John Zorn has written music for documentaries, underground films,
television advertisements and cartoons which are released in his
Filmworks series on the Tzadik label. Some of these film scores are
jazz-influenced, others classical, and most feature ensembles consisting
of rotating combinations of downtown musicians. Zorn has often used his
cinematic and television commissions to experiment with line-ups and
forms that would become more established parts of his musical canon.
Zorn only agrees to composing for film on the condition he retains all
rights to any music produced and ensures that all musicians
participating in his soundtrack work are appropriately remunerated.
Filmworks 1986–1990 (1991)
Filmworks II: Music for an Untitled Film by Walter Hill (1995)
Filmworks III: 1990–1995 (1995)
Filmworks IV: S/M + More (1996)
Filmworks V: Tears of Ecstasy (1996)
Filmworks VI: 1996 (1997)
Filmworks VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour (1997, originally in 1989 as "Cynical Hysterie Tour)
Filmworks VIII: 1997 (1998)
Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d (2000)
Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2001)
Filmworks XI: Secret Lives (2002)
Filmworks XII: Three Documentaries (2002)
Filmworks XIII: Invitation to a Suicide (2002)
Filmworks XIV: Hiding and Seeking (2003)
Filmworks XV: Protocols of Zion (2005)
Filmworks XVI: Workingman's Death (2005)
Filmworks Anthology (2005) - compilation of tracks from first 15 Filmworks albums
Filmworks XVII: Notes on Marie Menken/Ray Bandar: A Life with Skulls (2006)
Filmworks XVIII: The Treatment (2006)
Filmworks XIX: The Rain Horse (2008)
Filmworks XX: Sholem Aleichem (2008)
Filmworks XXI: Belle de Nature/The New Rijksmuseum (2008)
Filmworks XXII: The Last Supper (2008)
Filmworks XXIII: El General (2009)
Filmworks XXIV: The Nobel Prizewinner (2010)
Filmworks XXV: City of Slaughter/Schmatta/Beyond the Infinite (2013)