---
name: "David Mansfield"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/david-mansfield"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "13 December 1956"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T14:23:20.668198+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# David Mansfield

Composer. Born 13 December 1956 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 13 December 1956, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

## Biography

David Mansfield is an American musician and composer. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was raised in New Jersey and trained as a violinist; his father was a violinist with the New York Philharmonic. He began his career as a session musician and band member, playing with artists including Bob Dylan, before moving into film scoring.

Mansfield composed the score for Michael Cimino's *Heaven's Gate* (1980), in which he also appeared on screen playing the fiddle on roller skates. He collaborated further with Cimino on *Year of the Dragon* (1985), *The Sicilian* (1987) and *Desperate Hours* (1990). Other notable scores include *The Ballad of Little Jo* (1993), *The Apostle* (1997), *Songcatcher* (2000), *Transamerica* (2005) and *Broken Trail* (2006, with Van Dyke Parks). He has been married to director Maggie Greenwald since 1994.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, david-mansfield.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Heaven's Gate* (1980), Fi1m 79, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/heavens-gate.md)

## Also known for

- *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), Music
- *Transamerica* (2005), Original Music Composer, Musician
- *Year of the Dragon* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Get a Clue* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Desperate Hours* (1990), Original Music Composer
- *Then She Found Me* (2007), Original Music Composer
- *Broken Trail* (2006), Original Music Composer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/david-mansfield