Hans Zimmer names his favourite film composer of all time
Hans Zimmer is one of the most respected film composers in the world, having worked with prominent figures such as Ridley Scott and Christopher Nolan. The recipient of several prestigious accolades, such as Oscars and Grammys, Zimmer has repeatedly proven that he has a completely unique understanding of film compositions.
Over the years, Zimmer has produced multiple iconic soundtracks, such as his score for The Dark Knight. Having worked in a wide range of genres, the German film composer has demonstrated a remarkable understanding of different frameworks such as thrillers, adventure romps, war dramas as well as horror flicks.
When asked about it, Zimmer once opened up about his favourite film soundtracks and cited the likes of Blade Runner and Once Upon a Time in America. Unsurprisingly, Zimmer considers Ennio Morricone to be his primary source of inspiration due to the Italian composer’s enormous contributions to his craft.
However, there’s another artist whom Zimmer views as his favourite film composer of all time – Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. During an interview with CBC Radio, Zimmer revealed that he was starstruck when he got the opportunity to meet Greenwood for the first time. He said: “Oh, I’ll just admit it, I was a bit starstruck. He is my favourite film composer.”
Zimmer first met Greenwood when he collaborated with Radiohead during the production of the BBC documentary Blue Planet II. Since then, Greenwood has produced several fascinating soundtracks for multiple films, including Jane Campion’s highly acclaimed 2021 revisionist western The Power of the Dog.
Greenwood explained in an interview: “I think Westerns have a traditional sound, which is big, sweeping strings and sort of Copeland-style harmonies, which are not only beyond me but wouldn’t have really suited the darkness of the film, I think. So the approach to this was originally to try and write music for banjo and string quartet because I’m a big believer that the banjo can be a great, dark, sinister instrument.”
For his incredible work, Greenwood earned his second Oscar nomination for the coveted Best Original Score category. The Power of the Dog broke multiple records during its awards campaign, emerging as one of the most discussed cinematic releases of 2021.
