Legendary Film Composer Ennio Morricone Dead at 91

[Bobby Barrows]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/movies/ennio-morricone-dead.amp.html

Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer whose atmospheric scores for spaghetti westerns and some 500 films by a Who’s Who of international directors made him one of the world’s most versatile and influential creators of music for the modern cinema, died on Monday in Rome. He was 91.

His death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his lawyer, Giorgio Assumma, who said that Mr. Morricone was admitted there last week after falling and fracturing a femur. Mr. Assumma also distributed a statement that Mr. Morricone had written himself, titled, “I, Ennio Morricone, am dead.”

To many cineastes, Maestro Morricone (pronounced (mo-ree-CONE-eh) was a unique talent, composing melodic accompaniments to comedies, thrillers and historical dramas by Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Terrence Malick, Roland Joffé, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, Mike Nichols, John Carpenter, Quentin Tarantino and other filmmakers.

He scored many popular films of the past 40 years: Édouard Molinaro’s “La Cage aux Folles” (1978), Mr. Carpenter’s “The Thing” (1982), Mr. De Palma’s “The Untouchables” (1987), Roman Polanski’s “Frantic” (1988), Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso” (1988), Wolfgang Petersen’s “In the Line of Fire” (1993), and Mr. Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” (2015).

A few days late but absolutely devastated to hear. Morricone is possibly my favorite film composer of all time, even ahead of the great John Williams. I still think his soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in the West is the greatest put to film ever. 91 is a great age though and he lived a full enriching life. Rest in Peace, and Farewell Cheyenne.

 

[Chris]

The music in Once Upon a Time in the West was insane, seen a few others he did too but that one stands out like crazy. Had no idea he did Cinema Paradiso though. RIP