Epic films are larger than life. They project into the movie screens with an aura of greatness what the human spirit is able to aspire to, and what it can ultimately is able to endure.
“As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!” (Gone with the Wind, 1939)
Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler turbulent love affair during the Civil War and Reconstruction is the most successful film in box-office history. Max Steiner’s haunting and spectacular “Tara’s Theme” is a true musical treasure, and one of the most famous melodies in film history. The score for which “the father of film music” is possibly best known, led to the conversion of many skeptics. The film producer David O. Selznick, who has previously been opposed to original film scores, turned into a true believer, as revealed by his well-known comment “really fine musicians are recognizing that scoring is a new form of musical art.”
“May God grant me vengeance, I pray that you live till I return” (Ben-Hur, 1959)
Miklos Rozsa blessed the ultimate Biblical epic with a powerful, magnificent, and glorious score. “Circus Parade (Parade Of The Charioteers)” during the chariot race is not only the climax of this blockbuster film, but also possibly the pinnacle of all epic film music. Watching this movie in the big screen is one of my childhood’s treasured cinematic memories.
“He was a poet, a scholar and a mighty warrior…He was also the most shameless exhibitionist since Barnum & Bailey” (Lawrence Of Arabia, 1962)
Maurice Jarre’s evocative, majestic and breathtaking score is a film and musical composition masterpiece. The sweeping, romantic, and exotic overture is epic on a grand scale. The melodic music mesmerizes you like the incredible power and vastness of the Arabian Desert.
“Now take back the soul of Denys George Finch Hatton, whom You have shared with us. He brought us joy…we loved him well. He was not ours. He was not mine.” (Out Of Africa, 1985)
The inspiring, lavish, and all-encompassing music for this epic romantic drama film is one of the most memorable scores ever written. “Main Title (I Had A Farm In Africa)” is stunningly beautiful with gloomy undertones that are somehow emotionally over-whelming. Only a very skillful master like John Barry could conjure in melody the fundamental nature of Denys and Karen’s relationship. The composer of Somewhere in Time (1980) and Born Free (1966) had an incredible gift to transport us to other times, and to melodically depict the astounding African scenery “at the foot of the Ngong Hills.”
“So, your Holiness, now your priests are dead, and I am left alive. But in truth it is I who am dead, and they who live. For as always, your Holiness, the spirit of the dead will survive in the memory of the living.” (The Mission, 1986)
The film portrays the moral and spiritual conflicts faced by Jesuit priests converting natives of South America into Christianity, as they are confronted with the need to conform to Portuguese and Spanish politics of colonization and slavery. The natural beauties of the Iguazu pierced by a crucified priest flowing down the falls. The ugliness of human sin and suffering transformed through religious penance into the beauty of liberation. A slave trader reading about charity and pure love in Corinthians Chapter 13, right before choosing to take up priesthood. Robert Bolt (a former Marxist) deciding to write the script of a stirring religious movie. An inspired Ennio Morricone producing exquisite acoustic splendor through violin and oboe. As Cardinal Altamirano, one has to see the hand of God in all these labors of love.
Although some may argued that the golden era of epic films has passed, I believed that as long as humans can hope, dream and love new epic masterpieces will continue to be forged. Don’t despair; new epic musical works of genius will continue to reach our ears and our hearts for years to come.
Notable Epic Film Scores
Captain Blood (1935) – Erich Wolfgang Korngold
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) – Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Alexander Nevsky (1938) – Sergei Prokofiev
Gone with the Wind (1939) – Max Steiner
Henry V (1944) – William Walton
Ivan the Terrible (1944) – Sergei Prokofiev
Captain from Castile (1947) – Alfred Newman
Samson and Delilah (1949) – Victor Young
Quo Vadis (1951) – Miklós Rózsa
Ivanhoe (1952) – Miklós Rózsa
The Robe (1953) – Alfred Newman
Prince Valiant (1954) – Franz Waxman
The Ten Commandments (1956) – Elmer Bernstein
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) – Malcolm Arnold
Ben-Hur (1959) – Miklós Rózsa
Spartacus (1960) – Alex North
King of Kings (1961) – Miklós Rózsa
El Cid (1961) – Miklós Rózsa
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – Maurice Jarre
Taras Bulba (1962) – Franz Waxman
Cleopatra (1963) – Alex North
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) – Dimitri Tiomkin
Becket (1964 film) – Laurence Rosenthal
Lord Jim (1965) – Bronislau Kaper
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) – Alfred Newman
Doctor Zhivago (1965) – Maurice Jarre
A Man For All Seasons (1966) – Georges de la Rue
War and Peace (1966) – Nino Rota
The Lion in the Winter (1968) – John Barry
Ryan’s Daughter (1970) – Maurice Jarre
Papillon (1973) – Jerry Goldsmith
The Wind and the Lion (1973) – Jerry Goldsmith
Barry Lyndon (1975) – “Sarabande” from Suite in D minor (HWV 437) by George Frideric Handel
Gandhi (1982) – George Fenton, Ravi Shankar
A Passage To India (1984) – Maurice Jarre
Out of Africa (1985) – John Barry
Henry V (1989) – Patrick Doyle
1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) – Vangelis
Braveheart (1995) – James Horner
The English Patient (1996) – Gabriel Yared
Titanic (1997) – James Horner
Joan of Arc (1999) – Éric Serra
The 13th Warrior (1999) – Jerry Goldsmith “”Valhalla”
Gladiator (2000) – Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard
The Passion of The Christ (2004) – John Debney
Troy (2004) – James Horner (replacement score) / Gabriel Jarred (rejected score)
Alexander (2004) – Vangelis
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) – Harry Gregson-Williams
The Painted Veil (2006) – Alexandre Desplat
Tristan & Isolde (2006) – Anne Dudley
Atonement (2008) – Dario Marianelli
Australia (2008) – David Hirschfelder