Carter Burwell got his start in film music with the first film directed by Joel Coen and written by Ethan and Joel Coen: Blood Simple (1984). Since then, he has scored all of the Coen brothers' films, six more to date: Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998). In the last 15 years, he has written music for more than 45 films. Especially prolific in recent years, he wrote scores for seven pictures in 1995, six in 1996, seven in 1997, and five in 1998. Besides being an independent film favorite, Burwell has composed for such diverse genres as horror/fantasy (Psycho III, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), drama (Spanish Prisoner, This Boy's Life, The Chamber), thrillers (Scorchers, Fear), action (The Corrupter, Conspiracy Theory), comedy (Wayne's World 2, Airheads, Joe's Apartment), and romantic comedy (Picture Perfect, Doc Hollywood, It Could Happen to You). His recent Gods and Monsters joined the ranks of Conspiracy Theory, The Jackal, Fear, and Rob Roy as widely praised film score favorites, as well as being the runner-up for the LA Film Critics Award for Best Music of 1998 (Elliott Goldenthal's The Butcher Boy won the award).

Although he had piano lessons as a child, his interest in music was first sparked when a friend taught him how to improvise blues in high school. He discovered his love for creating music, for composition. As a fine arts major at Harvard, he continued this growing attachment to music by playing piano whenever he could. When he was about to graduate, he joined a band for fun and was serendipitously discovered in a club by the sound editor on Blood Simple. The rest, as they say, is history. Burwell's talent for bringing emotion to the screen has been sought ever since for small and large pictures alike.

Burwell's style is unconventional. Employing traditional orchestras, he writes very untraditional music, often incorporating touches of contemporary styles like jazz or heavy metal and quiet, somber, instrument sequences using guitar or piano. He has an affinity for sharp rhythms, with upbeat, percussive tempos frequently carrying his cues. His music is characterized by gripping, but simple melodies and is usually not complicated. What makes his work really stand out is its unmitigated passion, its rich heart-rending drama. Often accompanying noir films, his music has an uncanny ability to portray dark colors with a humanity that inspires sympathy rather than fear. Burwell knows how to portray pain; his minor chords have a way of reaching down into the deepest waters of the soul and pulling heartstrings you never knew you had. His scores are noted for their romantically mournful tunes, often juxtaposing a sense of intimacy and loneliness. It is this fascination with contrasts, this intuitive dance between light and dark, humor and tragedy, that makes his scores singularly remarkable works of art.

-- From Cinemusic Online

Related web sites:
Cinemusic Online
Scorelogue

Carter Burwell

Filmography

• Blood Simple (1984)
• Raising Arizona (1987)
• Miller's Crossing (1990)
• Barton Fink (1991)
• Doc Hollywood
• Storyville (1992)
• And The Band Played On (1993)
• The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
• Rob Roy (1995)
• Fargo (1996)
• Conspiracy Theory (1997)
• Gods and Monsters (1998)
• The Big Lebowski
• Being John Malkovich (1999)
• The General's Daughter
• Three Kings
• Hamlet (2000)

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