John Barry (out of Africa

He may have gotten his start with the hep swing of BEAT GIRL, then became a musical sensation for creating the cool jazz action of Agent 007. But for all of the lush stylings that John Barry used to define symphonic scoring as a contemporary “with it” sound, the composer proved he could make his approach sound just as contemporarily moving in the service of such historical dramas as MARY QUEEN OF SCOTTS, THE LION AND THE WINTER and THE LAST VALLEY. For if any music conveyed the feeling of untouched forests, royal intrigue and romantic mythmaking, then it was Barry’s theme-heavy scoring. Sure he’d latch onto a melody and beat you to death with it. But what a way to go, as Barry usually came up with a motif that you wouldn’t mind hearing ad infinitum, especially as his theme took on new life with each variation for strings, brass and winds. This was the kind of melody that helped make legendary figures into breathing, loving people, even when their movie got its kicks from turning such Technicolor heroes as Robin Hood and Maid Marian into characters just about ready for assisted living.

Universal Music presents 5-CD box-set - 100 Film Classics. 100 Classic hits from classical movies and different genres. You can find out here Miles Davis, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ennio Morricone, The Beach Boys, Johnny Cash alongside with classical works by Mozart or Strauss.

John Barry's musical sixth sense is legendary. Though he eschewed the wishes of director Sydney Pollack to score Out of Africa with indigenous tribal sounds (and garnered an Academy Award in the process), it wasn't from lack of musical range, as Barry had previously demonstrated so effectively on this score. The composer's work for the gritty World War II Japanese POW camp drama features a jaunty, if typically Barry-idiosyncratic, march and a string-dominated title theme unusual for the genre. The composer infuses his distinctively adventurous arranging skills with percussive elements that give the music a sense of place. It's a score that cuts against expectations and traditions in much the same way as Hans Zimmer's score for The Thin Red Line would 30 years later.