He was one of Japan’s most respected film score composers. Early in his career, he composed the soundtrack for the feature film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983). Interestingly, he also appeared as an actor in the film.
He subsequently composed music for more than thirty films, including The Last Emperor (1987), Stormy Heights (1992), Little Buddha (1993), Snake Eyes (1998), Death of a Samurai (2011), Revenant Resurrection (2015) and others.
He won an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe for the music for the film The Last Emperor. He has a BAFTA Award for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence and a Golden Globe for the score for Under the Protection of Heaven (1990). He also has a number of nominations for various awards.
In 2013 he was on the jury of the main competition at the Venice International Film Festival and in 2018 on the jury of the Berlin International Film Festival.
For years he battled cancer, which returned. In 2021, he wrote in a letter to fans: “From now on I will live with cancer. But I hope to make music for a while.”
David Newman: For me, film music is one of the highest forms of art
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