Your Pick of the Week: Ennio Morricone

Raymond Walker5 said:I mean, I could—but the guy already gave plenty of space to those early Elton John tracks, and all that stuff from Songs from the West Coast onwards—which is also top-tier—got totally overlooked. Honestly, I'm a fan of his whole run, so I don't really have issues even with his weaker eras.
If I were actually running a poll on his music, maybe I’d focus on the non-singles that actually deserve some love, but... we'll see. It needs to be handled right. Though, if we usually get to hear pretty much the entire Nirvana discography in one poll, I'm certain Elton has albums that could easily be featured in their entirety too.

That's why I'm saying we should pick a specific selection—my first thought was just starting with the most high-quality stuff. The man probably has 150 killer songs that never even made it to the radio.

And yeah, my favorites in order: Tumbleweed Connection, (especially) Madman Across The Water, Honky Chateau, Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy... (what a GENIUS record) and a few others could make the cut.

Just saying—it doesn't have to happen.

Dennis Hall41 said:That’s exactly why I suggested doing some kind of selection process first; my initial thought was to start with the phase where the quality density is highest. The man probably has about 150 incredible tracks that never even became hits.

And yeah, if we're talking favorites, my top albums would go in this order: Tumbleweed Connection, (especially) Madman Across the Water, Honky Chateau, Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy... (which is such a GENIUS record), and a few others could easily slide into the list.

I'm just saying, it doesn't have to happen right away.

And then there's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'... arguably the greatest pop-rock album ever made, which its massive popularity definitely proves. I'm a huge fan, including those three solo albums from the 90s that are way too underrated. I'll give it some thought, but there's no rush. Since the Elton John poll already happened, it might be a while before we see another one.

Raymond Walker5 said:And then there's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'... probably the best pop-rock album ever made, and its popularity pretty much proves it. I'm a huge fan—especially those three solo albums from the 90s that get way too little credit. I'll give it some thought, but no rush. The Elton John poll already happened, so it might be a while before we see another one.

People always seem to overlook 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' when they're putting together lists of the greatest double albums—and even if there are two or three tracks that don't quite hit for me, it definitely doesn't deserve to be ignored. It just gets passed over for those same old double albums that critics love to put on a pedestal—you know, overrated stuff like 'London Calling' or even more overrated like 'Electric Ladyland'—usually pushed to the top by critics who think the original 'Ramones' record is the peak of sophistication.

Anyway, we're totally off-topic now.

Gonna go listen to some Ennio Morricone.

The focus here should be onPoverty, one of my absolute favorite themes.

I had to cast my vote for the majority of Leonov's films; at the end of the day, he really knew how to leverage Ennio Morricone's talent. I honestly think both Once Upon a Time soundtracks are among the best ever made.

Tracks like Jill's Theme, Deborah's Theme, or Gabriel's Oboe are some of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed. Playing Love is just stunning, too.

And the soundtrack from Le Professionnel is legendary—just top-tier stuff.

Ennio Morricone truly understood the craft. He could dial up the drama like he did with Man with a Harmonica or Ecstasy of Gold, create pure terror like in The Thing, or write something lighthearted. He could do it all.

Most of these I already knew from various lists, but I recently stumbled upon the great Moscow Farewell 👍

vivideagle7 said:We really ought to includePoverty, it's one of my absolute favorites.

I found myself voting for the majority of the scores from the Leone era; after all, he truly had an unmatched knack for utilizing Ennio's music. I personally consider both Once Upon a Time soundtracks to be some of the finest ever composed.

Tracks like Jill's Theme, Deborah's Theme, or Gabriel's Oboe are just some of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. Playing Love is equally stunning.

The score for Le Professionnel is also fantastic and quite iconic.

Ennio really knew his stuff—whether it was building intense drama like with the Man with a Harmonica or Ecstasy of Gold, creating pure terror like in The Thing, or even composing something lighthearted, he could do it all.

Most of these I already knew from various lists, though I did recently discover the wonderful Moscow Farewell. 👍

I probably wouldn't have even included "Playing Love" if you hadn't reminded me about it the other day. I chose that specific movie clip because it’s such a touching scene.
As for "Poverty," I agree it's an incredible track, but I didn't want to lean too heavily on the most famous scores that people mostly recognize because of the blockbuster films they belong to. That said, I have to admit the collaboration between Ennio and Leone was nothing short of magical. Leone gave him so much creative breathing room and emphasized the music itself, making the score an inseparable part of the cinematic experience. Instead of Ennio just scoring existing scenes, Leone would actually film the scenes to match the music (take Once Upon a Time in the West, for example). I honestly don't think we've seen anything quite like that in film history.

"Moscow Farewell" is one of those many gorgeous, moody, heavy, and melancholic tracks of his that I absolutely adore.

On another note, "Suona L'aromica" isn't just one of my favorite recent works of his; I think the entire Il Cuore Nel Pozzo album is likely his best work in the last 30 years.
It's interesting because that particular film was politically staged by right-wing groups in the US, dealing with historical tensions and controversies, and I remember everyone being quite upset with the movie because it was historically distorted in so many ways.
Regardless, the soundtrack as a whole is indescribably beautiful.

I just had this wonderful idea that I wanted to share with you all. I was thinking it might be really special to curate a collection of scenes featuring some of the most iconic cinematic moments ever set to the music of Ennio Morricone.

This might honestly be one of the most heartbreaking scenes I've ever watched. Beyond that, there’s just something about the way this film handles certain themes that makes it stand out as a truly exceptional piece of cinema.
The final scene of Casualties of War... man, that one always sticks with you. It’s such a heavy, haunting way to wrap things up.
The synchronization here is a bit off, but at least the scene and the music stay consistent until the very end.
From what I recall, the film was actually inspired by a true story.

The scene featuring Deborah from *Once Upon a Time in the West*.

Once Upon a Time in the Wild West — Jill's arrival at the station.

Once Upon a Time in the Wild West — the final showdown.

Quentin Tarantino has definitely had some brilliant moments when it comes to using Ennio Morricone's music.
I was just revisiting the soundtrack for *Inglourious Basterds*—specifically that track "Meeting with Daughter"—and I found myself completely lost in it again. There’s something about how Ennio Morricone’s influence seems to bleed into almost everything, even when you're looking at modern pieces inspired by his style. It’s such a hauntingly beautiful composition. It reminds me of those quiet, late nights back in my college days in Seattle, just sitting by the window with some coffee, letting the music fill the room while the rain tapped against the glass. It has this incredible way of pulling you into a different headspace entirely. Just pure, cinematic magic. It’s actually based on a track from a classic Western score. About twenty years later, a much longer version of that piece was used under the title "Mountains"—if I recall correctly—in that Italian series *Secret of the Sahara* they used to broadcast here back in the late eighties.

Inglourious Basterds—that incredible romance between Shossane and Zollera... there’s a bit of killing involved, obviously, but hey, that’s just Tarantino for you.

Kill Bill

This scene feels a little bit over the top, doesn't it? I remember watching that Italian mafia series when I was just a kid, and man, I was absolutely floored when they went ahead and riddled the main hero with bullets. It felt so raw—completely anti-Hollywood in the best way possible.

Good, Bad, and Ugly—that iconic graveyard standoff scene. A total classic!

I would like to propose a poll so we can decide who we should cover next and in what order; otherwise, I fear someone will inevitably start complaining about the lack of ABBA or other artists. 😉

Rebecca Flores33 said:I was thinking it might be a good idea to throw out a little poll so we can decide who we’re tackling next and what the order should look like. I’d love to get everyone's input on this, because if we don't plan ahead, I know we'll end up with someone complaining again that we skipped over ABBA or some other artist. Let's settle it now so we're all on the same page! 😉

I’ve already got everything squared away for next week, so we're more or less good to go.
If anyone is feeling like they need some ABBA to get through the week, please speak up now before someone else decides to request something completely different! 😁
I think there might be some ABBA on the schedule somewhere around the summer of 2019.

Raymond Walker5 said:Thanks for letting me know.
If I don't end up getting moderator status, I'll just have to manage these polls manually on the forum myself. It’s a bit more work, but it still gets the job done perfectly well.
I'll make sure to place the hyperlinks right under the poll, just like I do now, to ensure everyone can navigate things easily.

Since I'm already sending you all the info via DM, why don't you just send me whatever instructions or formats you need for the polls? 🥳

I'll get this one sorted out later today; I'm feeling a little too relaxed to tackle it right this second.

Donna Castillo38 said:Since I'm sending you the code blocks in my messages, you can just send me whatever you need and tell me exactly how you want them placed in the polls 🥳

I'll get this one sorted out later today; I'm just not really feeling up to it right now.

All those links I included in my second or third post... basically, when you're editing, you can see how it looks, so they should just be copied into the correct spots following that specific order. Honestly, I wish I had that option myself because it would make things so much easier, but if you're willing to handle it, please feel free. Thanks.
But then a new poll will come up, and what happens then? I'll post it, and the poll inside will be back to the old format, meaning someone else will have to step in and fix it all over again.

Raymond Walker5 said:All those links I included in my second or third post... they're just there so you can see how it looks while editing, so you really just need to copy them over to the right spots in that specific order. Honestly, I wish I had that option myself since it would make things so much easier, but if you're up for doing it, please feel free. Thanks.
But then a new poll will come up, and what happens then? If I post it, the poll gets stuck in the old format again, and someone else will end up having to fix it all over again.

And then what? I'll just edit it again and again; it's really no big deal, honestly, it only takes me a few minutes of work. 👍

Donna Castillo38 said:So what? I’ll just go back in and edit it again and again. It’s honestly no big deal—just takes me a few extra minutes of work. 👍

Alright, sounds like a plan! We'll just hang tight until this one gets updated. 🙂

So, here’s a scene for you. Honestly, I’ve always found
Yesterday
byThe Beatles
to be a bit much—kind of an irritating track if you ask me—butEnnioCockey's Theme.

completely transforms it into something brilliant with this version. It’s preceded by that absolute masterpiece,

I honestly don't recall that specific track being in the movie, though I watched it quite a while ago. It’s such a shame they haven't included it on any of the official soundtracks.

Morricone is a genius, but my heart belongs to Chi Mai and Deborah's Theme; I didn't bother voting for any of the others, mostly because why even bother when you want to keep the whole point of a poll from losing its meaning?

A huge thanks to Snow White for getting all those links sorted out. I just went through and double-checked them, and everything is working perfectly.

Sam Watson said:Morricone is a total genius, but my heart really belongs to Chi Mai and Deborah's Theme. I didn't want to vote for anyone else just to keep the integrity of the poll intact.

I’m right there with you—those two are easily among his absolute best. Chi Mai is an all-time classic, and honestly, Deborah's Theme might even be my number one Morricone piece, if not my favorite score overall.
That being said, I couldn't bring myself to vote for anything less than the maximum amount allowed here. There's just way too much pure sonic bliss to choose from.

I think we have to acknowledge that there’s a bit of a catch here: the massive popularity of a film naturally drives up the fame of its soundtrack and specific songs, which inevitably skews the results of a poll like this. It creates a bit of a feedback loop. When you look at Leone’s work, his films are legendary, and that prestige carries over directly to the music he composed for major American productions—think along the lines of *The Mission*, *Lolita*, or *Casualties of War*. On the flip side, there are hundreds upon hundreds of movies out there that have been completely forgotten by time. Most of them were either niche international productions or just films of questionable quality where the score actually ended up being much better than the movie itself. In those cases, the music lives on quite a bit longer than the celluloid it was written for.
One perfect example of music truly standing on its own two feet—even when the film itself has faded into relative obscurity—is...MagdalenaBack in 1971, we saw the debut of that legendary "Chi Mai" track—you know, the one that just hits different—and even its... That’s a pretty interesting alternative version..
It eventually gained quite a bit of traction thanks to some catchy commercials and that one TV series...I was just revisiting *The Life and Times of David Lloyd George* recently, and it really got me thinking about how certain narratives just age so gracefully. There’s a specific weight to it that you don't always find in modern cinema. I remember sitting in a small cafe back in Seattle, nursing a lukewarm latte and getting lost in those pages—it’s one of those rare pieces that stays with you long after you've finished. It has this incredible ability to pull you into its world, much like how a great piece of music can completely shift your mood. Just a quiet, thoughtful experience that I found myself returning to quite often.Back in 1981.
I believe that version first surfaced back in 1981—if I recall correctly, it was that extended cut where you get to hear that richer, more layered harmony perfectly weaving its way through the composition.
Back in 1981, during the production of *Le Professionnel*, there was actually a bit of a creative tug-of-war happening behind the scenes. Jean-Paul Belmondo was quite insistent that he wanted "Chi Mai" to be featured in the film. It was an interesting request because Morricone had already composed "Le Vent, Le Cri," which carries a very similar musical DNA and fits the mood perfectly. Despite that stylistic overlap, both tracks ended up making the final cut. I remember thinking how much that decision shaped the emotional weight of the movie; it’s funny how a single actor's intuition can change the entire texture of a soundtrack.
The "Come Maddalena" piece actually stems from that same "Magdalena" film.

It’s actually quite fascinating when you dig into the history of "Deborah's Theme." Believe it or not, the piece was originally composed all the way back in 1970, but it sat on the shelf unused for years. It wasn't until 1984 that it finally found its home in *Once Upon a Time in America*. Even then, I heard that Leone was pretty hesitant to go with it at first—apparently, the melody hit too close to home because it reminded him so much of the main theme from *Once Upon a Time in the Wild West*.
It really would be such a shame if a piece of music that beautiful just slipped through the cracks unnoticed, or worse, ended up sitting on a shelf never to be released at all.

Looking back at Ennio's incredible career, there is such an extensive collection of brilliant soundtracks and individual tracks out there—most of them hidden away in films and series that the general public hasn't even heard of. I decided to pick just a tiny handful of them to add to this list, mostly because I’d love for more people to finally discover this kind of magic.
I honestly believe you have to listen to every single one of his scores from start to finish. There’s just something about how he works; what starts out as a simple, quiet melody at the beginning often evolves into these incredibly complex, multi-layered themes that head off in completely unexpected directions. It’s all about that progression.
To truly grasp the sheer scale of his influence, that raw talent, and how incredibly versatile he was, you really need to sit down and listen to a much wider selection of his soundtracks. It’s one thing to know the hits, but it's another thing entirely to dive into the depth of his work.

There’s this rather silly little anecdote floating around regarding the score he composed for that Italian series...Marco PoloI have this vague memory of seeing that film playing on TV back in the early '80s, though I can't say for certain. Regardless, there actually is a double CD release of that soundtrack out there. The catch is that some of the tracks sound pretty rough—apparently, a lot of the original master tapes were ruined by moisture or some kind of flooding, and the audio quality just couldn't be salvaged.

It’s honestly such a joy to look back at that entire run of brilliant soundtracks from the 1960s. They were just so incredibly sharp—equal parts masterful, witty, and even a little bit experimental. It’s the kind of era where you could really feel the composers pushing boundaries while still keeping things catchy.MalamondoI was just listening to this incredible soundtrack composed specifically for a documentary. It’s truly something special.

It’s a bit of a shame, really, but looking back at his work throughout the 1990s, the scores he composed for American films felt like they took a sudden dip into mediocrity—some were even quite poor. I’ve often wondered why that was. Perhaps it was because he started dedicating more energy to his independent projects, but I can't help feeling that most of those Hollywood productions just didn't spark the same level of inspiration in him as an Italian project might have. Since the turn of the millennium, things seem to have picked up again, though he certainly doesn't score much for American cinema these days compared to what he used to do.

I honestly can't even pick one over the other... choosing between them is impossible, what kind of lunatic asks that? 🙏

I honestly feel like we could keep this going for another week, just pulling from the next fifty entries on Morricone's top 50 list without breaking a sweat.
Right now, we’ve got 50 picks covering 41 different movies and shows... but considering he scored over 500 projects, this is really just a drop in the bucket.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that a huge chunk of the music he composed for cinema never even made its way onto an official soundtrack release.