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IMDbPro

Ennio Morricone(1928-2020)

  • Composer
  • Music Department
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Ennio Morricone at an event for The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)
Watch Sad Hill Unearthed
Play trailer2:59
Sad Hill Unearthed (2017)
5 Videos
95 Photos
A classmate of director Sergio Leone with whom he would form one of the great director/composer partnerships (right up there with Eisenstein & Prokofiev, Hitchcock & Herrmann, Fellini & Rota), Ennio Morricone studied at Rome's Santa Cecilia Conservatory, where he specialized in trumpet. His first film scores were relatively undistinguished, but he was hired by Leone for A Fistful of Dollars (1964) on the strength of some of his song arrangements. His score for that film, with its sparse arrangements, unorthodox instrumentation (bells, electric guitars, harmonicas, the distinctive twang of the jew's harp) and memorable tunes, revolutionized the way music would be used in Westerns, and it is hard to think of a post-Morricone Western score that doesn't in some way reflect his influence. Although his name will always be synonymous with the spaghetti Western, Morricone has also contributed to a huge range of other film genres: comedies, dramas, thrillers, horror films, romances, art movies, exploitation movies - making him one of the film world's most versatile artists. He has written nearly 400 film scores, so a brief summary is impossible, but his most memorable work includes the Leone films, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966) , Roland Joffé's The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) and Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (1988), plus a rare example of sung opening credits for Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966).
BornNovember 10, 1928
DiedJuly 6, 2020(91)
BornNovember 10, 1928
DiedJuly 6, 2020(91)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Oscar

Photos95

Ennio Morricone in TCM Remembers 2020 (2020)
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone

Known for

Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Demián Bichir, and Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight (2015)
The Hateful Eight
7.8
  • Composer(original music by)
  • 2015
Geoffrey Rush and Sylvia Hoeks in The Best Offer (2013)
The Best Offer
7.8
  • Composer
  • 2013
Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith in The Untouchables (1987)
The Untouchables
7.8
  • Composer
  • 1987
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
The Legend of 1900
8.0
  • Composer
  • 1998

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Composer

  • On the Road (2020)
    On the Road
  • The Good, the Bad and the Hungry (2020)
    The Good, the Bad and the Hungry
    • (original music by)
  • R.S. Arun Prakaash and The Composer Advaith in Dedicando a Ennio Morricone (2020)
    Dedicando a Ennio Morricone
  • Meg Pfeiffer and Luca Stricagnoli in For A Few Dollars More (2020)
    For A Few Dollars More
    • (original music by)
  • Thierry Genovese in Cine Chalom (2019)
    Cine Chalom
    • (music by)
  • Once Upon A Time in the West (2019)
    Once Upon A Time in the West
    • (music by)
  • Mariano Di Vaio in K by Dolce & Gabbana (2019)
    K by Dolce & Gabbana
  • Moby Dick Ala De Laurentiis: Martha De Laurentiis Remembers 'Orca'
  • Las 7 Cuevas de Wai Lou (Gold of Wai Lou) (2016)
    Las 7 Cuevas de Wai Lou (Gold of Wai Lou)
    • (original music by)
  • Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Rosa Excelsa (2016)
    Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Rosa Excelsa
  • Il fascino dell'impossibile (2016)
    Il fascino dell'impossibile
  • Jeremy Irons and Olga Kurylenko in Correspondence (2016)
    Correspondence
  • The Sun Is Dark (2015)
    The Sun Is Dark
  • Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern, Demián Bichir, and Walton Goggins in The Hateful Eight (2015)
    The Hateful Eight
    • (original music by)
  • August Diehl, Olivier Gourmet, Matthew Rhys, Mathilde Seigner, Franck Andrieux, and Alice Isaaz in Come What May (2015)
    Come What May

Music Department

  • The Quake
    • Completed
  • Reverso (2022)
    Reverso
  • Tony Zhou, Imran Alhosan, and Sahil in Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa (2021)
    Once Upon a Time in Aotearoa
  • Quest for Ions: Poetry Collection (2021)
    Quest for Ions: Poetry Collection
  • Morricone Segreto: Celebrating Ennio Morricone- the Secrets Behind His Genius (2020)
    Morricone Segreto: Celebrating Ennio Morricone- the Secrets Behind His Genius
  • Hope@Home (2020)
    Hope@Home
  • Tim Dup: Le visage de la nuit
  • Thierry Genovese and Vince Rogers in ITV Celebrites Interviews (2018)
    ITV Celebrites Interviews
  • Max Tranberg, Kian Lawson-Khalili, and Jannik Schow Petersen in Theo & det magiske Talkshow - med Jannik Schow (2018)
    Theo & det magiske Talkshow - med Jannik Schow
  • Tobias Bastian Them Burø, Bastian Lars Andreasen, Vigga Rohweder, and Morgan Batchelor in BaseBoys (2018)
    BaseBoys
  • Giovanni Agnelli, Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Del Piero, Giorgio Chiellini, and Umberto Agnelli in Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story (2016)
    Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story
  • Wedding
  • Come un delfino - La serie (2013)
    Come un delfino - La serie
  • Ultimo 4 - L'occhio del falco (2013)
    Ultimo 4 - L'occhio del falco
  • Geoffrey Rush and Sylvia Hoeks in The Best Offer (2013)
    The Best Offer
  • April Fools' Day

Actor

  • Everybody's Fine (1990)
    Everybody's Fine
  • Lulu the Tool (1971)
    Lulu the Tool
    • (uncredited)

Videos5

ultrasordine
Full Movie 9:40
ultrasordine
Nightmare Castle
Trailer 3:20
Nightmare Castle
A Pure Formality
Trailer 1:38
A Pure Formality
Sad Hill Unearthed
Trailer 2:59
Sad Hill Unearthed
'Come What May': Behind the Scenes with Ennio Morricone
Featurette 0:56
'Come What May': Behind the Scenes with Ennio Morricone

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • November 10, 1928
    • Rome, Lazio, Italy
    • July 6, 2020
    • Rome, Lazio, Italy(aftermath of falling)
    • October 13, 1956 - July 6, 2020 (his death, 4 children)
  • Other works
    Unused score, originally composed for What Dreams May Come (1998)
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Biographical Movies
    • 8 Print Biographies
    • 8 Interviews
    • 10 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    It's been felt by some that he was deprived of a possible Academy Award when the U.S. distributor of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America (1984) failed to file the paperwork so the score could be considered for nomination. This score is still regarded as one of his best.
  • Quotes
    I'm not linked to one genre or another. I like to change, so there's no risk of getting bored. I enjoy all sorts of films and I don't consider myself a horror fan, although I do like Dario Argento's and John Carpenter's movies.
    • Frequently used female voices as instruments blended with his lush orchestrations

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