Hans Zimmer's Man Of Steel

[gkgyver 1,645]

Well, the additional Hobbit material is not a guy hammering away minor chords on a keyboard with little sonic depth.

So no, it shouldn't have been a digital download.

A Zimmer track is as enjoyable on a CD as it is on a MP3 download.

The regular OST only has the sketch track on disc 2.

So because you don't like the music it shouldn't be available in lossless quality for everyone else that does. Seems legit.

Oh don't come with that fishy argument "you don't like it, so ...."

There is little to none nuance in Zimmer's scores, and certainly not in his synth mockups (I know, they are soooooo sophisticated), so to press an entire second disc for the regular soundtrack, for 28 minutes of synth demos .... well, that seems excessive.

Now I'm definitely certain I won't buy it.

[Richard Penna 3,667]

A second disc for a 28 minutes sketchbook? Why not a link for a digital download?

There are also 6 other tracks; and why not a second disc? Should the extra Hobbit material have been a digital download too?

For the regular edition, a whole disc just for Zimmer's rambling seems excessive to me.

And a prime suspect for jacking up the price beyond what it would normally be for his usual 60 minute OST.

Now if the DE were complete - that would impress me.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The CD is $12, the Limited Edition is $18, there is no jacking up of price for his "rambling." The only points you're bringing up are opinionated ones. The music isn't "worthy" of a physical product, get over yourself.

[Matt C 452]

Ugghhh .... I wish me some John Ottman.

I just listened to Superman Returns again, and perceived it as a much better score than I had remembered. Which would beg for the question: am I really so dissapointed by modern scores, or is it really that good?

Maybe it's a little bit of both? I wonder, when Man of Steel comes out, whether you could easily temp in Ottman's score for SR over the film and have it work just as well. Like temping in John Debney's Cutthroat Island over Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.

[tannhauser 101]

I dont think the jack thing is zimmers performance

[Hook1991 10]

I was hoping for the Man of Steel score to have a similar release like what was done for The Hobbit. From the music in the 3rd trailer the music still seems really epic and seems to be the Superman score we've been waiting for since Superman Returns in 2006.

[Richard Penna 3,667]

The CD is $12, the Limited Edition is $18, there is no jacking up of price for his "rambling." The only points you're bringing up are opinionated ones. The music isn't "worthy" of a physical product, get over yourself.

I never mentioned worthiness. Merely that an entire disc for Zimmer's experimentations seems a bit over the top for what is otherwise a straightforward OST release.

Price-wise - didn't notice that, my bad. Though you seem to be taking the high road whenever anything Zimmer related is criticised lately.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

From the music in the 3rd trailer the music still seems really epic and seems to be the Superman score we've been waiting for since Superman Returns in 2006.

"We"? Who's "we"?

[Hook1991 10]

I just wish WaterTower would have done with this release what they did with "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" regardless I'm really looking forward to this score from Zimmer.

[gkgyver 1,645]

This is most certainly not the Superman score I've been waiting for. If anything, the bits I've heard make me dig up my Superman Returns complete score.

When I hear the word "epic" as description for a Zimmer score, I know precisely what to expect.

[Brónach 1,301]

I think I'm giving up on the word "epic" unless it's for literature.

[Jonesy 55]

Samples

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jonesy 55]

People will soon forget Williams' theme.

Yeah, Zimmer's theme is more memorable and epic

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jonesy 55]

Bah! It's obvious that the guy hasn't heard

.

[Incanus 5,713]

The samples sound underwhelming. But we must remember that this is the new angst-ridden dark and disturbed Superman, not the iconic superhero. And drums are just really ballsy way of depicting heroism and masculine power. What's the word I am looking for?... EPIC. THAT'S IT! EPIC!

Would John Williams have thought about 12 drummers and guitars?!!! NO. Because he is not EPIC enough!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[crocodile 7,979]

Sounds very New Age, almost Vangelis-like sometimes. Call me crazy but this ambient/anthemic approach is not necessarily a bad one.

Karol

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Incanus 5,713]

It's a bad approach.

[publicist 4,643]

It isn't necessarily if the composer is able to develop a musical structure that stretches the boundaries of a 20-second Budweiser jingle.

[crocodile 7,979]

Imagine Goldenthal doing it.

Karol

[Incanus 5,713]

Don't you make me imagine that superlative score! Don't you dare!

[TownerFan 4,983]

Sounds very New Age, almost Vangelis-like sometimes. Call me crazy but this ambient/anthemic approach is not necessarily a bad one.

Karol

The problem is not the approach per se, but that it could be something written for any other kind of big "epic" Hollywood blockbuster. Looks like there's nothing inherently specific to the character and his own world, just a wash of loud drums, synth pads and Thomas Newman-like subdued atmosphere.

Just my two cents.

[crocodile 7,979]

I know what you're saying here, but wasn't that the case when the original Superman score was released? Wasn't John Williams sound "the thing" at the time as well?

I'm not saying this is good music or that it will serve the film or not. I'm just ruminating on how to approach this kind of a story. And what is cliche and what isn't.

Karol

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[TownerFan 4,983]

I know what you're saying here, but wasn't that the case when the original Superman score was released? Wasn't John Williams sound "the thing" at the time as well?

Karol

No, I don't think so. He had just three (huge) hits under his belt at that time. Big symphonic film scores were just reappeared on the stage of huge Hollywood spectacle. It still wasn't the fad of the day. And you could tell the difference between a Williams symphonic score from one written by Goldsmith or Bernstein or Barry.

What I'm hearing now in these short preview clips is something that reminds me of the last TEN YEARS (if not more) of film score stylings dominated by RCP composers.

Look, I'm not a Zimmer basher, I like the guy and I think he has his own right place in the film music world of today. The problem, like someone else said up here, is that 90% of Hollywood movies are now scored like this.

And let me be even clearer: I don't think a "Richard Strauss-meets-Aaron Copland-meets-Korngold" approach like the one used by JW for the Donner movie would be right in this case. It's really another kind of filmmaking, aimed at a very different kind of audience.

What I'd love to hear is a more specific style that is able to represent the character.

[crocodile 7,979]

Do you think James Horner could pull it off?

Karol

[TownerFan 4,983]

Well, it would be interesting to hear what Horner would do with Superman. His own Spiderman score was pretty good, imho.

If I would be the composer for a Superman film like this one, I would have gone for an approach mixing symphonic minimalism à la John Adams with a dash of contemporary elaborate electronics (mostly for the Krypton/alien origin), but addressing also the American heritage of the character with modern lyricism similar to 2000s Williams scores like Minority Report or A.I.

[KK 3,307]

Those were some thoroughly underwhelming samples.

With most of his recent scores, it seems like Zimmer's just given up on emulating the orchestra sound like he used to. Now it's all just synth droning, and I was so hoping it would be different with Man of Steel.

There basically seems to be very little new stuff offered. I struggle to see the point of the EPIC drummer's circle. It sounds almost identical to all his usual action rhythms. The little melody that is in the samples seems all too familiar. But my big problem is again with the droning. It dilutes the more original parts of the score and parts like the last cue sound no different from scores like The Dark Knight Rises or Inception.

[crocodile 7,979]

I need to hear it with a film.

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

Well, it would be interesting to hear what Horner would do with Superman. His own Spiderman score was pretty good, imho.

Horner relied heavily on RCP-influences in his score (and even saying as much as only caring for the emotional stuff). You would need a composer less lazy than Horner to really deliver something dashing within the parameters of comicmovieblockbustercliches - Goldenthal would have been ideal ca. 1995, nowadays i'd say Christopher Gordon could be a good bridging choice.

[Jay 37,271]

Samples have been removed?

[Richard Penna 3,667]

Unimpressed by those samples. It's just more of the same recent Zimmer.

And the opening sounds exactly like the opening cue from Pirates 4.

I'm not optimistic for the full album.

[Jay 37,271]

EDIT: Nevermind, samples available here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CKZX0AA/

[TownerFan 4,983]

Well, it would be interesting to hear what Horner would do with Superman. His own Spiderman score was pretty good, imho.

Horner relied heavily on RCP-influences in his score (and even saying as much as only caring for the emotional stuff). You would need a composer less lazy than Horner to really deliver something dashing within the parameters of comicmovieblockbustercliches - Goldenthal would have been ideal ca. 1995, nowadays i'd say Christopher Gordon could be a good bridging choice.

Chris Gordon would be fantastic for a subject like Superman.

Regarding Horner's Spiderman score, it's true it pays a debt too large to contemporary RCP-like stylings, but I appreciated some of the good ol' film music tricks he used throughout (like in the scene with Lizard in the high school). Also, the main theme is quite catchy and characterized.

[Jay 37,271]

STANDARD EDITION

DISC 1

1. Look to the Stars 2:58

2. Oil Rig 1:45

3. Sent Here for a Reason 3:46

4. DNA 3:34

5. Goodbye My Son 2:01

6. If You Love These People 3:22

7. Krypton's Last 1:58

8. Terraforming 9:49

9. Tornado 2:55

10. You Die or I Do 3:13

11. Launch 2:36

12. Ignition 1:19

13. I Will Find Him 2:57

14. This Is Clark Kent 3:47

15. I Have So Many Questions 3:47

16. Flight 4:18

17. What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World? 5:27

TOTAL TIME - 59:32

DISC 2

01. Man of Steel (Hans' Original Sketchbook) 28:16

GRAND TOTAL TIME - 1:27:48

LIMITED DELUXE EDITION

DISC 1

1. Look to the Stars 2:58

2. Oil Rig 1:45

3. Sent Here for a Reason 3:46

4. DNA 3:34

5. Goodbye My Son 2:01

6. If You Love These People 3:22

7. Krypton's Last 1:58

8. Terraforming 9:49

9. Tornado 2:55

10. You Die or I Do 3:13

11. Launch 2:36

12. Ignition 1:19

13. I Will Find Him 2:57

14. This Is Clark Kent 3:47

15. I Have So Many Questions 3:47

16. Flight 4:18

17. What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World? 5:27

TOTAL TIME - 59:32

DISC 2

01. Man of Steel (Hans' Original Sketchbook) 28:16

02. Are You Listening, Clark?

03. General Zod

04. You Led Us Here

05. This Is Madness!

06. Earth

07. Arcade

GRAND TOTAL TIME - ?:??:??

[crocodile 7,979]

Well, it would be interesting to hear what Horner would do with Superman. His own Spiderman score was pretty good, imho.

Horner relied heavily on RCP-influences in his score (and even saying as much as only caring for the emotional stuff). You would need a composer less lazy than Horner to really deliver something dashing within the parameters of comicmovieblockbustercliches - Goldenthal would have been ideal ca. 1995, nowadays i'd say Christopher Gordon could be a good bridging choice.

Christopher Gordon would be cool.

I mentioned Horner exactly because of that element that seems to be bothering you. He can use the new stylistic elements but still inject the film with some feeling (same with Patrick Doyle's Thor). Whenever he's tackling a serious drama, he sounds a bit phony. But for a summer blockbuster his schmaltz is much needed.

Karol

[publicist 4,643]

Regarding Horner's Spiderman score, it's true it pays a debt too large to contemporary RCP-like stylings, but I appreciated some of the good ol' film music tricks he used throughout (like in the scene with Lizard in the high school). Also, the main theme is quite catchy and characterized.

It's actually one of the few scores written for this genre since a long time that is actually listenable as pure music but still..

(it's actually sad that it takes James Horner to produce a score for a comic movie that is doing what film music is supposed to do; JNH at least tried in BATMAN I and II)

[crocodile 7,979]

So Captain America wasn't listenable then? Even The Avengers is not bad. Or Thor for that matter. As compromised as they might sound at first glance, there is some thought put into them. A structure even, as you put it.

Karol

[Jay 37,271]

Hit play, closed my eyes, listened to all the samples with an open mind.

Not a single thing impressed me one bit. This is just not my type of (film) music.

Strongly disliked the part that sounded exactly like Inception

[Incanus 5,713]

Hit play, closed my eyes, listened to all the samples with an open mind.

Not a single thing impressed me one bit. This is just not my type of (film) music.

Strongly disliked the part that sounded exactly like Inception

That is exactly how I felt after listening to the clips. I wonder if the full album could turn my head. I would like to enjoy Zimmer's music but it just doesn't do it for me. No point for me to dwell on this more than I already have.

[publicist 4,643]

So Captain America wasn't listenable then? Even The Avengers is not bad. Or Thor for that matter. As compromised as they might sound at first glance, there is some thought put into them. A structure even, as you put it.

Karol

I have to confess my first listen didn't win me over in either case and i never looked back. I don't see it as my duty to try this stuff again and again, especially with all the other actually great music out there.

[gkgyver 1,645]

I need to hear it with a film.

Karol

Modern music makers' failure in a nutshell.

I need to listen to the samples, but what's the difference? Koray will say you can't judge the score based on samples, and when the first impression is solidified by the whole album, he'll say we aren't open-minded enough.

[filmmusic 1,822]

I know what you're saying here, but wasn't that the case when the original Superman score was released? Wasn't John Williams sound "the thing" at the time as well?

Karol

And let me be even clearer: I don't think a "Richard Strauss-meets-Aaron Copland-meets-Korngold" approach like the one used by JW for the Donner movie would be right in this case. It's really another kind of filmmaking, aimed at a very different kind of audience.

What I'd love to hear is a more specific style that is able to represent the character.

yeah, I agree with this.

I don't necessarily want to hear such a score either, but maybe a new approach or something different.

eg when I first heard Beltrami's 3:10 to Yuma i said: "oh, here's something different for a western that i wouldn't have thought of!"

Imagine John Corigliano or Korzeniowski doing the Man of steel score!!

I think we have unique results, when producers don't always go with the most obvious choice for a composer.

[Incanus 5,713]

Zimmer got this gig by mistake, don't you remember.

[Matt C 452]

I was really hoping that Zimmer would've gone back to the POTC sound or something less ambient than his Nolan films. Not saying Zimmer should've done the score Williams-style, but his score feels way too ambient and not orchestral enough.

Pirates and Sherlock had catchy themes, but I'm not feeling it for Superman. Looks like the film will end up boosting the quality of the score, rather than complementing it.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I need to hear it with a film.

Karol

Modern music makers' failure in a nutshell.

I need to listen to the samples, but what's the difference? Koray will say you can't judge the score based on samples, and when the first impression is solidified by the whole album, he'll say we aren't open-minded enough.

It's a failure if a film score has to be heard with the film it was written for?

And yes, you cannot judge a score based on samples, that'd be like judging an entire movie based on the trailer.

[Wojo 2,453]

Um, the trailer is supposed to sell the whole movie. If after three trailers you don't want to see it, hey, it tried and failed, and you save your money. Perhaps badmouthing the film without seeing it first is illogical, but it's up to the buyer what he pays to see. Likewise, Hans Zimmer will not starve if the majority of JWFanners refuse to buy his album based on the samples.