The world lost a bit of magic with the death of Ennio Morricone. At 91 years of age, the legendary composer left behind a body of score that’s every bit as impressive as the movies for which they were written. Indeed, the Italian composer transcended the form and created works of music that stand on their own, wholly apart from the films they were featured in. He was a composer’s composer, creating timeless compositions that pushed forward the classical techniques and became a stalwart of the modernist movement throughout the 20th century. In celebration of his life and legacy, we take a look back at some of his best scores.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
In truth, Morricone’s work for director Sergio Leone are all magnificent, establishing the composer as a musical force and pushing the boundaries of score for generations. His work on the legendary “Man With No Name” trilogy stands as something of a trilogy itself, echoing musically the desolate themes Leone explored cinematically. But the score to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, the finale to Leone’s trilogy, is a legend among legends. From it’s iconic title theme, which has become something of a shorthand for kids playing cowboy for generations, to the radiant climax of “The Ecstasy of Gold,” now famously used by Metallica as their show opener, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly stands amongst the greatest scores ever written.
The Untouchables
Brian DePalma’s take on the Elliot Ness story owes much to the influence of Sergio Leone; though it takes place during the Jazz Age and Prohibition, there’s a distinct Wild West feel to the film that cannot be denied. Morricone gave DePalma a score that blended the classical western theme tropes with a jazzy underscore that blends the sounds and styles to create something utterly unique and memorable. It stands as an epic work of sweeping, 80s score that perfectly captures the range of Morricone, both in terms of emotive qualities and soundscape. He was a composer that could score the intimate as well as he could the grand, and The Untouchables serves as a monument to his range.
The Mercenary/Il Mercenario
Morricone was an indispensable presence in the Spaghetti Western scene. For The Mercenary, from director Sergio Corbucci, Morricone leaned on the classic sounds of the western genre and mixed in a healthy dose of influences from Mariachi to Bossa Nova to create a stunningly beautiful and memorable score. Quentin Tarantino fans will recognize the track “Il Mercenario” from Kill Bill vol 2 (a film which also featured Morricone’s “A Silhouette of Doom” from Navajo Joe). Beyond that, the score of The Mercenary is the perfect encapsulation of how Morricone was able to bring in a vast array of influences to create a work that stands alone as well as stands the test of time.
The Hateful Eight
Speaking of Tarantino, we can’t overlook the film that earned Morricone his Oscar. Easily the best of Morricone’s latter work, The Hateful Eight recalls the glory days of the composer’s Spaghetti Western work while updating it with the kind of epic arrangements a Tarantino film necessitates. Like the best of Morricone’s scores, it pulls from a variety of influences and sonic sounds to create a beautifully diverse work that’s arguably better than the movie that spawned it. Between this and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, anyone curious about Morricone’s work is set.
The Big Gundown
Scored the same year as The Mercenary, Morricone’s score for Sergio Sollima’s epic tale of justice and revenge is an evocative journey through the composer’s standard sounds. It is, sonically, as “western” as anything the maestro ever wrote but Morricone also begins experimenting with the form here to create a new context for what we think of when we think of Western movie scores. Once again, Morricone balances the sweeping and the intimate, transitioning effortlessly from quiet to bombast and back again. With his use of operatic singing and crescendo builds that are downright tantric, The Big Gundown is an unsung masterpiece of Morricone’s catalogue.
