Filmtracks Home Page Filmtracks Logo
MODERN SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS
Menu Search
Filmtracks: James Horner
(1953-
 2015)
Full Composer Menu ▼
Avatar: The Way of Water
(2022 score)
Horner Suites and Themes
(1998 bootleg)
Heart of the Ocean
(1998 Sonic Images compilation)
Titanic: The Essential James Horner Collection
(1998 Silva compilation)
Pas de Deux
(2014 concert)
Amazing Stories
(1985 television series)
"I respect Jerry Goldsmith very much, but hope my music isn't too similar. One is always influenced by people one respects, and I'm very influenced by quite a few classical composers, and admire their work very much, so people always think they can pigeon hole my music by saying, well, it's this or that. Most of the films that I've been doing are, in fact, adventure, horror or whatever, and those are the kinds of films Goldsmith does." - 1982, on criticism that his music resembles Goldsmith's

"My trick is that the films are all so different. I have no high ambitions to win 35 Academy Awards. I just try to be the best at what I can be and work on the best movies I can and not get too wrapped up in the day-to-day ups and downs of it, which is difficult enough." - 1995, on his craft

"I learned long ago that the vagaries of the Academy are uncontrollable, and that you'll end up committing suicide if you think your fortune is made by them. It's very flattering to get nominated, and it means a lot to me. But the score has a deeper personal meaning to me than that." - 1997, on losing the Academy Award to Il Postino in 1996

"What appeals to me about writing film music is that each project is completely different from the other. I could have chosen to another Star Trek or two or three Star Treks because I was certainly asked, but I wasn't interested after doing a couple of them." - 1992, on film composers being chameleons

"I had been asked to do a couple of other big films, which I passed on, [including] Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, because I desperately wanted to do Ron's movie [A Beautiful Mind]. Those are movies that mean something to me on a very basic level. Those are really like art films as opposed to commerce films." - 2001, on choosing his assignments

"I'm a throwback. I know all about the machines, and I work with programmers I've worked with for years. They know my tastes and predilections. When I work with synths, I don't want what you think of it as synthetic sounds. I want very organic sounds that I can manipulate. The orchestral stuff, I write at a desk and orchestrate, and then send it off to the copyist. The synth stuff, I play ideas to myself on the piano, and notate ideas, but most of it happens by coloring in, like painting, at the actual recording session, because I play everything myself on a MIDI keyboard. I have an idea, I know how it's going to work in the timing. It's all mathematically perfect, but in terms of fine tuning it, it doesn't happen until I actually get there and I start playing in the parts myself." - 1998, on scoring without a state of the art studio

"I'm a fanatic about Irish music. I love its moody, modal and timeless quality. I'm different from some other composers, because I don't look at this as just a job. I think of music as art."

James Horner Picture
Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1953, James Horner developed a precocious interest in piano at the age of five when he began learning the instrument. After graduating high school, Horner decided to study music, and he attended the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, before returning to the United States to receive a degree at the University of Southern California. Horner went on to earn a graduate degree in Composition at University of California, Los Angeles, and he wrote a contemporary classical piece entitled "Spectral Shimmers," which was given its world premier by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Eager to find a larger audience for his work, Horner began seeking commissions to write film music and scored several short films for the American Film Institute.

    FILMOGRAPHY & REVIEWS AT FILMTRACKS    
(see legend below for abbreviations and codes)
 TitleYear FR VRVTCT RD TRDates Notes
The Magnificent Seven (co-wrote)2016****3.402040||||1,55612/16
The 332015****3.141913|||1,79403/16
Pas de Deux2015****3.4615110||1,74607/15
Living in the Age of Airplanes2015****3.471080|||2,17709/21
Southpaw2015***2.941762|||1,56511/15
Wolf Totem2015****3.993543|||1,28606/15 - 07/17
The Amazing Spider-Man2012****3.831,38020||||31607/12
For Greater Glory (Cristiada)2012****3.232613||||1,40309/12
Black Gold2011****3.363946|||1,22702/12
The Karate Kid2010***3.246107|||1,11606/10
Avatar2009*****3.838,952158|||||12512/09 - 05/21multiple albums
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas2008****3.3339013|||56202/09 - 05/18multiple albums
The Life Before Her Eyes2008**2.925081||1,03204/08
The Spiderwick Chronicles2008****3.3883720|||49701/08
All the King's Men2006***3.1675013||78510/06
Apocalypto2006**2.871,01815||59112/06
The Chumscrubber2005**2.814194||1,08811/05
Flightplan2005***3.228218||81211/05
The Legend of Zorro2005*****3.971,59860||28111/05
The New World2005****3.601,34687|||30102/06
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius2004**3.0182112||73005/04 - 10/11
The Forgotten2004**2.7867613|||61510/04 - 10/11
Troy (co-wrote)2004Varied2.904,748433|||||5005/04 - 01/18multiple albums
Beyond Borders2003***3.211,35514||40411/03 - 03/09
House of Sand and Fog2003***3.141,14424||37712/03 - 03/09
The Missing2003*****4.051,51351|||24011/03 - 03/09
Radio2003**2.9365210||61711/03 - 03/09
The Four Feathers2002****3.422,08121||38709/02 - 01/09
Windtalkers2002***2.901,99084|||35910/01 - 11/23all albums
A Beautiful Mind2001****3.794,411147|||12012/01 - 01/09
Enemy at the Gates2001***3.536,674153|||9302/01 - 01/09
Iris2001***3.371,51112||87812/01 - 01/09
How the Grinch Stole Christmas2000***2.803,26223|||13111/00 - 01/23all albums
The Perfect Storm2000****3.613,45645||16906/00 - 06/08
Bicentennial Man1999***3.703,27155|||27312/99 - 04/08
Deep Impact1998***3.362,3126||11505/98 - 03/08
The Mask of Zorro1998*****4.138,93177||||1906/98 - 05/24all albums
Mighty Joe Young1998**2.731,3283|34812/98 - 03/08
The Devil's Own1997***3.784774||44304/97 - 11/11
Titanic1997*****4.1127,681168|||||411/97 - 06/18multiple albums
Courage Under Fire1996**3.051,1705|37109/96 - 05/07
Ransom (co-wrote)1996**2.462063||74111/96 - 11/11
The Spitfire Grill1996*****3.951,6997|||36909/96 - 08/08
To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday1996**2.762880||83109/96 - 11/11
Apollo 131995*****4.2610,54065||||3709/96 - 05/19all albums
Balto1995****3.461,26715||17809/96 - 02/19all albums
Braveheart1995****4.1528,420188|||209/96 - 04/22all albums
Casper1995****3.572,7325|||13909/96 - 04/21all albums
Jade1995*2.443134|||1,45908/09 - 01/11multiple albums
Jumanji1995**2.864468|||43909/96 - 05/22multiple albums
Clear and Present Danger1994***3.086887|||43506/98 - 11/22all albums
Legends of the Fall1994*****4.229,94892||||2709/96 - 04/21all albums
The Pagemaster1994***3.448611||44109/96 - 03/16all albums
Bopha!1993*1.943642|1,01501/00 - 08/06
A Far Off Place1993***2.942222||73306/97 - 02/15all albums
Hocus Pocus (co-wrote)1993***3.311590|||2,20811/22multiple albums
House of Cards1993***2.891510||1,78805/10limited
Jack the Bear1993**2.762570||1,08312/01 - 08/20all albums
The Man Without a Face1993****3.611,1290|68906/98 - 09/06
Once Upon a Forest1993****3.413215||57308/98 - 08/08
The Pelican Brief1993**2.923312||67906/98 - 11/11
Searching for Bobby Fischer1993***3.815064||67506/98 - 07/15all albums
Swing Kids1993**2.812432||60406/98 - 11/11
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story1993***3.363272||47309/96 - 11/11
Patriot Games1992**2.899313|||47006/97 - 11/22all albums
Sneakers1992****3.537113|||59409/96 - 04/24all alb ums
Thunderheart1992****3.122984||56006/98 - 11/11
Unlawful Entry1992*2.292403||90206/98 - 02/19all albums
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West1991****3.361,1098||26307/98 - 01/08
Class Action1991**2.671840||1,10306/98 - 11/11
The Rocketeer1991****4.002,93619|||19609/96 - 04/21multiple albums
Another 48 Hrs.1990**2.191190||2,24203/22all albums
Extreme Close-Up (TV)1990***2.951270||1,85405/10limited
Once Around1990**2.6419910||98807/98 - 11/11
Dad1989****3.0828014||78608/97 - 04/24all albums
Field of Dreams1989**3.161,00516|||23706/98 - 03/22all albums
Glory1989*****4.2711,59564||||5108/97 - 01/22all albums
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids1989**2.972331||1,35108/09 - 08/24all albums
In Country1989****3.252491||78212/96 - 03/13multiple albums
Cocoon: The Return1988**2.991780||1,47308/09 - 03/16all albums
The Land Before Time1988*****4.074,53312||||7807/98 - 04/21multiple albums
Red Heat1988*2.6627812||72807/98 - 11/11
Vibes1988**2.9430216||63309/96 - 02/14multiple albums
Willow1988*****4.206,02517||||7205/98 - 08/22all albums
*batteries not included1987***2.941692||1,56108/09 - 08/20multiple albums
Project X1987***2.863043|||60210/97 - 09/20all albums
Aliens1986***3.431,64549|||17405/01 - 10/08all albums
An American Tail (co-wrote)1986****3.825174||||96908/09 - 05/19multiple albums
The Name of the Rose1986**3.062185||1,36608/09multiple albums
Where the River Runs Black1986**2.591641||1,57008/09 - 04/16all albums
Cocoon1985****3.768913|||39410/97 - 12/13all albums
Commando1985**2.8553925||29612/03 - 08/15multiple albums
The Journey of Natty Gann (co-wrote)1985Varied3.351660|||1,48008/09multiple albums
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock1984***3.1295120|||47706/03 - 06/22all albums
Brainstorm1983***3.031802|||1,44408/09
Gorky Park1983***2.991630|||1,49508/09 - 04/24all albums
Krull1983****3.551,1517|||25708/97 - 08/15all albums
Something Wicked This Way Comes (co-wrote)1983Varied3.052865||||1,17008/09 - 03/24multiple albums
Testament1983***2.931914|77712/96 - 03/13multiple albums
Uncommon Valor1983***2.921933||1,72310/10 - 08/24all albums
48 Hrs.1982*2.241903||1,47103/11 - 03/22all albums
Rascals and Robbers1982***3.001225||1,76804/11limited
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan1982*****4.101,52438||||21106/03 - 01/22all albums
Deadly Blessing1981**2.47870||2,26211/23multiple albums
Wolfen (co-wrote)1981Varied2.862083|||1,34608/09 - 08/12multiple albums
Battle Beyond the Stars1980****3.695614|||53009/01 - 12/23all albums
Humanoids From the Deep1980**2.211380||1,72411/11 - 11/23all albums
The Lady in Red1979***2.69750|||2,31611/24
(reviews listed with a "co-wrote" indicate that either the composer wrote the score with another person or that more than one composer worked separately to provide a score for the production)
  • Return to Top (Full Menu) ▲
  • © 1995-2025, Filmtracks Publications