I forgot to mention Rautavaara and Tavener-both still alive and still composingat last check.

of the modern classical, I only listen to film composers and minimalists

most have been mentioned here - Preisner, Reich, Morricone and I like Trevor Jones

Is it classical though, when the music is written to illustrate moving pictures? Shouldn'T it stand in its own?

^^some does, some don't

some are permanently imprinted on my brain along with the images - i.e. Vangelis' Blade Runner

Joe Hisaishi is a good...

Try Lowell Liebermann or Ellen Taafe Zwilich. You can find examples of both on Youtube.

Being a respectable contemporary composer no longer means embracing serialism or even atonality (thank goodness!).