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Éric Serra

Éric Serra

Composer · Born September 9, 1959 (67) · Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France

Éric Serra (born 9 September 1959) is a French musician and composer. He is a frequent collaborator of film director Luc Besson. Éric Serra was born in Saint-Mandé. His father Claude was a famous French songwriter in the 1950s and '60s, and so Éric was thus exposed to music and its production at a young age. His mother died when he was just seven years old. In the early 1980s, Éric Serra met director Luc Besson and was asked to score his first film, Le Dernier Combat (1983). Serra has scored all of Besson's directed films to date, except Angel-A (2005) (scored by Anja Garbarek), and several that Besson has written, such as Wasabi. In 1995, Serra was chosen to compose the score to the James Bond film GoldenEye, and produced a much more modern-sounding avant-garde soundtrack than had been used in previous Bond films. It met with mixed reviews from film critics. While Serra's score has been seen by some as highly innovative, many Bond fans have criticized it and often highlighted the lack of the classic, instantly recognizable Bond leitmotif originally created by Monty Norman and John Barry. The GoldenEye producers later hired John Altman to score the tank chase sequence, which incorporated a traditional arrangement of the Bond theme.David Arnold would succeed Serra as Bond composer until 2008. Serra is sometimes known as RXRA due to the French pronunciation of his name. His composition Little Light of Love on the soundtrack of the film The Fifth Element is credited to RXRA. Serra has been the partner of Australian model Jodi Luschwitz for 17 years, with whom he has two children: Ashani and Mitivaï. From 1980 to 1988, Éric Serra played bass guitar for French singer Jacques Higelin. Serra is also a songwriter, notably having written "It's Only Mystery" for the film Subway, "My Lady Blue" for Le Grand Bleu and "Little Light of Love" for The Fifth Element. In 1998 he released an album of rock music titled RXRA which resembles the artist's name when pronounced as initial letters in French. Serra composed the music for the 2008 Las Vegas Criss Angel/Cirque Du Soleil show 'Criss Angel: Believe'. Serra has spent little time in front of the camera, choosing to work behind the scenes instead. However, on French television he has made a number of appearances performing music, and notably appeared in the Luc Besson film Subway in which he plays 'Enrico the bassist'. Source: Article "Éric Serra" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 9, 1959 (67)
From
Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
Works as
Composer
Titles
27 on MovieCove · 33 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 2% in 30 days

What are Éric Serra's films like?

Across their 26 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Action14 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 62nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Animation3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 28th percentile
: browse their Animation movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 28th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 68th 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
31%
Self
17%
Morality
15%
Power
12%
Survival
12%
Society
8%
Ideas
7%
Family bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 26 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 14 · Serious 5 · Dark 7

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

Grounded 4 · Stylized 14 · Heightened 8

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

Gentle 4 · Charged 13 · Intense 9

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

Steady 10 · Shifting 13 · Whiplash 3

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

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 10 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 12 · Relentless 8

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

A split, not a type: Casual 13 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 4

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

Resolved 21 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
14
Thrilling
13
Joyful
7
Melancholic
6
Warm
6
Other
22

How their films linger

Feel-good11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy13
  • Bittersweet5
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous7

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 Éric Serra's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 27 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Éric Serra'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

33 credits, 27 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Wages of Fear(2024)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • DogMan(2023)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Anna(2019)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • American Renegades(2017)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Lucy(2014)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The Lady(2011)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds(2010)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films

  • The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec(2010)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard(2009)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • Arthur and the Invisibles(2006)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Bandidas(2006)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • Bulletproof Monk(2003)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Adolphe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Composer

  • Jet Lag(2002)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Rollerball(2002)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Wasabi(2001)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • L'Art (délicat) de la séduction(2001)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc(1999)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • At the Threshold of an Era (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show 2 episodes · Songs

  • The Fifth Element(1997)

    Composer · Conductor · Music Arranger

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • GoldenEye: The Secret Files(1995)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • GoldenEye(1995)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Léon: The Professional(1994)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Djabote, Doudou N'Diaye Rose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Actor

  • Atlantis(1991)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • La Femme Nikita(1990)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Big Blue Adventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Composer

  • The Big Blue(1988)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Kamikaze(1986)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Subway(1985)

    Composer · Musician · as Le Bassiste

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • The Last Battle(1983)

    Composer · Music Arranger · Musician

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Penultimate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Composer

  • Prost (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Composer

Career shape

A full career of 32 titles, 31 of them dated from 1981 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Lucy (2014)

$469M worldwide

Highest rated

Léon: The Professional (1994)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

The Fifth Element (1997)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 32: 1 only acting, 1 with another roleMusic30 of 32: 27 only music, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score62ndOther crew4 of 32: 1 only other crew, 3 with another role

32 titles, 3 with more than one role — music and other crew overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1980s6 · 1 acting · 6 crew1990s9 · 1 acting · 8 crew2000s9 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s2 · 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.

How do Éric Serra's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 58th percentile, the median of all 27; across their 26 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 26

Approval · how many liked their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 26

Reach · how many have seen their films

94thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 26

Midcredits score across 27 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th9
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th6

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 27 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Universally Panned2
  • Crowd Pleaser12
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · composer

GoldenEye: The Secret Files (1995)

78th percentile spread · 21% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

Léon: The Professional (1994)

Midcredits 99th · 94% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 62/100 in their films, across 24 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 38. 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 Éric Serra's work okay for kids?

Across up to 16 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore12 titles30–84 · median 64 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity16 titles22–53 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity11 titles31–63 · median 37 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs12 titles25–59 · median 39 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense10 titles27–67 · median 58 · moderateheavier than most 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 Éric Serra work with?

People who share at least 2 of Éric Serra's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Luc Besson shares the most, 19.

Directors

  • Luc Besson19 titles · 15 as director    See newest 12 of 19 shared titles with Luc Besson

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers