Academy Award for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score | |
---|---|
2023 award winner: Ludwig Göransson | |
Country | United States |
Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
First awarded | February 27, 1935; 89 years ago (1935-02-27) |
Most recent winner | Ludwig Göransson Oppenheimer (2023) |
Most awards | Alfred Newman (9) |
Most nominations | John Williams (48) |
Website | oscars |
The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.[1] Some pre-existing music is allowed, though, but a contending film must include a minimum of original music. This minimum since 2021 is established as 35% of the music, which is raised to 80% for sequels and franchise films.[2] Fifteen scores are shortlisted before nominations are announced.
History
The Academy began awarding movies for their scores in 1935. The category was originally called Best Scoring. At the time, winners and nominees were a mix of original scores and adaptations of pre-existing material. Following the controversial win of Charles Previn for One Hundred Men and a Girl in 1938, a film without a credited composer that featured pre-existing classical music, the Academy added a Best Original Score category in 1939.[3] In 1942, the distinction between the two Scoring categories changed slightly as they were renamed to Best Music Score of a Dramatic Picture and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.[4] This marked the first time the category was split into separate genres, a distinction that technically still lasts today, although there haven't been enough submissions for the musical category to be activated since 1985. From 1942 to 1985, musical scores had their own category, with the exception of 1958, 1981, and 1982. During that time, both categories had many name changes:
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Following the wins of four Walt Disney Feature Animation films in six years from 1990 to 1995 (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King) during a period called the Disney Renaissance, it was decided to once again split the Best Original Score category by genres, this time by combining comedies and musicals together. As Alan Bergman, the chairman of the Academy's music branch said, "People were voting for the songs, not the underscores. We felt that Academy members outside the music branch didn't distinguish between the two. So when a score like The Lion King is competing against a drama like Forrest Gump, it's apples and oranges – not in the quality of the score, but in the way it functions in the movie. There's a big difference."[5] The category was therefore split into Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score in 1996. This change proved unpopular in the other branches of the Academy as Charles Bernstein, chairman of the Academy's rules committee, noted that "no other Oscar category depended on a film's genre" and "the job of composing an underscore for a romantic comedy is not substantially different from working on a heavy drama."[5] This split was reverted in 2000.
In 2020, rules were changed to require that a film's score include a minimum of 60% original music. Franchise films and sequels must include a minimum of 80% new music.[6] In 2021, the rules were changed again, lowering the minimum percentage of original music from 60% to 35% of the total music in the film.[7]
Academy Award for Best Original Musical
The Academy Award for Best Original Musical is a category that was re-established in 2000 after the Best Original Musical or Comedy Score category was retired. It has never been awarded in its present form due to a prolonged drought of films meeting the sufficient eligibility requirements. The Music Branch Executive Committee of the Academy decides whether there are enough quality submissions to justify its activation.[8]
According to the rules, the Best Original Musical is defined as follows:
An original musical consists of not fewer than five original songs by the same writer or team of writers, either used as voiceovers or visually performed. Each of these songs must be substantively rendered, clearly audible, intelligible, and must further the storyline of the motion picture. An arbitrary group of songs unessential to the storyline will not be considered eligible.[8]
Winners and nominees
The following is the list of nominated composers organized by year, and listing both films and composers. The years shown in the following list of winners are the production years, thus a reference to 1967 means the Oscars presented in 1968 for films released in 1967.
1930s
1940s
1950s
Year | Film | Nominees |
---|---|---|
1950 (23rd) | Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | |
Sunset Boulevard | Franz Waxman | |
All About Eve | Alfred Newman | |
The Flame and the Arrow | Max Steiner | |
No Sad Songs for Me | George Duning | |
Samson and Delilah | Victor Young | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
Annie Get Your Gun | Adolph Deutsch and Roger Edens | |
Cinderella | Paul Smith and Oliver Wallace | |
I'll Get By | Lionel Newman | |
Three Little Words | André Previn | |
The West Point Story | Ray Heindorf | |
1951 (24th) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
A Place in the Sun | Franz Waxman | |
David and Bathsheba | Alfred Newman | |
Death of a Salesman | Alex North | |
Quo Vadis | Miklós Rózsa | |
A Streetcar Named Desire | Alex North | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
An American in Paris | Saul Chaplin and Johnny Green | |
Alice in Wonderland | Oliver Wallace | |
The Great Caruso | Peter Herman Adler and Johnny Green | |
On the Riviera | Alfred Newman | |
Show Boat | Adolph Deutsch and Conrad Salinger | |
1952 (25th) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
High Noon | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
Ivanhoe | Miklós Rózsa | |
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima | Max Steiner | |
The Thief | Herschel Burke Gilbert | |
Viva Zapata! | Alex North | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
With a Song in My Heart | Alfred Newman | |
Hans Christian Andersen | Walter Scharf | |
The Jazz Singer | Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner | |
The Medium | Gian Carlo Menotti | |
Singin' in the Rain | Lennie Hayton | |
1953 (26th) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
Lili | Bronisław Kaper | |
Above and Beyond | Hugo Friedhofer | |
From Here to Eternity | George Duning and Morris Stoloff | |
Julius Caesar | Miklós Rózsa | |
This Is Cinerama | Louis Forbes | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
Call Me Madam | Alfred Newman | |
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. | Friedrich Hollaender and Morris Stoloff | |
The Band Wagon | Adolph Deutsch | |
Calamity Jane | Ray Heindorf | |
Kiss Me Kate | Saul Chaplin and André Previn | |
1954 (27th) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
The High and the Mighty | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
The Caine Mutiny | Max Steiner | |
Genevieve | Larry Adler[note 4] | |
On the Waterfront | Leonard Bernstein | |
The Silver Chalice | Franz Waxman | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Saul Chaplin and Adolph Deutsch | |
Carmen Jones | Herschel Burke Gilbert | |
The Glenn Miller Story | Joseph Gershenson and Henry Mancini | |
A Star Is Born | Ray Heindorf | |
There's No Business Like Show Business | Alfred Newman and Lionel Newman | |
1955 (28th) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | Alfred Newman | |
Battle Cry | Max Steiner | |
The Man with the Golden Arm | Elmer Bernstein | |
Picnic | George Duning | |
The Rose Tattoo | Alex North | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
Oklahoma! | Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton and Adolph Deutsch | |
Daddy Long Legs | Alfred Newman | |
Guys and Dolls | Jay Blackton and Cyril J. Mockridge | |
It's Always Fair Weather | André Previn | |
Love Me or Leave Me | Percy Faith and Georgie Stoll | |
1956 (29th) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
Around the World in 80 Days | Victor Young (p.r.) | |
Anastasia | Alfred Newman | |
Between Heaven and Hell | Hugo Friedhofer | |
Giant | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
The Rainmaker | Alex North | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
The King and I | Ken Darby and Newman | |
The Best Things in Life Are Free | Lionel Newman | |
The Eddy Duchin Story | George Duning and Morris Stoloff | |
High Society | Saul Chaplin and Johnny Green | |
Meet Me in Las Vegas | Johnny Green and Georgie Stoll | |
1957 (30th) [note 5] [10] | ||
The Bridge on the River Kwai | Malcolm Arnold | |
An Affair to Remember | Hugo Friedhofer | |
Boy on a Dolphin | ||
Perri | Paul Smith | |
Raintree County | Johnny Green | |
1958 (31st) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
The Old Man and the Sea | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
The Big Country | Jerome Moross | |
Separate Tables | David Raksin | |
White Wilderness | Oliver Wallace | |
The Young Lions | Hugo Friedhofer | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
Gigi | André Previn | |
The Bolshoi Ballet | Yuri Fayer and Gennady Rozhdestvensky | |
Damn Yankees | Ray Heindorf | |
Mardi Gras | Lionel Newman | |
South Pacific | Ken Darby and Alfred Newman | |
1959 (32nd) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
Ben-Hur | Miklós Rózsa | |
The Diary of Anne Frank | Alfred Newman | |
The Nun's Story | Franz Waxman | |
On the Beach | Ernest Gold | |
Pillow Talk | Frank De Vol | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
Porgy and Bess | Ken Darby and André Previn | |
The Five Pennies | Leith Stevens | |
Li'l Abner | Joseph J. Lilley and Nelson Riddle | |
Say One for Me | Lionel Newman | |
Sleeping Beauty | George Bruns |
1960s
Year | Film | Nominees |
---|---|---|
1960 (33rd) | Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | |
Exodus | Ernest Gold | |
The Alamo | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
Elmer Gantry | André Previn | |
The Magnificent Seven | Elmer Bernstein | |
Spartacus | Alex North | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
Song Without End | Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman | |
Bells Are Ringing | André Previn | |
Can-Can | Nelson Riddle | |
Let's Make Love | Earle Hagen and Lionel Newman | |
Pepe | Johnny Green | |
1961 (34th) | ||
Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | ||
Breakfast at Tiffany's | Henry Mancini | |
El Cid | Miklós Rózsa | |
Fanny | Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman | |
The Guns of Navarone | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
Summer and Smoke | Elmer Bernstein | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture | ||
West Side Story | Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Irwin Kostal and Sid Ramin | |
Babes in Toyland | George Bruns | |
Flower Drum Song | Alfred Newman and Ken Darby | |
Khovanshchina | Dmitri Shostakovich | |
Paris Blues | Duke Ellington | |
1962 (35th) | ||
Music Score — Substantially Original | ||
Lawrence of Arabia | Maurice Jarre | |
Freud | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Mutiny on the Bounty | Bronisław Kaper | |
Taras Bulba | Franz Waxman | |
To Kill a Mockingbird | Elmer Bernstein | |
Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment | ||
The Music Man | Ray Heindorf | |
Billy Rose's Jumbo | Georgie Stoll | |
Gigot | Michel Magne | |
Gypsy | Frank Perkins | |
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm | Leigh Harline | |
1963 (36th) | ||
Music Score — Substantially Original | ||
Tom Jones | John Addison | |
55 Days at Peking | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
Cleopatra | Alex North | |
How the West Was Won | Alfred Newman and Ken Darby | |
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Ernest Gold | |
Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment | ||
Irma la Douce | André Previn | |
Bye Bye Birdie | Johnny Green | |
A New Kind of Love | Leith Stevens | |
Sundays and Cybele | Maurice Jarre | |
The Sword in the Stone | George Bruns | |
1964 (37th) | ||
Music Score — Substantially Original | ||
Mary Poppins | Sherman Brothers | |
Becket | Laurence Rosenthal | |
The Fall of the Roman Empire | Dimitri Tiomkin | |
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Frank De Vol | |
The Pink Panther | Henry Mancini | |
Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment | ||
My Fair Lady | André Previn | |
A Hard Day's Night | George Martin | |
Mary Poppins | Irwin Kostal | |
Robin and the 7 Hoods | Nelson Riddle | |
The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Robert Armbruster, Leo Arnaud, Jack Elliott, Jack Hayes, Calvin Jackson and Leo Shuken | |
1965 (38th) | ||
Music Score — Substantially Original | ||
Doctor Zhivago | Maurice Jarre | |
The Agony and the Ecstasy | Alex North | |
The Greatest Story Ever Told | Alfred Newman | |
A Patch of Blue | Jerry Goldsmith | |
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Jacques Demy and Michel Legrand | |
Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment | ||
The Sound of Music | Irwin Kostal | |
Cat Ballou | Frank De Vol | |
The Pleasure Seekers | Sandy Courage and Lionel Newman | |
A Thousand Clowns | Don Walker | |
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Michel Legrand | |
1966 (39th) | ||
Original Music Score | ||
Born Free | John Barry | |
The Bible: In the Beginning... | Toshiro Mayuzumi | |
Hawaii | Elmer Bernstein | |
The Sand Pebbles | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Alex North | |
Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment | ||
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Ken Thorne | |
The Gospel According to St. Matthew | Luis Bacalov | |
Return of the Seven | Elmer Bernstein | |
The Singing Nun | Harry Sukman | |
Stop the World – I Want to Get Off | Al Ham | |
1967 (40th) | ||
Original Music Score | ||
Thoroughly Modern Millie | Elmer Bernstein | |
Cool Hand Luke | Lalo Schifrin | |
Doctor Dolittle | Leslie Bricusse | |
Far from the Madding Crowd | Richard Rodney Bennett | |
In Cold Blood | Quincy Jones | |
Scoring of Music — Adaptation or Treatment | ||
Camelot | Ken Darby and Alfred Newman | |
Doctor Dolittle | Sandy Courage and Lionel Newman | |
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Frank De Vol | |
Thoroughly Modern Millie | Joseph Gershenson and André Previn | |
Valley of the Dolls | John Williams | |
1968 (41st) | ||
Original Score — For a Motion Picture (Not a Musical) | ||
The Lion in Winter | John Barry | |
The Fox | Lalo Schifrin | |
Planet of the Apes | Jerry Goldsmith | |
The Shoes of the Fisherman | Alex North | |
The Thomas Crown Affair | Michel Legrand | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture — Original or Adaptation | ||
Oliver! | Johnny Green (adaptation score) | |
Finian's Rainbow | Ray Heindorf (adaptation score) | |
Funny Girl | Walter Scharf (adaptation score) | |
Star! | Lennie Hayton (adaptation score) | |
The Young Girls of Rochefort | Michel Legrand (music and adaptation score) and Jacques Demy (lyrics) | |
1969 (42nd) | ||
Original Score — For a Motion Picture (Not a Musical) | ||
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Burt Bacharach | |
Anne of the Thousand Days | Georges Delerue | |
The Reivers | John Williams | |
The Secret of Santa Vittoria | Ernest Gold | |
The Wild Bunch | Jerry Fielding | |
Scoring of a Musical Picture — Original or Adaptation | ||
Hello, Dolly! | Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman (adaptation score) | |
Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Leslie Bricusse (music and lyrics) and John Williams (adaptation score) | |
Paint Your Wagon | Nelson Riddle (adaptation score) | |
Sweet Charity | Cy Coleman (adaptation score) | |
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Johnny Green and Albert Woodbury (adaptation score) |
1970s
Year | Film | Nominees |
---|---|---|
1970 (43rd) | Original Score | |
Love Story | Francis Lai | |
Airport | Alfred Newman (p.n.) | |
Cromwell | Frank Cordell | |
Patton | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Sunflower | Henry Mancini | |
Original Song Score | ||
Let It Be | The Beatles (music and lyrics) | |
The Baby Maker | Fred Karlin (music) and Tylwyth Kymry (lyrics) | |
A Boy Named Charlie Brown | Rod McKuen (music and lyrics), John Scott Trotter (music), Bill Melendez, Al Shean (lyrics), Vince Guaraldi (adaptation score) | |
Darling Lili | Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) | |
Scrooge | Leslie Bricusse (music and lyrics), Ian Fraser and Herbert W. Spencer (adaptation score) | |
1971 (44th) | ||
Original Dramatic Score | ||
Summer of '42 | Michel Legrand | |
Mary, Queen of Scots | John Barry | |
Nicholas and Alexandra | Richard Rodney Bennett | |
Shaft | Isaac Hayes | |
Straw Dogs | Jerry Fielding | |
Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score | ||
Fiddler on the Roof | John Williams (adaptation score) | |
Bedknobs and Broomsticks | Sherman Brothers (song score) and Irwin Kostal (adaptation score) | |
The Boy Friend | Peter Maxwell Davies and Peter Greenwell (adaptation score) | |
Tchaikovsky | Dimitri Tiomkin (adaptation score) | |
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley (song score) and Walter Scharf (adaptation score) | |
1972 (45th) | ||
Original Dramatic Score | ||
Limelight [note 6] | Charlie Chaplin, Raymond Rasch (p.r.) and Larry Russell (p.r.) | |
Nino Rota | ||
Images | John Williams | |
Napoleon and Samantha | Buddy Baker | |
The Poseidon Adventure | John Williams | |
Sleuth | John Addison | |
Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score | ||
Cabaret | Ralph Burns (adaptation score) | |
Lady Sings the Blues | Gil Askey (adaptation score) | |
Man of La Mancha | Laurence Rosenthal (adaptation score) | |
1973 (46th) | ||
Original Dramatic Score | ||
The Way We Were | Marvin Hamlisch | |
Cinderella Liberty | John Williams | |
The Day of the Dolphin | Georges Delerue | |
Papillon | Jerry Goldsmith | |
A Touch of Class | John Cameron | |
Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation | ||
The Sting | Marvin Hamlisch (adaptation score) | |
Jesus Christ Superstar | André Previn, Herbert W. Spencer and Andrew Lloyd Webber (adaptation score) | |
Tom Sawyer | Sherman Brothers (song score) and John Williams (adaptation score) | |
1974 (47th) | ||
Original Dramatic Score | ||
The Godfather Part II | Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola | |
Chinatown | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Murder on the Orient Express | Richard Rodney Bennett | |
Shanks | Alex North | |
The Towering Inferno | John Williams | |
Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation | ||
The Great Gatsby | Nelson Riddle (adaptation score) | |
The Little Prince | Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (song score), Douglas Gamley and Angela Morley (adaptation score) | |
Phantom of the Paradise | Paul Williams (song and adaptation score) and George Tipton (adaptation score) | |
1975 (48th) | ||
Original Score | ||
Jaws | John Williams | |
Birds Do It, Bees Do It | Gerald Fried | |
Bite the Bullet | Alex North | |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Jack Nitzsche | |
The Wind and the Lion | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation | ||
Barry Lyndon | Leonard Rosenman (adaptation score) | |
Funny Lady | Peter Matz (adaptation score) | |
Tommy | Pete Townshend (adaptation score) | |
1976 (49th) | ||
Original Score | ||
The Omen | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Obsession | Bernard Herrmann (p.n.) | |
The Outlaw Josey Wales | Jerry Fielding | |
Taxi Driver | Bernard Herrmann (p.n.) | |
Voyage of the Damned | Lalo Schifrin | |
Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score | ||
Bound for Glory | Leonard Rosenman (adaptation score) | |
Bugsy Malone | Paul Williams (song and adaptation score) | |
A Star Is Born | Roger Kellaway (adaptation score) | |
1977 (50th) | ||
Original Score | ||
Star Wars | John Williams | |
Close Encounters of the Third Kind | John Williams | |
Julia | Georges Delerue | |
Mohammad, Messenger of God | Maurice Jarre | |
The Spy Who Loved Me | Marvin Hamlisch | |
Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score | ||
A Little Night Music | Jonathan Tunick (adaptation score) | |
Pete's Dragon | Joel Hirschhorn and Al Kasha (song score) and Irwin Kostal (adaptation score) | |
The Slipper and the Rose | Sherman Brothers (song score) and Angela Morley (adaptation score) | |
1978 (51st) | ||
Original Score | ||
Midnight Express | Giorgio Moroder | |
The Boys from Brazil | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Days of Heaven | Ennio Morricone | |
Heaven Can Wait | Dave Grusin | |
Superman | John Williams | |
Adaptation Score | ||
The Buddy Holly Story | Joe Renzetti | |
Pretty Baby | Jerry Wexler | |
The Wiz | Quincy Jones | |
1979 (52nd) | ||
Original Score | ||
A Little Romance | Georges Delerue | |
10 | Henry Mancini | |
The Amityville Horror | Lalo Schifrin | |
The Champ | Dave Grusin | |
Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Jerry Goldsmith | |
Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score | ||
All That Jazz | Ralph Burns (adaptation score) | |
Breaking Away | Patrick Williams (adaptation score) | |
The Muppet Movie | Paul Williams (song and adaptation score) and Kenny Ascher (song score) |
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Year | Film | Nominees |
---|---|---|
2020/21 | Soul | Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste |
Da 5 Bloods | Terence Blanchard | |
Mank | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross | |
Minari | Emile Mosseri | |
News of the World | James Newton Howard | |
2021 (94th) | ||
Dune | Hans Zimmer | |
Don't Look Up | Nicholas Britell | |
Encanto | Germaine Franco | |
Parallel Mothers | Alberto Iglesias | |
The Power of the Dog | Jonny Greenwood | |
2022 (95th) | ||
All Quiet on the Western Front | Hauschka[note 11] | |
Babylon | Justin Hurwitz | |
The Banshees of Inisherin | Carter Burwell | |
Everything Everywhere All at Once | Son Lux | |
The Fabelmans | John Williams | |
2023 (96th) | ||
Oppenheimer | Ludwig Göransson | |
American Fiction | Laura Karpman | |
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | John Williams | |
Killers of the Flower Moon | Robbie Robertson (p.n.) | |
Poor Things | Jerskin Fendrix |
Notes
- ^ From 1934 until 1937, nominated films were represented by the head of the film studio's music department rather than the composer. Each film's actual composer(s) are listed in parentheses.
- ^ Captain Blood was not officially nominated for this award, but appears in Academy records because it placed third in voting as a write-in candidate in 1935.
- ^ From 1937 until 1945, film studios could submit one eligible film of their choosing, guaranteeing it a nomination.
- ^ Blacklisted composer Larry Adler's name was removed from American prints of the British-made Genevieve. The film's arranger and orchestrator Muir Mathieson was credited instead and received an Oscar nomination. In 1986, the Academy's Board of Governors removed Mathieson's name from the nomination and gave it to Adler.
- ^ In 1957, dramatic and comedy films competed with musicals in a combined category called Music – Scoring. Fifteen scores were shortlisted with ten from dramatic and comedy films and five from musicals. Voting resulted in no musical nominees.
- ^ Limelight was originally released in 1952, but had never screened theatrically in Los Angeles until 1972, at which point it became eligible for Oscar consideration.
- ^ Nino Rota was nominated for The Godfather in 1972, but the nomination was revoked after it was discovered Rota had reused music from the 1958 Italian film Fortunella. The Academy's entire music branch revoted for a fifth nominee. They could either renominate Rota for The Godfather or select one of the five other shortlisted scores: Ben by Walter Scharf, Fellini's Roma by Rota, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean by Maurice Jarre, The Other by Jerry Goldsmith, or Sleuth by John Addison. Sleuth received the most votes and became the fifth nominee.
- ^ From 1995 until 1998, Best Original Score was split into Original Dramatic Score and Original Musical or Comedy Score. For musicals and comedies, songwriters and lyricists along with orchestral underscore composers were eligible for nomination.
- ^ Lisa Gerrard and Klaus Badelt also received screen credit for the Gladiator score, but only Zimmer was deemed eligible for the nomination.
- ^ The eligibility period for the 93rd ceremony was exceptionally extended through to February 28, 2021, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ The ceremony addressed him as Volker Bertelmann.
Records
Superlatives
These are only for nominations in the Scoring categories. Nominations in other categories, such as the Original Song category, are not included.
Category | Name | Superlative | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Most Awards | Alfred Newman | 9 awards | Awards resulted from 41 nominations |
Most Nominations | John Williams | 49 nominations | Nominations resulted in 5 awards |
Most Nominations without an Award | Thomas Newman / Alex North | 14 nominations |
Age superlatives
Record | Composer | Film | Age |
---|---|---|---|
Oldest winner | Ennio Morricone | The Hateful Eight | 87 years, 110 days |
Oldest nominee | John Williams | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | 91 years, 349 days |
Youngest winner | Prince | Purple Rain | 26 years, 291 days |
Youngest nominee | 26 years, 244 days |
Only one composer has won two Scoring Oscars the same year: in 1973, Marvin Hamlisch won Original Dramatic Score for The Way We Were and Best Adaptation Score, for The Sting. Hamlisch also won Best Song that year for The Way We Were, making him the only composer to win three music Oscars in the same year.
Only one composer has won Oscars three years in a row: Roger Edens won for Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Annie Get Your Gun (1950).
Eight composers have won Oscars two years in a row:
- Ray Heindorf won for Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and This Is the Army (1943).
- Franz Waxman won for Sunset Boulevard (1950) and A Place in the Sun (1951).
- Alfred Newman won for With a Song in My Heart (1952) and Call Me Madam (1953). He won again two years in a row for Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) and The King and I (1956).
- Adolph Deutsch won for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Oklahoma! (1955).
- André Previn won for Gigi (1958) and Porgy and Bess (1959). He won again two years in a row for Irma la Douce (1963) and My Fair Lady (1964).
- Leonard Rosenman won for Barry Lyndon (1975) and Bound for Glory (1976).
- Alan Menken won for Beauty and The Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992).
- Gustavo Santaolalla won for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006).
Female nominees
As of 2023, only 10 women have been nominated in music score categories: Ann Ronell, Tylwyth Kymry aka Meg Karlin, Angela Morley, Marilyn Bergman, Rachel Portman, Anne Dudley, Lynn Ahrens, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Germaine Franco, and Laura Karpman. Kymry, Bergman, and Ahrens were nominated for their contribution as lyricists.
Four women have won in the scoring categories. Three are composers: Rachel Portman, who won for Emma (1996); Anne Dudley, who won for The Full Monty (1997); and Hildur Guðnadóttir, who won for Joker (2019). The fourth is lyricist Marilyn Bergman, who won for Yentl (1983) in the Original Song Score category, sharing the award with co-lyricist Alan Bergman (her husband) and composer Michel Legrand. Guðnadóttir is the only woman to win the award under no qualifications; Bergman won for Best Song Score while Portman and Dudley won for Best Musical or Comedy Score.
The female composers nominated for multiple Scoring Oscars are Rachel Portman, who was nominated for Emma (1996) (for which she won for Best Musical or Comedy Score), The Cider House Rules (1999), and Chocolat (2000); and Angela Morley, who was nominated twice in the Original Song Score or Adaptation Score category for The Little Prince (1974) and The Slipper and the Rose (1976).
Notable nominees
Dmitri Shostakovich and Duke Ellington were both nominated the same year but lost to the arrangers of West Side Story.
The scores of Midnight Express by Giorgio Moroder in 1979, Slumdog Millionaire by A. R. Rahman in 2009, and The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross in 2011 are the only scores with electronic-based music ever to win the award. In addition, the electronic-based scores of Witness by Maurice Jarre in 1986, Rain Man by Hans Zimmer in 1989, and Her by William Butler, and Owen Pallett in 2014 have also been nominated.
Noted nominated composers known for their music mostly outside the film world include: Aaron Copland, Kurt Weill, Gian Carlo Menotti, Philip Glass, John Corigliano, Peter Maxwell Davies, Randy Newman, Richard Rodney Bennett, Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Artie Shaw, Trent Reznor, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Jon Batiste, and Jonny Greenwood.
Rock musicians and pop stars are most often nominated in the songwriting category. These popular performers were nominated in the Scoring categories: The Beatles, Prince, Pete Townshend, Rod McKuen, Isaac Hayes, Kris Kristofferson, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Anthony Newley, Paul Williams, Tom Waits, David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Trent Reznor, and Matthew Wilder.
Record producers George Martin (The Beatles) and Jerry Wexler (Atlantic Records) also received nominations in the Scoring categories.
Multiple nominations
The following is a list of composers nominated more than once and winning at least one Academy Award (in this category). This list is sorted by number of awards, with the number of total nominations listed in parentheses. These do not include nominations (or awards) in the Best Original Song category.
- 9: Alfred Newman (43)
- 5: John Williams (48)[a]
- 4: Johnny Green (12)
- 4: André Previn (11)
- 4: John Barry (6)
- 4: Alan Menken (5)
- 3: Max Steiner (24)
- 3: Ray Heindorf (17)
- 3: Morris Stoloff (17)
- 3: Miklós Rózsa (16)
- 3: Dimitri Tiomkin (14)
- 3: Maurice Jarre (8)
- 3: Ken Darby (6)
- 3: Roger Edens (6)
- 3: Saul Chaplin (5)
- 3: Adolph Deutsch (5)
- 2: Hans Zimmer (12)
- 2: Alexandre Desplat (11)
- 2: Franz Waxman (11)
- 2: Henry Mancini (7)
- 2: Lennie Hayton (6)
- 2: Michel Legrand (6)
- 2: Irwin Kostal (5)
- 2: Marvin Hamlisch (4)
- 2: Leonard Rosenman (4)
- 2: Ralph Burns (3)
- 2: Trent Reznor (3)
- 2: Atticus Ross (3)
- 2: Howard Shore (3)
- 2: Ludwig Göransson (2)
- 2: Gustavo Santaolalla (2)
- 1: Jerry Goldsmith (17)
- 1: Victor Young (17)
- 1: Herbert Stothart (11)
- 1: Elmer Bernstein (10)
- 1: Hugo Friedhofer (9)
- 1: Lionel Newman (9)
- 1: Georgie Stoll (9)
- 1: James Horner (8)
- 1: Leigh Harline (7)
- 1: Charles Previn (7)
- 1: Paul Smith (7)
- 1: Dave Grusin (6)
- 1: Ennio Morricone (6) Also received an Academy Honorary Award.
- 1: Leslie Bricusse (5)
- 1: Georges Delerue (5)
- 1: Richard Hageman (5)
- 1: Bernard Herrmann (5)
- 1: Nelson Riddle (5)
- 1: Oliver Wallace (5)
- 1: Aaron Copland (4)
- 1: Ernest Gold (4)
- 1: Leo F. Forbstein (4)
- 1: Richard M. Sherman (4)
- 1: Robert B. Sherman (4)
- 1: Louis Silvers (4)
- 1: Frank Churchill (3)
- 1: Elliot Goldenthal (3)
- 1: Erich Wolfgang Korngold (3)
- 1: Bronisław Kaper (3)
- 1: Dario Marianelli (3)
- 1: Rachel Portman (3)
- 1: Stephen Schwartz (3)
- 1: Harry Sukman (3)
- 1: Gabriel Yared (3)
- 1: John Addison (2)
- 1: Luis Bacalov (2)
- 1: Robert Russell Bennett (2)
- 1: Hauschka (2)
- 1: Jay Blackton (2)
- 1: John Corigliano (2)
- 1: Michael Giacchino (2)
- 1: Michael Gore (2)
- 1: W. Franke Harling (2)
- 1: Justin Hurwitz (2)
- 1: A. R. Rahman (2)
- 1: Heinz Roemheld (2)
- 1: Nino Rota (2)
- 1: Leo Shuken (2)
The following composers have been nominated for a Best Original Score Oscar more than once but have yet to garner one. The number of nominations is listed in parentheses. These do not include nominations (or awards) in the Best Original Song category.
Deceased
- Alex North (14) Received an Academy Honorary Award.
- Walter Scharf (9)
- Roy Webb (7)
- Werner Janssen (6)
- George Duning (5)
- Edward Ward (5)
- Constantin Bakaleinikoff (4)
- Edward H. Plumb (4)
- Frank Skinner (4)
- Frank De Vol (4)
- Richard Rodney Bennett (3)
- George Bruns (3)
- Louis Gruenberg (3)
- Marvin Hatley (3)
- Ernst Toch (3)
- Charles Wolcott (3)
- Daniele Amfitheatrof (2)
- Nat W. Finston (2)
- Frederick Hollander (2)
- Jóhann Jóhannsson (2)
- Jack Nitzsche (2) Has won 1 Oscar Award for Original Song.
- Richard Robbins (2)
- Victor Schertzinger (2)
- Meredith Willson (2)
Living
- Thomas Newman (14)
- Randy Newman (9) Has won 2 Oscar Awards for Original Song.
- James Newton Howard (7)
- Lalo Schifrin (5) Received an Academy Honorary Award.
- Danny Elfman (4)
- George Fenton (4)
- Alberto Iglesias (4)
- Marc Shaiman (4)
- Philip Glass (3)
- Quincy Jones (3) Has won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, a special Academy Award.
- Nicholas Britell (3)
- Carter Burwell (3)
- Marco Beltrami (2)
- Terence Blanchard (2)
- Patrick Doyle (2)
- Jonny Greenwood (2)
- David Hirschfelder (2)
See also
- Academy Award for Best Original Song
- BAFTA Award for Best Original Music
- Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score
- Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
- Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition
- Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance
- Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
- Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
- Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
- Saturn Award for Best Music
Notes
- ^ Also received 5 nominations for Best Original Song, which brings his total to 53 - the most nominated person in all of the music categories combined, and the most nominated living individual in any Oscars category
References
- ^ "Rule Sixteen: Special Rules for the Best Picture of the Year Award | Rules for the 85th Academy Awards | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". Oscars.org. 2012-08-24. Archived from the original on 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
- ^ "94th Oscars Rules. Complete Rules. Rule Fifteen, Special Rules for the Music Awards" (PDF). Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2021-06-30. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-30.
- ^ Lochner, Jim (18 May 2010). "1934: The Year Oscar Scored". filmscoreclicktrack.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-24.
- ^ "1944". Oscars.org. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ a b Elias, Justine (12 March 2000). "OSCAR FILMS/OSCAR FILMS/THE RULES; Squeezing Music Into Pigeonholes". New York Times.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (April 28, 2020). "Oscars Keeping Show Date But Make Big News As Academy Lightens Eligibility Rules, Combines Sound Categories, Ends DVD Screeners and More". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ "Award rules and campaign regulations approved for 94th Oscars". oscars.org. 30 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Rules & Eligibility". Oscars.org - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 28 July 2014.
- ^ "The Official Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
- ^ "1957 Academy Award Voting Rules". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 1957. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ "Vote Settles Oscar Tunes". Billboard. March 17, 1973. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
- ^ "Academy Awards 2017: Complete list of Oscar winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. February 26, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
External links
- Oscars.org (official Academy site)
- The Academy Awards Database (official site)
- Oscar.com (official ceremony promotional site)
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