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Michael Giacchino's THE BATMAN (2022)


Jay

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This sounds a lot like his War for the Planet of the Apes to me. I enjoyed that score, want someone else to have a shot at Batman though, I'm over Giacchino's live-action scores.

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52 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

It reminded me a bit of Zimmer's Batfleck theme from BvS, mixed with the Imperial March of course. 

 

Yeah exactly like that. I immediately thought of "Beautiful Lie" opening. 

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1 hour ago, Not Mr. Big said:

I like how full and reverby the orchestra sounds there

Just wait till you get the OST, it'll sound as dry as any other Giacchino score...

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So, am I to understand that nobody in the production noticed how similar this is to the Imperial March? Or was this actually fully intended?

 

I like it nevertheless. At this point I'd welcome even a blatant rip-off of a score by someone like JW than those whose works are constantly being used in temps and or in the final work.

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1 hour ago, crocodile said:

How do you guys now this is a theme and not simply some bit of underscore?

 

Karol

 

Because it's been in both the costume reveal test footage and the first trailer. This, from what we can gather, is the main identity for Batman.

 

Having listened to Elfman's Justice League again recently, with its main Hero theme, I can't help but wonder if it's actually a WB mandate for the musical identities to be this simplistic. They've been so used to Zimmer and co. running the DC factory that they can't think of any other sound that fits now. There are the odd exceptions here and there, but otherwise, the big heroes end up needing to sound a certain way, and this enforces it further.

 

I do like it as this more mysterious/sneaky motif for the character, but I have a hard time buying it as being the main musical theme by itself. Perhaps Giacchino wants this to show an in progress Batman, with him building it up either throughout the score or further fleshing it out in the possible sequel. As is, it feels a bit lacking compared to past iterations, but I do think the foundation is there to make something more substantive.

 

That being said: I actually would like to hear a JXL scored Batman film, since his Bat material in ZSJL is probably the most underrated from that. I'm not sure if he'd be able to do more with it, but it's compelling enough as theme in its few variants that I would like to see what a score around it could sound like.

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2 hours ago, Mr. Who said:

Didn't he release something last year? a 1 min cue I think

Edit, found it:

 

I am not sure If this two-note thing that worked for Jaws will also work for Batman. 

But maybe according to the music sample this time Batman is going to be a slow brainless eating machine that aims just for food and making new little Batmen. Could be interesting.

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2 hours ago, Mr. Who said:

 

 

Garbage. There's no other word, for it.

 

 

4 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

I am not sure If this two-note thing that worked for Jaws will also work for Batman.

JAWS is not  a "two-note thing"!

It's among the most deceptively complex, and occasionally joyous, extended pieces of music that anyone will ever hear.

 

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59 minutes ago, Arpy said:

Here we go again, judging an entire score by just a few seconds of the end of a cue...

Probably, you are right. They try just to manage our expectations by advertising the movie using the most boring two minutes of the score. Just nobody wants us to get too excited. Makes sense.

2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

JAWS is not  a "two-note thing"!

It's among the most deceptively complex, and occasionally joyous, extended pieces of music that anyone will ever hear.

I know. And that was for the brainless eating machine. So, what should this Batman piece then be for?

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We go from Eflman, Walker, Goldenthal, to this? I know these are just snipets, but that theme is as vulgar as they come

 

Batman used to be the superhero with the most consistently great music

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9 hours ago, crocodile said:

How do you guys now this is a theme and not simply some bit of underscore?

 

Karol

 

Well it's definitely some kind of central identity, since "variations" (if you can even call it that) of that been in all the music teasers so far. 

 

It's generic crap. And does nothing to whet the appetite for a new Batman score.

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Gia is capable of much better than this. 

 

If this is his best attempt at a gothic superhero theme, well... 

 

Maybe the issue is that Elfman's theme was so utterly perfect for the character that every subsequent composer has felt obliged to try something different, to avoid coming across as a pastiche? 

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25 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Gia is capable of much better than this. 

 

If this is his best attempt at a gothic superhero theme, well... 

 

Maybe the issue is that Elfman's theme was so utterly perfect for the character that every subsequent composer has felt obliged to try something different, to avoid coming across as a pastiche? 

 

Walker and Goldenthal did pretty well in writing a great theme after Elfman's

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10 hours ago, HunterTech said:

 

Because it's been in both the costume reveal test footage and the first trailer. This, from what we can gather, is the main identity for Batman.

 

Having listened to Elfman's Justice League again recently, with its main Hero theme, I can't help but wonder if it's actually a WB mandate for the musical identities to be this simplistic. They've been so used to Zimmer and co. running the DC factory that they can't think of any other sound that fits now. There are the odd exceptions here and there, but otherwise, the big heroes end up needing to sound a certain way, and this enforces it further.

 

I do like it as this more mysterious/sneaky motif for the character, but I have a hard time buying it as being the main musical theme by itself. Perhaps Giacchino wants this to show an in progress Batman, with him building it up either throughout the score or further fleshing it out in the possible sequel. As is, it feels a bit lacking compared to past iterations, but I do think the foundation is there to make something more substantive.

 

That being said: I actually would like to hear a JXL scored Batman film, since his Bat material in ZSJL is probably the most underrated from that. I'm not sure if he'd be able to do more with it, but it's compelling enough as theme in its few variants that I would like to see what a score around it could sound like.

 

No, have you listen to WW84 or Aquaman? Those main themes are far more sophisticated than the Giacchino video here.

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1 hour ago, crumbs said:

Gia is capable of much better than this. 

 

If this is his best attempt at a gothic superhero theme, well... 

 

Maybe the issue is that Elfman's theme was so utterly perfect for the character that every subsequent composer has felt obliged to try something different, to avoid coming across as a pastiche? 


i genuinely think Elfman’s Batman theme can’t be improved upon. It’s futile to try.

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19 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

No, have you listen to WW84 or Aquaman? Those main themes are far more sophisticated than the Giacchino video here.

 

10 hours ago, HunterTech said:

There are the odd exceptions here and there

 

Quite frankly, those two likely only turned out the way they did because of the directors involved. You could've also mentioned Shazam, with its more retro sound (though I don't remember the theme enough to know if it's particularly a cut above what's here).

 

MoS, BvS, JL, and now The Batman have this particular thing, primarily because of being the tentpoles that WB had/have their strict eye on. At the very least with JL, Elfman still got to be pretty expressive with the simpler confines the themes from that score offered him, so I feel fairly inclined to agree with others that this still isn't too much to judge from.

 

Don't think I agree with the Imperial March comparisons, since once more, this is another Batman composer that couldn't help but take a page from past efforts. And I suppose it's a little more blatant here, given this used to be the Affleck solo film, so perhaps Warners were really itching for more of that despite the change in direction.

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7 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Probably, you are right. They try just to manage our expectations by advertising the movie using the most boring two minutes of the score. Just nobody wants us to get too excited. Makes sense.

I know. And that was for the brainless eating machine. So, what should this Batman piece then be for?

It's not DC advertising it, it's Gia sharing it from his personal account. 

 

Who gets excited for movies anymore?

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1 hour ago, TheUlyssesian said:


i genuinely think Elfman’s Batman theme can’t be improved upon. It’s futile to try.

It is superb but I actually enjoy the brooding intensity of Shirley Walker’s for Mask of the Phantasm. It’s pretty much the first theme that comes to mind when I think of Batman which is kinda odd to given that I’ve known the Elfman one much longer and the score itself is one of my favourite ever. I’ll wait for the album to pass judgment but I just don’t feel these kinds of epic theme are Giacchino’s forte somehow. His Star Trek theme is pretty meh compared to most of those for the earlier movies. 

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1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

It is superb but I actually enjoy the brooding intensity of Shirley Walker’s for Mask of the Phantasm. It’s pretty much the first theme that comes to mind when I think of Batman which is kinda odd to given that I’ve known the Elfman one much longer and the score itself is one of my favourite ever. I’ll wait for the album to pass judgment but I just don’t feel these kinds of epic theme are Giacchino’s forte somehow. His Star Trek theme is pretty meh compared to most of those for the earlier movies. 

 

Agreed, especially since I grew up in the 90s and I love the Batman: Animated Series and Mask of the Phantasm. 

10 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Garbage. There's no other word, for it.

 

 

JAWS is not  a "two-note thing"!

It's among the most deceptively complex, and occasionally joyous, extended pieces of music that anyone will ever hear.

 

 

Hans Zimmer -  "Everybody goes, 'Oh Jaws,' it's just these two notes, it's not. There's this amazing orchestral symphonic piece that takes place and it's just being triggered by these two notes." 

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1 hour ago, SilverTrumpet said:

 

The best part is just like every "epic" cover, they get an interval wrong in the theme.

Yeah I noticed that. Weird. It’s not like it sounds better. I mean… second guessing a classic JW theme construction is just a bad choice!

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On 19/09/2021 at 9:14 AM, Mr. Who said:

Didn't he release something last year? a 1 min cue I think

Edit, found it:

 

 

If I were in charge, I'd find this fine for one among several musical identities for Batman.

 

However I'm not really a Batman fan. My favourite bat theme is the Shirley Walker one. My favourite Elfman superhero stuff is instead Spider-Man.

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On 19/09/2021 at 9:13 AM, Drawgoon said:

So, am I to understand that nobody in the production noticed how similar this is to the Imperial March? Or was this actually fully intended?

 

They must have all realized the true inspiration for both cues.

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