Un-bearable: Ryuichi Sakamoto’s gorgeous score from “The Revenant” is not eligible for an Academy Award, but over 100 films’ scores are including such musical accomplishments as “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Ted 2.” The reason? Sakamoto’s work was intertwined with that of two other composers. So he’s out.
My favorite scores, other than Sakamoto’s, came from Howard Shore for “Spotlight” and Ennio Morricone’s “Hateful Eight.” Carter Burwell always impresses, and his music for “Carol” was haunting. Dhani Harrison, son of the late George Harrison, wrote a beautiful score with Paul Hicks for “Learning to Drive.” Daniel Pemberton’s music for the maligned “Steve Jobs” was also nomination worthy. If that helps, those are five good nominees, as well as Michael Giacchino, Alexandre Desplat, and Harry Gregson Williams. A lot of these composers are factories by now, churning out work for several moves a year. (Do a match game below.) Keep in mind that Morricone’s music is just for Tarantino. My favorite song? Diane Warren’s “Til it Happens to You” from “The Hunting Ground,” sung by Lady Gaga. Hands down.
Eligible:
“Adult Beginners,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“The Age of Adaline,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“Altered Minds,” Edmund Choi, composer
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“Anomalisa,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Ant-Man,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Beasts of No Nation,” Dan Romer, composer
“The Big Short,” Nicholas Britell, composer
“Black Mass,” Tom Holkenborg, composer
“Bridge of Spies,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Brooklyn,” Michael Brook, composer
“Burnt,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“By the Sea,” Gabriel Yared, composer
“Carol,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Cartel Land,” H. Scott Salinas and Jackson Greenberg, composers
“Chi-Raq,” Terence Blanchard, composer
“Cinderella,” Patrick Doyle, composer
“Coming Home,” Qigang Chen, composer
“Concussion,” James Newton Howard, composer
“Creed,” Ludwig Goransson, composer
“The Danish Girl,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“The Divergent Series: Insurgent,” Joseph Trapanese, composer
“Dukhtar,” Peter Nashel, composer
“The End of the Tour,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Everest,” Dario Marianelli, composer
“Ex Machina,” Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, composers
“Far from the Madding Crowd,” Craig Armstrong, composer
“Fifty Shades of Grey,” Danny Elfman, composer
“5 Flights Up,” David Newman, composer
“Frame by Frame,” Patrick Jonsson, composer
“Freedom,” James Lavino, composer
“Furious Seven,” Brian Tyler, composer
“The Good Dinosaur,” Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna, composers
“Goosebumps,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Grandma,” Joel P. West, composer
“The Hateful Eight,” Ennio Morricone, composer
“He Named Me Malala,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Hot Pursuit,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Hot Tub Time Machine 2,” Christophe Beck, composer
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2,” James Newton Howard, composer
“The Hunting Ground,” Miriam Cutler, composer
“I Smile Back,” Zack Ryan, composer
“I’ll See You in My Dreams,” Keegan DeWitt, composer
“In the Heart of the Sea,” Roque Baños, composer
“Inside Out,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“The Intern,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“It Follows,” Disasterpeace, composer
“Jalam,” Ouesppachan, composer
“Jurassic World,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet,” Gabriel Yared, composer
“Kingsman: The Secret Service,” Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson, composers
“Krampus,” Douglas Pipes, composer
“La Jaula de Oro,” Jacobo Lieberman and Leonardo Heiblum, composers
“The Lady in the Van,” George Fenton, composer
“The Last Witch Hunter,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
“Learning to Drive,” Dhani Harrison and Paul Hicks, composers
“Legend,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Little Accidents,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“The Longest Ride,” Mark Isham, composer
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Tom Holkenborg, composer
“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
“The Martian,” Harry Gregson-Williams, composer
“Max,” Trevor Rabin, composer
“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” John Paesano, composer
“Meru,” J. Ralph, composer
“Minions,” Heitor Pereira, composer
“Mr. Holmes,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Mistress America,” Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, composers
“My All American,” John Paesano, composer
“Nachom-ia Kumpasar,” Ronnie Monsorate, composer
“99 Homes,” Antony Partos and Matteo Zingales, composers
“Our Brand Is Crisis,” David Wingo, composer
“Pan,” John Powell, composer
“Paper Towns,” Son Lux, composer
“Paranoid Girls,” Javier del Santo, composer
“Pawn Sacrifice,” James Newton Howard, composer
“The Peanuts Movie,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Pixels,” Henry Jackman, composer
“Poached,” Mark Orton, composer
“Pod,” Giona Ostinelli, composer
“Poltergeist,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
“Racing Extinction,” J. Ralph, composer
“Room,” Stephen Rennicks, composer
“Salt Bridge,” Marciano Telese, composer
“San Andreas,” Andrew Lockington, composer
“The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Set Fire to the Stars,” Gruff Rhys, composer
“Shaun the Sheep Movie,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
“Sicario,” Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
“Southpaw,” James Horner, composer
“Spectre,” Thomas Newman, composer
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water,” John Debney, composer
“Spotlight,” Howard Shore, composer
“Spy,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” John Williams, composer
“Steve Jobs,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans,” Jim Copperthwaite, composer
“Stonewall,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“Suffragette,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“Taken 3,” Nathaniel Mechaly, composer
“Ted 2,” Walter Murphy, composer
“Testament of Youth,” Max Richter, composer
“The 33,” James Horner, composer
“Tomorrowland,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“True Story,” Marco Beltrami, composer
“Trumbo,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“Truth,” Brian Tyler, composer
“Victor Frankenstein,” Craig Armstrong, composer
“The Walk,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“The Water Diviner,” David Hirschfelder, composer
“Wolf Totem,” James Horner, composer
“Z for Zachariah,” Heather McIntosh, composer
