Maurice-Alexis Jarre (13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) was a French film composer and conductor.
His father was André Jarre, co-inventor of the mixing desk. He was described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the giants of 20th century film music". He frequently collaborated with David Lean and Peter Weir.
He was the father of electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre.
Films scored by Maurice Jarre include:
- Eyes Without a Face (1960)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- The Longest Day (1962)
- The Train (1964)
- Weekend at Dunkirk (1964)
- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
- Is Paris Burning? (1966)
- Grand Prix (1966)
- The Professionals (1966)
- The Night of the Generals (1967)
- Isadora (1968)
- The Damned (1969)
- Topaz (1969)
- Ryan's Daughter (1970)
- The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
- The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
- The Man Who Would be King (1975)
- Mohammad, Messenger of God (1977)
- The Tin Drum (1979)
- Lion of the Desert (1981)
- Firefox (1982)
- The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
- A Passage to India (1984)
- Dreamscape (1984)
- Witness (1985)
- Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
- Enemy Mine (1985)
- The Mosquito Coast (1986)
- Solarbabies (1986)
- No Way Out (1987)
- Fatal Attraction (1987)
- Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
- Dead Poets Society (1989)
- After Dark, My Sweet (1990)
- Ghost (1990)
- Jacob's Ladder (1990)
- Solar Crisis (1990)
- Sunshine (1999)
TV productions scored by Maurice Jarre include:
- Great Expectations (1974)
- Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
- Shogun (1980)
Tropes associated with this composer:
- Associated Composer: For David Lean and Peter Weir.
- Creepy Circus Music: The opening theme from Eyes Without a Face is an eerie, fairground-like waltz.
- Electronic Music: Many of Jarre's scores starting in the 1980s are either rendered electronically (Dreamscape, Witness, No Way Out) or feature a combination of electronic and orchestral elements (Enemy Mine, Ghost, Jacob's Ladder). When some accused him of switching to a more synthesized sound because it was cheaper and easier to produce, Jarre pointed out that working with synthesizers was just as laborious, time-consuming, and expensive as working with an orchestra, if not more so.
