A sweeping biopic about the life of China's last emperor and a tale of vengeance set in 19th-century America are just two pieces of work that were brought to life with the help of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto. 

Besides being a pioneer of the electro genre and a part of the famed electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra, the Japanese composer and musician also often crossed over into the realm of film and television during his decades-spanning career. It was there that he composed scores that would become synonymous with some of the most memorable tales we have seen on screen. 

As shown by his diverse repertoire, Sakamoto was a true master of his craft. The Academy Award-winner exhibited great versatility as he moved from one genre to another and collaborated with filmmakers with varying styles. And as with the auteurs he worked with, Sakamoto, too, injected the projects he was a part of with a touch that cannot be replicated. 

In celebration of Sakamoto's contributions to film and television, here are five unforgettable scores composed by the music legend. 

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

One of Sakamoto's earliest contributions to cinema, the score for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence remains one of his most iconic ones to this day. Released in 1983, the film — in which Sakamoto appears alongside British singer-songwriter and actor David Bowie — centres around Sir Laurens van der Post, a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II. Sakamoto's compositions both capture the bleakness of the film's war setting and reflect the hope shown through the humanity of its characters. For his work on the film, Sakamoto was awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.

The Last Emperor (1987)

In 1987, Sakamoto worked with Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci to tell the story of China's final emperor, Puyi. A lauded epic, The Last Emperor follows its protagonist through the different phases of his life — from his time as a child ruler to his later days as a political prisoner of the Chinese Communist Party. Sakamoto's score is one that amplifies the grandeur of Puyi's abode and adds to the film's overall scale. It also enhances the film's narrative by giving viewers deeper access to Puyi's state of mind. Sakamoto's score for The Last Emperor took home the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

The Sheltering Sky (1990)

Three years after the launch of The Last Emperor, another film featuring a Bertolucci-Sakamoto team-up, The Sheltering Sky, was added to the world of cinema. Taking place in North Africa, the film stars Debra Winger and John Malkovich as an American couple who encounter hurdles while seeking to salvage their failing marriage. Melancholic and foreboding, Sakamoto's award-winning score, from the get-go, creates a sense of unease by warning us that tragedy is lurking. Aside from walking home with the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, Sakamoto also won the LAFCA Award for Best Music.

The Revenant (2015)

Fronted by Leonardo DiCaprio, Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant is a gritty tale that takes place in the beautiful, yet treacherous 19th-century American frontier. Joining forces with German musician Alva Noto, Sakamoto concocted the perfect auditory accompaniment to the harrowing images of DiCaprio's character embarking on a journey to exact revenge on the man who wronged him. In an interview with Fact Magazine back in 2015, Sakamoto recalled wanting his music to be "like a part of the sound of nature" and said that he intended for it to also "show the emotions of the characters". The score for The Revenant landed Sakamoto a Grammy nomination, an Academy Award nomination, and a BAFTA Award nomination.

Black Mirror: Smithereens (2019)

One of the most surprising pieces of work you will find in Sakamoto's catalogue is the score for an episode of Charlie Brooker's popular anthology series Black Mirror. Titled Smithereens, the second episode of the show's fifth season centres around a cab driver who kidnaps an employee of a social media titan in order to get its head honcho's attention. As we are taken further and further into the unsettling tech dystopia depicted in Smithereens, Sakamoto's chilling compositions — such as 'release', 'this is my last day 2', 'closing in' — create a great sense of unease and nudges us to consider the repercussions we could face if this world were to become a reality. 

Bonus: Monster (2023)

Set to be one of Sakamoto's posthumous releases, the score for the upcoming Japanese film Monster is one to look out for this year. Slated for a 2 June release in Japan, the film is a collaboration between Sakamoto and his fellow countryman, Broker and Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Not much is known about the Monster's plot yet, but the thought of seeing what these two exceptional storytellers have created should be enough to excite any cinephile.