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Elmer Bernstein
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Elmer Bernstein from New York studied piano and composition, among others with Stefan Wolpe. He broke through with Otto Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). For it he used a jazz big band to give voice to the main character's heroin addiction. That was new in Hollywood. He then wrote in many styles. The Ten Commandments (1956) is a grand biblical epic. The rhythmic, Copland-like theme of The Magnificent Seven (1960) became one of the best-known Western themes. In To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) he used, by contrast, piano, harp and flute, seen through a child's eyes. His only Oscar he won for Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).
Listening
Listening tip. Compare the jazz big band of Golden Arm with the open, rhythmic Western theme and the childlike simplicity of Mockingbird.
Main Title · Elmer Bernstein, 1955
Main Title and Calvera · Elmer Bernstein, 1960
The Man with the Golden Arm · Elmer Bernstein, 1955
Discography
Studio albums
- 1957Drango (soundtrack)
- 1957The Sweet Smell of Success (soundtrack)
- 1958Blues and Brass
- 1958Kings Go Forth (soundtrack)
- 1959Staccato (soundtrack)
- 1962Summer and Smoke (soundtrack)
- 1962Walk on the Wild Side (soundtrack)
- 1963The Caretakers (soundtrack)
- 1963The Great Escape (soundtrack)
- 1965The Sons of Katie Elder (soundtrack)
- 1966Cast a Giant Shadow (soundtrack)
- 1966Hawaii (soundtrack)
- 1966Return of the Magnificant Seven (soundtrack)
- 1966The Silencers (soundtrack)
- 1968Soundtrack Music From "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas" (soundtrack)
- 1969The Midas Run (soundtrack)
- 1969True Grit (soundtrack)
- 1969Where's Jack? (soundtrack)
- 1974Gold (soundtrack)
- 1974The Trial of Billy Jack (soundtrack)
- 1977Torn Curtain
- 1981Heavy Metal: The Score (soundtrack)
- 1981Stripes! (soundtrack)
- 1981Themes from the General Electric Theatre (soundtrack)
- 1984Bande Originale Du Film "Bolero" (soundtrack)
- 1985The Black Cauldron (soundtrack)
- 1985The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (soundtrack)
- 1986Marie Ward (soundtrack)
- 1987¡Three Amigos! (soundtrack)
- 1987Amazing Grace and Chuck (soundtrack)
- 1988The Ten Commandments (soundtrack)
- 1989My Left Foot / Da (soundtrack)
- 1989Zulu Dawn (soundtrack)
- 1990A Rage in Harlem (soundtrack)
- 1990The Field (soundtrack)
- 1990The Grifters (soundtrack)
- 1991Baby the Rain Must Fall / The Caretakers (soundtrack)
- 1991Oscar (soundtrack)
- 1991Rambling Rose (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack To The Film) (soundtrack)
- 1991Stars and Bars (soundtrack)
- 1991The Buccaneer (soundtrack)
- 1992Kings Go Forth / Some Came Running (soundtrack)
- 1992Mad Dog and Glory (soundtrack)
- 1992The Babe (soundtrack)
- 1993Elmer Bernstein by Elmer Bernstein
- 1993Genocide (soundtrack)
- 1993Lost in Yonkers (soundtrack)
- 1993The Age of Innocence (soundtrack)
- 1993The Cemetery Club (soundtrack)
- 1993The Good Son (soundtrack)
- 1994Birdman Of Alcatraz (soundtrack)
- 1994The Magnificent Seven (soundtrack)
- 1995Frankie Starlight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 1995Roommates (soundtrack)
- 1996Bulletproof (soundtrack)
- 1996Last Man Standing (soundtrack)
- 1997Buddy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 1997Hoodlum (soundtrack)
- 1997John Grisham's The Rainmaker (soundtrack)
- 1997Rough Riders (soundtrack)
- 1997To Kill a Mockingbird (soundtrack)
- 1998Ghostbusters: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 1998The Magnificent Seven (soundtrack)
- 1998Twilight (soundtrack)
- 1999The Comancheros (soundtrack)
- 1999The Deep End of the Ocean (soundtrack)
- 1999The Magnificent Seven
- 1999Wild Wild West (soundtrack)
- 2000Airplane! (soundtrack)
- 2000Concerto for Guitar
- 2000From the Terrace (soundtrack)
- 2000Music for the Films of Charles and Ray Eames (soundtrack)
- 2000Slipstream (soundtrack)
- 2000Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone in 3-D (soundtrack)
- 2001Big Jake (soundtrack)
- 2001The World of Henry Orient (soundtrack)
- 2002Far From Heaven (soundtrack)
- 2002The Gypsy Moths (soundtrack)
- 2002The Story On Page One / The Reward (soundtrack)
- 2003McQ (soundtrack)
- 2003National Geographic Presents: Yankee Sails Across Europe / Grizzly! (soundtrack)
- 2004Saddle the Wind (soundtrack)
- 2005The Hallelujah Trail (soundtrack)
- 2005The Scalphunters (soundtrack)
- 2006Saturn 3 (soundtrack)
- 2006True Grit
- 2007By Love Possessed (soundtrack)
- 2007Cannon For Cordoba / From Noon Till Three (soundtrack)
- 2007Some Came Running (soundtrack)
- 2007The Caretakers / The Young Doctors (soundtrack)
- 2008Anna Lucasta (soundtrack)
- 2008Desire Under the Elms (soundtrack)
- 2008Gangs Of New York/The Journey Of Natty Gann/The Scarlet Letter (soundtrack)
- 2008Laurette / Prince Jack (soundtrack)
- 2008Report to the Commissioner (soundtrack)
- 2009A Walk in the Spring Rain (soundtrack)
- 2009God's Little Acre (soundtrack)
- 2009Love with the Proper Stranger / A Girl Named Tamiko (soundtrack)
- 2011An American Werewolf in London (soundtrack)
- 2011Antheil: The Pride and the Passion / Bernstein: Kings Go Forth (soundtrack)
- 2011Fear Strikes Out / The Tin Star (soundtrack)
- 2011Men in War (soundtrack)
- 2011Rampage (soundtrack)
- 2011The Great Santini (soundtrack)
- 2011Trading Places (soundtrack)
- 2012The Rat Race (soundtrack)
- 2013Cahill United States Marshal (soundtrack)
- 2013Canadian Bacon (soundtrack)
- 2013Hud / The Lonely Man (soundtrack)
- 2013The Carpetbaggers (soundtrack)
- 2013The Miracle (soundtrack)
- 2013The Shootist / The Sons of Katie Elder (soundtrack)
- 2013To Kill a Mockingbird (soundtrack)
- 2014Blind Terror (soundtrack)
- 2015Airplane II: The Sequel (soundtrack)
- 2015Going Ape! (soundtrack)
- 2015Spies Like Us (soundtrack)
- 2019The Amazing Mr. Blunden (soundtrack)
- 2021Legal Eagles (soundtrack)
- 2023Rat Race (soundtrack)
- 2024Heavy Metal 2 Disc Remastered Edition
- 2025Class (Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2025Devil in a Blue Dress: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- ?Fear Strikes Out (soundtrack)
Other work
- 1955The Man with the Golden Arm
- 1957Sweet Smell of Success
- 1984Ghostbusters
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 2NL Reader
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 4NL Reader
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 8NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Hollywood Western Genre
In The Magnificent Seven (1960), Elmer Bernstein set down a syncopated main theme with a Mexican flavour, which later became familiar from cigarette commercials.
- Jazz in film Genre
For The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), about an addicted drummer, Elmer Bernstein wrote a hard-driving big band score.