OVP: Score (1999)

OVP: Best Original Score (1999)

The Nominees Were...

Thomas Newman, American Beauty

John Williams, Angela's Ashes

Rachel Portman, The Cider House Rules

John Corigliano, The Red Violin

Gabriel Yared, The Talented Mr. Ripley

My Thoughts: The longer you get away from an Oscar ceremony, the more likely it is that you remember it differently, particularly if you don't remember it at all.  I've seen races that were genuinely competitive in their moment end up being reappraised as "everyone knew that was coming" by people online too young to have any idea.  But some contests it's clear even with no foresight that no one saw this coming, and that is the case with 1999's Best Score.  The Red Violin became the only film since 1988 to win a Best Score Oscar statue on its only nomination (and  with a composer receiving his only Oscar citation to date), and it did so in a huge shock that we'll get into below.

We'll start with The Red Violin, which is the story not of a person, but about a famed red violin that we learn the history of over a 300-year-time span.  It's honestly a cool concept, but it doesn't work in the movie (which features Samuel L. Jackson-someone please ask him if he remembers making this movie in his next press tour).  What does work is the music.  The focus on the violin, and the way the music moves through time frames is really something, though I will own that I initially assumed this was going to be "unbeatable" given what it knocked out for the statue.  It helps that Joshua Bell, then something of a heartthrob in the classical music world, performed the violin solos himself, acting as a surrogate for the movie.

In terms of the runners-up, I'm guessing it was between two men, both of whom are Oscar staples.  The most likely was Thomas Newman, and give-or-take 1917, this is the closest he's ever been to an Academy Award.  The thing about it is that it's a genuinely fine piece of music (if you can get past your Thomas Newman preconceptions-I know some people aren't into his highly-percussive scores).  The use of xylophone, drums, and marimbas to get his modernist sound that would accompany this film throughout is really ingenious, playing on something old and something new (which is the theme of American Beauty).  At the time, so pervasive was this soundtrack that it was played on Los Angeles radio stations as part of a campaign to get Newman his statue...which would've aged really well if he'd gotten it.

The other contender who I think was in the running for a win was John Williams.  Angela's Ashes would've joined The Red Violin as a "film that had no other nominations" winner, but it's John Williams...that wouldn't have been a surprise.  A year after not getting an expected statue for Saving Private Ryan, he was back (minus Spielberg) in a book that was a genuine blockbuster in the 1990's.  I'll be honest, though, as big of a fan of Williams as I am, this is one of the few misses for me amongst his Oscar nominations-I can't get onboard.  It's hopelessly generic, doesn't add much to the story, and doesn't feel like a continual theme.  It sometimes feels like he found piano music for another movie and just reused it for this picture.

Rachel Portman was the first woman to win an Academy Award as a composer for 1996's Emma, and became a staple on the Miramax lot in the years that followed.  The Cider House Rules might be her best work.  Much of the reason that the movie works at all is Portman's piano-laden score, giving us a soaring interlude to cling to between pretty familiar story beats.  Not every score needs to be bold and inventive, and Portman shows that here.  This is classically-done stuff, really elegant and without a false note, and has been used in the years since in trailers and montages for a reason-it feels timeless, and perfectly-matched to the movie's sweet-but-moving center.

Our final nominee is The Talented Mr. Ripley.  I am a huge fan of the scores of Gabriel Yared (he's already got a silver medal in our My Ballot Awards from 2000-23), and this doesn't disappoint.  Unlike any of the other men on this list, Yared has to match his score to a very song-heavy score; for those that don't remember, music rings from every corner of The Talented Mr. Ripley (at one point Jude Law & Matt Damon actually sing, and there are tunes by Miles Davis & Charlie Parker mixed in).  But what is wholly Yared is really engrossing, enigmatic orchestral music, Yared's unique ability to match the tone of his film (particularly with Anthony Minghella's pictures) on full display.

Other Precursor Contenders: The Grammys eligibility window for the best film score nomination is not the same as Oscar's so oftentimes you'll see films from two different years getting citations.  In 2000, we had The Red Violin & Phantom Menace losing to 1998's A Bug's Life, while in 2001, Thomas Newman won for American Beauty, and beat Rachel Portman, Jon Brion (Magnolia), & Randy Newman (Toy Story 2).  The BAFTA's and Golden Globes don't have the same eligibility issues.  BAFTA gave their statue to American Beauty against The End of the Affair, Buena Vista Social Club, & The Talented Mr. Ripley, while the HFPA selected The Legend of 1900 (an Ennio Morricone score) atop (there were a lot): American Beauty, Angela's Ashes, Anna and the King, The End of the Affair, Eyes Wide Shut, The Insider, The Straight Story, and The Talented Mr. Ripley (I have no explanation as to how Morricone won this against this list of films, nor how there were nine nominations...anyone in the comments want to englighten me?).  I mean, The End of the Affair is a good guess for sixth place (Michael Nyman is so prolific it's weird he's never gotten an Oscar nomination), though Mark Mancina's work on Tarzan (another name that Oscar has bizarrely never called) is a good guess, as is a double citation for John Williams (a name Oscar loves) for The Phantom Menace.

Films I Would Have Nominated: I sometimes think that Oscar doesn't have enough fun in this category, choosing dour and dramatic music when he could be having more fun.  Jerry Goldsmith's sweeping love themes in The Mummy would be a good place to start (and hey-they already like him!).

Oscar’s Choice: Like I said, I think Newman and (to a lesser degree) Williams were in the running here, but as we found out, upsets happen and The Red Violin took the cake.

My Choice: I'm going to give this one to Portman over Newman, though both will be showing up in my My Ballot awards in a few weeks (where I pick my overall favorites for the year).  I think Portman does something special here, creating a classic, traditional score that feels totally original, and I loved it.  Behind these two, I'll go The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Red Violin, and for the first time ever, John Williams gets last place for Angela's Ashes.

Those are my thoughts-how about yours?  Are you looking to hold onto our cursed violin, or would you prefer to ride in the New England countryside with me?  Is this the closest Thomas Newman ever got to a statue?  And was it The End of the Affair, Tarzan, or The Phantom Menace in sixth place?  Share your thoughts below!

Also in 1999: Original Song, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously, in 1999

Past Best Score Contests: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022. 2023