Soundtrack Review: Gladiator (2000)

Posted by Jon Blough

September 17, 2008

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This is a review of the motion picture score for Gladiator by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard.

Label: Decca U.S.
Release Date: April 25 2000
Price: $9.97

“Gladiator is indeed a soldier of film music…honor it.”

This was my first film score.

Well, there just went all notions of objectivity, right? When I bought this seven year ago, the entirety of review probably would have resembled this: infallible, awesome action experience. But since then I’ve journeyed through the diverse landscape of film scores, emerging with new favorites and more familiarity with composer styles, and I can say with certainty that Gladiator is not the score it once was to me, no longer resting on the laurels of my absolute favorites. Yet despite that diminished luster, it is still a great score and (nostalgia aside) an “awesome action experience”, though now I appreciate it as a much more reflective, low-key score than most other Zimmer action scores.

One needs only to hear the score’s main theme for Maximus to understand what I’m getting at. Lisa Gerrard’s superb voice carries the first prominent statement of this theme over light mournful strings at the end of “The German Battlefront”, creating a mournful sense of victory. It simply conveys a real sense of honor throughout its mostly restrained usage on, solo guitar (“Escape/Homecoming”, the unused “Maximus”), the Yan-ching (“Figurines”), or building horns (the end of “The Mob”, “Honor Him”.) Only once does Zimmer let the theme break out in full orchestral grandeur, and its performance in “The Battle of Carthage” is truly triumphant.
The more held-back nature exists throughout the majority of the non-action material, as with the mysterious calling flute theme for Commodus or the love theme that opens “Earth”, a held back and soothing duduk performance that is only regrettable because it never appears again. The “Strength and Honor” theme never burst out of its shell, making it more effective in its representation of remembrance even when percussion is layered in “Desert Journey”. Yet what really stands out here is Lisa Gerrard’s. Her themes involved death and the afterlife, and its impressive hearing the harsh vocal tones of her rendition in “Sorrow” transform into a sense of ethereal uplifting in “Reunion” that sets the stage for the film’s superb closing. Less impressive is what Gerrard does for quiet tension; the drifting nature of cues like “Secrets” and “Busy Little Bee” creates a subtle sense of fear, but “The Emperor is Dead” accomplishes nothing. Nonetheless, her overall production will capture you.

Me from 7 years ago would probably laugh at this review so far, so I’ll cater to that side of the public and say that Zimmer does produce some highly exciting action material in two differing styles. The first is the loud, menacing, and obviously electronically assisted approach heard in “The German Battlefront”, “The Battle of Carthage”, and both takes on “The Trap”. It’s relentless, propulsive, and aggressively hitting, even addictive at times with the bell hits around 3:45 of “The Battle of Carthage” and the grand charging motif that shows up in the first two cues. Nowhere near complex or original (consult the Gustav Holst Institute there), but still quite entertaining.

The second approach is more ethnic and guitar based. Clearly the top of the line is “The Might of Rome”, starting off with a slow progression of drums and strings but adding bass, synthetics gongs, and more percussion. By the time the chating choir enters, the track is superbly whirling and frenetic. “The Mob” mutates the approach into a more primal affair with harsh, menacing low strings slashing against harping choir. “Escape/Homecoming” is the only outlier here, with rapid guitar plucking that stylistically doesn’t mesh with the rest of the material.

All this raving about the lighter side of Zimmer shouldn’t detract from his music for Commodus, which will satisfy lovers of his dark cello and choir material. The tightly pulled strings of “Patricide” take this rolling, descending theme to memorably haunting depths, while “Am I Not Merciful” uses a slowly building string wave to lead into a darker, more twisted and insanely epic variation. This cue also marks the only time the calling theme is truly integrated into the orchestra.

Of course, one can’t heap praise on this score while overlooking its brilliant final act of “Elysium”, “Honor Him”, and “Now We are Free”. Gerrard’s voice and Zimmer’s final solo horn rendition of the Maximus theme create a new-age, streaming feeling of hope and is exactly the uplifting feeling the scene needed. “Now We Are Free” merges these two approaches, with both the Elysium and Maximus themes being used amidst a wonderful mix of Gerrard’s voice, chanting choir, guitar, and ethnic percussion. Seven years ago, I would not have appreciated the album in this way, and while I’ve become more familiar to Zimmer’s style of music since I purchased this, I’ve also embraced this series of cues for its high standard of musical excellence. Gladiator is indeed a soldier of film music…honor it.

Album Situation – Original commercial release is superb. More Music From Gladiator features new tracks but also dialogue and useless remixes. Various 2-Disc Bootlegs exist and provide the fullest quality experience. Your own can be assembled by mixing both commercial albums and editing out parts with dialogue, but you won’t have unreleased “The Trap”. 3-Disc Bootleg is fan edits and should be avoided.
Best album = 2-Disc Bootleg

Original Album (61:38)
1. Progeny (2:13)
2. The Wheat (1:03)
3. The Battle (10:02)
4. Earth (3:01)
5. Sorrow (1:26)
6. To Zucchabar (3:16)
7. Patricide (4:08)
8. The Emporer is Dead (1:21)
9. The Might of Rome (5:18)
10. Strength and Honor (2:09)
11. Reunion (1:14)
12. Slaves to Rome (1:00)
13. Barbarian Horde (10:33)
14. Am I Not Merciful? (6:33)
15. Elysium (2:41)
16. Honor Him (1:19)
17. Now We Are Free (4:14)

More Music From Gladiator (55:56)
1. Duduk of the North (5:35)
2. Now We Are Free (Juba’s Mix) (4:39)
3. The Protector of Rome (1:28)
4. Homecoming (3:38)
5. The General Who Became a Slave (3:05)
6. The Slave Who Became a Gladiator (6:14)
7. Secrets (2:01)
8. Rome is the Light (2:46)
9. All That Remains (0:57)
10. Maximus (1:11)
11. Marrakesh Marketplace (0:44)
12. The Gladiator Waltz (8:27)
13. Figurines (1:03)
14. The Mob (2:24)
15. Busy Little Bee (3:50)
16. Death Smiles at Us All (2:32)
17. Not Yet (1:33)
18. Now We Are Free (Maximus Mix) (3:49)

2-Disc Bootleg (108:01)
Disc 1
1.    The German Battlefront (12:36)
2.    Earth (2:59)
3.    The Protector of Rome (1:06)
4.    Figurines (1:06)
5.    Patricide (4:08)
6.    The Emperor is Dead (1:26)
7.    Escape/Homecoming (3:56)
8.    Sorrow (1:31)
9.    Desert Journey (3:06)
10.    To Zucchabar (3:21)
11.    Marrakesh Marketplace (0:46)
12.    All That Remains (0:56)
13.    Maximus (1:11)
14.    Win the Crowd (1:42)
15.    The Might of Rome (5:18)
16.    Barbarian Horde Beginning (1:26) – Note: This is an edit of the first 1:26 of the original album’s Barbarian Horde
17.    The Mob (2:26)
Disc 2
1.    Strength and Honor (2:10)
2.    Reunion (1:14)
3.    Slaves to Rome (1:00)
4.    Conspiracy/The Streets of Rome (1:26)
5.    The Battle of Carthage (10:36) – Note: This is an edit of the remainder of the original album’s Barbarian Horde with “The Battle of Carthage (Alternate)” inserted in
6.    Secrets (2:01)
7.    Busy Little Bee (3:17)
8.    The Trap (6:02)
9.    The Trap (Alternate) (4:16)
10.    Am I Not Merciful? (6:33)
11.    Elysium (2:41)
12.    Honor Him (1:20
13.    Now We Are Free (4:14)
14.    The Rhino Fight (3:51)
15.    Duduk of the North (5:36)
16.    Rome Is The Light (2:46)