---
name: "Richard Robbins"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-robbins"
fi1m_id: "richard-robbins"
imdb_id: "nm0006442"
tmdb_id: 54449
wikidata_id: "Q707132"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "4 December 1940"
died: "7 November 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 85
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-05T04:24:32.651082+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."
---

# Richard Robbins

## Identity

Richard Robbins

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/richard-robbins
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** richard-robbins
- **IMDb ID:** nm0006442
- **TMDB ID:** 54449
- **Wikidata ID:** Q707132
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Robbins_(composer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q707132, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006442/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/54449

Composer. Born 4 December 1940 in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA. Died 7 November 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 4 December 1940, South Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA
- **Died:** 7 November 2012
- **Active:** 1986–1993
- **Frequently works with:** [Ismail Merchant](https://film.one/person/ismail-merchant.md), [James Ivory](https://film.one/person/james-ivory.md), [Ruth Prawer Jhabvala](https://film.one/person/ruth-prawer-jhabvala.md), [Anthony Hopkins](https://film.one/person/anthony-hopkins.md), [Denholm Elliott](https://film.one/person/denholm-elliott.md), [Emma Thompson](https://film.one/person/emma-thompson.md), [Helena Bonham Carter](https://film.one/person/helena-bonham-carter.md), [Hugh Grant](https://film.one/person/hugh-grant.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 84 (2), 1990s 86 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 85 to 78 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 4
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $73m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Robbins_(composer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q707132, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006442/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/54449

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Howards End*](https://film.one/film/howards-end.md) (84), [*Maurice*](https://film.one/film/maurice.md) (83)
- **Disney+:** [*The Remains of the Day*](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day.md) (88)
- **HBO Max:** [*A Room with a View*](https://film.one/film/a-room-with-a-view.md) (84)

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

## Biography

Richard Robbins was an American composer best known for his scores for Merchant Ivory productions. Born in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, he began playing the piano at the age of five and studied at the New England Conservatory and in Vienna. He served as director of the Mannes College of Music before beginning his association with producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory.

Robbins composed the music for nearly all Merchant Ivory films from *The Europeans* (1979) onwards. His scores include *A Room with a View* (1986), *Maurice* (1987), *Howards End* (1992) and *The Remains of the Day* (1993). He received Academy Award nominations for the latter two films.

Robbins died in Rhinebeck, New York, in 2012.

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

## On Fi1m (4)

- *The Remains of the Day* (1993), Fi1m 88, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day.md)
- *Howards End* (1992), Fi1m 84, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/howards-end.md)
- *Maurice* (1987), Fi1m 83, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/maurice.md)
- *A Room with a View* (1986), Fi1m 84, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/a-room-with-a-view.md)

## Complete filmography (32)

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

- *Rich Atmosphere: The Music of Merchant Ivory Films* (2019), Music
- *The White Countess* (2005), Original Music Composer
- *Le Divorce* (2003), Original Music Composer
- *Par amour* (2003), Music
- *The Mystic Masseur* (2001), Original Music Composer
- *Blind Loyalty, Hollow Honor: England's Fatal Flaw* (2001), Music
- *The Remains of the Day: The Filmmaker's Journey* (2001), Music
- *The Golden Bowl* (2000), Original Music Composer
- *Cotton Mary* (1999), Original Music Composer
- *Place Vendôme* (1998), Original Music Composer
- *A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries* (1998), Original Music Composer
- *The Proprietor* (1996), Original Music Composer
- *Surviving Picasso* (1996), Original Music Composer
- *Jefferson in Paris* (1995), Original Music Composer
- *Street Musicians of Bombay* (1994), Director
- *The Remains of the Day* (1993), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-remains-of-the-day.md)
- *Howards End* (1992), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/howards-end.md)
- *The Ballad of the Sad Cafe* (1991), Original Music Composer
- *Mr. & Mrs. Bridge* (1990), Original Music Composer
- *Slaves of New York* (1989), Original Music Composer
- *Love and Other Sorrows* (1989), Original Music Composer
- *The Perfect Murder* (1988), Original Music Composer
- *Maurice* (1987), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/maurice.md)
- *Sweet Lorraine* (1987), Original Music Composer
- *My Little Girl* (1986), Original Music Composer
- *A Room with a View* (1986), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/a-room-with-a-view.md)
- *The Bostonians* (1984), Original Music Composer
- *Heat and Dust* (1983), Original Music Composer
- *Quartet* (1981), Original Music Composer
- *Jane Austen in Manhattan* (1980), Original Music Composer
- *The Europeans* (1979), Original Music Composer
- *Sweet Sounds* (1976), Director, Writer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1994: Best Original Score (nominated), for *The Remains of the Day*
- 1993: Best Original Score (nominated), for *Howards End*

*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/richard-robbins