Basil Poledouris (Kansas,1945 – Los Angeles, 2006) was one of the most beloved and admired artists that brought his talent to the composition of film music.
He studied at the University of South California, where he musicalized many student projects, working on The Reversal of Richard Sun (1970), the first feature film by his friend and classmate John Milius. Other important collaborations of his career were the ones he established along with the filmmakers Randal Kleiser, Donald Wyre, Paul Verhoeven, and Simon Wincer, among many others.
Some memorable scores like Big Wednesday (1978), The Blue Lagoon (1980), and, his most important work, Conan the Barbarian (1982), proved his orchestral capacity after a career beginning marked by intense use of the synthesizers, a characteristic of the economy of means that he experienced. Later, he would work in other symphonic successes like Flesh + Blood (1985), the miniseries Amerika (1987), Farewell to the King (1989), and Lonesome Dove (1989), music that was recognized with an Emmy award.
Poledouris established his own musical style, very emotional, and with the enormous presence of the melody, where the electronic sounds were skillfully integrated with the orchestra, as he proved in total mastery in many titles of a variety of genres, among which it’s worth mentioning Red Dawn (1989), Cherry 2000 (1987), RoboCop (1987), The Hunt for Red October (1990), White Fang (1991), Wind (1992), Free Willy (1993), and Starship Troopers (1997).
After working in action, family, and adventure films, he stepped into a period of dramatic maturity where he offered important scores like It’s my party (1996), The War at Home (1996), Les Misérables (1998), and For Love Of The Game (1999).
This is the only book covering the complete work by the artist published worldwide, it includes a deep analysis on his works for film and television, as well as other important compositions for other fields. In addition to this, it also includes information of his filmography and discography, as well as various annexes paying him tribute, with special regard on the impact that his visit to Spain shortly before his death had on him and on everyone who met him, and the homage that was made in the United States in the summer of 2022.
