A Composer for All Seasons
Michel Legrand collaborated with some of the best filmmakers in Europe and the U.S.
The enduring artistry of the late film composer-songwriter Michel Legrand is on full display in Todd Haynes’ “May December.” But not everyone is happy to hear Haynes’ usage of the Legrand score from Joseph Losey’s 1971 romantic drama “The Go-between,” repurposed to jarring (if you don’t like it) but provocative (if you do) effect. Whichever side of that coin you land on, Legrand’s impact upon film music is unlikely to cause debate.
With three Oscar wins across 13 nominations and five Grammy awards in his career that included over 200 film and TV scores from the 1950s until his death four years ago, Legrand came to define modern film music.
His creative collaborations with French film auteur Jacques Demy on landmark films such as “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” and “The Young Girls of Rochefort” in the 1960s put Legrand on the international film composing map, as well as the pop songwriting charts with the timeless ballad “I Will Wait for You,” which was Oscar-nominated (along with the score for “Cherbourg”).
Soon Legrand was at the top of the Hollywood composing scene, working with major directors such as Norman Jewison (“The Thomas Crown Affair”), Robert Mulligan (“Summer of ’42”) and Richard Brooks (“The Happy Ending”). Those three films yielded four Oscar nominations, garnering wins for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind” and the score for “’42.” He also scored three nominations and a win for “Yentl” (shared with songwriting superstars Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman).
It was around that time that Legrand scored a film for a director who’s currently in post-production on his newest film, “Juror # 2,” the 93-year-old Clint Eastwood. Back 50 years ago, Legrand created a memorable, but not Oscar-nominated, score for Eastwood’s romantic 1973 film saga, “Breezy,” starring William Holden and Kay Lenz.
Just don’t tell Todd Haynes. He might decide to swap out the “Go-between” music in “May December” for the “Breezy” score just to see if it works.