Italian people: icon Ennio Morricone celebrates 80 years of age and 50 years of film scores

Ennio Morricone is an icon in both the music and cinema industries, an Italian whose music, with its distinctive and familiar strains, has appeared in films around the world. The scale of his music is supported by the versatility of his talent, with collaboration for 60’s pop music with artists such as Edoardo Vianello, Luigi Tenco, Gianni Morandi, Rita Pavone, Paul Anka, Mina.

Ennio Morricone was born in Rome on November 15, 1928 and will soon turn 80. This is an incredible anniversary for the world of cinema, with Morricone’s work starting back in 1955. His first film, with the roots of collaboration with his school companion Sergio Leone, was the score for the Spaghetti Western, “A fistful of dollars”. His music reflects the spaciousness and scale of the Western landscape, with a distinctive sound.

His work in this genre was followed by “For a few dollars more”, “The good, the bad and the ugly”, “The great silence” and “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984). Morricone’s work transcends the boundaries of international cinema, and although he has worked in the glitter of Hollywood, other projects include work with Bernardo Bertolucci, Elio Petri, Marco Bellocchio, Mauro Bolognini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Giuseppe Tornatore and many more. For a full list of Morricone’s work and some video interpretations, see after the jump.

Morricone has produced scores for other iconic and fundamental films of many genres, including with Dario Argento for “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage”, Pedro Almodovar and “Legami!”, Brian de Palma and ‘The Untouchables”, and in John Carpenter’s “The Thing”. While a score from Morricone gives great emotion, some of his more memorable work is ‘The Battle of Algiers’, ‘The Mission’ and ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso’. I have an album of Ennio Morricone and Yoyo Ma and the cello evokes all the nostalgia that Morricone’s music is so pregnant with.

For more than 50 years Ennio Morricone has been giving cinema-goers some heart warming, inspirational scores. His incredible production includes an output of about one score a year, which so far is a habit he doesn’t look like giving up. Happy Birthday Ennio!

Ennio Morricone, by John Zorn

Dulce Pontes and Morricone

Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto

Sacco and Vanzetti

Ennio Morricone and Mina

Ennio Morricone awards (from Wikipedia)

1967 — Diapason d’Or

1969 — Premio Spoleto Cinema

1970 — Nastro d’argento for Metti una sera a cena

1971 — Nastro d’argento for Sacco e Vanzetti

1972 — Cork Film International for La califfa

1979 — Oscar Nomination for Days of Heaven

1979 — Premio Vittorio de Sica

1981 — Premio della critica discografica for Il prato

1984 — Premio Zurlini

1985 — Nastro d’argento and BAFTA for Once Upon A Time In America

1986 — Oscar Nomination, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for The Mission

1986 — Premio Vittorio de Sica

1988 — Nastro d’argento, BAFTA, Grammy Award and Oscar Nomination for The Untouchables

1988 — David di Donatello for Gli occhiali d’oro

1989 — David di Donatello for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso

1989 — Ninth Annual Ace Winner for Il giorno prima

1989 — Pardo d’Oro alla carriera (Locarno Film Festival)

1990 — BAFTA, Prix Fondation Sacem del XLIII Cannes Film Festival and David di Donatello for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso

1991 — David di Donatello for Stanno tutti bene

1992 — Oscar Nomination for Bugsy

1992 — Pentagramma d’oro

1992 — Premio Michelangelo

1992 — Grolla d’oro alla carriera (Saint Vincent)

1993 — David di Donatello and Efebo d’Argento for Jonas che visse nella balena

1993 — Globo d’oro Stampa estera in Italia

1993 — Gran Premio SACEM audiovisivi

1994 — ASCAP Golden Soundtrack award (Los Angeles)

1995 — Premio Rota

1995 — Leone d’Oro Honorary award (Venice Film Festival)

1996 — Premio Cappelli

1996 — Premio Accademia di Santa Cecilia

1997 — Premio Flaiano

1998 — Columbus Prize

1999 — Erich Wolfgang Korngold Internationaler Preis für Film

1999 — Exsquibbidles Film Academy lifetime achievement award

2000 — Golden Globe Award for The Legend of 1900 (1998)

2000 — David di Donatello for Canone inverso

2000 — Oscar nomination for Malèna

2003 — Golden Eagle Award for 72 Meters

2003 — Honorary Senator of the Filmscoring Class of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München

2006 — Grand Officer award from President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

2007 — Honorary Academy Award for career achievement

2007 — The Film & TV Music Award for Lifetime Achievement

Lifetime Honours:

Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica italiana

— Roma, 2 giugno 1995

Medaglia d’oro ai benemeriti della cultura e dell’arte

— Roma, 25 febbraio 2000

Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana

— Roma, 14 luglio 2005

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