His music has rocked many moviegoers around the world and across generations. Ennio Morricone, one of the most famous composers of film music, died on the night of Sunday to Monday, at the age of 91. His immense work was recognized by an Honorary Oscar in 2007, before he finally won the precise statuette for best film music for Les Huit salopards, in 2016, after five unsuccessful nominations. Among the thousands of melodies composed by Ennio Morricone, some have earned their place in posterity. Selection.
The good, the bad and the ugly
What would Sergio Leone's westerns be without the music of Ennio Morricone? The performances of Clint Eastwood (the Good), Lee Van Cleef (The Brute) and Eli Wallach (The Ugly), would they have had the same force without the brilliant music of the Italian composer? Difficult to say, but one thing is certain: the Soundtrack of the Good the Bad and the Ugly has undoubtedly participated in inscribing the work in the pantheon of world cinema. The central theme of the film is famous, as is L'estasi dell'oro, which illustrates one of the final scenes.
The Professional (Chi Mai)
Contrary to what one might think, Ennio Morricone did not compose Chi Mai for Le Professionnel. While music was born in 1971, Georges Lautner's film with Jean-Paul Belmondo only came out in 1981. In France, the success was dazzling, with 900,000 copies of the melody sold in 1981 -1982. The Royal Canin advertisements in the 1980s (and the parody of Dummies a few years later) completed placing the melody in the collective imagination.
Once upon a Time in the West
Another western, still signed Sergio Leone, of which Ennio Morricone was a classmate. Again, the theme of the harmonica is omnipresent in the film, and contributes to its success. The primary melody, composed of only two notes repeated in a nagging manner, is inspired by the agony of the father of the hero, hanged with a harmonica in his mouth.