---
name: "Luis Bacalov"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/luis-bacalov"
fi1m_id: "luis-bacalov"
imdb_id: "nm0005953"
tmdb_id: 66675
wikidata_id: "Q1332599"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "31 March 1933"
died: "15 November 2017"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-26T15:38:21.194607+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."
---

# Luis Bacalov

## Identity

Luis Bacalov

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/luis-bacalov
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** luis-bacalov
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005953
- **TMDB ID:** 66675
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1332599
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Bacalov, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1332599, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005953/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/66675

Composer. Born 31 March 1933 in San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Died 15 November 2017.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 31 March 1933, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- **Died:** 15 November 2017
- **Active:** 1965–2012
- **Also known as:** Luis Enriquez Bakalov, Luis Enrique Bakalov, Luis Enrique Bacalov, Louis Enriquez Bacalov, Luis Enriquez
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 88 (1), 1990s 75 (1), 2010s 78 (1)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 1, Romance 1, Western 1
- **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $458m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Bacalov, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1332599, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005953/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/66675

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Gospel According to St. Matthew*](https://film.one/film/the-gospel-according-to-st-matthew.md) (88)
- **AMC+:** [*Django Unchained*](https://film.one/film/django-unchained.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Luis Bacalov was an Argentine-born film composer and musical director who became a naturalised Italian citizen. He studied music with Enrique Barenboim and Berta Sujovolsky before moving to Italy, where he composed scores for numerous films, particularly Spaghetti Westerns in the 1960s.

His early credits include *Django* (1966) and *A Bullet for the General* (1967). He later worked on films such as *The Gospel According to St. Matthew* (1965), *Caliber 9* (1972) and *City of Women* (1980), and collaborated with Italian progressive rock bands in the 1970s. Bacalov received two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score and won in 1996 for *Il Postino* (1994). His music was also used in *Django Unchained* (2012).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Django Unchained* (2012), Fi1m 78, Theme Song Performance, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/django-unchained.md)
- *The Postman* (1994), Fi1m 75, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-postman.md)
- *The Gospel According to St. Matthew* (1965), Fi1m 88, Original Music Composer, Music Arranger, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/the-gospel-according-to-st-matthew.md)

## Complete filmography (128)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Elsa & Fred* (2014), Original Music Composer
- *Django Unchained* (2012), as Theme Song Performance · Music — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/django-unchained.md)
- *Notizie degli scavi* (2010), Original Music Composer
- *La rabbia* (2008), Music, Original Music Composer
- *Caravaggio* (2007), Music
- *L'uomo privato* (2007), Original Music Composer
- *Sea of Dreams* (2006), Original Music Composer
- *Quiet Flows The Don* (2006), Original Music Composer
- *Quiet Flows the Don* (2006), series, Music
- *The Dust Factory* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *Caliber 9: Documentary* (2004), Music
- *Inferno Below* (2003), series, Original Music Composer
- *Assassination Tango* (2003), Original Music Composer
- *La regina degli scacchi* (2002), Music
- *Il consiglio d'Egitto* (2002), Original Music Composer
- *Deceit* (2001), Music
- *Woman on Top* (2000), Music, Original Music Composer
- *The Sky Is Falling* (2000), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *It Had to Be You* (2000), Conductor, Original Music Composer
- *The Children of the Century* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *B. Monkey* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Secret of the Andes* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *The Love Letter* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Milonga* (1999), Music
- *Dirty Linen* (1999), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *The Truce* (1997), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *Ilona Arrives with the Rain* (1996), Original Music Composer
- *La frontiera* (1996), Original Music Composer
- *Stella's Favor* (1996), Original Music Composer
- *The Postman* (1994), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/the-postman.md)
- *The Dark Tale* (1991), Music
- *A Simple Story* (1991), Original Music Composer
- *Esmeralda Bay* (1989), Original Music Composer
- *Dear Gorbachev* (1988), Music
- *The Mask* (1988), Original Music Composer
- *Donna d'ombra* (1988), Music
- *The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway* (1988), Original Music Composer
- *Maniac Killer* (1987), Music
- *Le Transfuge* (1985), Sound Editor, Music
- *Un caso d'incoscienza* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *Inganni* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *A Strange Passion* (1984), Music
- *The Judge* (1984), Music
- *Art of Love* (1983), Music
- *The House of Orchids* (1983), Music
- *Le Jeune Marié* (1983), Music
- *Entre Nous* (1983), Original Music Composer
- *Roma dalla finestra* (1982), Original Music Composer
- *Notes on City of Women* (1982), Music
- *Os Saltimbancos Trapalhões* (1981), Original Story, Music
- *Le rose di Danzica* (1981), series, Original Music Composer
- *La festa perduta* (1981), Music
- *The Girl from Millelire Street* (1981), Music
- *The Devil's Game* (1981), series, Original Music Composer
- *The Sandman* (1981), Music
- *Habibi, amor mío* (1981), Music
- *Night of the Zombies* (1980), Music
- *City of Women* (1980), Original Music Composer
- *Madness* (1980), Original Music Composer
- *Le rose di Danzica* (1979), Music
- *Improvviso* (1979), Original Music Composer
- *What Is to Be Done?* (1979), series, Music
- *Il balordo* (1978), series, Music
- *Blood and Diamonds* (1978), Original Music Composer
- *The Last Round* (1976), Original Music Composer
- *Rulers of the City* (1976), Original Music Composer
- *Nick the Sting* (1976), Original Music Composer
- *I prosseneti* (1976), Original Music Composer
- *Street People* (1976), Music
- *Colpita da improvviso benessere* (1976), Original Music Composer
- *One Man Against the Organization* (1975), Original Music Composer
- *Kidnap Syndicate* (1975), Original Music Composer
- *My Mother's Friend* (1975), Music
- *Loaded Guns* (1975), Original Music Composer, Music Editor
- *I'll Fix America and Be Right Back* (1974), Music
- *Shoot First, Die Later* (1974), Original Music Composer
- *Stateline Motel* (1973), Original Music Composer
- *The Police Serve the Citizens?* (1973), Original Music Composer
- *The Man Called Noon* (1973), Original Music Composer
- *In Love with Sex* (1973), Original Music Composer
- *The Boss* (1973), Music, Original Music Composer
- *Seduction* (1973), Music
- *L'Italia vista dal cielo: Liguria* (1973), Original Music Composer
- *The Grand Duel* (1972), Conductor
- *Blessed Are the Rich* (1972), Original Music Composer
- *Summertime Killer* (1972), Original Music Composer
- *It Can Be Done Amigo* (1972), Original Music Composer
- *Caliber 9* (1972), Original Music Composer
- *Great Treasure Hunt* (1972), Original Music Composer
- *Roma bene* (1971), Original Music Composer
- *His Name Was King* (1971), Original Music Composer
- *The Designated Victim* (1971), Original Music Composer
- *The Superwitness* (1971), Original Music Composer
- *Chapaqua's Gold* (1970), Original Music Composer
- *Lonely Hearts* (1970), Music
- *L'amica* (1969), Original Music Composer
- *The Price of Power* (1969), Original Music Composer
- *In the Name of the Father* (1969), Original Music Composer
- *Baby Doll* (1968), Music
- *The Black Sheep* (1968), Original Music Composer
- *Appointment in Beirut* (1968), Original Music Composer
- *The Vatican Affair* (1968), Original Music Composer
- *The Protagonists* (1968), Music
- *Ghosts, Italian Style* (1967), Original Music Composer
- *Sugar Colt* (1967), Original Music Composer
- *Halleluja for Django* (1967), Original Music Composer
- *Catch As Catch Can* (1967), Original Music Composer
- *Per amore... per magia...* (1967), Music
- *We Still Kill the Old Way* (1967), Original Music Composer
- *A Bullet for the General* (1967), Music, Original Music Composer
- *The Witch* (1966), Original Music Composer
- *Django* (1966), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *A Matter of Honor* (1966), Original Music Composer
- *Kiss the Other Sheik* (1965), Original Music Composer
- *A Maiden for the Prince* (1965), Original Music Composer
- *OSS 77 - Operation Lotus Flower* (1965), Original Music Composer
- *Let's Talk About Men* (1965), Original Music Composer, Conductor
- *The Gospel According to St. Matthew* (1965), Music Arranger, Original Music Composer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-gospel-according-to-st-matthew.md)
- *One Million Dollars* (1964), Original Music Composer
- *Extraconiugale* (1964), Original Music Composer
- *Gian Burrasca's Diary* (1964), series, Conductor, Orchestrator
- *Wherever You Are* (1964), Original Music Composer
- *The Empty Canvas* (1963), Original Music Composer
- *Vino, whisky e acqua salata* (1962), Original Music Composer
- *2 samurai per 100 geishe* (1962), Conductor
- *Those Two in the Legion* (1962), Original Music Composer
- *La banda del buco* (1960), Music
- *These Phantoms* (1954), Music

## Gallery

- ![Il Maestro Bacalov in concerto al MuMi per il Festival Alessandro Cicognini 2014 (2017)](https://film.one/media/person/9037/gallery-1cc86ef0c449.jpg) Il Maestro Bacalov in concerto al MuMi per il Festival Alessandro Cicognini 2014 (2017) — Comunica06, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Il_Maestro_Bacalov_in_concerto_al_MuMi_per_il_Festival_Alessandro_Cicognini_2014.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Luis Bacalov](https://film.one/media/person/9037/gallery-1401344837de.jpg) Luis Bacalov — Marcodandragora, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Il_M%C2%B0_Bacalov_in_concerto_al_MuMi_per_il_Festival_Cicognini_2014.jpg/1280px-Il_M%C2%B0_Bacalov_in_concerto_al_MuMi_per_il_Festival_Cicognini_2014.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1996: Best Original Dramatic Score (won), for *Il Postino: The Postman*
- 1967: Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment (nominated), for *The Gospel According to St. Matthew*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/luis-bacalov