“I’ve always felt that music is more expressive than dialogue. I’ve always said that my best dialogue and screenwriter is Ennio Morricone.”
– Sergio Leone, Once Upon A Time In America
In a career spanning more than sixty years, Italian musician and composer, Ennio Morricone became one of the most prominent and influential film artists of the twentieth century. Morricone’s early collaborations with filmmaker Sergio Leone would define the Italian Spaghetti western and redefine the sonic textures associated with the western genre. Morricone would serve a significant role in facilitating the transition from classical to modern cinema by implementing post-war avant-garde musical techniques to composing for the screen and embracing an aesthetics of impermanence.
On the sixth of July earlier this year, Morricone passed away at the age of 91 with his self-authored obituary reading, “I, Ennio Morricone, am dead!”. In the spirit of Morricone’s many musical “selves”, this compilation samples from the varied discography of film scores with each piece accompanied by individual reflections which consider Morricone’s artistic practice and work in terms of their own personal sphere.
[00:00] Zach Betonte – “Romanzo”
[10:10] Marq Lativ – “Ennio Morricone”
[12:53] Zach Betonte – “A Fistful of Dollars (Titoli)” / “Indagine Su Un Cittadino Al Di Sopra Di Ogni Sospetto (Titoli)” / “Poverty”
[27:56] Zach Layton – “Metti, Una Sera a Cena”
[35:28] C.J. Lines – “A Flower is All You Need”
[43:39] Alexandra Heller-Nicholas – “La Sindrome Di Stendhal”
[47:57] Jim Laczkowski – “Sole Sulle Pelle”
[55:35] Psycho Gnostic – “Magic & Ecstasy”
[01:01:54] Hainbach – “Humanity Part 1”
[01:11:02] Christopher Funderburg – “Recreazione Divertita”
[01:22:59] KHLOARIS – “Diabolik #2”
[01:29:44] Gabe Powers – “Run, Man, Run”
[01:35:27] Robert Reineke – “The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Titoli)”
[01:39:43] John Cribbs – “José Dolores”
[01:45:00] Gary Sargenson – “Harvest”
[01:50:16] Dr. Russ Hunter – “Cinema Paradiso (Titoli)”
[01:57:39] Simone Barros – “Gabriel’s Obe” / “Vita Nostra”
[02:19:15] Zach Betonte – “Once Upon a Time in the West (Finale)”
Watch below:
Film Jive 