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Michael Giacchino's Dawn of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)


Matt C

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  • 2 years later...
On 7/26/2014 at 1:42 AM, Max said:

NOTE: I've never tried anything like this before, so it's very likely that I haven't caught the more minor motifs or variations. If I've messed up anything or left out something, or if I need to be more specific with the theme descriptions, just let me know and I'll fix it!

As far as I've been able to tell, there are four main themes.

The most prominent theme of the score is what director Matt Reeves has called the Noble Apes theme. This theme is used to reflect the apes who align with Caesar and the utopian society in which they live.

Opposing this theme is the Rogue Apes theme, which is a harsher, angrier theme representing primarily Koba, the film's antagonist, and also, to a smaller extent, the apes who follow him.

The Human theme is relatively quiet and sad. It represents the main group of humans who interact with the apes, as well as the human civilization in San Francisco. The theme's apparent simplicity is a reflection of these humans' way of life.

Caesars theme appears only a few times throughout the score, when Caesar stands out as a leader of the apes. (In general, Caesar is associated with the Noble Apes theme.)

I believe there are also at least two smaller motifs: the "war" motif, which appears in Gorilla Warfare and The Apes of Wrath, and the "baby" motif, which appears in The Great Ape Processional, when Caesar and Cornelia's baby is born, and (from what I could tell) one another time in the film, when Ellie (Keri Russell's character) plays with the baby in the scene preceding Along Simian Lines.

Hopefully any disagreements, additions, or questions you have about this can drive the discussion!

THEME-BY-THEME BREAKDOWN:

Noble Apes theme

02. Look Who's Stalking 1:42-1:52

03. The Great Ape Processional 0:55-1:39, 2:29-2:32, 2:37-2:40, 2:46-2:49, 2:54-2:57, 3:01-3:04, 3:10-3:13, 3:17-3:20, 3:26-3:28, 3:33-3:36, 3:41-4:20

04. Past Their Primates 0:33-1:45

08. Along Simian Lines 2:41-3:15

10. Monkey See, Monkey Coup 0:45-1:37

17. Primates for Life 2:29-4:35

18. Planet of the End Credits 5:32-7:32

Rogue Apes theme

05. Close Encounters of the Furred Kind 3:11-3:55

06. Monkey to the City 0:32-1:05

08. Along Simian Lines 4:13-5:00

10. Monkey See, Monkey Coup 3:21-3:58

11. Gorilla Warfare 0:31-0:42, 5:59-6:11

16. Enough Monkeying Around 1:05-1:23, 1:27-1:29, 1:33-1:35, 1:39-1:41, 1:45-1:47, 1:50-1:52, 1:56-1:58

18. Planet of the End Credits 3:32-4:10, 4:27-4:29, 4:32-4:34, 4:36-4:52

Human theme

01. Level Plaguing Field 0:00-2:05

05. Close Encounters of the Furred Kind 3:56-4:36

08. Along Simian Lines 0:28-1:45, 1:58-2:26, 3:47-4:12

11. Gorilla Warfare 1:51-2:02, 6:12-6:48, 6:55-7:13

12. The Apes of Wrath 0:55-1:26

16. Enough Monkeying Around 2:54-3:16, *0:26-0:31, 0:35-0:40, 0:43-0:47, 0:52-0:57, 1:01-1:06* (maybe?)

18. Planet of the End Credits 0:33-3:26

Caesar's theme

05. Close Encounters of the Furred Kind 1:18-1:29

16. Enough Monkeying Around 2:12-2:25

17. Primates for Life 0:15-0:54, 4:35-5:16

18. Planet of the End Credits 4:59-5:22, 7:32-8:13

"War" motif

11. Gorilla Warfare 0:18-0:28, 4:59-5:36

12. The Apes of Wrath 4:02-4:19

"Baby" motif

03. The Great Ape Processional 3:06-3:09, 3:14-3:17, 3:22-3:26, 3:29-3:33

TRACK-BY-TRACK BREAKDOWN:

01. Level Plaguing Field

Human: 0:00-2:05

02. Look Who's Stalking

Noble Apes: 1:42-1:52

03. The Great Ape Processional

Noble Apes: 0:55-1:39

Noble Apes (first four notes): 2:29-2:32, 2:37-2:40, 2:46-2:49, 2:54-2:57, 3:01-3:04, 3:10-3:13, 3:17-3:20, 3:26-3:28, 3:33-3:36

"Baby" motif: 3:06-3:09, 3:14-3:17, 3:22-3:26, 3:29-3:33

Noble Apes: 3:41-4:20

04. Past Their Primates

Noble Apes: 0:33-1:45

05. Close Encounters of the Furred Kind

Caesar: 1:18-1:29

Rogue Apes: 3:11-3:55

Human: 3:56-4:36

06. Monkey to the City

Rogue Apes: 0:32-1:05

07. The Lost City of Chimpanzee

08. Along Simian Lines

Human: 0:28-1:45, 1:58-2:26

Noble Apes: 2:41-3:15

Human: 3:47-4:12

Rogue Apes: 4:13-5:00

09. Caesar No Evil, Hear No Evil

10. Monkey See, Monkey Coup

Noble Apes: 0:45-1:37

Rogue Apes: 3:21-3:58

11. Gorilla Warfare

"War" motif: 0:18-0:28

Rogue Apes: 0:31-0:42

Human: 1:51-2:02

"War" motif: 4:59-5:36

Rogue Apes: 5:59-6:11

Human: 6:12-6:48, 6:55-7:13

12. The Apes of Wrath

Human: 0:55-1:26

"War" motif: 4:02-4:19

13. Gibbon Take

14. Aped Crusaders

15. How Bonobo Can You Go

16. Enough Monkeying Around

Human(?): 0:26-0:31, 0:35-0:40, 0:43-0:47, 0:52-0:57, 1:01-1:06

Rogue Apes: 1:05-1:23, 1:27-1:29, 1:33-1:35, 1:39-1:41, 1:45-1:47, 1:50-1:52, 1:56-1:58

Caesar: 2:12-2:25

Human: 2:54-3:16

17. Primates for Life

Caesar: 0:15-0:54

Noble Apes: 2:29-4:35

Caesar: 4:35-5:16

18. Planet of the End Credits

Human: 0:33-3:26

Rogue Apes: 3:32-4:10, 4:27-4:29, 4:32-4:34, 4:36-4:52

Caesar: 4:59-5:22

Noble Apes: 5:32-7:32

Caesar: 7:32-8:13

19. Ain't That a Stinger

 

Hey @Max, just wanted to say thanks for this 3 years later :D.  Came in handy when I needed to refamiliarize myself with the Dawn score to compare it more intelligently to War.

 

Sidenote: I really need to start keeping these great thematic breakdowns people do in a single place for reference.  I always end up having to try finding the ones I remember seeing through search, sometimes to no avail.  No where else on the internet does them like this!  The timestamps make it so convenient as a listening guide.

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