Hans Zimmer's Man Of Steel

[Brónach 1,301]

The choir entrance over the percussion part at the end of the Alatriste concert suite by Roque Baños would have been a better modern Superman theme than this thing actually made for a Superman film with an inmense budget. And it also has drrrums! That Hollywood refuses to aknowledge all the different possibilities is disheartening. I seriously doubt that people react negatively to genuine musical attempts. Among casual movie goers the music from PJ's Middle Earth is rather well received, or did no one see all these covers of Plan 9's theme after a single fucking trailer?!

PS: I do like the subdued hits over the synth in the first minute or so of Look to the Stars.

Why not try a little memorability. Here, track this music somewhere in the film for Zod and his alien invasion or for Krypton:

Put a modern take of something with genuine hook and personality and sense of scale like this in that film and all the fanboys who want "epic" and that Hollywood wants to cater to will piss their pants.

[gkgyver 1,645]

I'm sure Link could take care of Hans Zimmer.

Not Link, Tauriel.

[Brónach 1,301]

Who's Tauriel?

[Quintus 5,399]

Inky, there are times that I love you.

Liberal American culture must be bringing out your gay side

Liberal?

Compared to The Netherlands? Please...

The Boston Pride parade I saw had no angry feminist lezzers flashing that boobs in an act of retribution for thousands of years of persecution, or oiled up bears in tight leather and big moustaches french kissing each other in public.

I just pulled that out of thin air for laughs

[pro-arte 22]

Hans Zimmer is the man!

..The man of still

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Perhaps I'm just less refined than some?

Yes, you obviously are!

Good! That's the response I expected, whether serious or not.

[Demondm810 398]

So is that "ideal of hope" on here? Was it just labeled differently?

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

It was essentially "What Are You Going To Do When You're Not Saving The World?" in slightly abridged form.

[Demondm810 398]

Ah, excellent. Thanks!

[Richard Penna 3,670]

Well, 6 tracks in and this is mostly rubbish. The odd inspired moment here and there, but it seriously sounds like it's missing a singing voice most of the time.

I also keep hearing the opening of On Stranger Tides, despite that Zanelli wrote that cue.

And drop the damn string arpeggios!

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

So, is this the 1st time that a film from a franchise scored originally by Williams completely ditches the williams material, with no quotation whatsoever?

I thought Williams was infalible in this regard. Not anymore. Great Zimmer, nolan and co...

[Jay 37,287]

So, is this the 1st time that a film from a franchise scored originally by Williams completely ditches the williams material, with no quotation whatsoever?

Hmm, I think it might be!

Jaws II-IV used his theme, Superman II, III, IV, Returns used his theme. Jurassic Park 3 used his themes.... all the other HP films used Hedwig's Theme.....

[Wycket 36]

Well, technically its the beginning of a new Superman franchise. This has no connection to the other at all, and is a full new adaptation of Superman. While as Superman Returns was continuing in the Donnerverse if you would, this is a new franchise that has a new sound.

[Jay 37,287]

Good point.

[airmanjerm 78]

Eh, I gave this one the same try I give anything and didn't care for it any more than most of Z's scores. At least it's good to hear what he's up to. I'm sure it will work fine in the film and have a nice following of fans, but it's not for me.

[Jay 37,287]

I finished listening. It was better than I thought it would be, honestly, but still not that great. Some of the action music is actually kinda fun, and some of the wonder music (for Krypton, I guess) is nice. But man, the album is really bogged down by repetitive material (all the action music sounds the same) and lots of mindless droning. It feels like a really long album. I kept thinking I was arriving at the climax only to see I wasn't near the end yet. And I only listened to the first disc!

One thing that really surprised me is that there is some really, really bad synth work in here! Towards the end of the CD there is some stuff that sounds like an 80's synth score.... who thought that would be a good idea?

[publicist 4,643]

HANS' SKETCHBOOK is the better than the real score.

[Jay 37,287]

After the hour of material on the first disc, I couldn't take any more

[gkgyver 1,645]

I lol-ed so hard at the beginning of Hans' sketchbook, that glassy synth effect sounds exactly like a sound from Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.

[crocodile 7,984]

I've listened to most of it. It's better than his Batman material, that's for sure. I can appreciate the creative decision to abandon all the Superman tradition, that's fine. But can't say there is anything in there I wish to re-listen. Zimmer seems to be the new incarnation Vangelis with some of his latter work. Or at least he wants the be.

Karol

[Richard Penna 3,670]

I've skimmed through the whole thing now, and apart from a few moments that are above average, this is just more of the same Zimmer.

I can sort of see what he was trying to do with the 'deserted' feel, but all he achieves is sounding like a Pirates rip-off (listen to the opening logo music for Stranger Tides), in an otherwise disappointing score.

Expected more, really.

[ComposerEthan 8]

I'd like the main theme if it was something my friend or I wrote, because it's so simplistic. 5th, 4th,7th then back to the Cmaj. But because its a legitimate movie with a real composer, I expected much more from Zimmer.

[nightscape94 965]

Well, just listened to a good portion, and it's exactly what I expected it to be. Nothing on here warrants a deluxe edition, so aside from the obviously marketing ploy it's completely useless. I don't doubt it works in the movie, but this literally could be the score to a million different movies. Completely interchangeable.

[gkgyver 1,645]

I know I'm branded as a Zimmer hater for all eternity, but I listened to it. All. Even the sketchbook. Took me an enormous amount of time because after the first 3 or 4 tracks, the score just put me off and irritated me. The rest of the album went on for what felt like hours.

And, heartfelt, honestly, I can say this is the most boring and nerve-grating Zimmer score I ever listened to.

I can usually get through Zimmer's music no problem, to know what people are talking about at the moment, because I usually feel indifferent to what the music is clumsily trying to accomplish. But Man Of Steel is downright annoying to listen to. It switches between boring and overbearing often so rapidly that it gets very very tedious. And what's with the DaVinci Code copy? Just listen to "I Have So Many Questions", there is a whole theme from DaVinci Code reused 1:1, complete with the solo violin!

The drum circle is nonexistent, I only picked up a few more prominent beats in "Flight".

And, really, when you read Zimmer's comments about him thinking of farms and wind, and everything that is good, and oh, our film is good-natured in contrast to Batman, and then you listen to this tripe ... I'm sorry, I just feel the man is making an ass out of himself and us.

[ComposerEthan 8]

I also like how Zimmer said that he didn't want people to misjudge his "Ideal of Hope" track, because its an edited version of "What Are you going to do when you're not saving the world". It's the same thing. Exactly.

[KK 3,307]

Started playing the score...wish me luck!

[Luke Skywalker 1,792]

Oh, and the piano solo parts... it just seems that Williams' 'death of jonhatan kent' wants to start but it loops, and loops and loops.... And i think Ottman used this theme in piano solo...

BTW, where is the USA 'soul' zimmer mentioned? I dont see a single passage of americana (or similar) in this score....

So, is this the 1st time that a film from a franchise scored originally by Williams completely ditches the williams material, with no quotation whatsoever?

Hmm, I think it might be!

Jaws II-IV used his theme, Superman II, III, IV, Returns used his theme. Jurassic Park 3 used his themes.... all the other HP films used Hedwig's Theme.....

And goldsmith quoted him in Supergirl!

And his TV theme was used for the end credits of 'Lost in Space'..

[Brónach 1,301]

Zimmer seems to be the new incarnation Vangelis with some of his latter work. Or at least he wants the be.

Doesn't quite have the same hook.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Yes, I forgot the soul of the US Zimmer mentioned. My god, if this is the soul of the US, then god help us all.

[KK 3,307]

The noise represents the chaos rooted in the heart of America. Its brilliant!

[gkgyver 1,645]

And what does the Zelda fairy fountain sound stand for?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Lol @ people saying they can't differentiate the drum circle from normal percussion. Instantly noticeable in "Oil Rig."

[gkgyver 1,645]

The point is it adds nothing to the score because it is used like every other drum for churning out the same patterns Zimmer has churned out for years.

If you didn't know it was a drum circle, would you notice? Surely not.

There is only a marginal acoustic difference.

But you probably have super-hearing.

[Brónach 1,301]

Oil Rig sounds like it's missing half of the music after 36 seconds and the BAAM ending can't be more dull.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The point is it adds nothing to the score because it is used like every other drum for churning out the same patterns Zimmer has churned out for years.

If you didn't know it was a drum circle, would you notice? Surely not.

There is only a marginal acoustic difference.

But you probably have super-hearing.

No I'm actually far from an audiophile, but there's an obvious depth to the percussion. I would have been able to hear the difference because it is utilized differently. Percussion tends to be used as something to underline a more melodic passage rather than being in the forefront of it. Would I have been able to tell it was 12 drummers assembled in a circle? No.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Oil Rig sounds like it's missing half of the music after 36 seconds and the BAAM ending can't be more dull.

Yeah, that what I meant when I said it's really tough getting through this album because you are constantly confronted with those monumentally simplistic ideas and devices that stretch over what seems like ages.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Terraforming was an awesome 9 minutes.

[gkgyver 1,645]

No I'm actually far from an audiophile, but there's an obvious depth to the percussion. I would have been able to hear the difference because it is utilized differently. Percussion tends to be used as something to underline a more melodic passage rather than being in the forefront of it. Would I have been able to tell it was 12 drummers assembled in a circle? No.

Of course you notice a slightly more prominent depth and sharpness in the percussion. But you could rightfully argue this is because the soundscape surrounding it is as flat as a piece of paper.

Terraforming was an awesome 9 minutes.

I read that someplace else and listened to it again. I can't recall a single detail from this track, only a heap of dramatic chords and the fact that it somehow ended and I didn't notice it.

[Brónach 1,301]

Terraforming is very tedious and ugly as fuck, due to the the simplicity of the writting and the flat "gray" timbre of the sounds Zimmer uses. The only thing I like is the very low djiioonnnggg effects between the noise, particularly at 5:40.

This score seriously needs a Chevaliers of Sangreal or a Burning Bush. Colour.

[gkgyver 1,645]

The horn chords beginning at 1:13 are horrendous. That's the sound my old Project SAM Horn ensemble samples would produce.

[The Psycho Pianist 216]

I'm just awaiting the inevitable savaging it'll get on Filmtracks. I can't work out why all the Zimmer reviews for the past decade on there have been written by people who clearly despise him and his style of music.

[Brónach 1,301]

It'd be curious to read a detailed cue by cue review by someone who loves this one.

[gkgyver 1,645]

@ Psycho Pianist

You got something confused. Reviewers don't hate the music because they hate the composer, that's bullshit. They question the composer because they hate the music. Big difference. Clemmensen doesn't hate Zimmer, he just likes to point towards the insane comments Zimmer makes about his music. Which is his good right and duty as a reviewer.

[The Psycho Pianist 216]

@ Psycho Pianist

You got something confused. Reviewers don't hate the music because they hate the composer, that's bullshit. They question the composer because they hate the music. Big difference. Clemmensen doesn't hate Zimmer, he just likes to point towards the insane comments Zimmer makes about his music. Which is his good right and duty as a reviewer.

His duty as a reviewer is also to try and understand the timbre and style that the composer has gone for, rather than to dismiss it because it might sound texturally similar to some of his previous scores. John Williams scores are always orchestral, in the same way that MoS, TDK, TDK:R, Inception etc have all been heavily synth based and influenced. I don't feel that the reviewers ever empathise with that, nor even attempt to appreciate the emotion and mood conveyed by that particular style.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Having your scores "always orchestral" doesn't equal using always the very same, cliched, tired one trick ponies Zimmer applies to each and every one of his films in the past years. It doesn't help "understanding the timbre" when 90% of the music sounds the same, and often even IS the same.

Being orchestral, Williams conjures a million different and distinguishable soundscapes. Being "synth based and influenced", Zimmer manages to make maybe one out of 10 of his scores unique. It's also not about the techniques used, it's about the men who use them. Williams has an orchestra and knows a hundred ways how to use it. Zimmer has his synths, and doesn't know what to do with it outside of the very narrowly limited toolbox he created for himself. Williams makes the most of the means given to him. Zimmer, however, with all his minions and gadgets, achieves very little with his means in comparison.

[The Psycho Pianist 216]

Having your scores "always orchestral" doesn't equal using always the very same, cliched, tired one trick ponies Zimmer applies to each and every one of his films in the past years. It doesn't help "understanding the timbre" when 90% of the music sounds the same, and often even IS the same.

Being orchestral, Williams conjures a million different and distinguishable soundscapes. Being "synth based and influenced", Zimmer manages to make maybe one out of 10 of his scores unique. It's also not about the techniques used, it's about the men who use them. Williams has an orchestra and knows a hundred ways how to use it. Zimmer has his synths, and doesn't know what to do with it outside of the very narrowly limited toolbox he created for himself.

I'm not going to argue that Zimmer's major scores in the last few years have all been very similar, and on occasion quite disappointingly similar (ie. TDK:R); however that doesn't mean that they can't be appreciated on their own merit whatsoever. Inception, to me, was a fantastic score, and was a fine development of the synth work built up in Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and The Dark Knight. I also cannot think of a more suitable soundtrack for the film itself - something the Filmtracks reviewer completely fails to take into account. These are film scores, written specifically for the film - and they should be reviewed as such rather than solely on their standalone worth.

[Richard Penna 3,670]

Terraforming was an awesome 9 minutes.

Just listened to it, and while it starts out almost interesting, it quickly descended for me into just pounding noise. I'm enjoying Lisa Gerrard's trailer music (Elegy) more than that.

Regarding filmtracks, I think Clemmenson has a clear bias against all things RCP. There's no way he's gonna like this.

[Brónach 1,301]

Just listened to it, and while it starts out almost interesting, it quickly descended for me into just pounding noise. I'm enjoying Lisa Gerrard's trailer music (Elegy) more than that.

The music in that trailer (including the Armstrong cue) runs circles around the score of the film.

[KK 3,307]

@ Psycho Pianist

You got something confused. Reviewers don't hate the music because they hate the composer, that's bullshit. They question the composer because they hate the music. Big difference. Clemmensen doesn't hate Zimmer, he just likes to point towards the insane comments Zimmer makes about his music. Which is his good right and duty as a reviewer.

His duty as a reviewer is also to try and understand the timbre and style that the composer has gone for, rather than to dismiss it because it might sound texturally similar to some of his previous scores. John Williams scores are always orchestral, in the same way that MoS, TDK, TDK:R, Inception etc have all been heavily synth based and influenced. I don't feel that the reviewers ever empathise with that, nor even attempt to appreciate the emotion and mood conveyed by that particular style.

You, along with many others, don't seem to realize how open minded Clemmenson is. It's not that he hates synths (he's given five-star ratings to synth-driven scores), but he criticizes how Zimmer uses them, which is quite valid. He points to Zimmer's current inability to properly address what's on screen or reflect something original in terms of the film onto the music appropriately. It's not about whether the score is "orchestral" or not, or whether its by Zimmer or not. Has nothing to do with that...and I don't know why people can't see that.

Lol @ people saying they can't differentiate the drum circle from normal percussion. Instantly noticeable in "Oil Rig."

You're right, the percussion is more prominent in detail and louder.

But you see, that's not what many of us are picking on. It's the fact that he does nothing with the drum circle that he hasn't done with his synth samples in the last two decades! At least with the Bane chant in TDKR, it's a new rhythmic meter in his oeuvre. Here, we've heard the same thing a million times, it's just now we have 12 drummers playing it!

Terraforming was an awesome 9 minutes.

It had some nice guilty-pleasure moments before it kept getting interrupted by those awful sound effects...turned me off to the whole cue.

[chuck 154]

@ Psycho Pianist

You got something confused. Reviewers don't hate the music because they hate the composer, that's bullshit. They question the composer because they hate the music. Big difference. Clemmensen doesn't hate Zimmer, he just likes to point towards the insane comments Zimmer makes about his music. Which is his good right and duty as a reviewer.

His duty as a reviewer is also to try and understand the timbre and style that the composer has gone for, rather than to dismiss it because it might sound texturally similar to some of his previous scores. John Williams scores are always orchestral, in the same way that MoS, TDK, TDK:R, Inception etc have all been heavily synth based and influenced. I don't feel that the reviewers ever empathise with that, nor even attempt to appreciate the emotion and mood conveyed by that particular style.

You, along with many others, don't seem to realize how open minded Clemmenson is. It's not that he hates synths (he's given five-star ratings to synth-driven scores), but he criticizes how Zimmer uses them, which is quite valid. He points to Zimmer's current inability to properly address what's on screen or reflect something original in terms of the film onto the music appropriately. It's not about whether the score is "orchestral" or not, or whether its by Zimmer or not. Has nothing to do with that...and I don't know why people can't see that.

Here's one for comparison: In filmtracks.com, Hans Zimmer has one 5 star review. Elmer Bernstein has none.