:06 PM, Thor said:

Morricone has always been on/off for me. I can't stand his more dissonant efforts, while some of his beautiful elegiac melodies are among the best things ever written. I also sometimes have an issue with his tendency to "alienate" the beauty of certain themes with oddball counter-effects, but that's just part of his style, I guess.

 

Spot on.

 

On 12/4/2011 at 9:20 PM, Quintus said:

Have you ever heard his desert music in TGTBATU? It's some of the best underscore I've ever heard.

 

It's great, as is the whole score.

 

 

I stumbled over this album today, one of the greatest rerecordings of his music I've heard. In my opinion, it's almost on the level of Yo-Yo Ma's album. It even manages to make the theme from My Name is Nobody sound listenable.

 

https://open.spotify.com/album/11Rjd7NrYtQPb8PPeaKXhw

 

I wonder if the player has any relation to Sergio Leone.

[Quintus 5,399]

Christ, I made this thread just a year into my tenure here. And somehow reading it back now didn't make me cringe as much as my other ancient threads do.