The Genius of James Newton Howard

For the first installment of my all-new video essay series "Art of the Score" - we look at the career and legacy of film composer James Newton Howard (Signs, Sixth Sense, The Village, etc).
Movies Featured:
The Sixth Sense
Signs
The Village
Unbreakable
I Am Legend
My Best Friend's Wedding
Pretty Women
Hunger Games
Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 2
King Kong
Defiance
Blood Diamond
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Check out the Cinematic Music course on Evenant - a fantastic online platform to explore music composition, virtual orchestration, and more! bit.ly/2BTiOcf

[@lij__00]

The Hunger Games score is so haunting, James did an amazing job with it

[@AndrewBarracloughComposer]

James' Signs Score is a masterpiece, so underrated!

[@AshtonGleckman]

Agreed!

[@freshfade28]

Yes! I was looking for this comment. I love that score

[@andriolobiza4359]

no doubt hand of fate is the best suspenseful soundtrack I've ever had the pleasure of listening to

[@bright8482]

JNH = Instant Thumbs Up

[@carlosaz69]

amazing composer. Very underrated. His score for Disneys: Dinosaur, Atlantis, Treasure Planet are incredible.

[@samjohnstone1335]

James is definitely my favourite composer. The first score of his that I fell in love with was The Village, as we had been studying the film in my English class. The scene between Ivy and Lucius on the porch really struck me. Ended up learning a portion of the soundtrack on the piano. Later that year, Fantastic Beasts came out and instantly fell in love with that score. Every single part of it. And the same for the sequel last year. But my favourite score by far and away was Unbreakable. Wow. He truly is a genius.

[@arcticangel1628]

Where’s the Peter Pan soundtrack?

[@RedCaio]

My favorite JNH scores: • Fantastic Beasts series • Maleficent • Peter Pan • Signs • The Last Airbender • The Village • Dinosaur • Treasure Planet

[@angelinegil1135]

100% AGREE

[@thundersaAscam]

Waterworld anyone

[@acevaptsarov8410]

"A film score is a secret dimension, lingering in the cinematic canvas" - I've already seen/heard enough - awesome job! :)

[@franklesher4459]

I'm really glad that the music of James Newton Howard is the most inspiring and extraordinary thing that ever came to know. He is a masterful genius.

[@arcticangel1628]

Where’s the Peter Pan soundtrack?

[@october65-h6e]

JNH is one of my gods...love his scores, especially "Blood Diamond" and "The Hunger Games". And my highlights were to visit two live concerts in 2017... I will never forget!

[@jhulianasegura9832]

Awesome! JMH is one of my favourite artist ever. Red Sparrow score by him is a beautiful piece of art, an ballet with romantic european inspiration, yall should listen that, is freaking beautiful but elegant.

[@112rorz]

Amazing video. Love how you focused on The Village, that was such a masterpiece. I remember thinking at the time wow what a score. You can't get any better than that.

[@AshtonGleckman]

Right!? And the film is relatively divisive, but I actually quite like it.. :)

[@112rorz]

@@AshtonGleckman I love it, one of Shayamalan's best IMO. And James' score is a major part in taking the movie to that special and memorable level.

[@rajarajanmanoharan]

Okey no that you’ve done this, WE WANT ONE SOLEY FOCUSED ON UNBREAKABLE! ❤️

[@DxBang3D]

Absolutely one of the most beautiful scores ever made! I love the car crash scene which plays so well with the music!!

[@rajarajanmanoharan]

Daniel Bang Exactly!

[@TheKnightimeProject]

Thanks for putting this together Ashton - one of my favourite composers!

[@AbigaleStuart]

Nicely put together Ashton, he’s one of my all time favorite film composers.

[@maxtofone]

Thanks for paying tribute to JNH... I found the music for The Village, Defiance, The Six Sense and Unbreakable so wonderful and inspiring! He is certainly one of my favorite film composer still working today in the industry... Cheers, Max T.

[@RANima71498]

James Newtown Howard never writes a bad score. He honestly needs more love and attention. He truly is as much a storyteller as any other big Hollywood name with how well his music conveys emotion in the scenes of the movies he works on. I felt the tragedy of Rue’s death in Hunger Games, the epic scale of the destruction of Lemur Island in Dinosaur, and the mystic nature of the Crystal in Atlantis: the Lost Empire Even his score for The Last Airbender is amazing and wonderful at points (special shout-out to Flow like Water) despite how horrid and insulting (mainly as an adaptation of Avatar: the Last Airbender) that movie is. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: James Newtown Howard NEVER writes a bad score, even when he works on bad movies.

[@michaellasserrefinearts4435]

Ashton...I love your videos regarding your concise and very informative bios on these composers. Very well done.

[@christianheschl7678]

James is the most versatile and brilliant composers of our time! Well done Ashton. I hope James will see that one day.

[@bernice_chu]

Great video Ashton!! I love your channel because there's no other that really dives into the technical and storytelling elements of music like yours :)

[@marcusloddby5432]

Beautifuly written essay Ashton.

[@saschalemon2526]

He is a living legend. It's hard to describe his genius with words - we need music for that -, but you really did a great job! Thank you for saying what had to be said - the truth about a humble, intelligent, professional and highly emotional writer of music.

[@ambientrelaxingandhealingm7552]

Absolutely OUTSTANDING! This has really been a catalyst an inspiration for me to continue writing the music that I write. I may or may not score a film someday, but this gives me if not hope, at least certainly INSPIRATION!

[@howiseetheworlds]

Man your narration & the information you are giving amazing. Keep these videos coming🔥🔥

[@jarrodclarkeroberts-thepia7815]

James Newton Howard Is One Of My Favorite Film Composers Out There. I have been playing some of his stuff on my piano. Every time I listen to his music, I can picture the music in my mind by playing the same notes and rhythms he has written.

[@benjaminalaridmusic8184]

Loved this Ashton! JNH is definitely a favorite.

[@jdutra]

this is the best channel i've come across in the past year. amazing job man. keep it up

[@nRGmusicproduction]

Excellent video. Thank you Ashton!

[@jcp1984again]

Yes. One of my 5 top favorites of film music composers.

[@stefanoripari1816]

James newton Howard soundtrack alive GENIUS

[@MrEmanuelRoos]

Excellent, dear Ashton!

[@jaredevans4831]

Absolutely awesome man!!!

[@patrykscelina]

Very nice summary of JNH work Ashton. I really enjoyed that video. Have a nice weekend ;)

[@cjbrett89]

His biggest challenge turned into one of the greatest cues in the history of cinema!

[@millsmixx5080]

See. This is why I tune into Ashton Gleckman. Nicely done presentation

[@polkmusic]

Great video. Thanks for posting this. One of my favorite JNH scores is Grand Canyon. I would love to see a breakdown of his suites.

[@AshtonGleckman]

Will definitely be some BTS content of his work in the near future.. :)

[@tobukobuta]

Amazingly done video, as usual

[@brucewayne795]

Sir, you are under arrest for not including Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. But great video. Signs, The Village, Unbreakable, Six Sense are all master pieces.

[@brandonskelton]

You did a wonderful homeage to James here!

[@MeiZu0606]

Mr. James Newton Howard is a genius he only makes masterpieces!!❤️ I love all his work!!

[@adrianafraga7210]

E a música sempre nos conectando. James Newton Howard um dos meus compositores favoritos...brilhante!!!💓💓

[@SubscribersWithoutAnySubscribe]

He's wonderful, definitely in my top 10 along with Thomas Newman and Bruce Broughton. I especially loved his work in the Village.

[@DoctorKettleburn]

I'm a goofy, happy Alan Silvestri or any Newman kinda fan. Jim New How stops me dead in my tracks, makes me ache, emotionally, and ultimately, cry. The score for 'The Village' makes me physically suffer. He is genius. Well done, subscribed.

[@bryanatkinson9578]

I love your work. I am a teacher and composer this very helpful!

[@francoisriou1056]

Excellent work, well done. I saw JNH in Paris for his Europe Tour, honestly it was the best concert i have ever seen. You've perfectly understand his genius. Nice video, you won a subscriber ;) (sorry for the english, i'm french, i try to be the more understandablr i can).

[@gabrield.cstoica1832]

Bravo Ashton muy buen trabajo...tu también si sigues por ese camino y no copias a ningún compositor seras bueno...

[@otaiza_jl]

Muy buena. Me encanta este tipo de pequeño documental. Debes hacer uno de Thomas Newman!

[@taylorgalloway2579]

My top 3 from him are hunger games, Signs, and I am Legend

[@AmritSandhu]

Nice video Ashton. Love the Enimga sounding track at the end

[@JolledeWit]

That's JNH's Unbreakable.

[@AmritSandhu]

@@JolledeWit oh wow! Sounds very similar to the beat by Enigma in Sadeness kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmXQkqKlaaZmrpY

[@JolledeWit]

@@AmritSandhu Yeah I was 14 when that track was released, rocked my world at the time :D It's not just the beat that is similar, you can even hear a hint of what sounds like a morphed sample of some Gregorian chanting in the Unbreakable track. Sure does make you wonder!

[@nathanaelreyes5854]

James Newton Howard is very underrated. Which is odd to say considering how active he is in film music but almost all his scores are fantastic. His soundtracks to Dinosaur, King Kong, The Village, Signs, Peter Pan and Michael Clayton are pure art.

[@belovedaimee7880]

All of James’ creations are incredibly and uniquely beautiful 🤩😍 My favorite scores of his were from the film Peter Pan (2003) 🙌

[@MrRbjunior83]

Absolute genius!!!

[@mariozeffiro9164]

Really enjoy this format, I fell in love with Newton when I heard the score for hunger games! Did you listen to the score of Moonlight from Nicholas Britell, I find the violin line ( of "The middle of the world") somewhat similar to The Village by Newton and super intense. A question not related to the video... I'm trying to rescore the theme of Grand Budapest Hotel by Desplat ("mustapha's"), do you know any library that can do the mandolin/guitar strumming in the background?

[@AshtonGleckman]

Check out the Ilya Efimov libraries!

[@Fallingoverbackwards]

I love your channel !! Do you have suggestions for beginning composer. A playlist maybe or online learning ?

[@AshtonGleckman]

In terms of YT channels, I’d recommend checking out the art of composing, jjay berthume, rick beato, junkie xl, Alex Moukala. There’s also a good amount of evenant online courses that are great!

[@bradosborne1706]

Greatness.

[@electricdumpling6069]

A true master.

[@JazzyJazzRock]

Very Well presented 👍

[@NoudvanHarskamp]

James Newton Howard is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be!

[@thundersaAscam]

Is anyone gonna mention his music for Waterworld? I know the movie itself isn’t the greatest but it genuinely did have loads of potential and the largest problem apart from the insane and sometimes deadly stunts was the film’s production problems and drama but besides that the music he did for Waterworld was genuinely amazing, I feel like a little kid all over again whenever I listen the music from that film

[@Ranjithkumar-se2fu]

Blood diamond is my favorite James Newton Howard's

[@PaschanTOPs]

James Newton Howard's best theme: "The Prince of Tides" main theme.

[@Akaebr]

From the golden age u can add Raugh Vaughn Williams. Prob the best Ive ever had the honor to listen to.

[@XBROS1]

how sad you did not mention the swimming (waterworld). So beautiful, so different

[@amandastevens1117]

The first time I ever really paid attention to a film score was during a 6 minute sequence from The Last Airbender. The movie is questionable in quality, but the music really stood out to me. I might not have the musical tastes or experiences I have today if it weren't for James Newton Howard.

[@alexanderduran1312]

Buenaaa,saludos desde México

[@Brabbel93]

3:40 that scene with the chandeliers swinging in the wind...what movie is that?

[@davidklemencz]

Cool!🙂

[@boodabill]

Let’s not mention the sappy Pretty Woman vanilla piano score. Later he had access to the best musicians in the world, orchestrators and synth programmers. With a big budget for orchestras, easy to program DAWs, he’s a talented musician that got extremely lucky. Many others with his luck and political savvy could have created equally derivitave music.

[@arixluna2878]

Newt says goodbye to tina.... Animales fantásticos.... Me trajo hasta aquí 😔 is beautiful... Aunque el sonido me recordó a la película el expreso polar 😶

[@spanolorenzo5809]

thants you

[@EfisioCross]

❤️

[@simonfrasch3066]

Subscribed.

[@rossquaresmini5834]

Love :-)

[@crabtreewoodworks]

The fugitive is my favorite

[@prasantheliyas2214]

JNH is great composer of all time

[@rounakmahato67866]

Fantastic Beasts score is awesome

[@kobigerassi5501]

FORGOTTEN ONES WHICH IS A SIN NOT TO KNOW!!! LISTEN TO THEM!!! "DYING YOUNG" "MY BEST FRIENDS WEDDING" AND THE MOST UNDERATED, FORGOTTEN, ABSOLUTELY MASTERPIECE ( TO ME HE SHOULD HAVE WON EVERY PRIZE ON THAT ONE)- ***SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS**. SUCH EMOTIONAL EFFECTS...DIVINE.

[@millernumber1]

Awesome analysis, but I wish you'd touched on Peter Pan. :)

[@arcticangel1628]

Where’s the Peter Pan soundtrack?

[@gabrield.cstoica1832]

The best composer....scoring film!

[@GaelGarcia-ju5jd]

I now that the unbteakable sou track sounds to the ebd But you didint tulk about it Wheres unbreakable

[@jennifer86010]

3:48 - 3:58 The narration in these ten seconds is a great example of written and spoken words, which despite their high-mindedness, totally fail to convey the much higher art form they are attempting to describe.....words are a far lower form of emotional expression compared to music, which is the ultimate form of emotional expression.

[@matteoromenghi]

You forgot a beautiful score of a beautiful movie: Grand Canyon.

[@mr.shgamingguy]

Lol cool wow