The 10 Greatest Films of Composer Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone died on July 6, 2020 at the age of 91. He was born in Rome in 1928 and also died there. He was one of the greatest and most prolific film composers of all time, with over 500 credits.

Morricone was taught to play the trumpet by his father. He continued his studies at the National Academy of St. Cecilia, graduating in 1946, with a degree in trumpet. He continued studying and received a diploma in instrumentation for band arrangement in 1952. He wrote classical music and music for theatre. In 1953, he was asked to write music for America radio shows. His early film work, considered a less serious tasking, was often written under pseudonyms such as Dan Savio. In fact, that is the name he used for A Fistful of Dollars (1964).

Ennio Morricone was nominated for six Oscars, finally winning in 2016 for his score for Quentin Tarantino’s film The Hateful Eight (2015). It was fitting that he win for a western, since it is the western that brought him to the world’s attention, specifically his multiple collaborations with Sergio Leone.

Morricone’s work is very diverse. While best known for his western collaborations with Sergio Leone, he has done everything from horror with Dario Argento to erotic films with Tinto Brass, to comedies with Edouard Molinaro. He’s done pieces that were simple whistling to pieces that were full orchestral and pieces that were electronica.

I’ve never written a post for this blog/space focusing on a composer. I’ve considered it, but each time deferred because I am not knowledgeable about the language of music. I’ve left that to smarter writers, like Aaron Ellis and his blog/space Sunglasses and Cinema. Aaron hasn’t posted to that blog/space recently. I’d love to see what he would write about signore Morricone’s work.

So, with that said, I can offer little about why each of these scores made their film even better. I can only attest that they did.

10. Days of Heaven (1978) — Terrence Malick’s gorgeous romance set in the desolate Texas Panhandle, starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, and Linda Manz. Morricone received his first Oscar nomination for this film.

“I always thought that being alone was just something that a man had to put up with. It was like I just got used to it.” — the Farmer

9. The Thing (1982) — a tense sci-fi/horror film about people under attack from a creature in Antarctica. Morricone’s quiet but tense score has the audience clenching their armrests and leaning forward.

“Somebody in this camp ain’t what he appears to be. Right now that may be one or two of us. By spring, it could be all of us.” — MacReady

8. Once Upon a Time in America (1984) — Seek out the four hour version, not the shorter studio butchering. The four hour version represents the vision of director Sergio Leone, best known for his spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood.

The film follows two friends that become gangsters, over four decades. De Niro and James Woods are great in the film.

“Yeah, well, I read about your troubles in the newspapers. But a man in your position, with all your power and all your privileges, has to assume a certain amount of responsibility… a certain amount of risk.” — Noodles Aronson

7. The Untouchables (1987) — Brian De Palma directed this film with a script from David Mamet. The strong cast includes De Niro, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Andy Garcia. Like the television series, the film inflates the legend of real life agent Elliot Ness. Costner plays Ness and De Niro plays gangster Al Capone. Morricone received his third Oscar nomination for this film.

“I want you to find this nancy-boy Eliot Ness, I want him DEAD! I want his family DEAD! I want his house burned to the GROUND! I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna PISS ON HIS ASHES!” — Al Capone

6. The Hateful Eight (2015) — Violent. Nihilistic. Sensational. Funny. Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film is what one would expect — a brutal homage to film of an earlier time with brilliant dialogue and fascinating fully fleshed characters. Tarantino clearly wrote a lot of this film around his good luck charm, Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson gets to shine center stage playing bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren. He is well supported by Kurt Russell (star of two great westerns this year), Bruce Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and the wonderful Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder from Justified). The film looks beautiful in its 70mm panoramic views. Morricone finally won his Oscar for his work on this film.

“Oh, you believe in Jesus now, huh, bitch? Good, ’cause you ‘bout to meet him!” — Major Marquis Warren

5. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) — A Sergio Leone western starring Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, and Charles Bronson.

“You know, ma’am, when you’ve killed four, it’s easy to make it five.” — Cheyenne

4. Maléna (2000) — this is the story of a war widow in Sicily, during World War II, but seen largely from the perspective of a 13 year old boy that has become infatuated with her. I too am hopelessly infatuated with Monica Bellucci, so my judgement may be a little suspect. Morricone received his fifth Oscar nomination for this film.

3. Cinema Paradiso (1988) — A filmmaker looks back at his childhood, running the projectors in a cinema.

“And the next time be careful how you talk. Not to take credit away from the Lord, but if I had created the world, in all modesty, certain things would have come out better. But unfortunately such was not the case.” — Alfredo

2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) — A rarity in that it is the third film in a trilogy, and the best. It follows A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. All three films are extremely low budget spaghetti westerns that find their strengths in those constraints. The film has one of the most recognizable music scores in film, by Ennio Morricone. All three films deserve to be on this list.

Three criminals, played by Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach, set out, during the Civil War, to find a cache of gold, hidden in a cemetery.

Clint Eastwood’s success in television had prevented his success in movies. This trilogy of films changed that.

“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” — Blondie

1. The Mission (1986) — Roland Joffé’s epic about Jesuit missionaries in South America in the 18th century. The film stars Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons. A strong argument can be made that Ennio Morricone’s score for this film is, as a whole, the greatest film score. Period. Morricone received his second Oscar nomination for this film.

“If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don’t have the strength to live in a world like that, Rodrigo.” — Gabriel

Other films considered for this list include: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Ripley’s Game(2002), Lolita (1997), In the Line of Fire (1993), City of Joy (1992), Bugsy (1991), Hamlet (1990), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989), Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), Casualties of War (1989), Frantic (1988), The Key (1983), The Professional (1981), La Cage aux Folles (1978), Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), and For a Few Dollars More(1965). What would make your list?