Jerry Goldsmith - Film and Television Scoring - 1980s

1980s

Throughout the 1980s, Goldsmith found himself increasingly scoring science fiction and fantasy films in the ongoing wake of the successful Star Wars (1977) composing for such films as the The Omen sequels Damien: Omen II (1978) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981), the space western Outland (1981), the animated fantasy The Secret of NIMH (1982), and the episodic fantasy mystery Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), which he composed in four different styles to accompany the four parts of the film.

In 1982, Goldsmith was hired to compose the music to the classic Tobe Hooper-directed, Steven Spielberg-produced fantasy horror Poltergeist. He wrote several themes for Poltergeist including a gentle lullaby for the protagonist Carol Anne and her family's suburban life, a semi-religious theme for scenes concerning the souls trapped between the two worlds, and bombastic atonal bursts during scenes of horror. The score for Poltergeist garnered him a nomination for an Academy Award, though he lost again to fellow composer John Williams for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Goldsmith later returned in 1986 to compose the more synthetic score to Poltergeist II, the first of its two sequels.

He did, however, still manage to compose for such non-fantasy productions as the period television miniseries Masada (1981) (for which he won an Emmy Award), the controversial war film Inchon (1982), the action classic First Blood (1982), and his Oscar and Golden Globe nominated score to the political drama Under Fire (1983) in which he used the ethnic sounds of a South American pan flute, synthetic elements, and the prominently featured solo work of jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.

Throughout the decade, many of his compositions became increasingly laced with synthetic elements such as his scores for the horror sequel Psycho II (1983), the comedy horror film Gremlins (1984) (for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Music), the fantasy superhero adaptation Supergirl (1984), the fantasy adventure Legend (1985) (initially heard only in European prints and then years later in a 2002 director's cut), the action sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), the family fantasy Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985), and the fantasy horror Poltergeist II (1986). His incorporation of synthesizers, orchestra, and the recorded sounds of basketball hits on a gymnasium floor also garnered him another Academy Award nomination for his innovative and critically acclaimed score to the dramatic sports movie Hoosiers (1986), though he lost to Herbie Hancock for Round Midnight.

Goldsmith finished out the decade with noteworthy scores to such films as the medieval adventure Lionheart (1987), the science fiction comedy Innerspace (1987), Rambo III (1988), the science fiction horror Leviathan (1989), and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), his second Star Trek film score. Goldsmith's score to Leviathan (1989) is notable for having incorporated the use of recorded whale sounds during the main titles. His critically acclaimed comedy score to The 'Burbs (1989) is also noteworthy for the use of pipe organ, recorded dog barking sound effects, and for parodying the trumpet "call to war" triplets on an echoplex from his previous score to Patton (1970).

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