Basil Poledouris

With his sweeping, powerful scores, composer Basil Poledouris brought a sense of epic passion and melancholy grandeur to "Conan: the Barbarian" (1982), "Robocop" (1987) and the beloved miniseries, "Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1989). Poledouris also set the tone for many subsequent military thrillers, with his haunting Russian-influenced score for "The Hunt for Red October" (1990). Though Poledouris never gained widespread public attention like John Williams or Danny Elfman, nor received a single Academy Award nomination, his rich melodies nonetheless remained popular and influential within the filmmaking community.