Similar Artists:
- Active: '80s, '90s, 2000s
- Genres: Soundtrack
- Instrument: Producer, Arranger, Engineer
- Representative Albums: "Lonesome Dove," "Hunt for Red October," "Quigley Down Under"
Basil Poledouris
| Artist: Basil Poledouris |
| Discography: Basil Poledouris |
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| Actor: Basil Poledouris |
- Born: Aug 21, 1945 in Kansas City, Missouri
- Died: Nov 08, 2006 in Los Angeles, California
- Active: '80s-'90s
- Major Genres: Drama, Action
- Career Highlights: Robocop, Conan the Barbarian, Starship Troopers
- First Major Screen Credit: Congratulations, It's a Boy! (1971)
Biography
Musically, the American composer Basil Poledouris belongs to the John Williams camp of film scorers. Like Williams (and two of his protégés, David Arnold and Mark Mancina), Poledouris made his name by composing the music for elephantine-budgeted Hollywood special-effects extravaganzas and high-gloss Sirkian soapers. The distinction lies in Poledouris' somewhat unique instrumental approach to the material. In the case of fantasy films (on which Poledouris worked many times), he combined traditionally overwrought Williams-esque orchestrations with exhilarating bursts of choral music. This now-familiar trope did much to embellish the genre on an aural level.Born in Kansas City on August 21, 1945, Pouledoris projected a keen aptitude for music as a youngster, with piano lessons at nine years old and high-school membership in a folk band. He studied music and cinema at USC, then graduated to telemovies in the early '70s, segueing into feature films via repeated collaborations with two university colleagues: director John Milius (Big Wednesday [1978], Conan the Barbarian [1982], Conan the Destroyer [1984], Red Dawn [1984], Farewell to the King [1989]) and director Randal Kleiser (The Blue Lagoon [1980], Summer Lovers [1982]). Additional titles that Poledouris scored include The Hunt for Red October (1990), directed by John McTiernan; Cherry 2000, directed by Steve De Jarnatt; andRobocop 2 (1990), directed by Paul Verhoeven.
Poledouris was doubtless considered one of the industry leaders in fantasy and action film scores, but as time rolled on, he branched out into innumerable genres, including darkly comic satires (Serial Mom [1994], Cecil B. Demented [2000]), more traditional comedies (Celtic Pride [1996], Mickey Blue Eyes [1999]), and family dramas (Lassie [1994], Free Willy 2 [1995]).
Poledouris also remained active on the small screen, authoring the score for the acclaimed TV miniseries Amerika (1987) and Lonesome Dove (1989). In 1996, he was appointed to author a six-minute overture for the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, and in doing so, drew on his extensive studies of Greek philosophy, history, and mythology. The work was performed by a 300-member choir and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
In 2006, The Exodus Film Group had slated Poledouris to return to his fantasy roots, penning the score for director Jim Rygiel's live-action/CG combo feature Bunyan & Babe, about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Prior to the completion of the score, however, Pouledoris died of cancer in Los Angeles, CA, on November 8, 2006. He was survived, in death, by his mother, his brother, and two daughters. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
| Filmography: Basil Poledouris |
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| Wikipedia: Basil Poledouris |
| Basil Poledouris | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Basilis Konstantine Poledouris |
| Born | August 21, 1945 Kansas City, Missouri, USA |
| Died | November 8, 2006 (aged 61) Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Film score |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, Orchestra |
| Years active | 1970 - 2003 |
| Website | http://www.basil-poledouris.com/ |
Basilis "Basil" Konstantine Poledouris (August 21, 1945 - November 8, 2006) was an American music composer who concentrated on the scores for movies and television shows. Mr. Poledouris won the Emmy Award for Best Musical Score for work on part four of the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove in 1989.
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Biography
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Basil Poledouris credited two influences with guiding him towards music: the first was composer Miklós Rózsa, the second was his Greek Orthodox heritage. Poledouris was raised in the church, and used to sit in services, enthralled with the choir's sound.[1] At age 7 he began piano lessons, and eventually enrolled at the University of Southern California to study both film and music. Several short films to which he contributed still reside in the university's archives. At USC he met directors John Milius and Randal Kleiser, with both of whom the composer would later collaborate. In 1985, he scored Flesh & Blood for director Paul Verhoeven, again establishing another ongoing collaboration.
Poledouris became renowned for his powerfully epic style of orchestral composition and his intricate thematic designs, and garnered attention for his scores to The Blue Lagoon (1980; dir: Kleiser), Conan the Barbarian (1982; dir: Milius), Conan the Destroyer (1984), Red Dawn (1984; dir: Milius), RoboCop (1987; dir: Verhoeven), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Free Willy (1993) and its sequels, Starship Troopers (1997; dir: Verhoeven) and For Love of the Game (1999).
His studio, Blowtorch Flats, is located in Venice, CA and is a professional mixing facility specializing in film and media production.
Poledouris married his wife, Bobbie, in 1969 and had two daughters, Zoë and Alexis. The elder, Zoë Poledouris, is an actress and film composer who occasionally collaborated with her father composing film soundtracks.
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His score for Conan the Barbarian is considered by many to be one of the finest examples of motion picture scoring ever written.[2][3][4]
In 1996 he scored the "The Tradition of the Games"[5] for the Atlanta Olympics Opening Ceremony that accompanied the memorable dance tribute[6] to the athletes and goddesses of victory of the ancient Greek Olympics using silhouette imagery.[7]
He spent the last four years of his life living on Vashon Island, in Washington state, and died on November 8, 2006 in Los Angeles, California, aged 61, due to complications from cancer.[8]
Filmography
Films
- Extreme Close-Up (1973)
- Tintorera (1977)
- Big Wednesday (1978)
- The House of God (1980)
- The Blue Lagoon (1980)
- Summer Lovers (1982)
- Conan the Barbarian (1982)
- Red Dawn (1984)
- Protocol (1984)
- Conan the Destroyer (1984)
- Making the Grade (1984)
- Flesh & Blood (1985)
- Iron Eagle (1986)
- Cherry 2000 (1987)
- No Man's Land (1987)
- RoboCop (1987)
- Split Decisions (1988)
- Spellbinder (1988)
- Farewell to the King (1989)
- Wired (1989)
- Quigley Down Under (1990)
- The Hunt for Red October (1990)
- Flight of the Intruder (1991)
- White Fang (1991)
- Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
- Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
- Wind (1992)
- Robocop 3 (1993)
- Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
- Free Willy (1993)
- On Deadly Ground (1994)
- Serial Mom (1994)
- Lassie (1994)
- The Jungle Book (1994)
- Free Willy 2 (1995)
- Under Siege 2 (1995)
- It's My Party (1996)
- Celtic Pride (1996)
- Amanda (1996)
- The War at Home (1996)
- Switchback (1997)
- Breakdown (1997)
- Starship Troopers (1997)
- Les Miserables (1998)
- Kimberly (1999)
- For Love of the Game (1999)
- Mickey Blue Eyes (1999)
- Cecil B. DeMented (2000)
- Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)
- The Touch (2002)
- The Legend of Butch and Sundance (2003)
Mini-series
- Amerika (14-hour mini-series) (1987)
- Lonesome Dove (8-hour mini-series) (1989) (Emmy Award Winner for Best Score)
- Zoya (4-hour mini-series) (theme) (1995)
Television
- Congratulations, It's a Boy (1971)
- Three for the Road (1974)
- Hollywood 90028 (1979)
- Dolphin (1979)
- A Whale for the Killing (1981)
- Fire on the Mountain (1981)
- Amazons (1984)
- Single Women, Single Bars (1984)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (pilot) (1985)
- Misfits of Science (pilot) (1986)
- The Twilight Zone: "Profile in Silver" (1986)
- The Twilight Zone: "Monsters" (1986)
- The Twilight Zone: "A Message from Charity" (1986)
- Prison for Children (1987)
- Island Sons (pilot) (1987)
- Intrigue (pilot) (1988)
- L.A. Takedown (pilot) (1989)
- Nasty Boys (pilot) (1989)
- Nasty Boys: "Lone Justice" (1990)
- Life & Times of Ned Blessing (pilot) (1991)
- If These Walls Could Talk II (2000)
- Love and Treason (2001)
Other works
- 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games (Opening Ceremony)[5]
- Conan Sword & Sorcery Spectacular (Universal Studios' live stage show)
- American Journeys (A Circle-Vision 360° film at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom)
- Flyers (IMAX)
- Behold Hawaii (IMAX)
References
- ^ Rhodes, S. Mark. "A Sprig of Basil: The Musical Mastery of Basil Poledouris." Film Score Monthly, Volume 9, Number 4, 2004.
- ^ Corn, Adam. "Conan the Barbarian: An Epitomal Fantasy-Adventure Soundtrack." Soundtrack Central, 1999.
- ^ Southall, James. "Conan the Barbarian: Epic Masterpiece is One of the Finest Fantasy Scores to Date." Movie Wave, 27 December 2006.
- ^ Broxton, Jonathan. "Conan the Barbarian." Movie Music UK, 1998.
- ^ a b Basil Poledouris. "1996 Olympics Opening Ceremony - Honor and Glory CD Audio". Basil Poledouris website. http://www.basil-poledouris.com/basil/projects/olympics/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games opening ceremony via Youtube (video)". CBC TV via YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrSkybG-Npc. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Basil Poledouris Biography". Basil Poledouris website. http://www.basil-poledouris.com/basil/biography.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Basil Poledouris 1945 - 2006." Basil Poledouris Message Board, 8 November 2006.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Learn More
 | Conan the Barbarian [1992] (1982 Album by Basil Poledouris) |
| Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997 Album by Cliff Eidelman) |
| Les Miserables [1998 Soundtrack] (1998 Album by Basil Poledouris) |
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Mentioned in
- Conan the Barbarian [1992] (1982 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997 Album by Cliff Eidelman)
- Les Miserables [1998 Soundtrack] (1998 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- Mickey Blue Eyes (1999 Album by Original Soundtrack)
- For Love of the Game [Score] (1999 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- Kimberley (2000 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- Basil Poledouris: His Life and Music (1997 Music Film)
- Sonic Images Prime Time (2000 Album by Various Artists)
- Farewell to the King (1989 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- On Deadly Ground [Original Soundtrack] (1994 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- Wind (1992 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- Switchback [Original Score] (1997 Album by Basil Poledouris)
- Cinema Choral Classics (1997 Album by Original Soundtrack)
- Cinema Choral Classics, Vol. 2 (1998 Album by Various Artists)
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