Hans Zimmer Appreciation Thread

[Maxxie 1]

This Remix should've been on the Pirates 2 CD instead of that Tiesto garbage.

By the way, this is actually quite good.

That is good! :censored:

I agree they should have put that on the CD. Then again they should have also put the End Credits on the CD too, but we won't go there..........

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

This Remix should've been on the Pirates 2 CD instead of that Tiesto garbage.

By the way, this is actually quite good.

Hilarious! It had me laughing for a good while :censored:

[Kevin 22]

Did you guys know that Hans Zimmer can write a rousing jazz score with a real orchestra?

Check out A League of Their Own

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Oscar Watch: Hans Zimmer Talks Inception Score

Oh I wish I could have that old tape with 48 working themes for The Lion King.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Didn't watch the chats, but parts of that article are kind of a load of crap. I mean, "Inception will certainly be one of the ten best picture nominees". That's a huge assumption which would be impossible to make at this point. I think the score being up for best score is a far shot because of its similarities to his other works.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Similarities to other works? Gustavo didn't have that problem. Either way, Inception doesn't sound like anything Zimmer has done before.

Watch the videos, it's a great interview. He discusses how instead of using electronics to incorrectly mock acoustic instruments, he had the orchestra mock the electronics.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

It's always fascinating to hear Zimmer talk, but I think that Inception is one of weakest scores. Don't get me wrong, I like it, and it worked wonderfully on film. I remember I left the cinema humming "daaa-daaaa"!

However, I think people really talk a lot about the score because it was so loudly mixed. I mean, it was almost impossible not to listen to it. Granted, until the ending I didn't pay attention to the score because I was so inmersed with the film, but I find it completely unfair that a score like this that is supposed to be more "background music" is so loudly mixed while Williams music for his more recent films is almost impossible to listen when you should be able to listen to it without having need to pay attention.

There are exceptions to this, like Munich, which is why the film worked so well. But take Indy 4 and compare the mix to the other three films... You can barely hear the score!

Sorry for the little rant, but that's how I feel.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

He talks about the loud mix. Zimmer didn't supervise any of that, he handed it over to the sound guys and said "Here it is" and left them to it. Nolan is responsible. He even says it's probably the loudest score ever in a film.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

He talks about the loud mix. Zimmer didn't supervise any of that, he handed it over to the sound guys and said "Here it is" and left them to it. Nolan is responsible. He even says it's probably the loudest score ever in a film.

Yes, I saw that. And he's absolutely right, of course. I remember reading an interview with him not too long ago where he talked to Nolan that some places didn't really need the music that they putted in.

I find it curious that this is the only score that is getting press attention. Oh, well. By the end of the year we'll probably have some more fuss about other scores.

I would love to read or hear an interview with Powell about the terrific year he's had.

[Quintus 5,399]

After an interview I read with him, around about the time Inception was released, I've gone right off Hans Zimmer.

[Red 75]

Similarities to other works? Gustavo didn't have that problem. Either way, Inception doesn't sound like anything Zimmer has done before.

I like Inception, but that's false.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Just because it's undoubtedly Zimmer, doesn't mean it's exactly like another score of his. There's no copying, recycling, etc. What other score would say sounds the same?

[Romão 2,274]

Interesting multi-part phone interview with Hans Zimmer.

He calls Thomas Newman a genius and says some things about John Williams.

I listened to whole thing, captivating interview, as always with Zimmer, but I think I somehow missed the Williams mention. What did he say?

[Red 75]

What other score would say sounds the same?

The thematic minimalism with the main droning motif and the time motif are very similar to some of his Batman work, specifically Batman's two-note horn call and the Joker's alternating piano motif (respectively). Plus you got the staccato strings, heavy synth use, and tribal percussion, and guitar solos going on. Yes I realize some of this came out of a clever warping of the Edith Piaf song, but the similarities are still there, enough that it can't be said Inception isn't anything like Zimmer's past work.

[Datameister 2,034]

Yep. It doesn't borrow every note verbatim from another score, but it certainly falls squarely within the realm of what we already knew Zimmer was capable of. Like with so much of his work, I'm torn between falling for its visceral, blunt-force effectiveness and being put off by how...Zimmer it is.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

I think if Zimmer wants another Oscar nod, he needs to push his limits which he never does, and that's why his scores sound so redundant, IMO. Sherlock Holmes seemed to go out of his comfort zone, and I think that's why it's garnered so much attention. Inception doesn't do that at all.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I think if Zimmer wants another Oscar nod, he needs to push his limits which he never does, and that's why his scores sound so redundant, IMO. Sherlock Holmes seemed to go out of his comfort zone, and I think that's why it's garnered so much attention. Inception doesn't do that at all.

Again, watch the videos. Zimmer couldn't care less about the Oscars. He says if you compose music thinking about being eligible for the Oscars, you're not in the right mindset and doing it for the wrong reasons.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4skPISVTed8

[Naïve Old Fart 9,488]

Hans Zimmer Appreciation Thread?

[Quintus 5,399]

A few years ago I loved a lot of his output.

[STORM 1]

For me zimmer is worst thing to happen in film music!think he was first composer or so called composer to introduce wailing voice rubbish,just don`t like is style,he`s on different planet others.

[Quintus 5,399]

Wailing voices are older than Zimmer. I don't mind them, either. I just don't like their overuse, much like anything.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

And they only really became overused after Gladiator. Don't hate him cause you ain't him!

[Neimoidian 14]

Wailing vocal is just a form of vocal sound emission. There is nothing wrong with it in the first place. It's as good as any other mean of musical expression if used properly and with some creative imput. Most of film composers thesedays, however, use it in its most clished way.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Similarities to other works? Gustavo didn't have that problem. Either way, Inception doesn't sound like anything Zimmer has done before.

And it surely isn't "noise" either

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

I've been listening to Megamind recently and it's a very weird score... When I heard Hans was scoring this, I imagined he was going not only to spoof his superhero works, but also Williams' Superman, for example.

And... While Superman is spoofed and I can hear some of his Batman very faintly, most of the score feels a lot more like something Powell would do in one of his animated-comedy movies. Which is not a bad thing at all, but if you want a Powell sound, call Powell. The progressions in "Stars and Tights", for example, really feel like him, specially in the heroic part. It's the only part of the score I really enjoy. But it doesn't last for more than a couple of seconds, which is a shame. I would have loved to hear this theme fully developed.

The opening theme feels a lot like the main theme from Sherlock Holmes. As both Bafle and Zimmer worked on that score, it's not really a surprise. And something else I noticed... Most of the tracks keep a steady tempo most of the time, which makes them OK to listen if you're not paying too much attention, but if you do, you can get bored easily. At least that's what happened to me.

Why Zimmer wastes his time on this is beyond my comprehension, but well... Sorry for Zimmer fans here, but this one is a "meh" score.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Is composing ever a waste of time for composers? You forget he's head of the DreamWorks music department.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Is composing ever a waste of time for composers? You forget he's head of the DreamWorks music department.

You may have a point there, I bet for every animated Dreamworks they do, they ask Zimmer to do it.

What I meant to say, is that why not give the whole score to Bafle and serve only as producer and focus in stuff he truly cares. When Hans cares, he delivers excellent scores, but when he doesn't... Not so much. At least that's the way I see it. Of course I could be wrong because I don't know as much Zimmer as you, so I apologise if this seems offensive or something, because you must be sick of everyone on this board bashing one of your favorite composers.

Again, all I say is that Zimmer should take projects he's really passionate about, and fully concentrate on that. He has so much scores to do as Spielberg has movies on his pipeline!

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Sorry for posting right after another post of my, but...

I finally checked out The Prince of Egypt (both film and score) and it's freakin' brilliant. The film and the music have the same level of classiness that I thought only The Lion King had. As with this one, the songs blend perfectly with the score and they are all fantastic. Except for the pop one, which ruins the greatness of the rest.

Two minor complaints though: One of the themes reminds me too much of Goldsmith's The Mummy, and another one reminds me of a theme from The Lion King II. However, this isn't that distracting because there's plenty to enjoy.

Koray, do you happen to know who arranged each song? I remember reading somewhere that Powell arranged "Playing With the Big Boys".

[Naïve Old Fart 9,488]

Would y'all believe that Zimmer played on a "Doctor Who" - related record?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Sorry for posting right after another post of my, but...

I finally checked out The Prince of Egypt (both film and score) and it's freakin' brilliant. The film and the music have the same level of classiness that I thought only The Lion King had. As with this one, the songs blend perfectly with the score and they are all fantastic. Except for the pop one, which ruins the greatness of the rest.

Two minor complaints though: One of the themes reminds me too much of Goldsmith's The Mummy, and another one reminds me of a theme from The Lion King II. However, this isn't that distracting because there's plenty to enjoy.

Koray, do you happen to know who arranged each song? I remember reading somewhere that Powell arranged "Playing With the Big Boys".

Well The Prince Of Egypt was before The Mummy and The Lion King II, so talk to Goldsmith!

As for who arranged the songs, I don't know off the top of my head. I kinda want to say Zimmer, but that's possibly because he arranged everything for The Road To El Dorado with John Powell.

[David Coscina 3]

Didn't Mancina help out with Prince of Egypt? Or Gregson Williams?

[Incanus 5,713]

The music credits of Prince of Egypt are very long. Here is a good share of them and it is practically "who's who" of the modern RC bunch and many of them have gone on to a succesful film scoring career of their own:

Score composed by Hans Zimmer

Original Songs by Stephen Schwartz

Orchestrations: Bruce L. Fowler

Additional Orchestrations: Ladd McIntosh, Yvonne S. Moriarty, Marcy Dicterow-Vaj, Elisabeth Finch, Tom Fowler, Steven C. Fowler, Walter E. Fowler, Darryl Leonard, Erik Lundborg, Jack Smalley

John Powell

Song Producer

Klaus Badelt

Additional Music

Jeff Rona

conductor : ethnic musicians - music arranger : ethnic music

Rupert Gregson-Williams

Additional Music - Conductor - Choir Conductor

Harry Gregson-Williams

Additional Music - Choir Conductor - Song Producer

Gavin Greenaway

Song Producer

Suzette Moriarty

Additional Orchestrator

Alan Meyerson

Music Scoring Mixer

Justin Caine Burnett, Moanike'ala Nakamoto, Nathan Barr

Marc Streitenfeld

technical score advisor

P.J. Hanke

Music Arranger

Claude Letessier

Additional Sound Designer

Bob Daspit

Synthesizer programming

[Richard Penna 3,664]

What's 'technical score advisor'?

That's one heck of a lot of people involved with just one score.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

I don't get what most of them do. For example, does song producer means Powell helped in a monetary form only? If someone could explain I think a lot of us would apreciate it.

That's one heck of a lot of people involved with just one score.

That's nothing. Check out the credits for POTC. However, as Prince of Egypt is so brilliant, for some reason it doesn't bother me that a lot of people were involved with it.

Well The Prince Of Egypt was before The Mummy and The Lion King II, so talk to Goldsmith!

Pwned!

[TownerFan 4,983]

The Lion King also has an endless music credit list, as most of Hans Zimmer's film scores.

That's one of the thing I believe Zimmer was really smart to create: a big whole music production ensemble. I tend to smile when I see people prasing Zimmer's ability as a composer as if they're talking about Mozart or Mahler, or even Max Steiner or Hugo Friedhofer... because the music we hear in his movies is not the prodcut of a single man, but the result of the work of at least a dozen of people.

Zimmer acts more like a creative producer (like they do in pop music) than an old-school composer who sits down at the piano and start to write with pencil and paper.

This is a key factor to understand Zimmer's success in the film music field: he built a perfectly organized system where a film score is the product of an intense teamwork, creating an environment where directors and producers feel comfortable.

That's not to say Zimmer doesn't have inner musical talent and abilities: he surely understands film's dramatic needs and certainly knows how to create a functional film score (personally, I quite despise the way he chooses to score movies only in the most superficial, epidermic way, but that's my taste).

You can of course say that all film music is the product of teamwork and, in a sense, you would be right. But what Zimmer achieved is a different kind of thing than just being assisted by a couple of talented orchestrators. He built a true music production company where he's in charge and that proposes a certain "sound" to directors and producers who hire them (hence all the little "clones" like Djawaladi, Jablonsky, Steitenfield, Badelt and all the others that works for/with him).

[Koray Savas 2,251]

That's one heck of a lot of people involved with just one score.

Ever actually watch the entire credits to a movie? That's a typical list. Note: Hans Zimmer is the only composer.

That's one of the thing I believe Zimmer was really smart to create: a big whole music production ensemble. I tend to smile when I see people prasing Zimmer's ability as a composer as if they're talking about Mozart or Mahler, or even Max Steiner or Hugo Friedhofer... because the music we hear in his movies is not the prodcut of a single man, but the result of the work of at least a dozen of people.

Zimmer acts more like a creative producer (like they do in pop music) than an old-school composer who sits down at the piano and start to write with pencil and paper.

This is a key factor to understand Zimmer's success in the film music field: he built a perfectly organized system where a film score is the product of an intense teamwork, creating an environment where directors and producers feel comfortable.

That's not to say Zimmer doesn't have inner musical talent and abilities: he surely understands film's dramatic needs and certainly knows how to create a functional film score (personally, I quite despise the way he chooses to score movies only in the most superficial, epidermic way, but that's my taste).

You can of course say that all film music is the product of teamwork and, in a sense, you would be right. But what Zimmer achieved is a different kind of thing than just being assisted by a couple of talented orchestrators. He built a true music production company where he's in charge and that proposes a certain "sound" to directors and producers who hire them (hence all the little "clones" like Djawaladi, Jablonsky, Steitenfield, Badelt and all the others that works for/with him).

In my experience, people unrealistically blow up the whole teamwork thing with Zimmer. It isn't like a sport team in which Zimmer is the head coach, not at all. While there are instances, primarily in the 90s, where Zimmer has had a heck of a lot of people working on a score, it's almost always a product of just him and one or two select additional composers. These days he's been working really close with Lorne Balfe. He's pretty much the only other composer Zimmer has been working with. While it's usually a collaborative environment, he talks endlessly about how many sleepless nights he has at the studio working by himself. And when others are composing along with him, he's right there, making sure it all fits.

[gkgyver 1,645]

That's one heck of a lot of people involved with just one score.

Ever actually watch the entire credits to a movie? That's a typical list. Note: Hans Zimmer is the only composer.

Of course.

"Additional-music-makers" are not composers.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's called additional music for a reason. It's minimal contribution in the grand scheme of things, and not necessarily writing pieces of music. Considering how much Zimmer cares about giving credit where credit is due, if they really added so much to a particular project, they would get co-composer credits.

Read and watch some interviews.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I always took it to mean that Zimmer wrote the big set-pieces, while the underlings would be tasked to write those 15 second filler cues.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Based on my knowledge and familiarity of Zimmer's music, I'd say generally 90% of the music in his scores is written by him. It heavily depends on the project. Something like The Whole Wide World where his contribution is 0%, to something like Frost/Nixon where it's 98% Zimmer and 2% Lorne Balfe.

[David Coscina 3]

I should check out Frost Nixon. I've heard good things. I like parts of Inception but I cannot really play it since I have yet to see the film.

I won't lie- spending an afternoon talking shop with Zimmer would be cool. He seems like a nice guy, very down to earth. Then I could possibly convince him to let me score a scene from his latest project. Then again, given my penchant for Goldsmith and Herrmann in my own style, I think I'd stick out like a sore thumb. Oh well!

[Matt C 452]

I like parts of Inception but I cannot really play it since I have yet to see the film.

I personally think Inception is a mixed bag when seen in context with the film. The big 'kick' sequence at the end (when you see the film you'll know), among several other scenes, are wonderfully scored. But the score in most of the film is either poorly spotted or just doesn't mesh well with the visuals. Most of the time, I was longing for a more interesting score other than one derived from an Edith Plaf song.

I blame Christopher Nolan for the musical problems with Inception. He just likes using music as a texture and not something to really sell the visuals and acting. Zimmer's at his best when the directors encourage him to go all out and be creative -- like The Thin Red Line or The Da Vinci Code (he really captured the feeling of discovery in the latter).

[Datameister 2,034]

But the score in most of the film is either poorly spotted or just doesn't mesh well with the visuals.

If I recall correctly, it wasn't spotted at all - Nolan intentionally had Zimmer score the film without having seen any of it. So that would definitely explain why you're feeling that way.

Inception polarizes me even more than most Zimmer scores. (As have the Batman scores. Must be Nolan's influence.) On the one hand, the music can be really viscerally effective. If I try to shut off my cerebral cortex, the really ancient core of my brain love it. But once I start consciously thinking about it, I just start rolling my eyes.

[Brónach 1,301]

The Inception score is not really something I would like. But for some reason I like it a lot. I think I'm quite a bit influenced by the coolness itself of the film.

I love the guitar dream motif. Look at the scene where it sounds for the first time, following the dialogue (goosebumps at the theather). I'm not sure about what follows. Let's take Dream is collapsing as an example. The weird strings ostinato sounds out of place at first. But everything with the the brass there is cool. I mihgt sound stupid but but it makes me think on some big, weird sounding Hermann adventure score. I also like that the brass hits are sometimes a slowed down version of the kick song. When they use the song in the extraction to Saito it really works, for example.

Then there's the "exciting mission" feel of the score, and the sad, depressing parts, which I also like.

[Matt C 452]

If I recall correctly, it wasn't spotted at all - Nolan intentionally had Zimmer score the film without having seen any of it. So that would definitely explain why you're feeling that way.

That's fine and all, but the approach didn't work for me. I wanted something better and emotionally gratifying, yet the underscore barely rises above white noise for the most part. The thing is, Inception could've been a great score (for some people it is) if Nolan didn't shackle Zimmer down and let him do his own thing. I would've liked to see Zimmer's original idea for the score, that romantic aspect he suggested to Nolan.

I personally think the best Nolan-Zimmer collaboration was their first, Batman Begins. At least Nolan let the music bloom and soar for that one.

[Datameister 2,034]

Oh, I agree that it wasn't an effective approach. There's a good reason film composers generally see the films they're about to score. I wasn't trying to defend the choice.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Hey, at least they're experimenting.

Which is something that can't be said for a lot of Hollywood, or even the rest of Zimmers poor imitators.

Anyways, I enjoy the Inception score outside of the movie in a very specific context. If you ever have a long night-time highway drive, pop in Inception. It's a marvelous experience.

The latter half of Radical Notion for example, you have this dichotomy between orchestra and pulsating electronics. One side, the orchestral, captures the journey in its abstract qualities, the pulsating electronics almost take you on a slow motion tour of the internals of your engine.

There's a degree of imagination called for, so if you're an exclusively technical listener you will never know that joy of letting the music carry you on such a journey.

[Datameister 2,034]

Experimenting is great, but I'm ultimately not going to be interested in the music just because of that. And in Zimmer's case, I'd rather hear him experiment with writing the sorts of symphonic scores we heard in the 70s and 80s. In today's climate, that'd be truly revolutionary.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I'm not sure there's much more that can be contributed to that.

I would actually rather he stopped fiddling with synthesizing orchestras and move into designing more strange and exotic synthesized instruments.