This is the beginning of a new series, focused on the cinematographers, composers, sound designers and more who elevate the movies they work on. If you have some favorites you’d like us to write on, let us know below!
Thomas Newman.
You might not know him by name, but you almost certainly know and love his music. When asked to write about a below-the-line filmmaker, I immediately thought of Newman. Thomas Newman is one of the best (and most consistently great) composers working, and yet he goes unrecognized by the casual moviegoer. I hope you enjoy this exploration (via five tracks from his film scores) of one of my favorite composers!
Newman belongs to the great Newman dynasty of film composers: his father Alfred Newman wrote the music for dozens of legendary films, including How Green Was My Valley, The Song of Bernadette, Gentlemen’s Agreement, Miracle on 34th Street, All About Eve, The Robe, and The Greatest Story Ever Told. Thomas’ family also includes his brother David, uncles Lionel and Emil, and cousin Randy - all film composers as well. Young Thomas was originally drawn to musical theater rather than film, and he was mentored for a time by Stephen Sondheim. He eventually moved over to film work, first as an arranger (he orchestrated one scene of Return of the Jedi) and then finally a composer in his own right.
Following his first scoring credits in 1984, he worked non-stop for the next ten years before getting his first big hits: 1994’s Little Women starring Winona Ryder, and another film...
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Track: “Shawshank Prison (Stoic Theme)”
The Shawshank Redemption is in my opinion a perfect movie. I couldn’t tell you a single thing that could be done to improve it. I went in expecting greatness and I was blown away even so.
Newman’s score for Shawshank is full of big emotions: moody when it needs to be, playful when it needs to be. I love how dissonant the above track, “Shawshank Prison,” is. It features a recurring melody that sounds as plodding and monotonous as Shawshank Prison is. Just listening to the music, I can picture the grand, imposing bulk of Shawshank as we first enter it, even though I haven’t seen the movie in years.
Given that Shawshank is a perfect movie, it makes sense that it would go completely unrecognized by the Academy, right? Newman was nominated for Oscars for Best Original Score both for Shawshank and for Little Women, and he lost to Hans Zimmer for The Lion King. Understandable.
After Shawshank, Newman would do more and more high-profile projects with big-name directors, including American Beauty with Sam Mendes and Erin Brockovich with Steven Soderbergh. Not to be outdone by his cousin Randy Newman, who composed Pixar’s first four movies, Thomas would then hit a big milestone when he scored his first animated film...
Finding Nemo (2003)
Track: “Nemo Egg (Main Title)”
If you’re like me, you first heard Newman’s work in a Pixar movie. Working on Finding Nemo for director Andrew Stanton gave Newman the opportunity to write even more emotional and expressive music. If you don’t get even a little emotional listening to the track “Nemo Egg,” then there might be something wrong with you.
Finding Nemo’s score has so many of the hallmarks of a Thomas Newman score: soulful oboe solos, small piano melodies that grow and swell into great big beautiful string sections, and cool funky atmospheric sounds. A sheer delight befitting one of Pixar’s most beloved classics.
For his work on Finding Nemo, Newman was nominated for the Academy Award, but lost to Howard Shore for The Return of the King. Which - yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Sorry, Thomas. Not your year, I guess.
After several more critically acclaimed movies (including more collaborations with Mendes - don’t worry, we’ll get to Mendes later), Newman would work with Pixar and Stanton again...
WALL-E (2008)
Track: “Define Dancing”
“Define Dancing” is itself a dance: a dance that pervades the score and the whole film, between grandeur and playful funkiness. (It’s hard to listen to Daniel Pemberton’s score for Project Hail Mary and not feel like there was some inspiration from Newman). The shots of WALL-E and Eve flying around outside the ship are some of the most gorgeous that Pixar has created, and the music fits perfectly.
Newman also wrote a song with Peter Gabriel for the movie’s end credits, “Down to Earth.” WALL-E was considered a serious awards contender in 2008, even getting Best Picture buzz. Though it didn’t get that nomination, it did end up with a record-tying (for an animated movie) six nominations. Two of those were for Newman: Score and Song. He lost both to Slumdog Millionaire. Fair enough, I guess. Slumdog does have pretty awesome music.
So far, I’ve mentioned several collaborations between Newman and various directors: Mendes, Soderbergh, Stanton. The next entry is the result of the lack of a director-composer pairing, the most famous director-composer pairing in modern cinema...
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Track: “Homecoming”
Due to a health incident, John Williams was not able to compose Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies (a generally well-respected but underrated movie). So when Spielberg needed a composer, whom did he turn to? None other than Newman - after all, John Williams was a protege of Thomas’ father Alfred, and Thomas was himself a protege of Williams (cf. the aforementioned orchestration of a scene from Return of the Jedi).
And the result is a beautiful score that I listen to all the time, especially while writing - in fact, I probably listen to it more often than any other Newman score. It retains Newman’s signature style and orchestrations but also pays homage to Williams’. In “Homecoming,” for example, the track begins with a soulful horn solo - that’s Williams. Then as it progresses, you hear a soft, subtle piano melody that repeats as it builds up to a grand climax - that’s Newman. (There’s also the playful Newman oboe!) The two composers share the same big feelings that they wear (or I guess compose) on their sleeve - perfect for a Spielberg movie.
Newman was nominated for the Academy Award, as was Williams that same year (for Star Wars: The Force Awakens), and they lost to Ennio Morrison (for The Hateful Eight). It’s a shame - I probably would’ve gone with Bridge of Spies, but you can understand the desire to reward a legend like Morricone after such a long and auspicious career (with no prior Academy Award wins).
Okay it’s finally time to talk about a Sam Mendes movie.
1917 (2019)
Track: “Sixteen Hundred Men”
1917 is a monumental technical achievement and a deeply moving film. At the zenith of those two is Newman’s music. The score underlies the movie perfectly at every turn. For the first three quarters or so, the music is somewhat restrained, matching the claustrophobia and tension of the situations. Only once or twice does the music take center stage until the climactic “Sixteen Hundred Men,” where Schofield (George McKay) runs through the infantry charge to try to call off the British attack. After so much restraint, the music explodes into action epic glory, and it’s a wondrous thing to see and hear.
But this next track is just so good, I couldn’t pick only one.
Bonus track: “Come Back to Us”
After Schofield successfully delivers his message calling off the attack, he collapses in exhaustion against a tree. So the movie ends as it began, with Schofield sitting at a tree. But this time, as opposed to the overcast skies we’ve seen the entire movie, there’s a glimpse of golden sunlight (a happy accident on set, by the way). And we finally see the pictures of Schofield’s wife and children that he’s been carrying the entire time, along with the message “Come back to us.” [I’m listening to the track as I’m writing this and I just got choked up.] Some of the most beautiful string music I’ve ever heard. A perfect ending.
Newman was once again nominated for the Oscar, and once again he lost (to Hildur Guðnadóttir for Joker). I’ve been very understanding of the Oscar snubs so far, but no longer. Joker’s score is bad, and I’m tired of pretending that it’s not. It’s just the same dissonant cello music over and over again! Newman should’ve won and that’s that.
Since then, Newman has slowed down a bit, usually doing only one or two scores a year (the guy is 70 years old now). He’s continued to work with some of the same directors, including Soderbergh and Stanton. He wrote the music, with his daughter Julia, for the crime series Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story. And in a nice full-circle moment, his next big project is Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter. I hope he keeps writing music for as long as he can, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of his career with me.
I had a blast writing this post! I’m Dominic Morlino and I’m a writer based in Northern Kentucky. I’m married, with a young son, and I enjoy movies, gardening, volleyball, and history. My three favorite movies (right now) are The Empire Strikes Back, The Fellowship of the Ring, and It’s a Wonderful Life. You can find the rest of my work here at St. Luke’s Sketchbook!
Totally enjoyable article! Great choices. Saving to remember to view the ones I have not viewed on the list.