Soundtrack Review: The Dark Knight (2008)
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This is a review of the motion picture score for The Dark Knight by Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard.
“The Joker will live forever through this score and The Dark Knight will remain the hero by everyone who loves movie scores”
What can you say, except: Yes it’s here! The most anticipated score of the year is here. The Dark Knight soundtrack has been shrouded with mystery and everybody has been waiting with baited breath on Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howards Collaboration. They did of course the score the score to Batman Begins which was a beautiful and great score. I just fell in love with the batwings. I was more of a Superman or Spider-Man dude myself, but I kept a close look at Gotham City. Batman or The Dark Knight as he is called has something going for him. The story about how Batman came to be is a great one and The Dark Knight has quite a big fan base. I really enjoy the movies and particularly the scores. First it was Danny Elfman who had the pleasure of composing for Batman, and then it was Elliot Goldenthal before it was handed over to Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard. There will be an impressive 4 editions of this soundtrack released. The regular editions, a limited digi-pack edition, a 2 LP vinyl set and a special collector’s edition with artwork. This is the track list of The Dark Knight:
Track List
- Why So Serious?
- I’m Not a Hero
- Harvey Two-Face
- Aggressive Expansion
- Always A Catch
- Blood on My Hands
- A Little Push
- Like a Dog Chasing Cars
- I Am The Batman
- And I Thought My Jokes Were Bad
- Agent of Chaos
- Introduce a Little Anarchy
- Watch the World Burn
- A Dark Knight
Getting Pumped Up
This is a review of the regular edition so there are 14 tracks in all. The play time is an impressive 1 hour and 13 minutes so the CD is filled up. It is unknown whether there will be any bonus tracks or materials, but Batman Begins exists in an expanded edition so we can only hope. I am so pumped up listening to this score. I could hardly wait getting home and get a good listen. I loved Batman Begins and when I got hold of the samples I wasn’t disappointed. However there’s only so much you can get out of 30 second samples and I hoped that when The Dark Knight score finally came out that it would live up to its massive reputation.
Not Batman Begins Part 2
Now for those who just want Batman Begins part 2 I have to disappoint you, but don’t cry just yet because what awaits you is something bigger. It has mutated and it can’t be stopped. The Joker has arrived and left his mark all over this score. The Dark Knight is certainly much darker than Batman Begins. While the first one was more atmospheric and more about Batman, this one has The Joker written all over it with sad songs and full out action cues. It starts off with an amazing song that lasts over 9 minutes. “Why So Serious?” is such a brilliant theme which happens to be very different from all other cues on this albums except for a small but important part.
Yet Another Masterpiece
The batwings from Batman Begins have almost been completely replaced by heavy and sad strings of The Joker’s destruction. The album also reveals that this will be an action packed movie. Some of the tracks are just absolutely some of the finest action music you will hear I kid you not. I think this score has it all; it will do for The Dark Knight what Howard Shore did for The Lord of the Rings. It’s epic, sad, mesmerizing and beautiful and the movie can only be a masterpiece like the score. I fully expect the score and the movie to be on top of everyone’s list. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard has done it again, The Joker will live forever through this score and The Dark Knight will remain the hero by everyone who loves movie scores. If you thought Batman Begins was good, be prepared to love this even more. The Release Date? July 15th. Order it now, because I can’t guarantee the availability. It will be massive. Listen to The Dark Knight Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard below:
Film Review for The Dark Knight
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Comments
Hey, can you tell me whats the difference between the regular, limited and special editions? I can’t seem to find any info on each one. So I’m not sure which one to get. Thanks.
Steve: True, but it exists and its definitely out there. Hope the same thing happens to The Dark Knight.
Scott: I believe the only difference is the packaging which is Digipak for the Limited Edition making it more exclusive. An example can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipak
Wow…did you even listen to this score? It’s terrible. The music in it is almost exactly the same as in Begins, and then the other 90% of the album is noise. And you love the batwings noise? Yikes.
Victors last blog post..Review: The Dark Knight OST
Sorry, can’t call it a masterpiece, brassy-drummy action score – yes, but it doesn’t work apart of the film, at list what I’ve heard.
Victor: We agree to disagree. It’s a lot darker than Batman Begins. Even though it had a few cues which resembled the score, this is very much a highly different piece. It certainly beats hands down the Elfman and Goldenthal efforts.
Onotoley: It’s a shame it doesn’t work in the film, because it sure worked in my stereo. I think I am in love with this score, I really do. Sorry you didn’t feel the way I did when I listened to this score, because it’s something I truly wish every movie score fan could feel at all times.
Fair enough, but that’s the beauty of music and taste. We can’t all like the same thing. I am just so happy that I liked this one because I would have been so disappointed if I didn’t 
nevertheless, I think it’s the best score for the Batman films and I love J.N.Howard’s job here (the Happening was a complete disappoinment)
Wait until you read my review of The Happening and I bet you weren’t as disappointed as me 
. It’s coming up one of these days.
I’ve listened to the complete score (in fact I’m listening to it right now) and I love it. This score makes Elfman’s music sound like a jingle for a cereal commercial. “Like a Dog Chasing Cars” is my favorite piece, but all of the pieces have such an epic quality. “Harvey Two-Face” is also great. This score literally gave me goosebumps, just can’t wait for the movie.
It is really an amazing piece of work. The movie has something to live up to and if it’s as good as the score, I will be speechless.
I am SO stoked for this film….and the soundtrack is so awesome…I am literally shaking with anticipation!
Awesome review.
Nick Plowmans last blog post..Review: “Silent Light”
Victor – just finished the first three tracks on the album and after reading your review, I’m pretty sure I’m most likely going to disagree with the rest of it considering I think the first track is phenomenal. But it’s not phenomenal maybe in a classic film score sense – it’s much more modern and the industrial feel was even a little reminiscent of some Nine Inch Nails instrumentals (I’ve been listening to Ghosts I-IV a lot lately :p). Your comment about 90% of the album being noise makes me curious what your thoughts are on bands like Nine Inch Nails (that’s not a slight, I’m genuinely curious). I also wondered what you think of Jon Brion and Gustavo Santaolalla (not really related to the topic at hand but for some reason I wondered what you think of them)…
On my part, I must say I think the first track is a bold move by Zimmer and Howard and will make the Joker stand out. As well, I think people, when listening to film scores on their own often demand them to be very satisfying, big experiences on their own – and sometimes (John Williams scores, etc) this is the case. But John Williams’ big scores are not appropriate for every film. They’re actually too in-your-face for many movies I can think of but that outsized, outlandish epic feel is fitting for Spielberg’s films.
I think people tend to forget the music is made to serve the movie first and foremost and the best composers and the best scores aren’t necessarily those that sound great on their own but rather those that match the film’s intentions, atmosphere and each of the beats in a scene perfectly. Which means some scores are more atmospheric rather than melodic, etc…with the first cue, it’s in your face in terms of sounding pretty badass :p at times but if it got more melodic than that or varied too drastically, I wonder if it would overpower whatever visuals are going on at the same time onscreen…this is something that’ll be easier to judge of course once we see the movie, but these are the kinds of things I keep in mind when listening to film scores.
Zimmer and Newton Howard, at least with the Batman Begins score, really did their jobs well in terms of creating a score that complemented the visuals in every way. And I have no doubt they will do the same here.
I should also add that Nolan’s films in the past have utilized more atmospheric style scores over very strong, large themes considering Memento and The Prestige both used David Julyan and his scores tend to be a little more shadowy and ambient so it wouldn’t surprise me if Nolan pushed Newton Howard and Zimmer for something not too overpowering…
Nick: I know! After reading about Heath Ledger’s performance and watching the trailers, listening to the soundtrack I am absolutely certain it has to be excellent.
Jon: What can I say? You know your stuff. I do sense another Soundtrack Geek in the force . You are right in that not every movie needs a big orchestra or John Williamsesque overtures. Look at In Bruges with minimalist master Carter Burwell. No Country For Old Men had an excellent background score as well. I believe The Dark Knight is just as atmospheric as it should be. It is not all brassy and forceful like say Iron Man, but it has it’s moments. The Joker in the Tim Burton version was kind of a comical character. Evil, certainly, but compared to Nolan’s Joker, he is a joke (pun intended). The Elfman score was right for that movie. After what I have read and seen of The Dark Knight, Nolan’s Joker is sinister, dark, evil, badass, a character not to be made fun of and the score reflects that.
That was a very good read Jon, and great points on the Memento and Prestige movies.
Meet THE DARK KNIGHT soundtrack composers!!
HANS ZIMMER and JAMES NEWTON HOWARD
Where: Times Square Virgin Megastore
1540 Broadway
NYC
When: Tuesday July 15 @ 7PM
I just received the Dark Night Limited Edition and i was so impressed with Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s work. It is a perfect blend of the Begins soundtrack and the Dark night. Hans Zimmer is like the Mozart of today.
Honestly, I’m a big fan of bombastic or really lush romantic scores. I’m not a fan of “industrial” scores. To me, they’re simply noise. Sometimes they can be done well (Zimmer has done some pretty creative, memorable things, for instance), but I do favor a traditional orchestral score. I usually dislike minimalist scores, though there are always exceptions. I understand that this Batman series is supposed to be different, but I simply see it as an excuse to write lazy music. There ARE some beautiful themes in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, or should I say HINTS, if you catch my meaning. They never fully develop and the pulsing noise gets old. The first track is offsetting, but 9 minutes? Come on.
Victors last blog post..WALL-E Soundrack Review
Just for the record…that isn’t my blog post at the end of my comment. Not sure how it ended up there…
Victors last blog post..WALL-E Soundrack Review
Mike: That’s awesome! Would love to be there and meet the masters.
Frank: Ooh, the limited edition. Excellent choice! Hope they release an expanded version or complete recording at some point. I am hungry for more.
Victor: Thanks for explaining your viewpoints. I can understand why you didn’t like this score or Batman Begins, at least outside of the movie. There are genres I don’t generally like, but if they are right for the movie, I just enjoy the heck out of it, even if I can’t listen to it without the movie attached to it. I feel Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard has created the perfect music for The Dark Knight. I saw the leaked first 6 minutes of the movie and the score just integrated perfectly with the action, strengthening my own viewpoint and beliefs. I love the pulses, that the songs just play us like the Joker would. I can imagine the scenes and it gets my heart racing. “Noise” or not, I love it.
As for the “last blog post”, don’t worry about it. It’s just a plugin that takes the last blog post of your blog regardless of author.
I appreciate your views Victor. I think your just one of those people who over analyze things. In my experience in music and sound design I have learned that it doesn’t have to be such a complicated thing. When you complicate music it becomes stale. No feeling whats so ever. The simplest “noise”, from what you call it, Can create different concepts. But that’s why Hans Zimmer does what he does, for his passion of music and to please people like me. And FYI, Every “noise” in this sound track is all brilliant ear candy.
And I will see you……Victor………At the movies.
Frank: That’s true and something that keeps creeping up on me when I do reviews. It’s hard to strike a balance between analyzing it and making it too personal. i still just listen to the music and like you said, it can be a simple thing. i know if I like it or not and most of the times it’s not about the link to the movie etc. For example I did a review on Surf’s Up and Step Up 2 and I was so surprised that I liked the music that much. I am steel a feeling person when it comes to music and I am glad I allow myself to enjoy it without over complicating it.
And I do think you still mean the Limited Edition
I got the score, and got Hans Zimmer to sign it (among many other soundtracks I have of his).
I agree, although I can see some people not getting into it. It is not that thematic, not with many motif’s, but it plays perfect to what the movie looks like. It is very dark and atmospheric, and you can definitely tell which parts are Zimmer and which parts are Howard but blended beautifully.
It was a great score, and a little on the different side.
Hans was a pleasure to meet and was very genuine when speaking to me briefly at the signing. He is my favorite composer bar-none, and this release is a fresh new idea from him. Beautiful in its own morbid way.
I went to the LA instore yesterday, it was amazing. This score is incredible. The album artwork is really great as well. I got my copy off darkknightscore.com, its so worth it!
So I just got the soundtrack.. it’s pretty epic.. honestly not too big on soundtracks but when you hear Hans Zimmer plus the Dark Knight how could you not wanna listen.. i’m sooo amped to see this movie.. the score is seriously dark with a lot of eeriness to it.. fans of the first movie/soundtrack will be happy to know that Zimmer has retained a lot of the moods from Batman Begins.. the names of the tracks pretty much indicate what moods and scenes they accompany so i’m sure i’ll enjoy it a lot more after i see the movie (thursday midnight!!!) i do recommend the special edition.. the extra artwork is amazing.. seriously don’t miss out
This score seemed like a rehash of Batman Begins score with nothing new added. Look at the Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. A whole new piece of music was added to the latter that was not present in Fellowship. This does not happen in The Dark Knight.
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That’s right Film-book, its not “Lord of the Knight”. Now go watch your LOTR extended edition for the mute.
I watch The Dark Night last night for the first time and was impressed. One question though. There is a scene in a nightclub in the movie where there is a techno track going. I want to know who it is?
Hey all.
I’ve listened over and over and can’t seem to find the cue that occurs at the end of the movie when gordon says ” we’ll chase him. because he can take it — a silent protector.. a watchful guardian.. a dark knight” etc and the theme blares etc
is that cue in the score? if so, which track is it?
francis raud Reply:
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
That part is a mix of track 14 ‘A dark knight’, track 4 ‘Aggressive Expansion’ and the Batman Begins Credits theme.
Dylan: Wow, I envy you. Next time you see him, say hello from me
Erin: Couldn’t agree with you more
Roland: I liked that they kept it moody like Batman Begins, yet it feels truly fresh and different.
Reginald: So you can’t hear the difference? Seriously? It’s a shame, because it truly makes this score stand out in a big way. Now go and listen to it a few times more. I love that they kept the mood from Batman Begins, but made it a lot darker and different. I’m glad they didn’t make it a completely different score, otherwise it wouldn’t be Batman. Imagine if John Ottman had made a totally different score to Superman Returns. Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard has made THE score for the Batman franchise with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. It’s actually pretty close to perfection.
Paul: Not sure. Haven’t seen it yet. Waiting until after my honeymoon. Anyone able to help Paul out?
Derek: I wouldn’t think all the cues in the movie made it to the score. Hopefully someone can make an extended version with all the cues in the movie.
Wow! Awe-inspireing, emotional, psycotic, deep, thrilling. A Dark Knight Indeed.
The first soundtrack is almost like a interlude to this score. Batman Begins the music. The Dark Knight then pounds you with thrills to the end.
Then the score ends with the deeply emotional and heroic track A Dark Knight. I could listen to this score over and over.
To me it reminds me of the personnal struggles every person has to deal with in every day life wheather they are small or big. This music tells us to keep moveing forward. It reminds me to keep my hope, love, joy and long-suffering.
Also this score fills that thrilling blank that was lacking in the first soundtrack. The most exhiliating track in the origianal was track 10. But this track is more balanced. The Joker may have made his mark but in the last track we can listen and feel who is the real Legend…
… The Dark Knight
Kaleb, well put! It’s true, this is a score you can listen to again and again. Every time I listen to it, I get new impulses and I also think of the struggle between good and evil and oneself.
I am also looking for the name of the song in the nighclub scene, but cant seem to find anyone that knows what it is.
can anyone help?
My comment on the film’s soundtrack was from seeing the film the first time, not from actually sitting down and listening to the sound track.
Now I have the soundtrack.
There is nothing to track 1. If you’re not watching the Bank robbery scene, the score for it is ineffective. The two need each other. I skipped the other tracks (for now)and went right to my favorite, Track 13-Watch the World Burn. The track is dark, moody and a great listen.
I didn’t think much of 16 minute long Track 14-A Dark Knight but I let it play anyway. I had no idea that it contained some of the key musical moments in the film.
I will have to change my initial thoughts on this soundtrack. It is far better than Batman Begins’ soundtrack.
“Love is blind…”
This is apparently the cause of the oversight from the resident Hans groupies.
The last track…plagiarism…come to think of it…most of this score is borrowed! It’s a bore to listen to. With it’s heavy borrowing from NIN themes, to give it that “hip, updated feel” (“Why so serious?”) and from Zimmer’s past work (The DaVinci Code score minus the choir), you have to wonder if he has any good ideas left. But to the meat…we are forced to suffer through yet another theft of John Murphy’s “In the house, in a heartbeat” on the final track. The theft begins @ 3:05 into the song “A Dark Knight” and it’s note for note, screamingly blatant. Simply shameful and ghetto. The first theft was from Tyler Bates on the score for “Doomsday” on the track “Sinclair Slips Free”. It would seem originality’s shelf life is getting even shorter in Hollywood, if that’s possible. And you guys call yourselves soundtrack geeks. “It’s time for a better class of listener”! Maybe that phrase rings a bat in a few belfries? muahahaha…the Joker did not die.
The soundtrack is great. It is full of ambiance and atmosphere, as well as great orchestral scores. If you’re looking for the huge, sweeping soundtracks that take over your entire stereo (and movie) then go elsewhere. If you’re looking for some taut, tense tracks that accompany the movie and keep you on the edge of your seat then this is the soundtrack for you. It’s beautiful from beginning to end.
Reginald: Glad you are coming around. I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago and the score wasn’t too present, but it was there and it was definitely right for this movie. I agree that it’s better than Batman Begins, but not far better
†he ?oker: Has Hans ever done anything that isn’t stolen from someone else? Does it really matter? Have you listened to the score for 10000 BC? Talk about stealing, but it’s a good entertaining mix. I think some people are too stuck up in details when they watch movies or listen to music. Why not enjoy it for the great music it is (or was stolen from)? You can argue that everything today and 10 years ago, 50 years ago are stolen from the classical masters and it’s true. For me, it doesn’t matter as I love music, I have a certain taste and when music hits me like TDK did, it’s a feast for my ears. I love NIN by the way.
J: In total agreement here.
The geek is back!
The soundtrack is a big step better than Batman Begins.
Film-Book dot Coms last blog post..Review: Redbelt
Just as formless and boring as Batman Begins’ soundtrack was; Hans Zimmer produces yet another “Formula Bruckheimer” score. He can write these in his sleep and that’s how I end up listening to them.
It certainly has the people divided which is all the more fun! By the way, I love Bruckenheimer, but with Rabin as composer, not Zimmer
Batman Begins…divisive score? Just maybe? Pretty please? Seriously though, the sides have been pretty clear for the last three years. On the extremes you have the Elfman lovers vs the Media Ventures crowd, both refusing to cave in to the other. The saner splits are between those who wanted a more engaging, orchestral, and original take on the caped crusader and those who applauded Zimmer’s thumping beats and rhythms as an appropriate new-age representation for a movie that clearly didn’t need a traditional score.
For me, I fall somewhere in the middle of those views. On one hand, Batman Begins (fantastic film) is a movie that would have been hurt by a traditional orchestral score. Regardless of the merits of Elfman’s score (terrific classic in my book…and what idiot gets off decrying it as a cereal jingle? Don’t deny dramatic gothic powerhouses, people!), that approach would not have worked…and neither would Goldenthal’s gothic camp (also enjoyable though). This score needed an infusion of modernity…while that didn’t HAVE to include electronics, the score probably benefits from having them. On the other hand, Zimmer’s style is pretty well-entrenched by now, not just by him but also the litany of ghost writers and disciples he’s produced. And what severely disappoints me about BB is that Zimmer refuses to break out of the simplicity behind the formula. In an attempt to conceive a darker, brooding atmosphere, he takes his beats and thumps down to their most bass levels, and really sucks the creativity out of the formula. Also, with character representation, while I understand that Batman has not “earned his wings” in the first film and doesn’t deserve a superhero theme just yet in a character creation story, the rising two-note theme is a poor musical creation. It meshes with the material but fails to stand out, ultimately coming off as lazy, or on the flip side overthought, a problem that sometimes shows up in Zimmer’s music…running an orchestra through a guitar amp to create a darker sound rather than writing darker orchestrations. Newton Howard’s contributions were nice and provided separation from the more mundane parts of the score, but they didn’t effectively mesh and weren’t numerous enough to elevate the overall package. Zimmer’s score was serviceable, but there were times where one felt it was more “Blandman Begins”, and I (and many others) was left wanting more. That score was 2.5/5 stars for me.
So, now we have The Dark Knight, and my anticipation levels were low. But wow, what a promotional venture Hans and James went on, with interviews on every soundtrack venue imaginable. They said that they had really elevated their work to new heights, that they had really integrated both sides of their work together. And so, with that deluge of hype, I was intrigued.
But, what of the score’s merits? Well, contrary to this site’s statements, it is, on the most part, more of the same. The same thumping style, the same rising two-note theme, the same derivative style of so many other Zimmeresque works. For the similar parts, some of this is better…Like A Dog Chasing Cars amps up the brass orchestrations more than its predecessor’s Molossus.
But it’s the new stuff where the brunt of this review has to focus on. First, the Joker material. There’s really four themes that show up here, but the one everyone gets on is the one-note “theme”. First off, I’m not against the notion of one note representing something. The warped brass chord for the Terminator and the Blaster Beam in the first Star Trek are respectively good and brilliant representations through a single musical blast. And with the Joker, we are dealing with chaos and not standing for any common beliefs, something that defies convention, so perhaps a traditional theme isn’t the way to go about the character. So we are left with our twisted, guitar/violin/other stuff fusion into one sick musical moment. And…well, it’s a mixed bag. It’s certainly a serviceable way of representing the Joker, but on film its impossible to really pick up on and comes off just as dissonance, the latter also applying on album. Cues like “Agent of Chaos” and “A Little Push” accomplish nothing musically.
The other Joker themes show us a world where perhaps things could’ve been advanced into a better character representation. This is sometimes a problem with Zimmer; he comes up with multiple themes that represent something and all of them can do anywhere from a decent to great job, but one can’t escape the feeling that he could have just produced one big theme that did the job better. An example would be what appears to be three themes for Arthur and his knights in King Arthur, all good but not wrapping into what could’ve been a fantastic package. The second and third demonstrate this. The second being the rapid two note bass hit, which isn’t technically complex but does a good job of announcing the Joker’s actions. The third is what I call the “bouncing theme”, with four electronic plucks working it rising two note sets, and is used when the Joker is talking about his ideology. I think more of this, used in conjunction with a better theme or fused to make one theme, could’ve made for a better musical experience and representation on film. The fourth is a building middle-bass string note that then descends into an ominous bass note, showing up around minute 7 of Why So Serious. It’s infrequent in its usage and ultimately seems superfluous. Zimmer pertains that he put a lot of time into thinking how to represent such a unique character, but the end musical result comes off as overthinking that led to a decent collection of musical ideas but ultimately missed the chance to hit it out of the park.
And then there’s the new Batman theme…wait, what, now it’s three rising notes? This is the most disappointing aspect of the score. It’s lazy and mostly unexciting. Zimmer developed a better theme for Batman in the first film (only shows up on album in Mollosus but exists elsewhere) but apparently decided to abandon that for this? Shameshame
But what of Harvey? Newton Howard would control this side of the score, and I was all ready to hear this new Dent theme he’d done. And…then…it’s not a new theme at all, it’s a reprise of the Rising Hero theme from the first score, which only showed up once on album in Myotis but was scattered a few more times in the film. This brings us to another debate about whether this is lazy or whether its the right extension, and ultimately I side with the latter. Dent is supposed to be the one taking over Batman’s role in Gotham, and thus he is the new rising hero. The theme isn’t simple recycling, as JNW gives it a more respectful sense of Americana to start and then takes things down a notch with a more mournful approach on piano as Harvey’s life falls out of control. My problem with it on album is that there’s just not enough of it. Bottling the vast majority of material into the Harvey Dent cue leaves the rest of the score feeling too separated from it, and Blood on My Hands is the only other time it shows up on album. More exploration here (and I know that music exists too…shockingly I’ve actually seen the movie) could’ve made this a better product, but instead we are left with the slightly schizoid dilemma present in the proceeding score.
I might have given this score three and a half stars based on that. The action material, though familiar, ramped things up, and the Joker material isn’t as poor as people have labeled it. This is a score that’s serviceable enough to transcend its lack of thematic grounding. BUT…then the last cue had to be done and it’s boring, mostly because it’s overlong and ridiculously repetitive. It’s a disappointing way to end an album that improved on its predecessor. Better album arrangement could have elevated the material, but we’ll never know unless a fuller release comes out. Overall, Zimmer and JNW create a score that suits its material well and manages to do some unconventional things, but with all the Media Ventures stylings still seeping into the material, one must ask…”Why So Derivative?”
I feel that you overcomplicate things a little, well actually quite a lot. I think there are lot of different ways of listening to music. When I listen to music, I tend to not over analyze things, but I do recognize and like the way Joker has gotten a theme. As for me, I like the simplicity, but more importantly the mood Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard tries to make and in my opinion gets it right. I am a music listener first and foremost, a reviewer second, but I do like to compare tastes and I love to discuss music. In the end, some like my views, some dislike it, but that’s life. I just love music
I personally think that the music to both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is exceptional. I can’t see where people say that it is boring. Just listen to the melodies and the way that the instruments flow through each of the tracks. I can’t listen to these songs enough in a day. The more I listen to his work, the more I like his music. I love Hans Zimmer music and can’t imagine a movie without his score added to it. Whether Hans himself or with other composers, I think he is a step above some of the other music composers out there.
I agree that both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are excellent scores and I can’t see anyone but Zimmer and Howard composing it.
Is it me, or are the Joker’s themes taken from bits of “How Soon Is Now”?
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
December 14th, 2008 at 6:48 am
The background beat does sound similar, but I don’t think it’s taken from that. Besides when I hear “How Soon Is Now” I always think of Charmed anyway, which is joker-less.
Watched the movie earlier today. By far the best movie of 2008 and the soundtrack seems so too. Listening to I’m Not a Hero now – this is one of my favourite cues.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
January 11th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Simply gorgeous movie and score. Couldn’t be happier.
how do i begin this comment?
i shall explain it in 3 very simple words: Simply-the-Best.
i cannot agree with you more about giving this musical score a 10,as it deserves nothing less.from the very menacing cues of “And i Thought my Jokes were Bad” to the bombastic rythyms of “like a Dog Chasing Cars”.
Only Mr.Zimmer himself could pull-off the use of an orchestra with synthesizers with such aggresiveness.
the joker has arrived in the dark knight and has left his grubby name all over the score which gives it a villianous contrast to the superhero-like qualities of batman.
my personal favourite song is “Like a Dog Chasing Cars”.
i cannot stress how hauntingly good this song is!
it starts off with very low-key strings playing in a pattern familiar to the rest of the soundtrack,that keeps building until it suddenly explodes!and from here no other song in recent musical history can match the elegance and power that are so cunningly balanced throughout the 5 minutes of heaven.
back to the soundtrack as a whole.
the other thing that simply drives me crazy is the variety found here! from the dark tone of ” Why so Serious” to the elegant and pure tone in ” Harvey Two-Face” (Kudos to James-Newton-Howard).
i am just devasted at the fact that Hans and James didnt garner any more awards than they so rightfully deserved.
when will the world wake up?
I love this soundtrack. LOVE IT. I give it a 10 stars as well. I think some people have a problem with Zimmer’s style, not because there’s anything wrong with it, but because it is almost in rebellion of composers such as John Williams. Yeah, he uses synthesizers/computers to augment classical orchestration. But its the freaking 21st century. Folks like John Williams would have almost been more at home being born in the 18th century… except that the “intellectuals”, film critics, and academy award members eat it up. I’m not saying I don’t like John Williams and many of the other “classical” composers, because i do, but man I love what Zimmer does with music. (I haven’t mentioned James Newton Howard here but not to sleight him, just because I can more easily recognize Zimmer’s influence) This soundtrack beats. It resonates. It’s epic which means I’m not searching for subtly because it’s always there and in my face. I would also like to say that this track stands outside of the film. I listen to it all the time and usually when I do batman is the farthest thing away from my thoughts.
Ryan Williams´s last blog ..What Is Planescape Torment? 
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Batman Begins extended soundtrack was not released, it was fan made.
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