Godzilla Minus One soundtrack (Naoki Satō, 2023)

[Giftheck 916]

The upcoming Godzilla Minus One, directed by Takashi Yamazaki, is scored by his longtime collaborator Naoki Satō. A couple of days ago, previews of the soundtrack appeared on TikTok. As is basically standard following Shin Godzilla (aside from the maligned anime trilogy and Godzilla Vs. Kong), Satō has used Akira Ifukube's original Godzilla theme.

 

The soundtrack is due to be released in Japan on November 4, the day after Godzilla Minus One debuts in theatres in Japan.

 

Tracklist:

 

Quote

1. "Godzilla-1.0 Fear"
2. "Godzilla-1.0 Portent"
3. "Godzilla-1.0 Confusion"
4. "Godzilla-1.0 Godzilla Suite I"
5. "Godzilla-1.0 Divine"
6. "Godzilla-1.0 Elegy"
7. "Godzilla-1.0 Mission"
8. "Godzilla-1.0 Hope"
9. "Godzilla-1.0 Honor"
10. "Godzilla-1.0 Pride"
11. "Godzilla-1.0 Pain"
12. "Godzilla-1.0 Resolution"
13. "Godzilla-1.0 Godzilla Suite II"
14. "Godzilla-1.0 Unscathed"
15. "Godzilla-1.0 Last"
16. "Godzilla-1.0 Pray"
17. "Godzilla-1.0 Godzilla Suite III"

 

 

I'm told the final OST will be 17 tracks long, so I will update this post when we know what it is.

[Ollie 1,059]

Hmm thought it was supposed to be 17 tracks. 

[MedigoScan 324]

To be fair the first american Godzilla movie didnt use the theme either.

But Godzilla VS Kong had no excuse after KotM used it.

[Giftheck 916]

12 minutes ago, MedigoScan said:

To be fair the first american Godzilla movie didnt use the theme either.

But Godzilla VS Kong had no excuse after KotM used it.

 

That's why I said the trend had been set by Shin Godzilla. Having said that, Desplat wrote a pretty good theme for Godzilla, whereas Junkie XL's sounds like a knock-off version of Ifukube's fanfare. IIRC the excuse given by Adam Wingard was that 'it felt disingenuous to use it because it's tied to the tragedy of the original Godzilla' - never mind it wasn't actually even used for Godzilla in the original film. It was the theme used when showing scenes where Godzilla was being pursued. The fanfare itself was written for King Kong vs Godzilla - by which time, it had really left its tragic roots behind in pursuit of monster brawls. It was criminal to have the American 'rematch' without it being properly represented.

 

43 minutes ago, Ollie said:

Hmm thought it was supposed to be 17 tracks. 

 

It might be, but those are the tracks that got previewed. I will update the post once the full thing becomes available with the full tracklist.

[Ollie 1,059]

So the score has already started shipping and in the hands of people here in the us and thanks to a fellow Godzilla fan I will be able to listen tonight. 

[DarthDementous 1,059]

There's something very wholesome about such a faithful new arrangement of the classic themes. It was neat that Shin Godzilla used the exact tracks but it was also a bit jarring with the mixing of the other pieces of the score

I enjoy the apocalyptic and gloomy feel of the soundtrack excerpts, Pray in particular reminded me of a Shiro Sagisu track from Thrice Upon A Time

[Ollie 1,059]

The score, as presented on the album, is very serious and atmospheric. There are 17 tracks with 3 being new recordings of Ifukube themes. In fact it makes me wonder if they were just included for listening purposes, to flesh out the album.

 

 

Spoiler

The first one is basically a cue from Mothra vs Godzilla (1963), the second one is the opening of Symphonic Fantasia 1/ end credits from G vs Destroyer. And the 3rd is basically the opening title to the original Godzilla

Musically, the album offers a glimmer of hope in a few cues. The music heard in the main trailer is part of the score. The tracks Resolution and Unscathed are 2 of my favorites so far.

 

if you’re looking for the typical G score with a heavy theme for the big guy and rousing military marches, this isn’t for you. A surprising modernistic take, minus the chugging strings and thumping percussion that accompanies most films these days.

[artguy360 1,843]

Shin Godzilla's OST was a real banger. My favorite Godzilla score in years. This sounds interesting so far but not sure it can match Sagisu's level of operatic epicness.

[Giftheck 916]

7 hours ago, DarthDementous said:

There's something very wholesome about such a faithful new arrangement of the classic themes. It was neat that Shin Godzilla used the exact tracks but it was also a bit jarring with the mixing of the other pieces of the score

 

I read that the issue was that rather that re-record them outright they tried to 'remaster into stereo' the original cues from their subsequent films, and they clearly weren't successful with that (except maybe Godzilla Appears from Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla). The film itself just used the original recordings untouched. So, yeah: it's really nice that they appeared, but as a listening experience it is a bit jarring to transition from the more modern stereo recordings to those old mono recordings and back again.

[thestat 348]

Listened to the trailer score apparently by Sato - yes, it sounds very serious, but the repetitive depressive chords just make it seem like Inception 4.0. I look forward to hearing the rest of the score, especially as some have suggested Gorecki comparisons - the trailer score is just the same old, but with a slightly more elongated tension in the strings.

[Giftheck 916]

The soundtrack is now up on Spotify

 

 

NGL, I have listened to it, and there's some nice pieces, but I definitely remembered more of Shin Godzilla's soundtrack the first time round. Elegy gives me quite strong Adagio For Strings vibes. Divine is the music used in the trailers.

 

[artguy360 1,843]

On 04/11/2023 at 1:37 AM, Giftheck said:

The soundtrack is now up on Spotify

 

 

NGL, I have listened to it, and there's some nice pieces, but I definitely remembered more of Shin Godzilla's soundtrack the first time round. Elegy gives me quite strong Adagio For Strings vibes. Divine is the music used in the trailers.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I'm listening to it now.

 

Edit: Finished listening to the score. It is good. Very heavy and dramatic. A bit more Inception style sounds than melody driven. Many tracks are very similar to each other. Not nearly as good as Shin Godzilla, but a fitting Godzilla score.

[ManofDestiny 71]

Listen to this score this morning.

It's a very Sato Naoki style score, similar to his previous work Parasyte (寄生獸), less action than his others work like Spacebattleship Yamato or Heroic Age.

I expected he will re-arrange tradition Ifukube's Godzilla theme into Sato Naoki style action score, like what he did in Spacebattleship Yamato, but he only reuse them as Godzilla suite.

As for the original new score, it's fine but not the best Sato Naoki score.

 

One weird thing is that in Godzilla Suite 1, he used the "calling Mothra" theme, but Mothra is not in this film.

[Knight of Ren 789]

Which part are you referring to as the "calling Mothra" theme? As far as I was able to discern, the first suite is mostly a rearrangement of his theme introduced in King Kong vs Godzilla, but I might be mistaken.

[ManofDestiny 71]

Godzilla Suite 1: around 1:23~1:44

It is "Mahara Mothra".

 

[thestat 348]

So not getting the love for this score. I get the minimalism and the building anxiety which works well in a certain kind of Polish composer/Goldenthal grandeur but the tonal palette here is so banal as it is composed effectively of drones and of repetitive synth patterns with very obvious orchestral and choral interludes. It might be amazing on film but this is no Goldenthal score at all.

[Knight of Ren 789]

10 hours ago, ManofDestiny said:

Godzilla Suite 1: around 1:23~1:44

It is "Mahara Mothra".

 

Ohh, now I noticed it. I don't think it's supposed to be anything more than a reprise of Ifukube's material, because in the suite 2 we hear parts of King Kong vs Godzilla's Main Title which if I recall is connected to Kong and the Faro Island more than Godzilla itself.

 

I've been listening to some of Ifukube's classic scores and there's some fantastic material in there but it's a damn shame that so much of it is presented in poor quality audio recordings, which definitely make them a lot less enjoyable than they should be, at least for me. I think some of them definitely deserve a re-recording of some kind.

[thestat 348]

Been listening to this more. Fuck, have to back up on all my words. This is frigging genius, Goldenthal level genius.

 

[Tallguy 3,398]

4 minutes ago, thestat said:

Goldenthal level genius.

 

That's not a bad comparison. I don't know if I'll listen to it a LOT. But I really enjoyed it.

[CrimsonRain96 11]

I’m assuming it’s already in chronological order?

[Gojira 20]

More or less, according to someone who's seen the movie several times in Japan. The more I listen to it, the more I freakin' love it.

[TolkienSS 407]

Bless the people who can listen to this all the way without wrapping their car around the nearest tree.

[Giftheck 916]

It's definitely grown on me, but it's still not as good as the 1954 score or Shin Godzilla's score.