Movie Music U.K. Music Awards 2000
Unlike other score awards on the Internet, the Movie Music UK Score Awards are limited to those films which have opened in the UK between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2000- meaning that scores for films which opened in the USA in 1999 (such as Sleepy Hollow, Angela's Ashes, Bicentennial Man, American Beauty, The End of the Affair, Toy Story 2, The Talented Mr Ripley, The Green Mile, The Cider House Rules, Magnolia, The Hurricane, The Insider etc.) but did not reach the UK until 2000 are eligible for this year's awards. Similarly, scores for films which have opened in the USA but had not played in theatres in Britain before the closing date (such as Quills, Unbreakable, Chocolat, Castaway, Thirteen Days, Pay It Forward, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Bounce, Maléna, Vertical Limit, Bless the Child, The Gift, All the Pretty Horses etc.) are not eligible for the 2000 awards, and will be included in next year's list. For a full list of eligible films, please see the list at the bottom of this page.


SCORE OF THE YEAR

Contrary to popular consensus, I thought 2000 was actually a pretty good year for film music, with twenty or so top-notch scores emerging from the Hollywood studio system and beyond - and from surprising sources. Top of the pile this year is James Newton Howard's Dinosaur, a massive, epic fantasy score that has finally confirmed the suspicion I have had for a long time: that, when he puts his mind to it, JNH can write a theme that ranks with the best of them. With sweeping themes, vibrant African percussion and voices, and several rousing action cues, Howard's Disney extravaganza made the biggest impression on me of all the scores of the new Millennium. The other four are all equal second across the board, each one a superb work in its own right. Goldenthal's Titus was easily 2000's most challenging score, and the best "as heard in the film", combining soulful orchestral tones with contemporary jazz. Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell combined again on Chicken Run, easily the most fun score of 2000, and certainly the winner of the "best use of kazoos" award. The Hungarian epic Sunshine saw the return of Maurice Jarre to the top of his game, writing a classically beautiful score that featured some of the year's best choral writing, while Wojciech Kilar's Polish period piece Pan Tadeusz proved once and for all that he is much more than just a horror composer.


COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

Wojciech Kilar?? Yes, my choice for the best composer of the last year is the underrated Pole, who astounded me with two sensational pieces of music this year - Roman Polanski's eerie Gothic thrillerThe Ninth Gate and the stunning Polish-language costume drama Pan Tadeusz. Both five-star works in their own right, and proof beyond doubt that Kilar is one of the great undiscovered talents of the film music world, whose work is always associated with the horror and thriller genres, but who is capable of writing stellar scores in a wide variety of styles and genres. James Newton Howard had a year to remember, with five high profile scores ranging from the quiet and introspective Snow Falling on Cedars to the light and jazzy Mumford and the dark and brooding Unbreakable - and of course Dinosaur. However, I didn't feel JNH's work throughout the year maintained a totally high standard, hence his finishing in second place. Both Jarre and Goldenthal make the list on the strength of their work on Sunshine and Titus respectively, while bringing up the rear is my old favourite James Horner who, with The Perfect Storm, The Grinch, and the TV movie Freedom Song, contributed three vastly different scores highlighting his versatility and continuing popularity. Composers who nearly made the list included Hans Zimmer, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, John Williams, Rachel Portman and Danny Elfman.


NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Joe Kraemer is going to be big one day. His breakout score, for the dark crime caper The Way of the Gun was easily the most impressive debut of 2000. A tough, no-nonsense combination of traditional (if low-key) orchestral fare, topped off by a super-cool Spanish guitar and a massive set of drums that are almost Morricone-esque in the performance. Having worked with John Ottman previously, and having secured his first high-profile movie, I'm sure we'll be hearing much more from the New Englander. Jon Brion's minimalist score for Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling character study Magnolia was also well received by the film music world, mixing seamlessly with singer/songwriter Aimee Mann's idiosyncratic vocal style. Stuart Matthewman's debut work on the strangely moving conjoined twins movie Twin Falls Idaho generated quite a lot of positive publicity, as did Ralph Schuckett's work for the two Pokémon movies, both of which contained scores far better than the mind-numbing animated fare it accompanied. British composer Nigel Clarke contributed a memorable first score to the children's comedy/horror The Little Vampire, of which I was fortunate enough to acquire a composer promo, and which I can assure you is very good indeed. Other composers who left a positive first impression included Blur front man Damon Albarn, David Julyan, Danny Pelfrey and Brian Tyler .


BEST SCORE - DRAMA OR ROMANTIC DRAMA

As a film-going experience, Julie Taymor's Titus left the biggest impression on me during the year, rendering me totally speechless upon its conclusion. Elliot Goldenthal's score is a perfect example of what happens when a visionary director collaborates with an unconventional composer, and gives him room for expression. The massive action sequences, powerful Latin texts, moving string elegies and bubbling jazz were nothing short of groundbreaking. I didn't see Sunshine, but Jarre's sweeping combination of orchestra and chorus was a definite highlight on CD. The other three scores are all for 1999 movies that opened late - John Williams's Angela's Ashes features one of his usual, classically beautiful themes, but this time backed it up with a gut wrenching underscore that lamented for the poor of Ireland. Rachel Portman revisited her familiar thematic territory in The Cider House Rules, while Chris Young combined his heartbreaking string themes with a great deal of contemporary jazz that worked perfectly in illustrating the duality of Rubin Carter, a championship boxer accused of murder in The Hurricane.

Special mentions should also go to: EDWARD ARTEMYEV for The Barber of Siberia, ANGELO BADALAMENTI for The Beach and Holy Smoke, ELMER BERNSTEIN for Bringing Out the Dead, JON BRION for Magnolia, MYCHAEL DANNA for Girl Interrupted, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The Luzhin Defence, PINO DONAGGIO for Up at the Villa, STEPHEN ENDELMAN for The Proposition, MICHAEL KAMEN for Frequency, ANDREA MORRICONE for Liberty Heights, THOMAS NEWMAN for American Beauty and The Green Mile, LENNIE NIEHAUS for Space Cowboys, MICHAEL NYMAN for Wonderland and The End of the Affair, WILLIAM ROSS for My Dog Skip, MARC SHAIMAN for Simon Birch and CHRISTOPHER YOUNG for Wonder Boys.


BEST SCORE - COMEDY OR ROMANTIC COMEDY

David Newman swept away the field in the comedy score stakes this year, with his work on the fantastic science fiction spoof Galaxy Quest emerging with top honours. An eminently whistleable main theme, exciting action and beautiful spacey textures combined to make a winning formula, which was sadly only released as a limited-edition promotional release by Supertracks. Beaten into second place was James Horner and his magical work on the festive favourite How The Grinch Stole Christmas. With a magical theme at its core, the only drawback was the fact that there was so little of it on the album. Rolfe Kent impressed greatly with his sweet road movie score for Nurse Betty, a wry black comedy about a woman who mistakes a daytime soap opera for real life. Danny Elfman was back writing in the manner that endeared him to so many in the early 1990s with Family Man, a Capra-esque "what if" movie that sees slick businessman Nicolas Cage transported into the life he would have had, had he made different decisions at crucial points. Alan Silvestri's score for Stuart Little was confined to just two short tracks on a song compilation album, but was of sufficient quality "as heard in the film" to warrant a mention - a superbly entertaining combination of innocent, family oriented string themes and Leonard Bernstein-style New York jazz.

Special mentions should also go to: LESLEY BARBER for Mansfield Park, ELMER BERNSTEIN for Keeping the Faith, CARTER BURWELL for Being John Malkovich, JOHN DEBNEY for Relative Values, PATRICK DOYLE for Love's Labour's Lost, HUMMIE MANN for Thomas and the Magic Railroad, DAVID NEWMAN for Bedazzled, RANDY NEWMAN for Meet the Parents and GRAEME REVELL for Three to Tango.


BEST SCORE - ANIMATION

It's been one of the best years for a long time for animation, with two of the year's best overall scores emerging from the genre. Top of the pile here - again - is James Newton Howard's epic Dinosaur, followed closely by Harry Gregson Williams, John Powell and those plasticene fowl from Chicken Run. Newcomer Ralph Schuckett wrote a surprisingly effective and enjoyable orchestral score for the movie adults loved to hate in 2000 - Pokémon, while Randy Newman continued his successful stint as composer-in-residence at Pixar with Toy Story 2, his most effective contribution to which was a rollicking action cue for the prologue featuring Buzz Lightyear and the evil Emperor Zurg. Hans Zimmer was totally overshadowed by the presence of Elton John and Tim Rice on Dreamworks' summer movie The Road to El Dorado, but still managed to make himself heard through the egos with a series of vibrant Latino dances and spectacular action moments.

Special mentions should also go to: STEVE BARTEK for An Extremely Goofy Movie, ANDERS BERGLUND for Pippi Longstocking, ADAM BERRY for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for A Monkey's Tale, ANNE DUDLEY for The Miracle Maker, HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS for The Tigger Movie, LENNIE NIEHAUS for Pocahontas II: Journey To the New World, DANNY PELFREY for Joseph: King of Dreams.


BEST SCORE - THRILLER, ACTION OR ADVENTURE

James Horner's opus of 2000 was undoubtedly The Perfect Storm, a rousing seafaring epic written for the true story of six Maine fishermen lost at sea when the worst storm in history collides with their tiny boat. Creative dissonance, lean and muscular action, and two beautifully realised theme dominate the score, which was presented in a beautiful package by Sony Classical. Horner just nudges out the unstoppable combination of Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard and the box office blockbuster Gladiator. With Zimmer playing warmonger with the Holstian action cues, and Gerrard softening the blow with her ethereal vocals, Ridley Scott's roman epic boasted a score of great quality. Similarly The Patriot, with John Williams at the helm, features a marvellous Americana theme, this time backed up by a quality underscore with many affecting moments. The undervalued Indie composer John Cale wrote a magnificent string score for the controversial American Psycho, but still managed to have his contribution totally overlooked on a soundtrack album full of 80s pop songs and inane dialogue tracks. Howard Shore was in one of his rare thematic moods for the dark New York thriller The Yards, lending an operatic air of coolly detached beauty to the tragic story of a man trying to go straight, but who is brought down by circumstance.

Special mentions should also go to: CRAIG ARMSTRONG for The Bone Collector, DAVID ARNOLD for Shaft, CARTER BURWELL for Three Kings, RANDY EDELMAN for Shanghai Noon and The Skulls, LARRY GROUPE for Deterrence, MARK ISHAM for Rules of Engagement, RICHARD MARVIN for U-571, JAMES NEWTON HOWARD for Unbreakable, JOHN OTTMAN for Goodbye Lover and GABRIEL YARED for The Talented Mr Ripley


BEST SCORE - FANTASY, SCIENCE FICTION OR HORROR

Here's Wojciech again - Kilar continues his unparalleled success in 2000 with the score for Roman Polanski's dark demonic horror The Ninth Gate, the musical centrepiece of which was a heartbreaking, crystal clear operatic vocal performance by Korean soprano Sumi Jo. This, combined with devilish marches and an unexpectedly bouncy Bolero motif for the Johnny Depp character further illustrated the Pole's talents, and confirmed my suspicions that he is one of the most underrated and under-utilised composers working today. Contrary to popular consensus, I loved Ennio Morricone's contribution to Mission to Mars, a thinking man's space movie with an unconventionally lyrical score - and a church organ. Mark McKenzie's re-used some of Randy Edelman's original material, but still managed to contribute a beautiful new love theme to the straight-to-video sequel Dragonheart 2: A New Beginning, while much-delayed children's fantasy Tom's Midnight Garden saw the queen of English orchestral scoring Debbie Wiseman at her charming best. And then there's Danny Elfman, who was in full-on horror mode for Tim Burton's exciting Gothic version of the classic fairytale Sleepy Hollow. Action and chase sequences, deep and menacing themes and eerie atmospherics abounded, making it one of the best scores Elfman has penned in years.

Special mentions should also go to: MARCO BELTRAMI for Scream 3, NIGEL CLARKE for The Little Vampire, DON DAVIS for House on Haunted Hill, JERRY GOLDSMITH for Hollow Man, JAMES HORNER for Bicentennial Man, JAMES NEWTON HOWARD for Stir of Echoes, MICHAEL KAMEN for X-Men, KEVIN KINER for Wing Commander, HARALD KLOSER for The Thirteenth Floor, JOHN OTTMAN for Lake Placid and Urban Legends: Final Cut, GRAEME REVELL for Pitch Black and Red Planet, HOWARD SHORE for The Cell, and ALAN SILVESTRI for What Lies Beneath.


BEST SCORE - FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

It's been an astonishingly good year for Foreign Language scores in the UK, with Wojciech Kilar's sumptuous Pan Tadeusz emerging as the cream of the crop. The film was only screened twice, during the week of October 13th, but this was enough to secure its eligibility amongst this year's film and receive the recognition it so greatly deserves. Taiwanese composer Tan Dun's work on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon also marked one of 2000's high spots, a dream-like score combining gentle Asian tones with massive war-like drums, providing a perfect accompaniment to Ang Lee's martial art house masterpiece. In fact, the film music of the far East went through something of a purple patch in the year 2000, with Joe Hisaishi's Kikujiro and Zhao Jiping's The Emperor and the Assassin also leaving positive impressions. French composer Bruno Coulais won a César Award for his work on the Nepalese drama Himalaya, proving himself to be a worthy member of the European film music fraternity - and also impressed many with his work on the lavish French TV mini-series The Count of Monte Cristo.

Special mentions should also go to: PIERRE BACHELET for Children of the Marshland, ROQUE BAÑOS for Goya In Bordeaux, SAN BAO for Not One Less, JEAN-PIERRE COCCO for Rosetta, ANDRÉ DZIEZUK for Une Liaison Pornographique, PASCAL ESTÈVE for La Veuve De Saint-Pierre, ALBERTO IGLESIAS for Lovers of the Arctic Circle, KENJI KAWAI for The Ring, MARIANO MARIN for Open Your Eyes and DAVID WHITAKER for Harry: He's Here to Help. I feel I should also make special mention of the unstoppable ascendance of Bollywood movies in the UK over the last 12 months. Indian-produced films such as Mela, Pukar, Badal, Dulhan Hum La Jayenge, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Mohabbatein and Mission Kashmir have all featured in the upper echelons of the British cinema charts during 2000, and composers such as JATIN LALIT, ANU MALIK, A.R. RAHMAN, ILAYARAJA, ANAND RAAJ ANAND and HIMESH RESHAMMIYA have grown in popularity, so much so that it is not uncommon to see their soundtracks sitting in CD stores alongside the Williamses and Goldsmiths. Viva Bollywood!


BEST SCORE - TELEVISION

For the longest time, this award was heading for Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, but at the last minute Mark McKenzie sneaked in with arguably the finest score of his career to date, the Navajo Indian family drama The Lost Child. Beautifully sentimental, but with a touch of class, McKenzie knocked Gormenghast off its perch - a dense, Gothic, classical score for the lavish BBC costume drama about murder and corruption in a fantasy kingdom. Joel McNeely began his musical redemption with the music for the CBS historical biopic Sally Hemings: An American Scandal, an aristocratic piece with Gallic flair which was released by the Prometheus people as a limited edition. The prolific Patrick Williams had a commercial success, avoided the stereotypical clichés, and wrote fresh, vibrant, beautiful music writing the music for the Italian/American mini-series based on the life of Jesus, while Richard Harvey also impressed with his surprisingly action-packed score for the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie based on George Orwell's Animal Farm.

Special mentions should also go to: MARCO BELTRAMI for Tuesdays With Morrie, SIMON BOSWELL for Jason and the Argonauts, BRUNO COULAIS for The Count of Monte Cristo, ANNE DUDLEY for The 10th Kingdom and Donovan Quick, RICHARD HARVEY for Arabian Nights, CHRISTOPHER GORDON for On the Beach, JOHN LUNN for Madame Bovary, JOEL McNEELY for Santa Who, RANDY MILLER for Pirates of the Plain, BASIL POLEDOURIS for Kimberly COLIN TOWNS for A Dinner of Herbs, STEPHEN WARBECK for A Christmas Carol, ALAN WILLIAMS for Santa and Pete .


BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Special mentions should also go to: SAMUEL BARNES, BEYONCÉ KNOWLES, JEAN CLAUDE OLIVIER and COREY ROONEY for "Independent Woman Part I" from Charlie's Angels, GARTH BROOKS and JENNY YATES for "When You Come Back To Me Again" from Frequency, PETER BUCK, MIKE MILLS and MICHAEL STIPE for "The Great Beyond" from Man on the Moon, TAN DUN, JORGE CALANDRELLI and JAMES SCHAMUS for "A Love Before Time" from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, BOB DYLAN for "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys, JAMES HORNER and WILL JENNINGS for "Then You Look At Me" from Bicentennial Man, AIMEE MANN for "Save Me" from Magnolia, RANDY NEWMAN for "When Somebody Loves You" from Toy Story 2, WILLIAM ORBIT, SHAZNAY LEWIS and SUZANNE MELVOIN for "Pure Shores" from The Beach, ERIC SERRA and NOA for "My Heart Calling" from Joan of Arc, GRZEGORZ TURNAU and ALEKSANDER KESZEK MOCZULSKI for "Soplicowo" from Pan Tadeusz, DEBBIE WISEMAN and DON BLACK for "After Always" from Tom's Midnight Garden and CHRISTOPHER YOUNG for "I Will Rise Again" from The Hurricane.


BEST SINGLE CUE

Special mentions should also go to "The Battle" from Gladiator (Hans Zimmer), "The Fifth Heaven" from Red Planet (Graeme Revell), "The Patriot" from The Patriot (John Williams), "Song of Titus" from Gormenghast (Richard Rodney Bennett), "Swyatinia Dumania" from Pan Tadeusz (Wojciech Kilar), "Theme from Angela's Ashes" from Angela's Ashes (John Williams), "Victorious Titus" from Titus (Elliot Goldenthal), "Where?" from Mission to Mars (Ennio Morricone).


BEST RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING

Special mentions should also go to: AMANDA (Basil Poledouris/Prometheus), BORN FREE (John Barry/Frederic Talgorn/Varèse Sarabande), THE CHALLENGE (Jerry Goldsmith/Prometheus), FIRST BLOOD (Jerry Goldsmith/Varèse Sarabande), THE FLIM-FLAM MAN/A GIRL NAMED SOONER (Jerry Goldsmith/FSM), HAMMETT (John Barry/Prometheus), MARNIE (Bernard Herrmann/Joel McNeely/Varèse Sarabande), PEYTON PLACE (Franz Waxman/Frederic Talgorn/Varèse Sarabande) and WALKABOUT (John Barry/Nic Raine/Silva)


BEST COMPILATION


BEST UNRELEASED SCORE

Special mentions to: DAVID ARNOLD for Shaft, MARCO BELTRAMI for Tuesdays With Morrie, SIMON BOSWELL for Jason and the Argonauts, NIGEL CLARKE for The Little Vampire, HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS for The Tigger Movie, JOEL McNEELY for Santa Who, RANDY MILLER for Pirates of the Plain, DAVID NEWMAN for 102 Dalmatians, LENNIE NIEHAUS for Space Cowboys, GRAEME REVELL for Three to Tango and Pitch Black, SHIRLEY WALKER for Final Destination, STEPHEN WARBECK for Billy Elliot, ALAN WILLIAMS for Santa and Pete, CHRISTOPHER YOUNG for Wonder Boys and HANS ZIMMER for The Road to El Dorado.


COMPLETE LIST OF ELIGIBLE SCORES (AND THEIR COMPOSER)


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Movie Music U.K is designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton (c) 2000. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those the University of Sheffield. All photos and album artwork used on Movie Music U.K. are for non-profit making promotional purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.