England, 1921 · 2006
Malcolm Arnold
He won the Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai and wrote more than a hundred film scores.
An English composer of symphonies as well, he wrote more than a hundred film scores between 1947 and 1969. He won the Oscar for David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), a film that also popularised the Colonel Bogey March, a 1914 piece by Kenneth Alford that is not his. Another of his most admired scores is Bryan Forbes's Whistle Down the Wind (1961).
- Style
- Classic British orchestra, marches and plenty of humour.
- Awards
- Oscar for The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Discography
- Trapeze (1956) Spotify
- The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Spotify
- The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) Spotify
- The Roots of Heaven (1958) Spotify
- Tunes of Glory (1960) Spotify
"Spotify" and "Apple Music" open the album directly on each platform; if only Spotify appears, we have not yet been able to check that album on Apple Music. "Search Spotify" opens an album search for that title. If a link does not lead to the right album, write to [email protected]. "Album" marks the year of that album edition when it differs from the film's.
Awards counted up to the 2026 Academy Awards. Facts reviewed in October 2026.