I like Zimmer's work in general, but I don't think everything he's written is a masterpiece. His scores tend to have exceptional moments, but rarely capture me from beginning to end. But then, the same could be said of most any film composer for me. The best ones tend to be great melodists and good orchestrators, but rarely do you get formal cohesiveness that ties a film together in the same way that composers of dramatic stage music did.
This can certainly be said of Zimmer, though - he does a very good job of setting mood, and on some occasions, his music is BEAUTIFULLY connected to the scene. The love scene from the Last Samurai stands out in my mind as a prime example. It's not just background music, but rather connected to what is happening on screen. That's difficult to coordinate.
As for other greats, I am a fan of Morricone, and I though I think some of Mansell's work gets more attention than it musically deserves, he has created some very effective film music. Together We Will Live Forever is very lovely, for instance. George Fenton would be up there on my list, too. I loved his orchestration and motivic development in The Crucible. Then on the TV end of things, I'm a big fan of the young composer for the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica - Bear McCreary. Very imaginative, especially with respect to percussion and rhythm.
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