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John Barry

John Barry

Composer, also actor · Died January 30, 2011, aged 77 · York, North Yorkshire, England, UK

5 Oscars · Golden Globe winner · 2 BAFTA Awards · 2 other major award bodies

John Barry Prendergast OBE (3 November 1933 – 30 January 2011) was an English composer and conductor of film music. He composed the scores for eleven of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1987, as well as arranging and performing the "James Bond Theme" for the first film in the series, 1962's Dr. No. He wrote the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning scores to the films Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa, as well as the scores of The Scarlet Letter; Chaplin; The Cotton Club; The Tamarind Seed; Mary, Queen of Scots; Game of Death; and the theme for the television series The Persuaders!, in a career spanning over 50 years. In 1999, he was appointed with an OBE for services to music. Born in York, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas owned by his father. During his national service with the British Army in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician after learning to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed a band in 1957, the John Barry Seven. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music, making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. Noel Rogers, the head of music at United Artists, approached Barry. This started a successful association between Barry and the Bond series that lasted for 25 years. Barry received awards including five Academy Awards: two for Born Free and one each for The Lion in Winter (for which he also won the first BAFTA Award for Best Film Music), Dances with Wolves and Out of Africa (both of which also won him Grammy Awards). He also received ten Golden Globe Award nominations, winning once for Best Original Score for Out of Africa in 1986. Barry completed his last film score, Enigma, in 2001 and recorded the successful album Eternal Echoes the same year. He then concentrated chiefly on live performances and co-wrote the music to the musical Brighton Rock in 2004 alongside Don Black. In 2001, Barry became a Fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and, in 2005, he was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Barry was married four times and had four children. He moved to the United States in 1975 and lived there until his death in 2011. Description above from the Wikipedia page John Barry, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 3, 1933
Died
January 30, 2011 (aged 77)
From
York, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Works as
Composer, also actor
Titles
95 on MovieCove · 125 credits in all
TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 38% in 30 days

What are John Barry's films like?

Across their 85 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

What they feel like to watch

their average across 84 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

A split, not a type: Light 26 · Serious 24 · Dark 34

Grounded 34 · Stylized 34 · Heightened 16

Gentle 10 · Charged 47 · Intense 27

Steady 31 · Shifting 47 · Whiplash 6

Straight-faced 52 · Some laughs 27 · Funny 5

A split, not a type: Slow burn 43 · Even-paced 35 · Relentless 6

Casual 27 · Engaged 47 · Full focus 10

Easy watch 28 · Affecting 29 · Heavy 27

Resolved 49 · Open-ended 28 · Ambiguous 7

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
48
Melancholic
39
Thrilling
18
Romantic
19
Contemplative
18
Other
81

How their films end · 21 with a twist

  • Happy25
  • Bittersweet40
  • Tragic10
  • Ambiguous10

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch John Barry's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 54 of their 95 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (28).

Subscription and free streaming for John Barry's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

125 credits, 95 with a MovieCove page; 19 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Final Game of Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Composer

  • Game of Death Redux (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Composer

  • La Grande Tueuse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Actor

  • After Midnight: Reflecting on a Classic 35 Years Later (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Actor

  • Dances with Wolves: The Creation of an Epic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Composer · as Self

  • Enigma(2001)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
  • Back To "Somewhere In Time" (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Composer · as Self

  • Playing by Heart(1998)

    Composer · Conductor · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
  • Mercury Rising(1998)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
  • Swept from the Sea(1997)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
  • Across the Sea of Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Composer

  • The Scarlet Letter(1995)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
  • The Specialist(1994)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
  • My Life(1993)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
  • Indecent Proposal(1993)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
  • Chaplin(1992)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
  • Deception(1992)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
  • The Making of 'Dances with Wolves' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Composer

  • Dances with Wolves(1990)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
  • Masquerade(1988)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
  • Hearts of Fire(1987)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
  • The Living Daylights(1987)

    Composer · as Orchestra Conductor (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
  • Peggy Sue Got Married(1986)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
  • Howard the Duck(1986)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
  • Out of Africa(1985)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
  • A Killing Affair(1986)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
  • Jagged Edge(1985)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
  • A View to a Kill(1985)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
  • The Cotton Club(1984)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
  • Until September(1984)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
  • Mike's Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Composer

  • The Golden Seal(1983)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
  • Octopussy(1983)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
  • High Road to China(1983)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
  • Svengali (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Composer

  • Frances(1982)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
  • Murder by Phone(1982)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
  • The Man Who Saved the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Composer

  • Hammett(1982)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
  • Body Heat(1981)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
  • Inside Moves(1980)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
  • Touched by Love(1980)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
  • Somewhere in Time(1980)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
  • Raise the Titanic(1980)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
  • Night Games (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Composer

  • The Black Hole(1979)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
  • Moonraker(1979)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
  • Hanover Street(1979)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
  • Willa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Composer

  • The Corn Is Green (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Composer

  • Starcrash(1978)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films
  • Game of Death(1978)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
  • The Betsy(1978)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
  • The Gathering(1977)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
  • First Love(1977)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
  • Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Composer

  • The Deep(1977)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
  • The War Between the Tates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Composer

  • The White Buffalo(1977)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
  • King Kong(1976)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
  • Love Among the Ruins(1975)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
  • Robin and Marian(1976)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
  • Eleanor and Franklin(1976)

    Show 2 episodes · Composer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows
  • The Day of the Locust(1975)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
  • Born Free (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Show 13 episodes · Composer

  • The Tamarind Seed(1974)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
  • The Dove (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Composer

  • Mission: Monte Carlo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Theme Song Performance

  • The Glass Menagerie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Composer

  • A Doll's House(1973)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
  • Alice's Adventures in Wonderland(1972)

    Composer · Songs

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
  • The Public Eye(1972)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
  • Mary, Queen of Scots(1971)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
  • Diamonds Are Forever(1971)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
  • Walkabout(1971)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
  • UFO: Destroy Luna Base! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Composer

  • They Might Be Giants(1971)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
  • The Last Valley(1971)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
  • Murphy's War(1971)

    Music Supervisor

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
  • Monte Walsh(1970)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
  • Midnight Cowboy(1969)

    Composer · Music Supervisor

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
  • The Appointment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Composer

  • Deadfall(1968)

    Composer · as Orchestra Conductor

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
  • The Lion in Winter(1968)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
  • Petulia(1968)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
  • Boom!(1968)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
  • Omnibus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • The Whisperers(1967)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
  • You Only Live Twice(1967)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
  • Dutchman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Composer

  • The Quiller Memorandum(1966)

    Composer · Songs

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
  • The Wrong Box(1966)

    Composer · Conductor · Music Arranger

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
  • Born Free(1966)

    Composer · Songs

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
  • The Chase(1966)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
  • Four in the Morning(1965)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
  • Thunderball(1965)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
  • King Rat(1965)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
  • The Newcomers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Show 50 episodes · Composer

  • Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
  • Mister Moses(1965)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
  • The Party's Over(1965)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
  • The Ipcress File(1965)

    Composer · Conductor · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
  • Boy and Bicycle(1965)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
  • Sophia Loren in Rome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Composer

  • Goldfinger(1964)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
  • Seance on a Wet Afternoon(1964)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
  • The Winston Affair(1964)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
  • Zulu(1964)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
  • From Russia with Love(1963)

    Composer · Conductor

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
  • Elizabeth Taylor in London (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Composer

  • The Cool Mikado (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Music Arranger

  • The Amorous Prawn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Composer

  • The L-Shaped Room(1962)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
  • Dr. No(1962)

    Music Arranger

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
  • Mix Me a Person(1962)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
  • Wild for Kicks(1960)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
  • Never Let Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Composer

Career shape

A full career of 125 titles from 1960 to 2023.

Film career

  • 1968Screen debut· Deadfall

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting5 of 125: 3 only acting, 2 with another roleMusic118 of 125: 96 only music, 22 with another role · typical Midcredits score61stOther crew24 of 125: 4 only other crew, 20 with another role · typical Midcredits score85th

125 titles, 22 with more than one role — music and other crew overlap on 20 of them.

By decade

1960s39 · 2 acting · 38 crew1970s39 · crew1980s27 · 1 acting · 27 crew1990s13 · crew2000s5 · 2 acting · 3 crew2010s1 · crew2020s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

5 Oscars, a Golden Globe, 2 BAFTA Awards and 4 other major awards from 32 major nominations, 1964–2005.

WinNomination
  1. 2005
    • BAFTA Award, won · Film
  2. 1993
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Music, Original Score
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Score - Motion Picture
  3. 1992
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Original Film Score
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television
  4. 1991
    • Oscar, won · Best Music, Original Score
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Score - Motion Picture
  5. 1987
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Score
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Instrumental Composition
  6. 1986
    • Oscar, won · Best Music, Original Score
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Original Score - Motion Picture
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Song - Motion Picture
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band
  7. 1981
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Score - Motion Picture
  8. 1978
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Show 8 earlier years
  1. 1977
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Special (Dramatic Underscore)
  2. 1975
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Song - Motion Picture
  3. 1972
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Score - Motion Picture
  4. 1970
    • Grammy Award, won · Best Instrumental Theme
  5. 1969
    • Oscar, won · Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical)
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Score
    • BAFTA Award, won
  6. 1967
    • Oscar, won · Best Music, Original Music Score
    • Oscar, won · Best Music, Original Song
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Song
    • +1 other major body · 3 nominations
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Instrumental Arrangement
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Song of the Year
  7. 1965
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Song
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show
  8. 1964
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Achievement in Composing Original Music for Television

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do John Barry's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 94; across their 84 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 60th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 84

Approval · how many liked their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 84

Reach · how many have seen their films

76thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 84

Midcredits score across 95 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up30
  • 50th to 74th29
  • 25th to 49th28
  • Below 25th8

Shape of the crowd

49 of their 95 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved13
  • Universally Panned1
  • Crowd Pleaser49
  • Broadly Agreed9
  • Mixed23

Reviewers score the sound and music 74/100 in their films, across 78 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 57. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is John Barry's work okay for kids?

Across up to 44 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and sex & nudity run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore33 titles28–72 · median 57 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity44 titles18–62 · median 42 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity31 titles18–70 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs30 titles23–47 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense27 titles20–66 · median 46 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does John Barry work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Barry's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Richard Maibaum shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles