Maurice Jarre
























Maurice Jarre
Maurice Jarre.jpg
Background information
Born
(1924-09-13)13 September 1924
Lyon, France
Died 28 March 2009(2009-03-28) (aged 84)
Malibu, California, U.S.
Occupation(s) Composer, conductor
Years active 1958–2001

Maurice-Alexis Jarre (French: [ʒaʁ]; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009)[1][2][3] was a French composer and conductor, "one of the giants of 20th-century film music"[4] 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".[5]


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) on. Notable scores for other directors include The Train (1964), Mohammad, Messenger of God (1976), Lion of the Desert (1981), Witness (1985) and Ghost (1990).


Jarre was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[6] Three of his compositions spent a total of 42 weeks on the UK singles chart; the biggest hit was "Somewhere My Love" (to his tune "Lara's Theme", with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) by the Mike Sammes Singers, which reached Number 14 in 1966 and spent 38 weeks on the chart.


Jarre was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning three in the Best Original Score category for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984), all of which were directed by David Lean. He also won four Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, and a Grammy Award.




Contents






  • 1 Early life


  • 2 Film scoring


  • 3 Music style


  • 4 Family


  • 5 Death


  • 6 Awards


  • 7 Selected filmography and awards


  • 8 See also


  • 9 References


  • 10 External links





Early life


Jarre was born in Lyon, France, in 1924, the son of Gabrielle Renée (née Boullu) and André Jarre, a radio technical director.[7] He first enrolled in the engineering school at the Sorbonne, but decided to pursue music courses instead. He left the Sorbonne against his father's will and enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris to study composition and harmony and chose percussion as his major instrument.[3] He became director of the Théâtre National Populaire and recorded his first film score in France in 1951.[8]



Film scoring


In 1961 Jarre's music career experienced a major change when British film producer Sam Spiegel asked him to write the score for the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean.[9] The acclaimed score won Jarre his first Academy Award and he would go on to compose the scores to all of Lean's subsequent films. He followed with The Train (1964) and Grand Prix (1966), both for director John Frankenheimer, and in between had another great success in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago, which included the lyricless tune "Lara's Theme" (later the tune for the song "Somewhere My Love"), and which earned him his second Oscar. He worked with Alfred Hitchcock on Topaz (1969); though Hitchcock's experiences on the film were unhappy, he was satisfied with Jarre's score, telling him "I have not given you a great film, but you have given me a great score." His score for David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970), set in Ireland, completely eschews traditional Irish music styles, owing 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 The Message in 1976 for the director and producer Moustapha Akkad. He followed with Witness (1985) and Dead Poets Society (1989), for which he won a British Academy Award.


In the 1970s and 1980s, Jarre turned his hand to science fiction, with scores for The Island at the Top of the World (1974), Dreamscape (1984), Enemy Mine (1985), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). The latter is written for full orchestra, augmented by a chorus, four grand pianos, a pipe organ, digeridoo, fujara, a battery of exotic percussion, and three ondes Martenot, which feature in several of Jarre's other scores, including Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, The Bride and Prancer. The balalaika features prominently in Jarre's score for Doctor Zhivago.


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."[10]


Jarre's television work includes the score for the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977), directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Shōgun (1980), and the theme for PBS's Great Performances.[3]


Jarre scored his last project in 2001, a television mini-series about the Holocaust entitled Uprising.[3]



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 80s 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.[11]


In 1965, Jarre married French actress Dany Saval; together they had a daughter, Stephanie Jarre. He next married American actress Laura Devon (1967–84), 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.[12]



Death


Maurice Jarre died on 28 March 2009 in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer.[13]



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 ASCAP's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.[14]



Selected filmography and awards
















































































































































































































































































































































































































































Year
Title
Notes
1958

Head Against the Wall

1959

Eyes Without a Face

1960

Crack in the Mirror

1961

The Big Gamble

1962

Thérèse Desqueyroux


Lawrence of Arabia

Academy Award for Best Original Score
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

The Longest Day

1963

Sundays and Cybele
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment

Judex


A King Without Distraction

1964

Behold a Pale Horse


The Train


Weekend at Dunkirk

1965

The Collector


Doctor Zhivago

Academy Award for Best Original Score
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (1967)
1966

Is Paris Burning?
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Gambit


Grand Prix


The Professionals

1967

The Night of the Generals

1968

Villa Rides


5 Card Stud


The Fixer


Isadora

1969

The Extraordinary Seaman


Topaz


The Damned

1970

The Only Game in Town


El Condor


Ryan's Daughter

1971

Plaza Suite


Red Sun


A Season in Hell

1972

Pope Joan


The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Original Song ("Marmalade, Molasses & Honey")

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

1973

Ash Wednesday

The Mackintosh Man

1974

The Island at the Top of the World


Great Expectations

1975

The Man Who Would Be King
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Mandingo


Posse

1976

Shout at the Devil


The Last Tycoon

1977

Mohammad, Messenger of God
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Original Score

Jesus of Nazareth


Crossed Swords


March or Die

1978

Two Solitudes

1979

The Magician of Lublin


The Tin Drum


Winter Kills

1980

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark


The Black Marble


Shōgun


Resurrection

1981

Lion of the Desert


Circle of Deceit


Taps

1982

Firefox


Young Doctors in Love


The Year of Living Dangerously

1984

A Passage to India

Academy Award for Best Original Score
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Dreamscape


Top Secret!

1985

Witness
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Original Score
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome


Enemy Mine

1986

The Mosquito Coast

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Tai-Pan


Solarbabies

1987

No Way Out


Fatal Attraction


Gaby: A True Story

1988

Gorillas in the Mist

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Original Score

Cocktail
(Rejected score)
1989

Chances Are


Dead Poets Society

BAFTA Award for Best Film Music

Prancer

1990

Ghost
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Original Score

Jacob's Ladder


Almost an Angel


Solar Crisis

1991

Only the Lonely


Fires Within

1992

School Ties

1993

Fearless


Mr. Jones

1994

The River Wild
Unused music for the main title sequence. Jarre was replaced by Jerry Goldsmith
1995

A Walk in the Clouds

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
1996

The Sunchaser


White Squall
(Rejected score)
1999

Sunshine
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
2000

I Dreamed of Africa

2001

Uprising
Television film


See also



  • In the Tracks of Maurice Jarre, a documentary about Jarre.


References





  1. ^ McLellan, Dennis (March 31, 2009). "Maurice Jarre dies at 84; composer for 'Lawrence of Arabia'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 31, 2009..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ Weber, Bruce (March 31, 2009). "Maurice Jarre, Hollywood Composer, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2009.


  3. ^ abcde allmusic Biography


  4. ^ McLellan, Dennis (March 31, 2009). "Maurice Jarre dies at 84; composer for 'Lawrence of Arabia'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 26, 2014.


  5. ^ Weber, Bruce (March 31, 2009). "Maurice Jarre, Hollywood Composer, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2014.


  6. ^ Maurice Jarre (I) - Biography


  7. ^ "Maurice Jarre at". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2012-07-22.


  8. ^ "Maurice Jarre: Information and Much More from". Answers.com. Retrieved 2012-07-22.


  9. ^ Leydon, Joe (2009-03-30). "MovingPictureBlog.blogspot.com, March 30, 2009". Movingpictureblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-07-22.


  10. ^ Award Winning Musical Film Composer Maurice Jarre Dies From Cancer At 84 Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine.


  11. ^ Stuart, Julia (22 August 2004). "Jean Michel Jarre: Smooth operator". Independent. Independent Digital News and Media Ltd. Retrieved 8 July 2016.


  12. ^ "Oscar-winning movie legend Maurice Jarre dies". Cnn.com. March 31, 2009. Retrieved 2012-07-22.


  13. ^ Corliss, Richard (2009-03-30). "Obituary at". Time.com. Retrieved 2012-07-22.


  14. ^ "Maurice Jarre - Awards". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 21 September 2012.




External links








  • Maurice Jarre on IMDb

  • Filmography, soundtrack reviews, capsule biography


  • Obituary by the Associated Press on Legacy.com


  • O'Connor, Patrick (31 March 2009). "Obituary". The Guardian. London.










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