Basil Konstantine Poledouris (August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) was a Gre… Read Full Bio ↴Basil Konstantine Poledouris (August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) was a Greek-American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with directors John Milius and Paul Verhoeven. Among his works are scores for the films Conan the Barbarian (1982), Red Dawn (1984), Iron Eagle (1986), RoboCop (1987), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Free Willy (1993), and Starship Troopers (1997). Poledouris won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special for his work on the four-part miniseries Lonesome Dove in 1989, and was a four-time recipient of the BMI Film Music Award.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he credited two influences with guiding him towards music: the first was composer Miklós Rózsa; the second his own Greek Orthodox heritage. Poledouris was raised in the Church, and he used to sit in services enthralled by the choir's sound. At the age of seven, Poledouris began piano lessons, and after graduation from Garden Grove High School, he enrolled at the University of Southern California to study both filmmaking and music. Several short films to which he contributed are still kept in the university's archives. At USC, Poledouris met movie directors John Milius and Randal Kleiser, with whom he would later collaborate as a music composer. He appeared as a background extra in several episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. In 1985, Poledouris wrote the music for Paul Verhoeven's Flesh & Blood, establishing a durable collaboration.
Poledouris became renowned for his powerfully epic style of orchestral composition and his intricate thematic designs. He scored the soundtrack for The Blue Lagoon (1980; dir: Kleiser); Conan the Barbarian (1982; dir: Milius); Conan the Destroyer (1984); Red Dawn (1984; dir: Milius), Iron Eagle (1986); RoboCop (1987; dir: Verhoeven); The Hunt for Red October (1990); Quigley Down Under (1990 Simon Wincer); Free Willy (1993) and its first sequel Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995); Starship Troopers (1997; dir: Verhoeven); and For Love of the Game (1999).
Poledouris' studio, "Blowtorch Flats", was located in Venice, California, and was a professional mixing facility specializing in film and media production.
Poledouris married his wife Bobbie in 1969; they had two daughters, Zoë and Alexis. His elder daughter, Zoë Poledouris, is an actress and film composer, who occasionally collaborated with her father in composing film soundtracks.
In 1996, Poledouris, alongside James Horner, composed "The Tradition of the Games" for the Atlanta Olympics opening ceremony that accompanied the memorable dance tribute to the athletes and goddesses of victory of the ancient Greek Olympics using silhouette imagery.
Poledouris spent the last four years of his life residing on Vashon Island, in Washington State. He died on November 8, 2006, in Los Angeles, California, aged 61, from cancer.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he credited two influences with guiding him towards music: the first was composer Miklós Rózsa; the second his own Greek Orthodox heritage. Poledouris was raised in the Church, and he used to sit in services enthralled by the choir's sound. At the age of seven, Poledouris began piano lessons, and after graduation from Garden Grove High School, he enrolled at the University of Southern California to study both filmmaking and music. Several short films to which he contributed are still kept in the university's archives. At USC, Poledouris met movie directors John Milius and Randal Kleiser, with whom he would later collaborate as a music composer. He appeared as a background extra in several episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. In 1985, Poledouris wrote the music for Paul Verhoeven's Flesh & Blood, establishing a durable collaboration.
Poledouris became renowned for his powerfully epic style of orchestral composition and his intricate thematic designs. He scored the soundtrack for The Blue Lagoon (1980; dir: Kleiser); Conan the Barbarian (1982; dir: Milius); Conan the Destroyer (1984); Red Dawn (1984; dir: Milius), Iron Eagle (1986); RoboCop (1987; dir: Verhoeven); The Hunt for Red October (1990); Quigley Down Under (1990 Simon Wincer); Free Willy (1993) and its first sequel Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995); Starship Troopers (1997; dir: Verhoeven); and For Love of the Game (1999).
Poledouris' studio, "Blowtorch Flats", was located in Venice, California, and was a professional mixing facility specializing in film and media production.
Poledouris married his wife Bobbie in 1969; they had two daughters, Zoë and Alexis. His elder daughter, Zoë Poledouris, is an actress and film composer, who occasionally collaborated with her father in composing film soundtracks.
In 1996, Poledouris, alongside James Horner, composed "The Tradition of the Games" for the Atlanta Olympics opening ceremony that accompanied the memorable dance tribute to the athletes and goddesses of victory of the ancient Greek Olympics using silhouette imagery.
Poledouris spent the last four years of his life residing on Vashon Island, in Washington State. He died on November 8, 2006, in Los Angeles, California, aged 61, from cancer.
Orphans of Doom / The Awakening
Basil Poledouris Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Basil Poledouris:
Anvil of Crom Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the ris…
Boys from the Bush Boys from the bush Been shearing sheep, we been mustering st…
Don't Cut Me Down (Olivia Newton-John) I'm tall I need room to grow I need th…
Down Under Traveling in a fried-out combie On a hippie trail, head ful…
Hymn to Red October Cold, hard, empty. Light that has left me, How could I know…
Hymn to Red October (Main Title) HYMN TO RED OCTOBER Words and Music by Basil Poledouris Russ…
Lassie: Main Title Cold, hard, empty. Light that has left me, How could I know…
Main Titles Cold, hard, empty. Light that has left me, How could I know…
Red Dawn Main Title Cold, hard, empty. Light that has left me, How could I know…
Riddle of Steel / Riders of Doom Enses, enses requirimus, requirimus saevos nos. Swords, we s…
Strike it Up Strike it up, strike it up, strike it up Strike it…
The Hunt for Red October: Hymn to Red October Cold, hard, empty. Light that has left me, How could I know…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@kevinedwards7206
This movie had such a dramatic and significant impact on my life.. Watched it twice the day it was released in Albuquerque New Mexico. Early eighties.20 years old...
I had finished an epic trek around western america the previous year.. Wound up not going into the Marine Corps..
..hitchhiking... From Bremerton to Portland to San Diego.. Then to Albuquerque.
Seven days of walking.. One entire day to walk through Yuma Arizona , over the Gila mountains.
And i had read Frank Howards works in High school years earlier... London, Heinlein, Asimov..
This movie seemed a reflection of my life.
And the music is so powerful, takes me back to hiking through the desert at sun-up in the middle of nowhere, me and my buddy , just like it was yesterday.
This man was a true artist with a masters talent.
Life is beyond description.
And music is indeed timeless...
@connorbrennan4233
I am always in tears when the score plays and Conan is sitting on those steps and reminiscing his life, his regret, and his losses. Anyone must've felt like Conan at that moment at least once in their lives.
@ionicafardefrica
pretty sure Conan is more about cutting heads and kicking butts and less about being a whiny little wuss
@dominicksinclair3536
Connor Brennan i do everyday.....
@dominicksinclair3536
ionicafardefrica even warriors have a time out for sensitivity
@holamoco
@ionicafardefrica That's the way he was taught and raised by those evil masters, to be a heartless grunt, a power house of blood and gore. But deep down... he is still just a kid, the love and care he got from his mother, wisdom from his father and remembering where he came from, knowing his people. And being in love for the first time with Valeria. Those are deep inside of him.
@nickyborrisino
holamoco17 if that’s what you took away from this movie, you have learned nothing... NOTHING.
@kevinedwards7206
This movie had such a dramatic and significant impact on my life.. Watched it twice the day it was released in Albuquerque New Mexico. Early eighties.20 years old...
I had finished an epic trek around western america the previous year.. Wound up not going into the Marine Corps..
..hitchhiking... From Bremerton to Portland to San Diego.. Then to Albuquerque.
Seven days of walking.. One entire day to walk through Yuma Arizona , over the Gila mountains.
And i had read Frank Howards works in High school years earlier... London, Heinlein, Asimov..
This movie seemed a reflection of my life.
And the music is so powerful, takes me back to hiking through the desert at sun-up in the middle of nowhere, me and my buddy , just like it was yesterday.
This man was a true artist with a masters talent.
Life is beyond description.
And music is indeed timeless...
@thealexprime
Basil poledouris is a brilliant composer!
@Dopleganger3814
OMFG!!! Now THIS is how you score the end of an epic!!!! This gives me chills down my spine thinking of how he swings that latern of fire and throws it at the temple!!!! CLASSIC!!!!
@matimus100
Crom your God?