Born in California in 1953, james roy horner, the famous American conductor and composer, is undoubtedly one of the first names that comes to mind when it comes to soundtrack. Some of horner’s most famous films include Titanic and Braveheart. Horner, who has been awarded numerous awards throughout his life for his quality works, won two academy awards for composition and music for the film Titanic. Horner, who was awarded a total of 32 awards, signed numerous works until he died in a plane crash in 2015. Let’s take a look at the unforgettable soundtrack of this legendary name together.
1-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Director Nicholas Meyer had little budget for the second Star Trek film. At that time, Horner made a name for himself with his work in Battle Beyond the Stars. After Meyer persuaded Horner to release the soundtrack to the new film, a wonderful work emerged, suited to the enchanting energy of space. Horner had the opportunity to showcase his original musical style and tunes for the first time in this sequel.
2-Aliens (1986)
In 1986, director James Cameron collaborated with James Horner to compose the soundtrack to The Return of the Creature. Some music critics have criticized the composition as derived from previous soundtracks. Still, many describe the Return of the Creature soundtrack as a masterpiece. There is no doubt that Horner has managed to artfully demonstrate the orchestral power of this composition, which allows the film to have an even more eerie atmosphere.
3-Apollo 13 (1985)
James Horner had a great year in 1995. The famous composer also undertoated the soundtrack of the film Balto after gaining great acclaim with his Passion Winds soundtrack. He then signed off on two spectacular soundtracks nominated for the Academy Award for Braveheart and Apollo 13. The thrilling partying of Apollo 13 still evokes the heroism and sacrifice of astronauts for moviegoers.
4-Braveheart (1995)
Braveheart tells the story of William Wallace’s quest to overthrow British rule of Scotland. Horner’s music is full of traditional Celtic and Scottish tunes paired with modern orchestra. In this sense, the subject of the film and the music are wonderfully compatible with each other. Horner’s music album became an international hit all over the world and still continues to sell significantly.
5-Titanic (1997)
The soundtrack to the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, composed by James Horner, played an important role in the film’s extraordinary success. Like the film itself, its music combines traditional storytelling with some modern elements. The Titanic soundtrack won Horner two Oscars, Best Composition and Best Song (Celine Dion’s hit my Heart Will Go On). The soundtrack’s CD sold 26 million copies, making Horner the best-selling contemporary composer on the album.
6-A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Horner reunited with director Ron Howard for the critically acclaimed and popular film. Wanting to make an impressive soundtrack, Horner resorted to the voice of Charlotte Church, one of the phenomena of that time, to contribute to beautiful voice-over and a poignant ending. The amazing music that followed managed to reflect the intense intensity of emotion of the film very well.
7-Troy (2004)
Troy’s music appeared at the end of an extremely complex process. A different composer was going to do the soundtrack at first. However, horner was consulted because his work was not appreciated. Ignoring the limited time, Horner managed to complete the music of the film Troy in just nine days. The resulting masterpiece is almost a testament to the composer’s talent. “Remember Me”, performed by Josh Groban in the latest credits, is one of the songs you should listen to.
8-Avatar (2009)
For his sci-fi epic Avatar, James ‘Titanic’ Cameron returned once again to Horner to provide the score, telling the composer that he must refuse all other work during the period that the film was being made. Horner spent his time collaborating on creating an alien language for the Na’vi race, which was put to use in the choral parts of the score. He also even invented new percussion instruments to create a unique native music for the moon Pandora. It’s not the catchiest score but it’s monumental nonetheless – and Horner certainly threw in everything he has learned in 20 years at the top of his game.
9-Cocoon (1985)
Cocoon marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between Horner and director Ron Howard. Having scored two Star Trek movies, as well as Aliens and Brainstorm, Horner was the natural first-choice sci-fi composer for Howard to go to for this heart-warming tale about elderly people revitalized after swimming in a pool containing alien cocoons. It’s an unashamedly romantic score which serves the picture very well and gives the tear ducts a good work-out
