Antonio Banderas, Edgar Wright, Italy’s Prime Minister Pay Tribute to Film Composer Ennio Morricone

Jazz Tangcay
·4 min read

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Antonio Banderas, Edgar Wright, Jean Michel Jarre, Chance the Rapper and even the Italian prime minister were among the people paying to legendary film composer Ennio Morricone early Monday, who died following complications from a fall. He was 91.

Over seven decades, Morricone contributed to over 520 scores including, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Cinema Paradiso” and “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Morricone won the Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Academy Award in 2016 for “The Hateful Eight.”

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Director Edgar Wright led the tributes on social media saying, “Where to even begin with iconic composer Ennio Morricone? He could make an average movie into a must-see, a good movie into art, and a great movie into legend. He hasn’t been off my stereo my entire life. What a legacy of work he leaves behind. RIP.”

Antonio Banderas who starred in 1989’s “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down,” posted, “With great sadness, we say goodbye to a big master of cinema. His music will keep playing in our memories. Rest in peace #EnnioMorricone.”

French violinist Renaud Capucon wrote, “So sad of the disappearance of the immense Ennio Morricone. The little Toto in ‘Cinema Paradiso,’ and all lovers of the composer are upset today.”

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted,”We will always remember, with infinite gratitude, the artistic genius of the Maestro #EnnioMorricone. It made us dream, feel excited, reflect, writing memorable notes that will remain indelible in the history of music and cinema.”

Composer and musician Jean-Michele Jarre wrote a tribute in both French and English saying, “Ennio Morricone a unique sound magnificent melodies,a major influence & constant source of inspiration: Love and respect.”

Chance the Rapper left a simple but heartfelt tribute on his Twitter page saying, “RIP Ennio Morricone.” He linked to Morricone’s piece, “The Crisis.”

Electronic duo, Goldfrapp shared how Morricone influenced their music. “Sad to hear about the passing of Ennio Morricone today. He was a huge inspiration for Goldfrapp too, in particular Felt Mountain. X 🖤 Here’s a playlist we’ve made for you of some of our favorite Morricone tracks: https://smarturl.it/MorriconeAmore”

“Dolemite is my Name” scribe Larry Karaszewski shared, “There’s no greater film composer than Ennio Morricone. So distinctive. So prolific. He made every movie he worked on better. Beloved for his westerns and thrillers but my favorite score is from Gillo Pontecorvo’s brilliant political epic “Queumada””

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