Maurice Jarre, 1924-2009

[Melrose]

Maurice Jarre, a noted film composer who scored the music of Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, A Passage to India and The Dead Poets Society, died March 29th.

BBC story link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7971223.stm)

I just watched a movie a couple days ago that he scored. His scores seemed to belong to that bracket of 'Classic' film composers, like John Williams and Ennio Morricone.

I've also got a couple albums by his son, which are among my favourites.

[Little HZ]

That's sad news. Jarre's soundtracks really enhanced some of my favorite movies.

[nutmac]

RIP. His works are implanted with unique signature, original and highly relevant to the film it's tied to.

[Melrose]

That's sad news. Jarre's soundtracks really enhanced some of my favorite movies.

I agree - There are many really good film scorers today - James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, et al - but it seems they lack a certain element that many of the old film composers had.

Almost as if, rather than sounding like a piece of classic music, the scores nowadays have very distinct themed jingles unto themselves (some of which are beautifully written). I'm not saying that's bad, it's not at all. It's just like the end of an era for that type of film music.