# Maurice Jarre

Maurice-Alexis Jarre (French pronunciation:; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) was a French composer and conductor. Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with film director David Lean composing all of his films from 1962 to 1984. Jarre received numerous accolades including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, and a Grammy Award.
Jarre won three Academy Awards for Best Original Score for the David Lean films Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984). He was Oscar-nominated for Sundays and Cybèle (1962), The Message (1976), Witness (1985), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), and Ghost (1990). Notable scores also include Eyes Without a Face (1959), The Longest Day (1962), The Train (1964), The Collector (1965), Grand Prix (1966), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Fatal Attraction (1987), and Dead Poets Society (1989). He worked with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Elia Kazan, John Huston, Luchino Visconti, John Frankenheimer, and Peter Weir.
Three of his compositions spent a total of 42 weeks on the UK singles chart; the biggest hit was "Somewhere My Love" (to his tune "Lara's Theme", with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) performed by the Mike Sammes Singers, which reached Number 14 in 1966 and spent 38 weeks on the chart. He was the father of musician Jean-Michel Jarre and the adoptive father of screenwriter Kevin Jarre.

## Early life

Jarre was born in Lyon, the son of Gabrielle Renée (née Boullu) and André Jarre, a radio technical director. He first enrolled in the engineering school at the Sorbonne, but decided to pursue music courses instead. He left the Sorbonne against his father's will and enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris to study composition and harmony and chose percussion as his major instrument. He became director of the Théâtre National Populaire and recorded his first film score in France in 1951. He wrote the score for Toute la mémoire du monde by Alain Resnais.

## Film scoring

In 1961, Jarre's music career experienced a major change when American film producer Sam Spiegel asked him to write the score for the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, directed by David Lean. The acclaimed score won Jarre his first Academy Award and he would go on to compose the scores to all of Lean's subsequent films. He followed with The Train (1964) and Grand Prix (1966), both for director John Frankenheimer, and in between had another great success in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago, which included the lyricless tune "Lara's Theme" (later the tune for the song "Somewhere My Love"), and which earned him his second Oscar. He worked with Alfred Hitchcock on Topaz (1969): although Hitchcock's experiences with the film were unhappy, he was satisfied with Jarre's score, telling him, "I have not given you a great film, but you have given me a great score."
Jarre's score for David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970), set in Ireland, completely eschews traditional Irish music styles, according to Lean's preferences. The song "It Was a Good Time," from Ryan's Daughter went on to be recorded by musical stars such as Liza Minnelli who used it in her critically acclaimed television special Liza with a Z as well as by others during the 1970s. He contributed the music for Luchino Visconti's The Damned (1969), and John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King (1975).
He was again nominated for an Academy Award for scoring The Message in 1976, for the director and producer Moustapha Akkad. He followed with Witness (1985) and Dead Poets Society (1989), for which he won a British Academy Award.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Jarre turned his hand to science fiction, with scores for The Island at the Top of the World (1974), Dreamscape (1984), Enemy Mine (1985), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). The latter is written for full orchestra, augmented by a chorus, four grand pianos, a pipe organ, digeridoo, fujara, a battery of exotic percussion, and three ondes Martenot, which feature in several of Jarre's other scores, including Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, The Bride and Prancer. The balalaika features prominently in Jarre's score for Doctor Zhivago.
In 1990, Jarre was again nominated for an Academy Award scoring the supernatural love story/thriller Ghost. His music for the final scene of the film is based on "Unchained Melody" composed by fellow film composer Alex North. Other films for which he provided the music include A Walk in the Clouds (1995), for which he wrote the score and all of the songs, including the romantic "Mariachi Serenade". Also to his credit is the passionate love theme from Fatal Attraction (1987), and the moody electronic soundscapes of After Dark, My Sweet (1990). He was well respected by other composers including John Williams, who stated, on Jarre's death, "(He) is to be well remembered for his lasting contribution to film music ... we all have been enriched by his legacy."
Jarre's television work includes the theme for the short-lived 1967 Western series on CBS, Cimarron Strip, his score for the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977), directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Shōgun (1980), and the theme for PBS's Great Performances.
Jarre scored his last project in 2001, a television mini-series about the Holocaust titled Uprising.
He was "one of the giants of 20th-century film music" who was "among the most sought-after composers in the movie industry" and "a creator of both subtle underscoring and grand, sweeping themes, not only writing for conventional orchestras ... but also experimenting with electronic sounds later in his career".

## Style and artistry

Jarre wrote mainly for orchestras, but began to favour synthesized music in the 1980s. Jarre pointed out that his electronic score for Witness was actually more laborious, time-consuming and expensive to produce than an orchestral score. Jarre's electronic scores from the 1980s also include Fatal Attraction, The Year of Living Dangerously, Firefox and No Way Out. A number of his scores from that era also feature electronic / acoustic blends, such as Gorillas in the Mist, Dead Poets Society, The Mosquito Coast and Jacob's Ladder.

## Personal life
### Marriages and family

Jarre was married four times, the first three marriages ending in divorce. In the 1940s, his marriage to Francette Pejot, a French Resistance member and concentration camp survivor, produced a son, Jean-Michel Jarre, a French composer, performer, and music producer, who is one of the pioneers in electronic music. When Jean-Michel was five years old, Maurice split up with his wife and moved to the United States, leaving Jean-Michel with his mother in France.
In 1965, Jarre married French actress Dany Saval; together they had a daughter, Stephanie Jarre. He next married American actress Laura Devon (1967–1984), resulting in his adopting her son, Kevin Jarre, a screenwriter, with credits on such films as Tombstone and Glory (1989). From 1984 to his death, he was married to Fong F. Khong.

### Death

Jarre died of cancer on 28 March 2009 in Los Angeles.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1957 | Burning Fuse | Henri Decoin | Composed with Louis Gasté & Philippe Gérard |
| 1958 | Head Against the Wall | Georges Franju | |
| 1959 | Les Dragueurs | Jean-Pierre Mocky | |
| 1959 | Beast at Bay | Pierre Chenal | |
| 1959 | Stars at Noon | Jacques Ertaud Marcel Ichac | |
| 1959 | Vous n'avez rien à déclarer? | Clément Duhour | |
| 1959 | Eyes Without a Face | Georges Franju | |
| 1960 | La main chaude | Gérard Oury | |
| 1960 | Lovers on a Tightrope | Jean-Charles Dudrumet | |
| 1960 | Crack in the Mirror | Richard Fleischer | |
| 1960 | Recourse in Grace | László Benedek | |
| 1961 | The President | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1961 | Spotlight on a Murderer | Georges Franju | |
| 1961 | The Big Gamble | Richard Fleischer | |
| 1961 | Three Faces of Sin | François Villiers | |
| 1961 | Famous Love Affairs | Michel Boisrond | |
| 1962 | Les oliviers de la justice | James Blue | |
| 1962 | Sun in Your Eyes | Jacques Bourdon | |
| 1962 | Thérèse Desqueyroux | Georges Franju | |
| 1962 | The Longest Day | Ken Annakin Andrew Marton Bernhard Wicki | |
| 1962 | Sundays and Cybele | Serge Bourguignon | |
| 1962 | L'oiseau de paradis | Marcel Camus | |
| 1962 | Lawrence of Arabia | David Lean | |
| 1962 | To Die in Madrid | Frédéric Rossif | |
| 1963 | A King Without Distraction | François Leterrier | |
| 1963 | Judex | Georges Franju | |
| 1964 | Mort, où est ta victoire? | Hervé Bromberger | |
| 1964 | Behold a Pale Horse | Fred Zinnemann | |
| 1964 | The Train | John Frankenheimer | |
| 1964 | Weekend at Dunkirk | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1965 | The Collector | William Wyler | |
| 1965 | Doctor Zhivago | David Lean | |
| 1966 | The Professionals | Richard Brooks | |
| 1966 | Is Paris Burning? | René Clément | |
| 1966 | Gambit | Ronald Neame | |
| 1966 | Grand Prix | John Frankenheimer | |
| 1967 | The Night of the Generals | Anatole Litvak | |
| 1967 | The 25th Hour | Henri Verneuil | Composed with Georges Delerue |
| 1968 | Villa Rides | Buzz Kulik | |
| 1968 | 5 Card Stud | Henry Hathaway | |
| 1968 | The Fixer | John Frankenheimer | |
| 1968 | Isadora | Karel Reisz | |
| 1969 | The Extraordinary Seaman | John Frankenheimer | |
| 1969 | The Damned | Luchino Visconti | |
| 1969 | Topaz | Alfred Hitchcock | |
| 1970 | The Only Game in Town | George Stevens | |
| 1970 | El Condor | John Guillermin | |
| 1970 | Ryan's Daughter | David Lean | |
| 1971 | Plaza Suite | Arthur Hiller | |
| 1971 | Red Sun | Terence Young | |
| 1971 | A Season in Hell | Nelo Risi | |
| 1972 | Pope Joan | Michael Anderson | |
| 1972 | The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | John Huston | |
| 1972 | The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | Paul Newman | |
| 1973 | Ash Wednesday | Larry Peerce | |
| 1973 | The Mackintosh Man | John Huston | |
| 1974 | The Island at the Top of the World | Robert Stevenson | |
| 1975 | Mandingo | Richard Fleischer | Composed with Muddy Waters |
| 1975 | Posse | Kirk Douglas | |
| 1975 | The Man Who Would Be King | John Huston | |
| 1975 | Mr. Sycamore | Pancho Kohner | |
| 1976 | Shout at the Devil | Peter R. Hunt | |
| 1976 | The Last Tycoon | Elia Kazan | |
| 1976 | The Message | Moustapha Akkad | |
| 1977 | The Prince and the Pauper | Richard Fleischer | |
| 1977 | March or Die | Dick Richards | |
| 1978 | Like a Turtle on Its Back | Luc Béraud | |
| 1978 | Two Solitudes | Lionel Chetwynd | |
| 1979 | The Tin Drum | Volker Schlöndorff | |
| 1979 | Winter Kills | William Richert | |
| 1979 | The Magician of Lublin | Menahem Golan | |
| 1980 | The American Success Company | William Richert | |
| 1980 | The Black Marble | Harold Becker | |
| 1980 | The Last Flight of Noah's Ark | Charles Jarrott | |
| 1980 | Resurrection | Daniel Petrie | |
| 1981 | Lion of the Desert | Moustapha Akkad | |
| 1981 | Chu Chu and the Philly Flash | David Lowell Rich | Composed with Pete Rugolo |
| 1981 | Circle of Deceit | Volker Schlöndorff | |
| 1981 | Taps | Harold Becker | |
| 1982 | Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder | Peter Werner | |
| 1982 | Firefox | Clint Eastwood | |
| 1982 | Young Doctors in Love | Garry Marshall | |
| 1982 | The Year of Living Dangerously | Peter Weir | |
| 1983 | For Those I Loved | Robert Enrico | |
| 1984 | Top Secret! | Jim Abrahams David Zucker Jerry Zucker | |
| 1984 | Dreamscape | Joseph Ruben | |
| 1984 | A Passage to India | David Lean | |
| 1985 | Witness | Peter Weir | |
| 1985 | Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome | George Miller George Ogilvie | Themes by Brian May |
| 1985 | The Bride | Franc Roddam | |
| 1985 | Enemy Mine | Wolfgang Petersen | |
| 1986 | Tai-Pan | Daryl Duke | |
| 1986 | The Mosquito Coast | Peter Weir | |
| 1986 | Solarbabies | Alan Johnson | |
| 1987 | Tokyo Blackout | Toshio Masuda | |
| 1987 | No Way Out | Roger Donaldson | |
| 1987 | Julia and Julia | Peter Del Monte | |
| 1987 | Gaby: A True Story | Luis Mandoki | |
| 1987 | Fatal Attraction | Adrian Lyne | |
| 1987 | Distant Thunder | Rick Rosenthal | |
| 1987 | Wildfire | Zalman King | |
| 1987 | Moon over Parador | Paul Mazursky | |
| 1987 | Gorillas in the Mist | Michael Apted | |
| 1987 | Le palanquin des larmes | Jacques Dorfmann | |
| 1987 | Cocktail | Roger Donaldson | Rejected score; Replaced by J. Peter Robinson |
| 1989 | Chances Are | Emile Ardolino | |
| 1989 | Dead Poets Society | Peter Weir | |
| 1989 | Prancer | John D. Hancock | |
| 1989 | Enemies, A Love Story | Paul Mazursky | |
| 1990 | Solar Crisis | Richard C. Sarafian | |
| 1990 | Ghost | Jerry Zucker | |
| 1990 | Jacob's Ladder | Adrian Lyne | |
| 1990 | Almost an Angel | John Cornell | |
| 1991 | Only the Lonely | Chris Columbus | |
| 1991 | Fires Within | Gillian Armstrong | |
| 1992 | The Setting Sun | Rou Tomono | |
| 1992 | School Ties | Robert Mandel | |
| 1992 | Shadow of the Wolf | Jacques Dorfmann Pierre Magny | |
| 1993 | Mr. Jones | Mike Figgis | |
| 1993 | Fearless | Peter Weir | |
| 1994 | The River Wild | Curtis Hanson | Rejected score; Replaced by Jerry Goldsmith |
| 1995 | A Walk in the Clouds | Alfonso Arau | |
| 1996 | The Sunchaser | Michael Cimino | |
| 1996 | White Squall | Ridley Scott | Rejected score; Replaced by Jeff Rona & Hans Zimmer |
| 1997 | Day and Night | Bernard-Henri Lévy | |
| 1999 | Sunshine | István Szabó | |
| 2000 | I Dreamed of Africa | Hugh Hudson | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1974 | Great Expectations | Television film |
| 1975 | The Silence | Television film |
| 1977 | Jesus of Nazareth | Miniseries |
| 1978 | Ishi: The Last of His Tribe | Television film |
| 1978 | The Users | Television film |
| 1978 | Mourning Becomes Electra | Television film |
| 1980 | Shōgun | Miniseries; 5 episodes |
| 1980 | Enola Gay | Television film |
| 1982 | Coming Out of the Ice | Television film |
| 1984 | Samson and Delilah | Television film |
| 1986 | Apology | Television film |
| 1988 | The Murder of Mary Phagan | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Uprising | Television film |

## Awards and nominations

Jarre received three Academy Awards and received a total of nine nominations, eight for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song. He also won four Golden Globes and was nominated for ten. The American Film Institute ranked Jarre's score for Lawrence of Arabia #3 on their list of the greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list: Doctor Zhivago (1965), A Passage to India (1984), and Ryan's Daughter (1970). Numerous additional awards include ASCAP's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result |
| 1962 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Lawrence of Arabia | Won |
| 1963 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Sundays and Cybele | Nominated |
| 1965 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Doctor Zhivago | Won |
| 1972 | Academy Award | Best Original Song | The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean ("Marmalade, Molasses & Honey") | Nominated |
| 1976 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | The Message | Nominated |
| 1984 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | A Passage to India | Won |
| 1985 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Witness | Nominated |
| 1988 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Gorillas in the Mist | Nominated |
| 1990 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Ghost | Nominated |
| 1985 | BAFTA Awards | Best Film Music | A Passage to India | Nominated |
| 1985 | BAFTA Awards | Best Film Music | Witness | Won |
| 1989 | BAFTA Awards | Best Film Music | Dead Poets Society | Won |
| 1962 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Lawrence of Arabia | Nominated |
| 1965 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Doctor Zhivago | Won |
| 1966 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Is Paris Burning? | Nominated |
| 1973 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | Nominated |
| 1975 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | The Man Who Would Be King | Nominated |
| 1984 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | A Passage to India | Won |
| 1985 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Witness | Won |
| 1986 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | The Mosquito Coast | Nominated |
| 1988 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Gorillas in the Mist | Won |
| 1995 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | A Walk in the Clouds | Won |
| 1999 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Sunshine | Nominated |
| 1962 | Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Lawrence of Arabia | Nominated |
| 1965 | Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Doctor Zhivago | Won |
| 1970 | Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Ryan's Daughter | Nominated |
| 1984 | Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | A Passage to India | Nominated |
| 1985 | Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Witness | Nominated |
| 1987 | Grammy Award | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Fatal Attraction | Nominated |
| 1980 | Saturn Award | Best Music | Resurrection | Nominated |
| 1985 | Saturn Award | Best Music | The Bride | Nominated |
| 1990 | Saturn Award | Best Music | Ghost | Nominated |