Since Elliot Goldenthal's emergence into film scoring in the early 1990's, the young composer has stood on the fringe of the mainstream, shunning most major projects that didn't involve a dark, mysterious, or terrifying plot. Goldenthal's distance from large scale popularity was best exemplified in a large Vanity Fair photo of the top two dozen film composers from a few years ago, for which the composers happily conversed with each and were oblivious to the camera... except for Elliot Goldenthal, who took the opportunity to give the cameraman the evil eye.

His scores aren't much different, often verbose in their expressions of dramatic darkness. His experimentation with electronics is often accompanied by gothic themes and high pitch strings that perform his solemn adagios. More than anything else, Goldenthal is a master of creating unnerving scores. Although such music doesn't always translate well onto album (with the exception of a die-hard Goldenthal following which has gained stream in a small cross-section of film music fans), his disharmonious scores for films such as Alien 3 and Sphere have proven very effective in scaring audiences.

He best scores however are "Interview with the Vampire" (1994), ''Michael Collins'' (1996), ''Titus'' (1999) and one of the greatest achievements in fantasy filmmusic, ''Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'' (2001). The first two were also Oscar nominated.

Unlike Elfman's case, where his Batman works remain some of the best he has ever written after a certain guy with scissors for hands, Goldenthal's Batmen are maybe some of his less important stuff compared to his career highlights.

Theater critics have long acclaimed him as one the best composers of oratorios, concertos, and background music for stage productions.

Something of a prodigy, Goldenthal had his first ballet ("Variations on Early Glimpses") performed at his high school when he was only 14. He demonstrated his versatility by playing in rock bands during the 1970s while also studying with John Corigliano in the 1970s and Aaron Copland in the 80s. With his companion, puppeteer and director Julie Taymor, Goldenthal has collaborated on several stage productions, including the mixed-medium, Uruguayan-inspired "Juan Darien--A Carnival Mass". The original 1988 production earned him an OBIE Award and its 1996 Broadway revival earned the composer a Tony Award nomination.

Additionally, he was commissioned to create a musical piece in honor of Leonard Bernstein's 70th birthday. The resulting piece, "Shadow Play Scherzo" (1988) won critical kudos. Other works include the dark, subtle oratorio "Fire Water Paper" (1995) written to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. Utilizing themes from the Catholic liturgy and incorporating Buddhist texts as well as contemporary Vietnamese poetry, the tripartite composition veers from furiously violent to ethereal and calming. The composer was also commissioned by the American Ballet Theater to write a full-length ballet version of "Othello" (1997).

Goldenthal's first brush with the film world came in the late 70s with a brief collaboration with Andy Warhol ("Blank Generation", "Cocaine Cowboys"). He did the music for the suspense film "Pet Sematary" (1989), but Goldenthal considered Gus Van Sant's "Drugstore Cowboy" (also 1989) to be his real debut. Van Sant had used music from "Juan Darien" as a stop-gap and asked Goldenthal to provide the finished score. The eerie, almost subliminal music was acclaimed for its enhancement of the mood established by the director, capturing the drug-induced state of its characters.

Goldenthal has come to specialize in action/suspense and fantasy films; his music is neither soaring nor intrusive, but integrated with background noises and actions. His atmospheric score for "Alien3" recalled works by Corigliano. Each of his subsequent film scores defy description; each possesses a distinctive, somewhat atonal sound. Goldenthal earned his first Oscar nomination for his moody and atmospheric work on Neil Jordan's "Interview With the Vampire". A last minute replacement, the composer created a score that utilized aspects of the musical genres from the three centuries the film spanned. Moving easily from the Rococo to the contemporary, using boys choirs and period instruments, the score set the appropriate tone for the action, and made for an enjoyable listening on album.

Goldenthal next joined the "Batman" team mid-flight for Joel Schumacher's sequel "Batman Forever" (1995). Lighter and goofier than the previous entry, it demanded a less ominous score than the original and Goldenthal delivered a lighter score. He and Schumacher re-teamed for the courtroom drama "A Time to Kill" (1996), for which he proffered a stirring, but subtle score. Again working with Neil Jordan, the composer incorporated traditional Celtic music yet managed to avoid the pitfalls of cliche. with his great work for "Michael Collins" (1996), which earned him a second Oscar nomination.

As a final note, I can't understand why some think that Goldenthal is an Elfman rip-off (maybe just because he did Batman after Danny). His styles are very different, and the only similarities I can think of is that they both like using sometimes gothic textures and minor keys, instead of major.