Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard’s Gladiator named Score of the Year, James Newton Howard honored as Top Composer, for the Year 2000
Recently, the IFMCA decided that it might be a fun exercise to go back and “fill in the gaps” by retrospectively voting for the best scores released in the years then the group was temporarily inactive. The first of these votes was for the Year 2000, and the IFMCA voted using the ‘short form’ awards that were held in 1999.
The score of the year was deemed to be Gladiator by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. An epic tale of revenge and honor set at the height of the Roman Empire, Gladiator was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Richard Harris, and Oliver Reed in his final screen role. The score earned composer Hans Zimmer an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA nomination, and the Golden Globe for Best Original Score. IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen called Gladiator “one of the most important scores of the 2000’s,” while IFMCA member Jon Broxton wrote at the time that “the energy and power Zimmer creates is never anything less than stunning.”.
The IFMCA also highlighted nine other scores as being worthy of Score of the Year nominee recognition:
- Chicken Run by John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams
- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon by Tan Dun
- Dinosaur by James Newton Howard
- Hollow Man by Jerry Goldsmith
- Maléna by Ennio Morricone
- Mission to Mars by Ennio Morricone
- The Patriot by John Williams
- The Perfect Storm by James Horner
- Unbreakable by James Newton Howard
The composer of the year was deemed to be James Newton Howard, whose three major scores in 2000 – the Disney animated adventure Dinosaur, the low-key super hero thriller Unbreakable, and the mountaineering-themed action movie Vertical Limit – all received significant acclaim. Dinosaur was especially lauded at the time, with IFMCA member Jon Broxton naming it his personal choice for the best score of the year, and IFMCA member James Southall writing that it was “in turns sweeping, bold and majestic, conjuring up images of vast, teeming African plain”.
The IFMCA also highlighted nine other composers as being worthy of Composer of the Year nominee recognition:
- Jerry Goldsmith (Hollow Man)
- James Horner (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Perfect Storm, etc.)
- Ennio Morricone (Canone Inverso, Maléna, Mission to Mars, etc)
- Thomas Newman (Erin Brockovich, Pay It Forward, etc.)
- Rachel Portman (Chocolat, The Closer You Get, The Legend of Bagger Vance, etc.)
- Howard Shore (The Cell, Esther Kahn, The Yards, etc.)
- Alan Silvestri (Cast Away, Reindeer Games, What Lies Beneath, etc.)
- Christopher Young (Bless the Child, The Gift, Wonder Boys, etc.)
- Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, An Everlasting Piece, Mission: Impossible II, etc.)
The IFMCA intends to complete the other missing years (2001, 2002, and 2003) in 2023, and then possibly award further retrospective awards going back from 1998, to create a comprehensive overview of all the best film music in history.