James Horner is a famous composer, conductor, and orchestrator of film scores. He was born in Los Angeles on August 14, 1953. He began his career by composing the musical score for ‘The Lady in Red’ in 1979. This was his first major score. However, he was not considered an eminent film composer until he wrote the musical score for ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn’ in 1982. After this, he had a prolific and successful career in the film industry. Sadly, he died in a plane accident on June 22, 2015, at the age of 61. Here are five of the most successful movie scores of James Horner’s career.
1. Avatar
This 2009 epic science fiction movie was written and directed by James Cameron. It was considered a breakthrough in cinematic technology as it used new techniques and stereoscopic filmmaking. It starred Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and Michelle Rodriguez. When James Horner scored this film, it was his third collaboration with James Cameron as he had already worked with him on ‘Titanic’ and ‘Aliens’. Horner devoted himself entirely to this project until it was complete. It was nominated for many awards and won the 2009 Saturn Award for Best Music.
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ is another of the films for which James Horner wrote an award-winning music score. It won the Saturn Award for Best Music in 2000. Also known simply as ‘The Grinch’, this 2000 Christmas comedy film was based on the book by Dr. Seuss. It was directed by Ron Howard and the screenplay was written by Peter S. Seaman and Jeffrey Price. The lead role was played by Jim Carrey.
3. Titanic
The musical score for ‘Titanic’ was nominated for multiple awards, as was the theme song’ My Heart Will Go On’. In 1997, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Score, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, and Saturn Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. This 1997 epic romance-disaster film was written and directed by James Cameron. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the leading roles.
4. A Beautiful Mind
James Horner’s musical score for ‘A Beautiful Mind was nominated for many awards. One of the main songs in the score was ‘All Love Can Be’, which Horner wrote with Will Jennings. They won the Satellite Award for Best Original Song. ‘A Beautiful Mind’ is a biographical drama film about the life of John Nash. It was written by Akiva Goldsman and directed by Ron Howard. Actors who starred in this movie included Russel Crowe, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Judd Hirsch, and Adam Goldberg.
5. Braveheart
Although the musical score for Braveheart did not win any awards, it was nominated for many. This epic war film was written by Rahdall Wallace and directed by Mel Gibson, who also played the lead role. This movie was released in 1995 and also starred Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, and Catherine McCormack. The soundtrack was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Follow Us
