Rest In Peace James Horner

by Mike Lunsford

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Glory
The Rocketeer
Legends of the Fall
Braveheart
Apollo 13
Jumanji
Titanic
Apocalypto
Avatar
The Amazing Spider-Man

Star Trek II
Star Trek III
Cocoon
Commando
Aliens
An American Tail
Project X
Batteries Not Included
Willow
The Land Before Time
Field of Dreams
 

     What do all these movies have in common?  That's a hard question. Some of them are awesome science fiction flicks, some of them are moving emotional stories, others are animated masterpieces that influenced many of our childhoods. But every single one of them has an incredible musical score accompanying the memorable images of these films and every single one of them (and many more not listed) were composed by James Horner. 

     A great soundtrack can turn an otherwise average movie into something you remember fondly (Legends of the Fall is a perfect example of this). It makes a film, that mostly visual, a multi-sensory experience. It can illicit excitement, sadness, fear or jubilation. The man was  respected throughout the industry for being able to generate all of these emotions from the music he created.  A perfect example of his ability to create memorable moments is evident in his orchestration for  Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. 

     The scene where Admiral Kirk and his crew commandeer the Enterprise and take her out of spacedock has been voted as one of the most memorable scenes in all of the Star Trek pantheon. Without his brilliant score in the background, the scene would not have you on the edge of your seat hoping that the Enterprise crew will be able to recover their fallen comrade, Captain Spock from the Genesis planet.

     In Apollo 13, when the command module re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and it takes more than the normal 3 minutes of blackout time, the music builds the suspense of the moment. When we finally hear the crackle of static and Jim Lovell's voice announcing their return to Earth, the music is appropriately joyous and triumphant. A lesser composer would not have been able to accomplish what Mr. Horner expertly captured. I could continue on as each one of his movies was equally brilliant. 

    Mr. Horner, you will be missed. Your time came too early. Rest In Peace.