Composers Trivia

1. Bernard Herrmann's first shot at a film score was for a 1941 film which has often been voted as one of the greatest American films of all time. It's a haunting score which echoes brilliantly the rise and fall of a larger than life character.

From Quiz What's in a Film Score? Bernard Herrmann

Answer: Citizen Kane

What an amazing way to start a career in film scores. Not only did "Citizen Kane" go on to become one of the most critically-acclaimed films of all time, but Bernard's score was seminal in a new approach to using music in film. Basically, he used short bursts of music to accompany the visuals rather than the almost continual music used in many Hollywood films at the time. Another brilliant trick Herrmann adopted was adapting a leitmotif to the events on screen; i.e. Kane's rise to riches and success and subsequent spiral into madness are echoed in the music, the same motif being played in different moods. Even the film's director, Orson Welles, is quoted as saying the music was 50% responsible for the film's success. An overstatement maybe, but well-deserved praise all the same.

From Quiz Composers of Classic Film Scores

Answer: Max Steiner

Steiner was an Austrian composer who became an American citizen. He also wrote the music for "King Kong" and "The Big Sleep".

From Quiz Film Composers and the Oscars

Answer: John Williams

John Williams has been an Academy Award winner several times, and has received two or three nominations in the same year many times as well. Many of his themes have become icons of music and film culture, most notably his themes from "Jaws", "Star Wars", "E.T.", and "Superman". Additionally, he has scored nearly every movie Steven Spielberg has ever directed; quite the duo!

From Quiz Famous Film/TV Composer Danny Elfman

Answer: Los Angeles

Milton Elfman, his father, was a teacher. Danny's mother, Blossom, was a novelist, and won an Emmy for her writing in a TV movie. Elfman also has a brother named Richard who became a director.

From Quiz Film Scores: Composers, Directors, and Awards

Answer: Thomas Newman

Hans Zimmer won that year for "The Lion King."

From Quiz Danny Elfman Film and TV Music

Answer: The Simpsons

His music for The Simpsons won a British National Music Award in 2002.

From Quiz Composer/Director Collaborations

Answer: John Williams & Williams

John Williams has created memorable scores for the Indiana Jones series, "Jaws", "ET", "Jurassic Park," and so on. In fact, the only Spielberg movie the two didn't work together on was the 1985 film "The Color Purple."

From Quiz Great Movie Music Composers of the 80's & 90's

Answer: Jerry Goldsmith

Long time music composer Jerry Goldsmith wrote the score for this new spin on the tale of Camelot. Other credits include "Islands In The Stream", "Alien" and "Star Trek"

From Quiz Movie Composers

Answer: John Williams

John Williams also did the 'Star Wars' movies, 'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind', the 'Jaws' movies, the 'Indiana Jones' movies and 'E.T.' among many others.

From Quiz Film Composer John Williams Trivia

Answer: 'Fiddler On The Roof' (1971)

Williams's first Academy Award was for his adaption of the music for the 1971 film version of 'Fiddler On The Roof.' His first Oscar win for his own Original Score would come for 'Jaws.'

From Quiz Classic Movie Composers

Answer: Moravian

Korngold, best known for 'Robin Hood', was born in Moravia, an Austro-Hungarian province that became Czechoslovakia after WW1.

From Quiz Film Composers Quiz

Answer: James Horner

From Quiz Composers of Classic Film Scores

Answer: James Bond

The composer of the first James Bond film, "Dr. No", was Monty Norman. Barry arranged the James Bond theme, but wasn't credited as composer. He composed the score for eleven James Bond films from 1963 ("From Russia with Love") to 1987 ("The Living Daylights"). Other scores by John Barry are "Body Heat" and "Dances with Wolves".

From Quiz Film Composers and the Oscars

Answer: Ennio Morricone

Morricone was recognized with an Honorary Oscar in 2007. He rose to fame by scoring many films for Spaghetti-Western genius and onetime classmate Sergio Leone. He was also one of the first composers to utilize the sounds of electric guitar in his scores, an innovation which contributed to his unique sound.

From Quiz Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western Music

Answer: Whistling

John O'Neill providing the whistling for this song and also the theme song for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."

From Quiz Composer Hans Zimmer

Answer: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

"Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" (2003) was scored by Harry Gregson-Williams who also scored "The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" (2005) and "Déjà vu" (2006), to name a few. Hans Zimmer's work on "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" (2002) earned him a Golden Globe Nomination.

From Quiz Film Scores: Composers, Directors, and Awards

Answer: Elliot Goldenthal

Goldenthal dedicated his award he earned for Best Score to the people of Mexico.

From Quiz Composer/Director Collaborations

Answer: Alan Silvestri & Silvestri

Alan Silvestri was the man responsible for the score of every Zemeckis film since "Romancing The Stone", including the "Back to the Future" series, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Forrest Gump", and "Contact."

From Quiz Great Movie Music Composers of the 80's & 90's

Answer: John Carpenter

John Carpenter, the man behind a lot of these types of movies, wrote and performed the movie score. Other credits include "The Fog" and "Christine"

From Quiz Classic Movie Composers

Answer: The Killers

The three others were Rozsa's Oscar scores, though as every film buff knows, the 'da-da-da-dum' motif from 'Killers' became the theme of the TV classic 'Dragnet'!

From Quiz What's in a Film Score? Bernard Herrmann

Answer: The Trouble with Harry

Herrmann's score for "The Trouble with Harry" suits the film perfectly: it's frivolous, slightly whimsical, but subtly disturbing. The film appears to be a silly romp in an idyllic country village and the viewer almost forgets that central to the plot is the inconvenient corpse of a murdered man. Herrmann went on to produce some of his finest work for Hitchcock films, arguably peaking with "Vertigo" in 1958. He of course composed one of film histories most memorable scores for one of cinema's most iconic scenes; the "Psycho" shower scene. Hitchcock and Herrmann's final project together was "Torn Curtain" (1966) but they fell out over the type of music needed and Herrmann's score went unused.

From Quiz Composers of Classic Film Scores

Answer: Bernard Herrmann

His music added suspense to the shower scene in "Psycho". In "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956) he appears on screen as the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in the Royal Albert Hall playing Arthur Benjamin's cantata "Storm Clouds". Herrmann also wrote the music for "Citizen Kane" and "Taxi Driver".

From Quiz Film Composers and the Oscars

Answer: James Horner

With two Oscar wins from "Titanic" alone, Horner has become a modern movie-music powerhouse. He has worked several times with esteemed director James Cameron.

From Quiz Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western Music

Answer: Titoli

"Titoli" was the theme song for a "Fistful of Dollars." It also appears on the soundtrack of "For A Few Dollars More" but was added as filler because of the short running time of the LP.

From Quiz Film Scores: Composers, Directors, and Awards

Answer: M. Night Shyamalan

Shyamalan's film "The Village" earned Newton Howard an Oscar nomination. He also worked on Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable," and "Signs."

From Quiz Composer/Director Collaborations

Answer: James Newton Howard & Howard

Despite being one of the most prolific composers working today, James Newton Howard has never won an Academy Award, though he has been nominated for five.

From Quiz Great Movie Music Composers of the 80's & 90's

Answer: Hans Zimmer

Any race fan will remember this movie. Hans Zimmer adds his signature sound to this Tom Cruise classic. Other credits include "Thelma and Louise", "Rain Man" and "Driving Miss Daisy"

From Quiz Movie Composers

Answer: Randy Newman

Randy Newman has a unique voice. He also did the songs for 'James And The Giant Peach' in 1996.

From Quiz Film Composer John Williams Trivia

Answer: Violin Concerto

Williams's first wife passed in 1973, the violin concerto was completed in 1975 (though later revised) and later recorded in 1983. The flute concerto was completed in 1969 and was inspired and influenced by traditional Japanese sounds. More recently, the Cello Concerto was written specifically for Yo-Yo Ma, and the Bassoon Concerto inspired by and named after the myth of the 'The Five Sacred Trees'.

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Last Updated Feb 14 2026 5:49 AM

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