Thomas Newman is another of Alfred Newman's sons, David Newman's brother, and therefore part of that very musical family which also includes Lionel Newman and Randy Newman. Thomas quickly made a name for himself with his early soundtrack work on "Reckless" and "Desperately Seeking Susan". This led to his employment on some high profile hollywood films including "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe", "Scent of a Woman" and "The Shawshank Redemption" where he has displayed an easy ability to both use and mix a wide variety of traditional and popular styles. Since this inauguration, his career has seemed to grow exponentially, with recent years building a CV putting him at the top of the profession with "Up Close and Personal", "The Horse Whisperer", "The Green Mile", "Meet Joe Black", "American Beauty", "Erin Brockovich" and "The Road to Perdition"!
Among Newman's supreme talents is the ability to musically paint great subtleties of mood and emotion. This was ably demonstrated on the soundtrack to "The Horse Whisperer", whose early scenes in New York use dreamlike music to establish the events before and after the accident which physically and emotionally scars a young girl and her horse, affecting her family. When the horse is taken to the Whisperer in Montana the music takes on a slight touch of country, and then superbly highlights the trials and steps leading to recovery, which also entangle the lives of those involved. Although the music in this film is quite prominent, sometimes Newman's music is required to take a back seat. This was evident in movies such as "In the Bedroom" where he was able to subtly heighten scenes of apparent normality and suggest all sorts of thoughts that might lurk under the surface.
This ability was stretched further in the haunting dreamlike music in "American Beauty" which is perfectly suited for the movie's blending of fantasy and perspectives on reality. Its main sounds are tuned percussion though based on short figures rather than overt melody (another Newman hallmark). The success of this movie and popular identification with its heightened reality in mundane circumstances, has resulted in the music (and many imitations) being used in many other places including TV and radio. In many ways Newman is leading the way in finding a new voice for film music. His distinctive music seems to enjoy sounds which jingle and tinkle, using piano, strings or pads, and tuned percussion played with mallets, while blending natural and synthesised instruments, and sprinkling the mix with effects. His style can use aspects of popular, jazz, classical and world music, yet their fusion is uniquely Thomas Newman and always interesting.
Compositions
1984: Reckless
1984: Revenge of the Nerds
1984: Grandview, U.S.A.
1985: Desperately Seeking Susan
1985: Girls Just Want to Have Fun
1985: The Man with One Red Shoe
1985: Real Genius
1987: Less Than Zero
1987: The Lost Boys
1988: The Prince of Pennsylvania
1990: Men Don't Leave
1992: The Player
1992: Fried Green Tomatoes
1992: Scent of a Woman
1993: Flesh and Bone
1994: Little Women (Academy Award nomination)
1994: The Shawshank Redemption (Academy Award nomination)
1994: The War
1995: How to Make an American Quilt
1995: Unstrung Heroes (Academy Award nomination)
1996: The People vs. Larry Flynt
1996: American Buffalo
1996: Phenomenon
1996: Up Close and Personal
1997: Red Corner
1997: Mad City
1997: Oscar and Lucinda
1998: The Horse Whisperer
1998: Meet Joe Black
1999: American Beauty (Academy Award nomination; Grammy Award; BAFTA Award)
1999: The Green Mile
2000: Erin Brockovich
2000: Pay It Forward
2000: Boston Public (TV; main theme)
2001: Six Feet Under (TV; main theme) (Emmy Award; Grammy Awards)
2002: The Salton Sea
2002: Road to Perdition (Academy Award nomination)
2002: White Oleander
2003: Finding Nemo (Academy Award nomination)
2003: Angels in America (TV)
2004: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Academy Award nomination)
2005: Cinderella Man
2005: Jarhead
2006: Little Children
2006: The Good German (Academy Award nomination)
2007: Nothing is Private
2008: Wall-E
2008: Revolutionary Road (in production)
