The Matrix
The Lion King
Quills
Pi
Nightmare Before Christmas
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST–Big ENNIO MORRICONE fan here, but; he outdid himself with this one. Not one piece is a ringer. His arrangement of AMAPOLA from ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA is one of the most romantic pieces I’ve ever heard.
THE GODFATHER I & II—NINO ROTO. I hadn’t realized that he went as far back as he does. He worked with FELLINI (LA STRADA)
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS----DANNY ELFMANN. Nuff said.
My thanks to LEONE, COPPOLA and BURTON for introducing me to these artists.
NOW—can anyone here help me on this one—I need the name of the movie and the music composer-----Two, three years back, BRAVO channel showed a film that starred CHRISTOPHER WALKEN as a wealthy Venetian who befriended a young couple played by RUPERT EVERETT and AMANDA RICHARDSON. The opening theme song was BEAUTIFUL.
I searched IMDb, but didn’t find a match for a Joint Venture with Walken and Everett, and couldn’t fina match for Amanda Richardson at all.
Assuming you haven’t already checked there, follow the link and peruse his list of roles. Maybe you’ll see something that jogs your memory. IMDB is amazingly comprehensive.
I can’t believe no one has listed “The Harder They Come.” Great songs - Sitting Here in Limbo, Pressure Drop, Shanty Town. Wonderful old style reggae
That would be The Comfort of Strangers, music by Angelo Badalamenti.
Some of my favourites are:
Vertigo–Bernard Herrman (well, almost anything by Herrman is a favourite)
Fargo–Carter Burwell
the sweet hereafter–Michael Danna
Also, Morricone, Rota, Shore, Elfman, Nyman, etc.
Hodge
THAT’S it—Thank you HODGE AND KNEADTOKNOW. I just looked at IMDB----and of course saw that it was Natasha NOT Amanda.
I think the Pulp Fiction soundtrack is pretty damn good… 
I think the Pulp Fiction soundtrack is pretty damn good…
In case you can’t guess, I made a “C+” in spelling. 
Gee, thanks. Now I absolutely have to rush out and buy Fistful of Dollars now that you’ve sparked off a yen for it. When my 14 children (I’m joking) are starving this weekend, it’ll be because you made me spend 15 bucks for a copy.
While I’m at it, Akira had an awesome soundtrack–very unconventional. It had a special place in my car stereo for years.
I have to agree with Ukulele Ike and Yosemitebabe – I’m a big Bernard Hermann fan. I loved his stuff in the movies (he did the scores for a lot of Harryhausen films, in addition to the Alfred Hitchcock flicks), and I picked up his records when I could find them.
I also like Walter/Wendy Carlos – Clockwork Orange, Tron, Shining. His/Her classical albums are great, too. Avoid the “original” albums like Sonic Seasonings. They’re torture.
Speaking of electronic music, I like Rick Wakeman, too. I love his original albums, but his scores for White Rock and Lisztomania are good.
Rick Wakeman is also responsible for the Most Disappointing Movie Score Ever. For years I thought about dubbing my own track onto the silent movie Phantom of the Opera. Although I’ve heard some excellent live performances to this film (organ and also full orchestra), no video version I’ve seen had a score that was at all appropriate. Then I heard that a Restored version was coming out with music by ---- Rick Wakeman! Perfect, I thought. One of the tracks that definitely would have been on my version was “Judas Iscariot” from “Rick Wakeman’s Criminal Record”. It soundslike the work of a psychotic organist. So I looked forward to the new release – a fresh print of Phantom, complete with the Technicolor sections, and Wakeman’s music.
So the film came out — and the music was terrible! One of the biggest cinematic disappointments of my life.