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Carter Burwell
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Carter Burwell was born in New York in 1955. He did not study composition but animation and electronic music, and worked as a computer programmer and in bands. In 1984 the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen asked him to score their debut Blood Simple. Since then he has written the music for almost all their films. Burwell often uses existing folk melodies as a basis. In Fargo (1996) he built the main theme on a Norwegian folk melody, played by a large orchestra with thundering drums. For Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich (1999) he wrote strange, floating music. Todd Haynes's Carol (2015) sounds melancholy, with repeated figures in clarinet and strings. He also often works with the director Martin McDonagh.
Listening
Listening tip. Notice how a simple folk melody becomes almost menacing through repetition and a heavy orchestra.
Fargo, North Dakota · Carter Burwell, 1996
Opening · Carter Burwell, 2015
The Mystery of Inisherin · Carter Burwell, 2022
Discography
Studio albums
- 1986Psycho III (soundtrack)
- 1990Miller's Crossing (soundtrack)
- 1991Doc Hollywood (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 1992Storyville (soundtrack)
- 1993And the Band Played On (soundtrack)
- 1994The Hudsucker Proxy (soundtrack)
- 1995Rob Roy (soundtrack)
- 1996The Chamber (soundtrack)
- 1997Assassin(s) (soundtrack)
- 1997Conspiracy Theory (soundtrack)
- 1998Gods and Monsters (soundtrack)
- 1999Being John Malkovich (soundtrack)
- 1999The Corruptor (soundtrack)
- 1999The General’s Daughter (Music From the Motion Picture) (soundtrack)
- 2000Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 2000Hamlet (soundtrack)
- 2001A Knight's Tale: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 2002Adaptation. (soundtrack)
- 2002Simone (soundtrack)
- 2004Kinsey (soundtrack)
- 2004The Alamo (soundtrack)
- 2006Fur (soundtrack)
- 2007The Hoax (soundtrack)
- 2008Burn After Reading (soundtrack)
- 2008In Bruges (soundtrack)
- 2008Twilight: The Score (soundtrack)
- 2009A Serious Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2009Where the Wild Things Are (soundtrack)
- 2010Howl (soundtrack)
- 2010The Blind Side (soundtrack)
- 2010True Grit (soundtrack)
- 2011Mildred Pierce: Music from the HBO Miniseries (soundtrack)
- 2011The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1: The Score (soundtrack)
- 2012Seven Psychopaths (soundtrack)
- 2012The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (soundtrack)
- 2013The Fifth Estate (soundtrack)
- 2015Carol: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2015Mr. Holmes (soundtrack)
- 2016Anomalisa (soundtrack)
- 2016Hail Caesar! (soundtrack)
- 2016The Family Fang (soundtrack)
- 2016The Finest Hours (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2017Goodbye Christopher Robin (soundtrack)
- 2017The Founder: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2017Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2017Wonderstruck (soundtrack)
- 2018The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (soundtrack)
- 2019Missing Link (soundtrack)
- 2019The Good Liar (soundtrack)
- 2019The Morning Show (Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2020Raising Arizona: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2021The Morning Show: Season 2 (soundtrack)
- 2022Catherine Called Birdy: Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2022The Banshees of Inisherin (Original Score) (soundtrack)
- 2022The Tragedy of Macbeth: Soundtrack from the Apple Original Film (soundtrack)
- 2023Blood Simple (soundtrack)
- 2023The Morning Show, Season 3: Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2023To Catch A Killer: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2024Drive‐Away Dolls: Music from The Motion Picture (soundtrack)
- 2024Fear (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2024Finestkind: Original Score Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2025Good Fortune: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2025The Celluloid Closet (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2026Waterland (Music from the Motion Picture) (soundtrack)
- ?Twilight: Interpretations for Piano and Violin
Other work
- 1996Fargo
- 2015Carol
- 2022The Banshees of Inisherin
- 1998The Big Lebowski
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Film Music MapNL Map
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 3NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- American indie film Genre
With Blood Simple (1984) Carter Burwell began a long collaboration with the Coen brothers.
See also
Categories: ArtistsAmerican indie film