“All of us who compose for films owe Tony Thomas a great debt of gratitude for being among the first to take our music seriously and to write about our contribution to the art of moving pictures with real knowledge and discernment.”
—David Raksin

“Tony Thomas, a gentleman and a legend, has given us a provocative insight into the world of film music with his book Music for the Movies.”
—Basil Poldouris

“For anyone setting out to study film music I don’t think you could do better than to start with Music for the Movies. It’s the best overview of the history of the art I’ve seen so far.”
—David Newman

“A fascinating read for the film music lover.”
—Jerry Goldsmith

Film music fans have eagerly awaited this fully updated and greatly expanded edition of Tony Thomas’s popular history of Hollywood film music (from the thirties through the nineties) as viewed through portraits of many of its foremost practitioners.

Music for the Movies discusses the lives, works, and influences of Alfred Newman, Victor Young, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, Miklos, Rozsa, Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Bernard Herrmann, Hugo Friedhofer, David Raksin, Aaron Copland, Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Leonard Rosenman, Jerry Goldsmith, Lalo Schifrin, Daivd Shire, Bruce Broughton, Basil Poledouris, and others.

Tony Thomas, one of the most respected authorities on the history of film music, was a film and record producer and author. He wrote and produced numerous television specials, including Hollywood and the American Image (PBS), The West That Never Was (PBS), and The Hollywood Soundtrack Story (AMC). He also produced more than fifty recordings of classical and film music and wrote thirty books, including Film Score: The Art and Craft of Movie Music.