[Closed] Now Playing - Part XV

"I Don't Think Now Is the Best Time" is easily one of the most impressive and coherent compositions by Zimmer to date. The final 2 and a half minutes are breathtaking and having watched the movie recently, i couldn't help but to feel stunned by the use of the music and the music itself throughout.

Was it too different than what's on the CD? Can't remember.

n.p HANS ZIMMER and JAMES NEWTON HOWARD - batman begins

I think people are being too unfair to this. Not too many differences with The Dark Knight but a lot of similarities between them imo, don't grant the vast difference in reactions between the two; first being tossed and second being celebrated largely.

Agree, i couldn't think of anything else that would elevate Nolan's Batman films even more, especially the Dark Knight which is simply brilliant.

Yes!! YES!

I wonder what Tim thinks of it? (not timmer)
How would he doing on his new job?

NP - Red Cliff - Taro Iwashiro

I'm only on the second track and I'm liking it very much. I love the main theme. The second track happen to be an action track of sort. Very western, with percussion drums and punctuating flute accenting the orchestra while it's doing variations of the Red Cliff theme.

Oh wait... third track's already playing. It's another actiony track, with lots of horn and percussions...with some synth(!) but it's not bad.

Fourth track is a nice respite from the last 12 minute of action, with flute reciting the Red Cliff theme, backed by orchestra.... oh a sub theme in there....

Ah wait, 5th track, a darker piece, heavy on the string, with trumpets and horn.


So far, this seems to be a monothematic score, albeit with some interesting variation... The CD looks to have about 55-58 minute of score, followed by a 7 minute song... Since the movie is about 4 hours long, this might be a really condensed version of the score. It doesn't sound "chinese" but does contain some ethnic writing style and instruments.

More to come 6th track seems to be getting back to the action.

I think it's very monotonous. Compared to other Taro Iwashiro scores which are largely superior (see below) it feels rather uninspired and on auto-pilot, imo.

Nihon chinbotsu (The Sinking of JapaN)
Haru no yuki (Snowy Love Fall in Spring)
Shinobi
Chi to hone ( Blood and Bones )
Azumi
Salinui chueok (Memories of Murder)
And what i consider to be his most beautiful work to date, Gekijôban Furandaasu no inu (Dog of Flanders)

Top stuff.

Is this thread gonna go into the tripple digits???

As a moderator, I think this thread is indeed going into trippple digits!

But perhaps only one page then.

lp, have you heard the scores i mention?

Dats why you da man

It is a bit of a struggle. While my reading of the scores is very different from yours (the first is poor, the second is OK) they are hardly vastly different enough to explain the "first one's rubbish, second one's best thing ever" attitude many people seem to have.

Anyway, NP Masters of the Universe - Bill Conti

Uber-derivative, but very good fun.

Here is why I like (not love) The Dark Knight better than Batman Begins.

First of all, I don't mind Zimmer and Howard's approach in the first film... meaning something a bit more serious and not so cartoon super hero like. Fine. That's what they are going for so I will give them the benifit of the doubt no matter how much I disagree with it. However, what was eventually composed was something so unbelievably bland that it makes me scratch my head that it took TWO people to compose that crap.

So, when it came down to The Dark Knight I already had expectations based on the first score as to what the sequel would sound like. Well, surprisingly what we got, like all GOOD sequel scores, was a piece of music that went one better than the original but all the while still complemented the original. So, while the same "more serious" approach was used... simplify OR dumb down the music... I think that Zimmer and Howard managed to improve on the already established sound by adding new and far more interesting ideas to the already established musical palette.

The opening cue is fantastic (albeit a Goldenthal rip off,) Howard's new Harvey Dent theme is something I was hoping to hear in the first score and the adaptation and variations on the already existing material is much approved on in The Dark Knight. I find it a much more cohesive listen and far more interesting musically. However, there are still a bunch of cues that are still as bland and uninteresting as the stuff in the first score and the final 16 minute cue is simply one of the most overrated cues of Zimmer's career.

So, I don't LOVE The Dark Knight but I can appreciate that ZImmer and Howard actually did something more with this score and slightly improved on one of the most uninteresting and overrated scores that has come along in sometime.

-Erik-

Yes, much more action music, and a couple of great renditions of the Hoist the Colours Theme, plus the choir version of one of the themes.

Goldenthal rip-off? How come? That piece screams ZImmer all over it, from all aspects. BlackHawk down in specific AND Batman Begins.