By Lee Pfeiffer
No one has to tell Cinema Retro readers about the contributions great composers have made to films. What would Psycho have been without Bernard Hermann's innovative and chilling score? Would The Magnificent Seven have ridden as high in the saddle without Elmer Bernstein's legendary title theme? And would the early James Bond films have been nearly as successful without John Barry's scores? Now, however, composers are losing clout and respect. A generation of cost-cutting film executives, combined with younger filmmakers who have little respect for composer's talents have ensured that most contemporary soundtracks won't be making it into your CD or MP3 player any time soon. Variety music critic Jon Burlingame takes a look at the sad decline of a great profession. Click here to read