Vangelis, the cult Hollywood composer (Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire…), is dead

blade runnerit’s him. The Chariots of Fireit’s him. alexanderwhich adapts the story of Alexander the Great, is also him. Vangelis, cult composer of American cinema, died at the age of 79. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed the news on Twitter. The artist was hospitalized in France after catching Covid-19, according to several media. Born in 1942 in Volos, Greece, he made a name for himself by producing the music for major Hollywood films in the 60s and 90s. His last composition dating from 2014, where he had signed the soundtrack of Twilight of Shadowsan Algerian film by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016.

Vangelis had a band with Demis Roussos

But before knowing American glory, Vangelis had settled in France, in Paris, where he notably co-founded a progressive rock quartet, the Aphrodite’s Child with Demis Roussos. Together, the two artists will sign the European hit Rain & Tears. But his apparent boredom with commercial pop music will push him to venture into the world of film and television music. Between 1963 and 2014, he will lay down his conductor’s baton on some thirty films, including blade runner by Ridley Scott missing of Costa Gavras, Antarctica by Koreyoshi Kurahara, but also alexander by Oliver Stone. It is however the Oscar for Best Film Score for The Chariots of Fire who will propel him to the front of the stage. Hugh Hudson’s 1981 film depicts the true story of two British athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. One of the two is Jewish, and will have to overcome anti-Semitism, the second being a Presbyterian Protestant, preventing him from competing for an important event on a Sunday, because of his religious convictions. In 1982, he had been nominated for seven Oscars to win four, that of Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Music, and the statuette for Best Costumes. It won the BAFTA for Best Picture, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film..

The Greek composer signed the music for blade runner by Ridley Scott

It is this prestigious prize for the best music that will enable Vangelis to work with the greatest directors, including Ridley Scott. With the filmmaker the Greek composer will thus elaborate the unique music of blade runner. If he misses the nomination for the Oscars in 1983, he is however present in the selection of the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. He was also the jury of the Cannes Film Festival in 1991, while the following year, he is made Knight of the Order of Arts and Letterswhile again working with Ridley Scott on 1492: Christopher Columbus. History explorers, he specializes in them. In 2004, he signed one of his last film soundtracks, that ofalexander by Oliver Stone. Before retiring definitively from the world of music, he composed the album Rosettanamed after the probe stopped on September 30, 2016.

Nikos Aliagas paid him a glowing tribute on Twitter. The presenter of TF1, soon at the head of a new season of star Academytalks about a “tremendous sadness” and a “genius” who is gone.