Jump to content

Hans Zimmer Appreciation Thread


Koray Savas

Recommended Posts

Recent posts have shown me that there are people here who truly like his music. Even if it's not all of it. This thread is to discuss his music properly, rather than just arguments or mentions or small side discussions in different threads.

Talk about your favorite scores, cues, or anything else.

I think the main problem on this forum is that people criticize what they don't know. Hans has so much good music that no one discusses. It's always the bad, and rarely the good, sometimes the ugly tongue.gif

His non-action scores are brilliant, and I think those barely get discussion here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm very surprised if there isn't already a Zimmer thread, but I'll contribute to this one nonetheless.

Gladiator remains one of the greatest, most outright entertaining scores in cinema history.

I don't have a problem with the fella, in fact I like him and his music, but he ain't no Williams or Goldsmith either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

His score to The Simpsons is definitely fun. I also like the scores that Taikomochi mentioned, in addition to The Lion King.

Plus, he just seems like an altogether cool guy - very likeable and personable in the interviews he has done (and he likes and venerates JW like the rest of us).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

His score to The Simpsons Movie is very good. I was surprised by it, didn't expect the approach he took.

Aye - he should try to emulate Elfman more often ROTFLMAO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He's lost his touch since the post-Gladiator years, but the Da Vinci Code and AWE have certainly made me hopeful.

I don't have a problem with the fella, in fact I like him and his music, but he ain't no Williams or Goldsmith either.

Crimson Tide, The Lion King, Beyond Rangoon, Backdraft, The Prince of Egypt, even Gladiator tell me he has the capacity to create just as effective and memorable a film score as them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He's lost his touch since the post-Gladiator years, but the Da Vinci Code and AWE have certainly made me hopeful.
I don't have a problem with the fella, in fact I like him and his music, but he ain't no Williams or Goldsmith either.

Crimson Tide, The Lion King, Beyond Rangoon, Backdraft, The Prince of Egypt, even Gladiator tell me he has the capacity to create just as effective and memorable a film score as them.

Perhaps, but not quite. His canon of work needs a lot of work before he can be mentioned in the same breath.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

blegh

blegh

Hey if we can keep all the Zimmer talk here and out of the other threads, it's fine by me.

John- looking here for probably the last time

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Lion King is good, as is At World's End. Batman Begins has grown on me quite a bit, but it still works better in the film than on the album. I like him, but I'm definitely not a fan.

I doubt this will stop Zimmer-talk in other threads, but it's worth a shot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HZ is my fourth favorite composer, though I only have 9 soundtracks by him. My favorites are At World's End, The Lion King, The Holiday, The Simpsons Movie, and The Da Vinci Code. But the others are great as well. He is stereotyped as a composer who can only make big loud action scores, but there is a whole other side to Zimmer (though I enjoy his actions scores as well).

I have the score to Gladiator, and while I really enjoy "The Battle," there isn't really anything else I listen to. What are some of the other highlights to this score, I want to explore and familiarize it more?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now We Are Free (all 3 versions)

The Gladiator Waltz

Homecoming

Rome Is The Light

The Might Of Rome

Do you have both CD releases? I highly recommend having both. I hate the dialogue in the score though. Who decided this makes the score better? Hans said it ruined the score's release, same with Hannibal.

Still very enjoyable. The Gladiator Waltz is probably my favorite track, all of Hans' waltzes are great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys, some idiot just told me that Zimmer has more range than Williams and then goes "Okay so you want to tell me which of Holst's Planets themes Williams didn't crib?"

Give me some ammo to beat this guy up

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys, some idiot just told me that Zimmer has more range than Williams and then goes "Okay so you want to tell me which of Holst's Planets themes Williams didn't crib?"

Give me some ammo to beat this guy up

Well when you're done laughing in his face you could ask him why Zimmer couldn't do a better job of disguising "Mars" in Gladiator

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't seen too many Zimmer movies, actually, so I've only really heard some samples, and some choice selections on the Jukebox. However, I greatly enjoy The Lion King and The Prince of Egypt. Those may be the most fluid, orchestral works I've heard in my hearings of him. I really enjoy the Driving Miss Daisy track on that Silva Music of Zimmer disc. The tracks I've heard of The Simpsons Movie have been quite good.

The guy admits, "Hey, I'm no John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith--duh!" The problem for me is in a case like Batman Begins. Hear is a movie that has loads of potential for a terrific--even classic score, highly complementary and enhancing of the film. Instead, we get a largely rhythmic score, with electro-orchestra and a lot of it sounding more like chord progressions than full-out orchestrations. It also takes itself far too seriously. It doesn't have to be Elfman, but this is a guy dressing like a bat creature, fighting crime, getting chased by cops in a black tank-car, and saving the city. To quote Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, "C'mon, they're chasing us! Make it fun!" Yes, the danger is there, and it is a more serious and dramatic film than previous Bat-films, but you're still working with a lot of action and adventure. The main theme is good, although I would like there to be an upnote (example: in the Elfman theme, the fourth note). It doesn't do a lot to complement it. Something more along the lines of Unbreakable--with a splash of fun added into the mix--would have done wonders for it. As it is, it is a testament to the film's greatness that the music doesn't bring it down, it only gives it a neutral to mildly positive effect. I do realize that you also have the factors of Howard and Nolan, but Zimmer's comments on the scoring lead me to believe a lot of this stuff conceptually is his idea. Both composers can certainly write, and the potential of the two men's compositional abilities combined makes the end result all the more disappointing. Hopefully TDK will be an improvement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see why some people wouldn't like it, but I love the score to Batman Begins. To me, it's a reflection of the inner core of Bruce Wayne: dark, troubled, schizophrenic, but with a pulsing heroic beat that's trying to get out -- that wants to get out -- but keeps getting pulled back into itself. My guess is that as the movies and scores develop, you will see the music develop alongside it.

It worked like a charm in the movie, and that's good enough for me.

On the larger topic of Zimmer, I'm not a huge fan, but he's definitely written some good music. the DaVinci Code, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Thin Red Line, and Crimson Tide all come to mind, in addition to The Lion King. He's a guy who seems to attract a lot of negativity, but I'm not sure I understand why. And no, that wasn't a solicitation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys, some idiot just told me that Zimmer has more range than Williams and then goes "Okay so you want to tell me which of Holst's Planets themes Williams didn't crib?"

Give me some ammo to beat this guy up

Well when you're done laughing in his face you could ask him why Zimmer couldn't do a better job of disguising "Mars" in Gladiator

That's what I said then he goes on saying that he hasn't seen Gladiator in a while and that I'm crazy if I don't see Mars in the Death Star trench

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now We Are Free (all 3 versions)

The Gladiator Waltz

Homecoming

Rome Is The Light

The Might Of Rome

Do you have both CD releases? I highly recommend having both. I hate the dialogue in the score though. Who decided this makes the score better? Hans said it ruined the score's release, same with Hannibal.

Still very enjoyable. The Gladiator Waltz is probably my favorite track, all of Hans' waltzes are great.

I only have the OST, but I will definetly give all those I have a listen. I'll try to get the other release, but it probably won't be too soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not nearly as big a fan of his as I once was and rarely listen to his work anymore. That said, I still find much to appreciate in some of his work. For me, there's a certain maturity and sensitivity to the final 2 cues of Backdraft that he's never quite recaptured. I don't know if it's all his work or if the orchestrations are not his...all I can say is that it worked beautifully in the film. I can't quite describe it but he came close to doing this in parts of The Lion King.

I keep hearing that his smaller works for drama are quite good, but of those I'm really only familiar with As Good As It Gets which I quite like.

ASW

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never had a problem with Hans Zimmer. He somewhat prostituted his business in Hollywood, to help other people out and make a lot of dough, which is fine, but not particularly admirable. He is a victim of his own kindness perhaps.

I like the score for The Holiday, a lot, although I just own the film, not the score. But the music works wonders for what is a really wonderful film.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should get some of Zimmer's non-action work. It's usually better than his "big" scores (I've heard a lot of good about The Holiday).

I also really rather enjoy to of his other 2007 scores. Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End and The Simpsons Movie were both pleasant surprises to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys, some idiot just told me that Zimmer has more range than Williams and then goes "Okay so you want to tell me which of Holst's Planets themes Williams didn't crib?"

Give me some ammo to beat this guy up

Well when you're done laughing in his face you could ask him why Zimmer couldn't do a better job of disguising "Mars" in Gladiator

That's what I said then he goes on saying that he hasn't seen Gladiator in a while and that I'm crazy if I don't see Mars in the Death Star trench

Tell him to check the action cues of his recent scores and make him explain if that is his definition of 'wide range'

And ask him where Williams quotes Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus because i'm intrigued...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can see why some people wouldn't like it, but I love the score to Batman Begins. To me, it's a reflection of the inner core of Bruce Wayne: dark, troubled, schizophrenic, but with a pulsing heroic beat that's trying to get out -- that wants to get out -- but keeps getting pulled back into itself. My guess is that as the movies and scores develop, you will see the music develop alongside it.

It worked like a charm in the movie, and that's good enough for me.

Now, this is what I'm hoping was the reasoning behind the score for Begins--let the music develop as the character develops. Then at least we should really get something going in TDK (escalation...?). But my problem in that logic is that you then hamstring yourself from really making a great, classic score for the film and fully complementing both the emotion and character and the on-screen action. I will grant you, there is a certain intangible something that Zimmer and Howard locked onto in the score--a certain feel difficult to pinpoint, which is excellent. However, I think they could have tapped into that and still have more...musicality, so to speak. If you wanted to go the "develop as you go" route, then I would again have to point out Unbreakable as doing a better job of that. It's not as bombastic as a standard superhero score, but it's still working--it's doing something, even in its minimalism. Listen to a cue like "Weightlifting" and tell me that isn't more musically interesting--while still being effective in the context--than something like the Batcave discovery or the preparation montage in Begins. And when the heroism kicks in, the orchestra really does give it something; it soars, which (and forgive me for being sort of vague and subjective in this terminology here) the Batman theme from Begins doesn't really get to do, although I think if arranged properly, it could get there.

And the fact that what I thought were just sound effects for Batman's hallucinations was actually part of the score...terrible. There are plenty of ways to pull out weird sounds without resorting to that kind of stuff. Just listen to Alien. (I do like the second half of the cue when Batman gets away, BTW)

Bottom line: It's still a Batman movie, and it really deserves a better developed, more complementary score than it got. Get some orchestration in there, let the electronics accent the orchestra instead of drive it, enhance the melody...lighten up when appropriate--and for crying out loud, let it soar, not pound.

(Koray, I hope I'm not taking away from your intentions for the thread here. I am trying to intelligently discuss both the positives and negatives, and not just say Zimmer sucks (which he doesn't).)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like parts of The Rock in a guilty pleasure sort of way, and the third Pirates score has some good material. As far as non-MV styled scores, The Lion King is great, with some really moving and memorable themes, and The Holiday is a really pleasant, feel-good score. I don't really have much more of his music.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Big fan of: The Rock (big stupid action score), League of Their Own (good schmaltz), The House of the Spirits (Nice emotional stuff, although unnecasserily electronic), The Lion King (magnificent melodies), Muppet Treasue Island (fantastic theme), Prince of Egypt (has some very good passages), Gladiator (doesn't work as a cohesive score...but many fantastic sections, the string stuff as well as the opening battle), An Everlasting Piece (Great quasi-Irish fun), Hannibal (Magnificent, elegant affair. Probably my single favorite Zimmer score), Da Vinci Code (much like Hannibal, bigger...fantastic listening), Black hawk Down (fascinating and very effective ecclectic mix), Invincible (Nice Mahler-esque theme), Spanglish (fantastic romantic comedy score), Batman Begins (The album is intersting, and 'Molossus' is one of my favorite recent action cues), The Holiday (the entire album is a bit too fluffy for me.....but in small amounts, it's lovely), and the last two PoTC scores (each one has it's uninteresting spots for me....but great themes, good action finales).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though I couldn't claim being a Hans Zimmer fan, I certainly really like and often listen to Hannibal (my absolute Zimmer favourite, a great, great work), Gladiator, The Lion King and The Da Vinci Code. Also his PotC work is not bad. I'm also looking forward with expectancy to hearing his future works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really appreciate much of his music, but on the other hand I am aware of his... let's say... limited skills compared to more classically trained composers. Nevertheless, more often than not he understands the language of the movie and is able of supplying an entertaining and effective score. Moreover, sometimes I really prefer his simple tunes to more complex, but boring compositons of other composers.

My favourite scores of his are: Thin Red Line (a masterpiece in my book), Hannibal, DaVinci Code, The Lion King, Prince of Egypt, Spanglish, PotC III and to some extend PotC II, then: Simpsons The Movie, Beyond Rangoon, The Ring, The Holiday, Last Samurai, Rain Man and probably some more which I cannot recall at the moment.

I don't like: Crimson Tide (really!), Peacemaker, Days of Thunder, Batman Begins, M:I 2 (except the love theme and Injection cue). I am not a big fan of Gladiator either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Prince Of Egypt is a great score. Someone was saying more people should listen to it, and they should.

"Through Heaven's Eyes" is a great song. "The Chariot Race" is my favorite score cue, and "The Burning Bush" is also fantastic.

Morlock did a great job of picking out his scores that rarely get mention. An Everlasting Piece is a great and really fun score. Hans and his team always seem to use the Irish sound in one way or another. "Jiggy's Last Jam" is an awesome cue that reflects Zimmer's rock n' roll past.

Muppet Treasure Island does indeed have a great theme. If you like Hook, you will like this score. To indy4, this is another swashbuckler you might want to add to your To Buy list.

I guarantee a lot of people here would love A League Of Their Own if they listened to it.

Backdraft is one of his best action scores. Great cues, and probably a building block to original trailer music.

My other underrated favorites are: Madagascar, Matchstick Men, Millennium: Tribal Wisdom And The Modern World, Pearl Harbor, The Power Of One, Rain Man, The Road To El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, True Romance, The Weather Man, and A World Apart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Muppet Treasure Island does indeed have a great theme. If you like Hook, you will like this score. To indy4, this is another swashbuckler you might want to add to your To Buy list.

Some day perhaps...but as long as this is the price, it'll take awhile.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00...1296&sr=8-1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In thinking back, The Prince of Egypt has some pretty fantastic material. It may well be Zimmer's most purely orchestral score, although it certainly has its synthetic augmentations from time to time. Now I seem to remember that the songs were written by someone else. What was the situation on that? Did the other guy write the songs and Zimmer arranged them, or did the two collaborate, or is it somewhere between the two?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fine, be that way! :lol:

But you're missing out on some amazing 67 seconds of score. This theme is basically the precursor that led to his Pirates scores. It also sounds very much like Hook. A great swashbuckler, and I know you love those.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.