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Rachel Portman

Rachel Portman

Composer · Born December 11, 1960 (65) · Haslemere, Surrey, England, UK

Oscar winner · Primetime Emmy winner · Golden Globe nominee · 2 other major award bodies

Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE (born 11 December 1960) is an English composer who is best known for scoring films. Portman's career in music began with writing music for drama in BBC and Channel 4 films such as Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Mike Leigh's Four Days in July and Jim Henson's Storyteller series. Since then, Portman has written over 100 scores for film, television and theatre. Her other works include a children's opera, The Little Prince (which was later adapted for television) and Little House on the Prairie, a musical based upon the Laura Ingalls Wilder books Little House on the Prairie (2008). Portman was commissioned to write a piece of choral music for the BBC Proms series in August 2007 called The Water Diviner's Tale. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rachel Portman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 11, 1960 (65)
From
Haslemere, Surrey, England, UK
Works as
Composer
Titles
71 on MovieCove · 106 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 9% in 30 days

What are Rachel Portman's films like?

Across their 66 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Drama23 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 71st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy22 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 53rd percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Adventure5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 80th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies
Biography5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 78th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 48th percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 82nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
29%
Self
28%
Morality
14%
Society
13%
Survival
8%
Power
7%
Ideas
3%
Romantic love16 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds18 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose14 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity12 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship6 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity7 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception7 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age6 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 63 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 34 · Serious 15 · Dark 14

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 37 · Stylized 23 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 28 · Charged 24 · Intense 11

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 41 · Shifting 19 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 27 · Some laughs 28 · Funny 8

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 43 · Even-paced 20 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 39 · Engaged 17 · Full focus 7

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 28 · Affecting 15 · Heavy 20

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 43 · Open-ended 17 · Ambiguous 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
33
Warm
27
Hopeful
25
Romantic
19
Tense
17
Other
71

How their films linger

Hopeful35 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good26 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet28 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 7 with a twist

  • Happy24
  • Bittersweet30
  • Tragic7
  • Ambiguous3
  • Cyclical1
  • Other1

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 Rachel Portman's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 39 of their 71 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (17).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Rachel Portman'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

106 credits, 71 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Return(2024)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • We Were the Lucky Ones(2024)

    Show 8 episodes · Composer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows

  • Dancing Fruit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Composer

  • Julia(2021)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Godmothered(2020)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Mimi and the Mountain Dragon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Composer

  • The Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Composer

  • Archie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Composer

  • Their Finest(2016)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • A Dog's Purpose(2017)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Race(2016)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Despite the Falling Snow(2016)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • I Wish For You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Composer

  • Sainsbury's: Mog's Christmas Calamity (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Composer

  • Bessie(2015)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Dolphin Tale 2(2014)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Still Life(2013)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Paradise(2013)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • The Right Kind of Wrong(2013)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Belle(2013)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Girl Rising(2013)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Private Peaceful(2012)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Bel Ami(2012)

    Composer · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • The Vow(2012)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Snow Flower and the Secret Fan(2011)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • His Way(2011)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • One Day(2011)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • National Theatre Live: London Assurance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Composer

  • Never Let Me Go(2010)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Grey Gardens(2009)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Duchess(2008)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2(2008)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Infamous(2006)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Lake House(2006)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • It's a Happy Movie: The Children's Making-of (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Composer

  • Twist by Polanski (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Composer

  • Oliver Twist(2005)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Because of Winn-Dixie(2005)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • The Manchurian Candidate(2004)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Hard Cops(2004)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Mona Lisa Smile(2003)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Human Stain(2003)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Nicholas Nickleby(2002)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Truth About Charlie(2002)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Hart's War(2002)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • The Emperor's New Clothes(2001)

    Composer · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • American Women(2000)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Chocolat(2000)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • The Legend of Bagger Vance(2000)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • The Cider House Rules(1999)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Ratcatcher(1999)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • The Other Sister(1999)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Home Fries(1998)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Beloved(1998)

    Composer · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas(1997)

    Composer · Songs

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Addicted to Love(1997)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Marvin's Room(1996)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Palookaville(1995)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Emma(1996)

    Composer · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • The Adventures of Pinocchio(1996)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar(1995)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Smoke(1995)

    Composer · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • A Pyromaniac's Love Story(1995)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • The Road to Wellville(1994)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • War of the Buttons(1994)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Shades of Fear(1994)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Only You(1994)

    Composer · Orchestrator

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Sirens(1994)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Friends (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Composer

  • The Joy Luck Club(1993)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Benny & Joon(1993)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Ethan Frome(1993)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Used People(1992)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Mr. Wakefield's Crusade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Composer

  • Rebecca's Daughters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Composer

  • Elizabeth R: A Year in the Life of The Queen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Composer

  • Flea Bites (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Composer

  • The Cloning of Joanna May (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Composer

  • The Cloning of Joanna May (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Show 2 episodes · Composer

  • Where Angels Fear to Tread(1991)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Life Is Sweet(1990)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • The Storyteller: Greek Myths(1991)

    Show Composer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • Living with Dinosaurs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Composer

  • The Widowmaker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Composer

  • Antonia and Jane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Composer

  • Shoot to Kill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Composer

  • Shoot to Kill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Show 2 episodes · Composer

  • Sometime in August (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Composer

  • Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Show 3 episodes · Composer

  • The Woman in Black(1989)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Nice Work (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Show 4 episodes · Composer

  • Young Charlie Chaplin(1989)

    Show 6 episodes · Composer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Monster Maker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Composer

  • Precious Bane(1989)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Storyteller(1987)

    Show 9 episodes · Composer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • The Short & Curlies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Composer

  • 1914 All Out (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Composer

  • The Falklands War: The Untold Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Composer

  • A Little Princess(1986)

    Show 6 episodes · Composer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

  • Good As Gold (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Composer

  • Four Days in July (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Composer

  • Last Day of Summer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Composer

  • Sharma and Beyond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Composer

  • Reflections (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Composer

  • Experience Preferred... But Not Essential (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Composer

  • Privileged (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Composer

Career shape

A full career of 105 titles from 1982 to 2024.

Biggest box office

A Dog's Purpose (2017)

$205M worldwide

Highest rated

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

The Return (2024)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Music105 of 105: 98 only music, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score71stOther crew7 of 105: 0 only other crew, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score68th

105 titles, 7 with more than one role — music and other crew overlap on 7 of them.

By decade

1980s17 · crew1990s39 · crew2000s20 · crew2010s24 · crew2020s5 · 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

an Oscar and a Primetime Emmy from 11 major nominations, 1990–2015.

WinNomination
  1. 2015
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)
  2. 2009
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)
  3. 2005
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Music Direction
  4. 2002
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
  5. 2001
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Music, Original Score
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Original Score - Motion Picture
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
  6. 2000
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Music, Original Score
  7. 1997
    • Oscar, won · Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score
  8. 1991
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Original Television Music
Show 1 earlier year
  1. 1990
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Original Television Music

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 Rachel Portman's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 66; across their 63 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 63

Approval · how many liked their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 63

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 63

Midcredits score across 71 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up28
  • 50th to 74th23
  • 25th to 49th15
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

39 of their 71 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved10
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser39
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed18

Most divisive · composer

Shades of Fear (1994)

75th percentile spread · 15% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

The Storyteller (1987)

Midcredits 99th · 94% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 65/100 in their films, across 53 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 45. 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 Rachel Portman's work okay for kids?

Across up to 45 MovieCove titles with content scores, every category sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore33 titles14–70 · median 37 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity45 titles12–60 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity29 titles10–63 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs28 titles24–50 · median 32 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense30 titles8–69 · median 42 · 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 Rachel Portman work with?

People who share at least 2 of Rachel Portman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bob Weinstein shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers