Ennio Morricone
Though originally intending to be a concert pianist, Ennio Morricone entered the world of film scores and since the early 1960s film music has not been the same. This odd, balding man, with his penetrating stare and thick glasses, looks like a cartoon character come to life by physical appearance, yet nobody laughs at the salaries he has been able to command over the years for his works or for his prolific track record. He remains one of the most recognized film composers in the world today, though in recent years he seems to be taking a back seat, as his son, Andrea, continues in the family tradition.
Morricone first rose to international stardom for his scores in the Sergio Leone westerns, such as “Fistful of Dollars”, “For A Few Dollars More”, “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”, and “Once Upon A Time in the West”, incorporating traditional guitars and trumpets with an assortment of odd sounds (bells, whistles, grunts, groans, etc…). Among his other western scores are “The Big Gundown”, “The Mercenary”, “Face To Face”, “The Five Man Army”, “Two Mules for Sister Sarah”, “Navajo Joe”, “My Name Is Nobody”, “The Great Silence”, and “The Hellbenders”.
As the western genre started to die out in Europe, he expanded into other markets, including numerous American films, rather than those from Italy, Germany Spain and Austria. Among these are “Bugsy”, “The Untouchables”, “Wolf”, “Exorcist II”, and “Orca, the Killer Whale”.
In the horror realm, Morricone scored several of the early Argento films, before this famous director switched to using Goblin for scores. “Cat O’ Nine Tails”, “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage”, and “Four Flies in Grey Velvet” all have works by Morricone as composer. Oddly enough, years later, Argento would once again use Morricone, in “The Stendhal Syndrome”.
Other horror and suspense films with Morricone scores include “Terror in the Woods”, “Bloodline”, “The Humanoid”, “Spasmo” and “The Chosen” (a quirky end-of-times film which was re titled to “Holocaust 2000”).
Morricone’s other works have included comedies (such as “Arabella” and “The Hawks & The Sparrows”), gangster films (“Machine Gun McCain”, “Rome Like Chicago”, “The Sicilian Clan”, “The Palermo Connection”, and of course the aforementioned “Bugsy”, as well as “The Untouchables”, both of which gained him Academy Award nominations), and war pictures (such as “Dirty Heroes”, “The Girl & The General” and “Hornet’s Nest”)
It would probably be impossible to list all of his credits when you include the documentaries, the TV shows, the feature films and the videos. The internet has many tribute sites devoted to him, as well as places to buy his many records, cassettes and CDs.
Years ago, there was even an Ennio Morricone Film Society operating out of Los Angeles, which, unfortunately, is no longer active.
On a personal note, I was told Morricone collected the miniature soaps given away free by many hotels. I was also told that, when meeting with people from other countries, he even asked them to bring him samples of the soaps from the hotels they stayed at.
More than one person also said his mouth could become a virtual orchestra and that he could imitate the sounds of several instruments and demonstrate for directors, exactly what he intended to do for them.
In spite of age, he is still active and his name guarantees sales at the music store. Not everyone is a fan though. I recall one used record store owner out in Arizona, who made this comment. “In the 1960’s, if Morricone farted, someone had to put it on a record. Give my Goldsmith (Jerry), myself.” Well, to each his own.
Morricone has spent most of his life in Rome, where incredibly, when visiting in 1975, I found him listed in the city’s phone book (as was the late director, Sergio Corbucci).
Tuesday 25 Mar 2003 | Dale Pierce | Profiles
A good summation of this Great Master’s work, save for the opening line, “Though originally intending to be a concert pianist…”
Nonsense!
Morricone has said he plays piano badly. In fact, his instrument was the trumpet, like his father before him. In an interview he said how exhausting the trumpet was, and that he always wanted to compose.
He had in fact started to compose at the age of 6, and continues in his late 70s to write directly onto a full score.
That record owner in Arizona who favoured Goldsmith had ~ like many fans of film music ~ simply not heard very much Morricone.
Once you hear enough, the realisation dawns that you are listening to a peerless exponent: his inventiveness and range vastly transcend the likes of Williams and even Goldsmith.