I posted in the New Collection that I was unsure about both. That prompted an immediate reply by his H'ness that he may be an acquired taste but that I should be able to appreciate him. So I sat up until 3:00am (it's the weekend and I have no life ) listening to M2M.

I saw the movie last year when it came out and one of the things that actually left a small impression was the score. Well after repeated listenings I can honestly say I was wrong about Ennio.

M2M is a very good score, I wonder if it was temped with Saving Private Ryan because there are some very subtle moving moments. One of my favorite tracks is 8 which scores Tim Robbins death. The movie was so bad it makes me wonder if Morricone realized the same thing and decided to try a different approach for this film.

The moaning/whispering effects for spaceand the planet work well. The "dreaded organ music" actually works IMHO for space. The only objection I have is track 4 with the bleeps and boops as I like to call them. I felt just the moaning/whispering effects would have worked just fine. Also some of the Enya sounding voice effects could have been done with actual people IMHO.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
Two Mules for Sister Sara
Once Upon a Time in the West

that's just a few....

he is an acquired taste most definitely, but his music is so rewarding.
you should try to find one of the many Morricone compilations that exist to get a feel for his stuff.

Rhino's "Fistful" comp is a great collection, most highly recommended.

http://www.moviemusic.com/title.asp?id=enniomorriconefistful

Although the cheap RCA release is still around, try to find the Spanish release, which has better sound and additional tracks.

If you like this score, you will probably like his other Western scores, particularly those for Sergio Leone, which include A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good the Bad and the Ugly and Duck, You Sucker (alias A Fistful of Dynamite).

Morricone's last score for Leone is the intense and moving Once Upon A Time in America, which has also recently been remastered and expanded.

An indispensible Morricone album is the beautiful and nostalgic Cinema Paradiso, and if you like The Untouchables , you may also enjoy Revolver.

I myself really enjoyed Bulworth, the first half of which is incredibly moving, the second half of which was insane, and I absolutely loved Lolita, which I found a very haunting work.

Truth be told, however, there are quite a few Morricone collections out there that may help you get through his considerably large body of work (particularly his Italian collection).

To have a look at some of what Morricone has done, click here.

Not listed there is one of my favorites, possibly out-of-print, called State of Grace, from MCA records. This is a great score, centered around a beautiful love theme that flirts with tonality. Morricone based several of his later scores (including U-Turn, Bugsy and Love Affair) on this style.

Talk about an active topic... there were no responses when I started typing, but two beat me to it.

That's okay, we all agree... Ennio is awesome

highly underrated, it is quite evocative of the desert southwest portrayed in the film...and the perverted characters.

I still remember when I was just starting my appreciation of film music at the 80's when I would praise only John Williams (for STAR WARS and RAIDERS) and maybe Horner and Goldsmith (for STAR TREK).

But when someone mentioned Ennio Morricone (and others like Alex North, Franz Waxman or Alfred Newman) I would twist my nose and say something stupid like: "Blah! This guys are way overrated! Only snobish film critics like their music" - the same attitude we often find around here.

Too bad no one has ever asked HOW MANY SCORES from these composers I've listened, because the answer would be NONE!!

But them I saw THE MISSION... and the rest is history!

I find his music evocative and subtle at the same time. He is willing to take risks that a more timid composer might shy away from and whether you agree with his choices or not, you will never feel that his effort was phoned in or that he just showed up for a paycheck.

Listen to the Legend of 1900 and try to imagine it without his music. Not possible. I am not saying that another couldn’t have scored it, but it would be a totally different movie. In a film where musical virtuosity is a must because of the subject matter, I can’t think of anyone more flexible in style and vision who could bring exactly what this film needed to bear.

I am hard pressed to find any other film score composer who writes in as many styles as Ennio Morricone does. And when you consider that most of his work never made the jump across the pond except as expensive imports, his talents become even more impressive.

The modulation of the trumpet in THE HELLBENDERS is a masterstroke. Ennio's technique for the chorus is similar to John Barry's technique: he uses simple repetitive melodic lines and creates musical tension by changing the backing chords.

He was an acquired taste for me. I couldn't play him in my teens--too modern. Now I'm glad I acquired the taste because I think he's amazing. But I had to mature into it.

Given this hype, one has to wonder if Malena will indeed win. I personally will consider it heresy if Gladiator wins. CTHD is also an accomplished score, but Morricone's been snubbed 5 times before.

Give the old master a trophy!

Tim

So, I'm guessing that the director knew he had a theologically trite film, so he went to Kamen.

He left westerns (sob sob)
and has pursued his own interests. Certainly during the last 20 years, he
has written gorgeous, melodic scores. His versatility in music is amazing,
and his variable styles are hard to pigeonhole. I usually try to see his movies
or hear sound clips before ordering because you never quite know what type
of a score he may compose. The last three I’ve purchased have been
The Untouchables, Legend of 1900 and M2M, all very enjoyable.

I think you have to pick and choose with Morricone, but that may be true
with most composers. However, for me he really isn’t an acquired taste.
Herrmann, IMHO, is more of an acquired taste.

Now if we could just get Morricone, Goldsmith, and Bernstein to compose
more westerns, I’d be a happy lady.

NP Commancheros