Unknown/obscure film composers who deserve better

[mclay18]

I know sometimes we have a composer tribute thread (like the Michael Giacchino one from 2009), but has there been a composer whose work you liked in a video game/TV show/low-profile film and hoped they get high-profile/better films in the future?

There are so many of them out there for me. Here's my top 8:

- Jane Antonia Cornish
- Fernando Velazquez (best known for his score in Devil and The Orphanage)
- Debbie Wiseman
- James Hannigan (did the last couple of scores for the Harry Potter video games)
- William Stromberg & John Morgan (they usually work together on film score re-recordings)
- Mark McKenzie
- Conrad Pope (he usually orchestrates scores for James Newton Howard, John Williams and Alexandre Desplat)
- Klaus Badelt (he's been out of the Hollywood loop for a while and his recent work is really good)

 

[flickchick85]

I'm always rooting for Bear McCreary. He's a legend to BSG fans but unknown to just about everyone else. The guy's a genius, imo.

Aside from him, Ilan Eshkeri (Stardust, The Young Victoria) and Edward Shearmur (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Passengers) are two who I'd like to see working on higher-profile projects as well.

 

[Fenrir]

David Julyan's work on Insomnia and The Prestige was pure class. I hope Nolan reunites with him in the future.

Ramin Djawadi's score for Iron Man puts John Debney's score for Iron Man 2 to shame.

Although he may not be as famous as Hans Zimmer or some of the other well-known composers out there, but Harry Gregson-Williams is worth a mention I think. When it comes to electronic scores, he's one of the best. I just love his music for Enemy of the State and Spy Game. Not to mention the MGS theme.

And even though they're not film composers per se, I think music enthusiasts should definitely check out Jesper Kyd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0i6YFrSs6c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EaRHlo4B0Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnT3tbnvYtw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu-c3RSY5r0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4XbneG571M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngOI2e1uFX4 (especially starting from 6:00)

...and Bill Brown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDilnYTKe9k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REp-b6zd38w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiSTywA6fHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT2UbK31q2E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNjeSul1DMY

 

[batman11]

I know he's done his fair share of films and I guess he's not really an unknown, but I don't think Dario Marianelli gets enough love. I'm not saying he "deserves better," because he has scored some great films and has an Oscar to show for one of them, but he does seem to fly under the radar a little bit. I'd love to see him tackle a huge blockbuster/action film. I loved his V for Vendetta score, and I think he could do something really awesome with either another comic book character, or some other massive film.

EDIT: Good call on Julyan, Fenrir. Now there's a guy that really goes unnoticed. His score for The Prestige is one of my favorites. It's very understated, and subtle and it perfectly captures the mood. Every time I hear the main, rising theme, there's this feeling of dread and mystery that builds. Like an airplane ready to take off, yet something's not quite right. The brilliance of it is that it keeps building and building and your heart races because you know something must be coming...any second now and we'll see it...almost there...

And then the music abruptly cuts out. Nothing. But the feeling continues to linger.

Wonderful work.

 

[mclay18]

Although he may not be as famous as Hans Zimmer or some of the other well-known composers out there, but Harry Gregson-Williams is worth a mention I think.

Technically, Harry Gregson-Williams isn't an unknown or obscure composer. He's scored four Shrek films, worked with Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer. And he's done several big-budget films for Disney (the first two Narnia films and Prince of Persia).

Ramin Djawadi can stay in obscurity for all I care. I don't remember any of his score for Iron Man.

 

[Fenrir]

Technically, Harry Gregson-Williams isn't an unknown or obscure composer. He's scored four Shrek films, worked with Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer. And he's done several big-budget films for Disney (the first two Narnia films and Prince of Persia).

Yeah, I know. But he doesn't seem to get half the fanfare of Zimmer, Williams, Elfman or Newton-Howard, even though I think some of his scores are on par with the competition's best work. That's why I mentioned him.

Ramin Djawadi can stay in obscurity for all I care. I don't remember any of his score for Iron Man.

Really? I liked quite a bit of it, particularly Tony's suit-building/testing montages and the Arc Reactor theme:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9PhfUsFvj0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NxrQipUkwg (0:35 onwards)
It was a lot more lively than Debney's dreary, uninteresting work on Iron Man 2.

 

[Fenrir]

OK, how the hell did I forget Jack Wall? Mass Effect 2 has some of the best cinematic music anywhere, game or movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2z28mutY1E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzv5k6p0Swo

 

[flickchick85]

Ramin Djawadi's score for Iron Man puts John Debney's score for Iron Man 2 to shame.

I agree, but sadly, I think that speaks more to how terrible Debney's score was than to the quality of Djawadi's score. His score was an enjoyable listen, but utterly forgettable, imo. Debney's wasn't even a fun listen.

And Harry Gregson-Williams and Dario Marianelli (his Pride & Prejudice score is one of my absolute favorites) are both awesome...I just wouldn't consider either one obscure or unknown in any way at this point.

ITA on Julyan, though!

And now that we've moved onto posting samples, here's some Bear McCreary for ya:


That's one of my favorite themes ever created for any TV show OR movie. And each new variation on it as the show progressed was more brilliant than the last. For example...



And just cuz it seems wrong to post BSG music without an appearance from those Taiko drums:

From about 4:55 onward (and especially the bit starting at 6:30) I get chills every time.

 

[Bunker]

Does John Powell count?

 

[flickchick85]

Nah, John Powell's one of the biggies.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

I think Nick Hooper is very underrated.

 

[Timstuff]

I'm always rooting for Bear McCreary. He's a legend to BSG fans but unknown to just about everyone else. The guy's a genius, imo.

Agreed! The man deserves more respect! The theme from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles sometimes brings tears to my eyes (especially after the show was canceled).

[YT]BX8PPaoYwLk[/YT]

 

[mclay18]

I agree, but sadly, I think that speaks more to how terrible Debney's score was than to the quality of Djawadi's score. His score was an enjoyable listen, but utterly forgettable, imo. Debney's wasn't even a fun listen.

I have to disagree on Debney. Unlike Djawadi's score for Iron Man, Debney's Iron Man 2 score I definitely enjoy and remember. That kickass Black Widow fight with the orchestra and electric guitar pulse, Tony rescuing Pepper with the brass and choir accompanying it, and so forth. The sad thing, neither Debney or Djawadi's scores didn't have a kickass memorable theme for IM.

Here's some score sample links from the composers I mentioned:

Conrad Pope's "In My Sleep"

Fernando Velazquez -- Shiver and For the Good of Others

Jane Antonia Cornish's official site has some clips from her wonderful "Island of Lost Souls" score

Klaus Badelt has some of his most recent scores up for purchase as CD releases on his site, or you can download them for free. Neat, huh?

 

[hammerhedd11]

Clint Mansell has deserved an oscar nomination many times over, especially for The Fountain.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

David Julyan's work on Insomnia and The Prestige was pure class. I hope Nolan reunites with him in the future.

David Julyan was the first one I thought of.

 

[DCW]

Clint Mansell has deserved an oscar nomination many times over, especially for The Fountain.

Totally agree.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

Mark Mothersbaugh (cloudy with a chance of meatballs, from the band DEVO)

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Ludovico Einuadi.

Looking at Wikipedia, the only big name movies he has done is "This is England" and "Stargate". This tune is used in a Channel 4 program called "any human hart" it's awesome.

[YT]OB3wgiaOOvA[/YT]

[YT]vCme0TeklQ4[/YT]

 

[batman11]

It's a shame she's no longer with us, because I would definitely add Shirley Walker to the list of names posted in this thread. Her work in Mask of the Phantasm still gives me chills to this day.

 

[ttotheusher]

- Klaus Badelt (he's been out of the Hollywood loop for a while and his recent work is really good)

Oh, I would most definately agree with that. His score for Solomon Kane was one of the best I've ever heard for an adventure film:

[YT]anSTggg556g[/YT]

Also, I'd like to add Greg Edmonson, whose credits include Firefly and the Uncharted game's. Great composer.

 

[Octoberist]

She did some film work, but her most notable pieces were from Batman: The Animated Series. I wished she did more feature film work and I wished she had more recognition.

I'm talking about the late Shirley Walkers. RIP.

 

[PWN3R]

Clint Mansell has deserved an oscar nomination many times over, especially for The Fountain.

Yes! Everything he does is some of the most powerful and emotional music you can hear. "Lux Aeterna" is a modern masterpiece.

The man is brilliant and yet the Academy is ignorant to his name. I can't wait to see/hear Black Swan.

 

[Rac]

David Julyan's work on Insomnia and The Prestige was pure class. I hope Nolan reunites with him in the future.

I love his score for The Descent.

 

[flickchick85]

I have to disagree on Debney. Unlike Djawadi's score for Iron Man, Debney's Iron Man 2 score I definitely enjoy and remember. That kickass Black Widow fight with the orchestra and electric guitar pulse, Tony rescuing Pepper with the brass and choir accompanying it, and so forth. The sad thing, neither Debney or Djawadi's scores didn't have a kickass memorable theme for IM.

I did forget about the Black Widow fight - he did alright there. But for the most part, Debney's score was a massive, massive disappointment to me. And I'm speaking as someone who was thrilled when he was announced as Djawadi's replacement, because I usually like Debney quite a bit.

Thanks for that link to Badelt's music, btw - I'm always up for some free music. t:

As for Clint Mansell, he's one of the biggies at this point, too, imo. But I think he will get that overdue Oscar nomination this year with Black Swan (an utterly chilling score perfectly woven into Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake). Here's a pretty decent sample suite of it someone put together:

 

[mclay18]

Oh, I would most definately agree with that. His score for Solomon Kane was one of the best I've ever heard for an adventure film:

The cue you posted is uncomfortably close to Hans Zimmer's "Molossus" from Batman Begins with choir accentuating the strings and brass. Not surprising, since Badelt worked with Zimmer on Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl but I'm feeling the temp-track symptoms with Solomon Kane.

I really like Badelt's Die Jagd nach der Heiligen Lanze score and L'Arnacoeur. The latter is a different side of Badelt we don't hear often.