[GerateWohl]

I must confess, I know about half of nothing about italian film music.
Of course I know some stuff of Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota. And of course there are the Goblin works for Argento.

But I always see that great amount of scores from Italian movies from the 70s and 80s in the soundtrack online stores (comedy, horror, sex, thriller), that I think, this seems to be a thing among various soundtrack fans. But I know none of them.

Anyone here into this?

[Malte Müller]

I also only know bits and pieces here and there. Lots via compilations by various composers of mostly the easy listening groovy ones. I have some compilation Franco Miccalizzi did with his band primarily from the Italian police movies. Great groovy fun. Or bits of various westerns.
Often lack the connection to the movies itself a bit although I surely saw lots of those adventure ones in my youth.

[Thor Joachim Haga]

I can’t keep up with the deep knowledge of Italo buffs at FSM, for example, but I’ve started to explore some of it in recent years. Piccioni, Ortolani, Cipriani, Trovajoli, de Masi etc. etc. A lot of good stuff, but also a rabbit hole to get lost in once you start. I think I just have to accept that I will never be an expert, and just be content with having skimmed the surface and selected some favourites from these.

[GerateWohl]

Yeah, in a way I find it fascinating that there exists this seemingly popular parallel soundtrack world.
But my memory of the italian genre movies that I have seen (especially comedy and horror) is, that there is not much in for fans of symphonic movie scores like me. It is more that easy listening genre, like also 80% of Morricone’s scores.

Interesting enough, that often music of composers who at their time often worked in kind of a pop ensemble format like Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota or also Astor Piazolla (I know, he’s Argentinian) are today a prefered source for orchestral or classical chamber arrangements of their music.

[Thor Joachim Haga]

I wouldn’t say it’s all ‘easy listening’. Some of the most harrowing, dissonant works are in the ‘giallo’ genre, for example. When I picked out my favourites from (some of) these composers it’s true that they were either lyrical/wistful orchestral music, or loungey/funky stuff, because that’s my taste, but along the way I encountered a bunch of different things, from big orchestral affairs (peplum movies!) to dark, dissonant experimentalism.

I think it’s just the “colourful genre”/niche-within-niche thing that attracts so many fans, with that kind of deep, super-detailed knowledge you see on FSM.

[Sigbjørn]

John Williams’ Monsignor is decent. 😉

[Malte Müller]

There are actually lots of Italian pirate, Roman sword and sandal and other adventure movies at least in the 50s and 60s that have rather traditional symphonic scores. For example these Ursus, Hercules, Samson or Maciste movies. Sadly not familar with these but the Alhambra label release some of these scores by Lavagino I think.

[Malte Müller]

Ah, the sword and sandal ones are also called Peplum films which I forgot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword-and-sandal

[Nick Zwar]

There’s certainly a lot more than easy listening to Morricone’s Italian scores, in fact, I find Morricone wrote some of his most challenging scores for Italian horror/giallo/crime genre. But it’s usually also often not sweeping or symphonic but more experimental, perhaps inspired by his work with the “Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza”.

Of course, asides from Morricone, I know other Italian film composers, and have albums by such composers as Pino Donaggio, Nino Rota, Riz Ortolani, Mario Nascimbene, Dario Marianelli, Giorgio Moroder, Guido & Maurizio De Angelis (aka Oliver Onions)… and some more, but I’m sure not an expert.

[GerateWohl]

For me Dario Marianelli does not really count into that group of composers for italian movies. To be honest, I am not aware on any italian movie that he wrote the score for. Did he actually?

[Thor Joachim Haga]

For me Dario Marianelli does not really count into that group of composers for italian movies. To be honest, I am not aware on any italian movie that he wrote the score for. Did he actually?

Yes, but in later years. I think he moved to London early on, like Zimmer, so he didn’t start out in Italian cinema.

Let’s share some concrete recommendations.

Carlo Siliotto:

TEQUILA
MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN

Francesco de Masi:

ARIZONA COLT
UNA HISTORIA D’AMORE
LESBO
LONE WOLF MCQUADE

Marco Werba: IL DIARIO DI UN PRETE

Pericle Odierna:

IL LEONE DI VETRO
PICCIRIDA

Piero Piccioni:

BORA BORA
LE MONACHE DI SANT’ARCANGELO
STORIA DI UNA MONACA DI CLAUSURA

Pino Donaggio:

CARRIE
DRESSED TO KILL
MORTE IN VATICANO
DON CAMILLO
L’ATTENZIONE
HOTEL COLONIAL
LA MONACA DI MONZA
COSI FAN TUTTE
ANTONIO – GUERRIERO DI DIO
JOE PETROSINO
L’UOMO DI CHE CAVALCAVA DEL BUIO

Riz Ortolani:

FRATELLO SOLE, SORELLA LUNA
FANTASMA D’AMORE
LA RIVINCITA DI NATELE

Stefano Caprioli:

LA FRECCIA NERA
FURORE
IL SEGRETO DI BORGO LARICI

Stelvio Cipriani:

FEMINA RIDENS
ANONIMO VENEZIANIO
IL GIARDINO DELL’EDEN
ORGASMO NERO

Newer scores:

Francesco Marchetti: THE GARBAGE MAN
Francesco Cerati: VILLETA CON OSPITI
Gabriele Roberti: JULIAN SCHNABEL: A PRIVATE PORTRAIT
Giulani Taviani & Carmelo Travia: L’UOMO CHE DISEGNÓ DIO
Marco Pedrazzi: L’ORO DEL RENO

Giorgio Moroder is a chapter in himself; one of my favourite composers. Same for Morricone. Never been a big fan of Nino Rota, but I like a few of his things. Goblin, I primarily like SUSPIRIA and the odd theme here and there. I have a soft spot for the scores of Italian neo-realism, plus Michelangelo Antonioni, who is one of my favourite directors (Gaslini, Fusco etc.).

Sorry, that was a longer post than I had anticipated.

[Malte Müller]

A few quick by me that should be generally orchestral:

Carlo Siliotti THE PUNISHER
Carlo Siliotti JULIUS CAESAR
Carlo Siliotti NOMAD THE WARRIOR
Franco Piersanti IL COMMISSARIO MONTALBANO (ok, actually more chamberlike)
Francesco de Masi’s THUNDER (have it as LP) / THUNDER 3 (bascially italo western scores so only partly orchestral)
Piero Piccioni ROMULUS & REMUS
Nino Rota GATTOPARD
Marco Frisina Tristano e Isotta
Marco Frisina Michele Strogoff, il corriere dello Zar

[GerateWohl]

Thank you for the recomendations.
Something to discover. 🙂

[Nick Zwar]

I admit, when I read “Italian Soundtracks”, I tend to go by composer, but of course Italians have written music for non-Italian movies, and non-Italians have written music for Italian movies. (I usually go by composer, but of course, that’s but one option.)

[GerateWohl]

I admit, when I read “Italian Soundtracks”, I tend to go by composer, but of course Italians have written music for non-Italian movies, and non-Italians have written music for Italian movies. (I usually go by composer, but of course, that’s but one option.)

I agree, that’s a plausible way to look at it.
By the way, stylistically I find Marianelli’s most italian score is The Boxtrolls, which is one of my favourites of his.

[Forfatter]

Innlegg