Maurice Jarre
Maurice Jarre | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Lyon, France | 13 September 1924
Died | 28 March 2009 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 84)
Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
Years active | 1958–2001 |
Maurice-Alexis Jarre (French pronunciation: [mɔʁis alɛksi ʒaʁ]; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009)[1][2][3] was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films from Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to A Passage to India (1984). He was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning three in the Best Original Score category for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India, all of which were directed by Lean.
Notable scores for other directors included
Jarre also won four
He was the father of musician Jean-Michel Jarre and the adopted father of screenwriter Kevin Jarre.
Early life
Jarre was born in
Film scoring
In 1961, Jarre's music career experienced a major change when American film producer
Jarre's score for David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970), set in Ireland, completely eschews traditional Irish music styles, according to Lean's preferences. The song "It Was a Good Time," from Ryan's Daughter went on to be recorded by musical stars such as Liza Minnelli who used it in her critically acclaimed television special Liza with a Z as well as by others during the 1970s. He contributed the music for Luchino Visconti's The Damned (1969), and John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King (1975).
He was again nominated for an Academy Award for scoring
In the 1970s and 1980s, Jarre turned his hand to science fiction, with scores for
In 1990, Jarre was again nominated for an Academy Award scoring the supernatural love story/thriller Ghost. His music for the final scene of the film is based on "Unchained Melody" composed by fellow film composer Alex North.[3] Other films for which he provided the music include A Walk in the Clouds (1995), for which he wrote the score and all of the songs, including the romantic "Mariachi Serenade". Also to his credit is the passionate love theme from Fatal Attraction (1987), and the moody electronic soundscapes of After Dark, My Sweet (1990). He was well respected by other composers including John Williams, who stated, on Jarre's death, "(He) is to be well remembered for his lasting contribution to film music ... we all have been enriched by his legacy."[6]
Jarre's television work includes the theme for the short-lived 1967 Western series on
Jarre scored his last project in 2001, a television mini-series about the
He was "one of the giants of 20th-century film music"[7] who was "among the most sought-after composers in the movie industry" and "a creator of both subtle underscoring and grand, sweeping themes, not only writing for conventional orchestras ... but also experimenting with electronic sounds later in his career".[8]
Music style
Jarre wrote mainly for orchestras, but began to favour synthesized music in the 1980s. Jarre pointed out that his electronic score for Witness was actually more laborious, time-consuming and expensive to produce than an orchestral score. Jarre's electronic scores from the 1980s also include Fatal Attraction, The Year of Living Dangerously, Firefox and No Way Out. A number of his scores from that era also feature electronic / acoustic blends, such as Gorillas in the Mist, Dead Poets Society, The Mosquito Coast and Jacob's Ladder.
Family
Jarre was married four times, the first three marriages ending in divorce. In the 1940s, his marriage to Francette Pejot, a French Resistance member and concentration camp survivor, produced a son, Jean-Michel Jarre, a French composer, performer, and music producer, who is one of the pioneers in electronic music. When Jean-Michel was five years old, Maurice split up with his wife and moved to the United States, leaving Jean-Michel with his mother in France.[9]
In 1965, Jarre married French actress Dany Saval; together they had a daughter, Stephanie Jarre. He next married American actress Laura Devon (1967–1984), resulting in his adopting her son, Kevin Jarre, a screenwriter, with credits on such films as Tombstone and Glory (1989). From 1984 to his death, he was married to Fong F. Khong.[10]
Death
Maurice Jarre died of cancer on 28 March 2009 in Los Angeles.[11]
Awards
Jarre received three Academy Awards and received a total of nine nominations, eight for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song. He also won four Golden Globes and was nominated for ten.
The American Film Institute ranked Jarre's score for Lawrence of Arabia #3 on their list of the greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list:
- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
- A Passage to India (1984)
- Ryan's Daughter (1970)
Numerous additional awards include
Filmography
1950s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1957 | Burning Fuse | Henri Decoin | Composed with Louis Gasté & Philippe Gérard
|
1958 | Head Against the Wall | Georges Franju | |
1959 | Les Dragueurs | Jean-Pierre Mocky | |
Beast at Bay | Pierre Chenal | ||
Stars at Noon | Jacques Ertaud Marcel Ichac |
||
Vous n'avez rien à déclarer? | Clément Duhour | ||
Eyes Without a Face | Georges Franju |
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Solar Crisis
|
Richard C. Sarafian | |
Ghost | Jerry Zucker | Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score Nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Music | |
Jacob's Ladder | Adrian Lyne | ||
Almost an Angel | John Cornell | ||
1991 | Only the Lonely | Chris Columbus | |
Fires Within | Gillian Armstrong | ||
1992 | The Setting Sun | Rou Tomono | |
School Ties | Robert Mandel | ||
Shadow of the Wolf | Jacques Dorfmann Pierre Magny |
||
1993 | Mr. Jones | Mike Figgis | |
Fearless | Peter Weir | ||
1994 | The River Wild | Curtis Hanson | Rejected score Replaced by Jerry Goldsmith |
1995 | A Walk in the Clouds | Alfonso Arau | Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score |
1996 | The Sunchaser | Michael Cimino | |
White Squall | Ridley Scott | Rejected score Replaced by Jeff Rona & Hans Zimmer | |
1997 | Day and Night | Bernard-Henri Lévy | |
1999 | Sunshine | István Szabó | Nominated for the Genie Award for Best Music Score
|
2000s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | I Dreamed of Africa | Hugh Hudson | |
2001 | Uprising | Jon Avnet |
References
- ^ McLellan, Dennis (31 March 2009). "Maurice Jarre dies at 84; composer for 'Lawrence of Arabia'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ Weber, Bruce (31 March 2009). "Maurice Jarre, Hollywood Composer, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d e allmusic Biography
- ^ "Maurice Jarre". IMDb.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ "Maurice Jarre: Information and Much More from". Answers.com. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Award Winning Musical Film Composer Maurice Jarre Dies From Cancer At 84". Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ McLellan, Dennis (31 March 2009). "Maurice Jarre dies at 84; composer for 'Lawrence of Arabia'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ Weber, Bruce (31 March 2009). "Maurice Jarre, Hollywood Composer, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ Stuart, Julia (22 August 2004). "Jean Michel Jarre: Smooth operator". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Oscar-winning movie legend Maurice Jarre dies". Cnn.com. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (30 March 2009). "Obituary". Time.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Maurice Jarre - Awards". IMDb.com. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
External links
- Maurice Jarre at IMDb
- Filmography, soundtrack reviews, capsule biography
- Obituary by the Associated Press on Legacy.com
- O'Connor, Patrick (31 March 2009). "Obituary". The Guardian. London.