Soundtrack Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

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This is a review of the motion picture score Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End by Hans Zimmer.

“Finally there is something more than pure schlock entertainment value to a POTC score”

“Whoop-dee-doo, another underachieving Pirates score,” I thought before entering the third film (my reviews on the other scores should explain this rationale).  So of course one can imagine my surprise when I found the score to be rich, new-sounding, and thoroughly entertaining, and I trust most in the same boat as me on the first two scores would agree.  Us critics of the saga’s lack of swashbuckling found joy in Zimmer’s new swashbuckling themes and expanded themes, and for a whale of surprise the man deserves some hear-hears, hizzahs, and other seafaring commendations.

Shock

The first shock was a new main theme for the score.  The second shock is that it is at once romantic (“At Wit’s End”, “One Day”), noble (the oboe solo in “I See Dead People in Boats”), and jaunty (“I Don’t Think Now Is The Best Time”, “Drink Up, Me Hearties”, “Up Is Down”).  Even a guitar solo on it in “Parlay” sounds great, mainly due to its Morricone influence and more appropriate sound than anything from DMC. Aiding this newfound pirate sensibility is the Hoist the Colours anthem,  which transcends the expected “oh hell, not another Media Ventures power anthem” criticism by whipping grand horns, raucous yo-ho shouts, and playful instrumental uses (accordian in “Shipwreck Cove, off-kilter guitar in “The Brethren Court”) together with enough shameless heroism to have you humming it for days, especially if you overdose on the closing “Hoist the Colours Suite” or its action interpretations in the final battle.  It may not be Korngold, but it’s also pretty far away from “The Rock”.

Orchestral Presence

Perhaps a bigger surprise than the swashbuckling would be Zimmer increasing the orchestral presence at the expense of unnecessary synthetics and electronics, allowing for a bigger pallete to produce some of his strongest thematic expansion ever.  Cream of the crop is the altered rhythm and staccato feel given to the main theme from the original film in “I Don’t Think Now Is The Best Time”.  It finally entertains at a level beyond its standard Media Ventures sensibilities (horn trills and orchestration, oh my!), is heavily appropriate for the high seas, and is the undoubted action highlight of the trilogy.  More playful interpretations are given to the Black Pearl theme, the playful cello theme form the original film, and Jack’s DMC theme, the latter turned deliriously weird by warped electronic plucking and conjuring up images of a comic post-apocalyptic desert (I hope that makes sense).  Also of note is the brief yet awe-inspiring choral work on Tia Dalma’s theme in “Calypso” and the maelstrom battle,

The richer musical environment that Zimmer, as well as orchestrator Stephen Bartos (normally a Danny Elfman collaborator) provide also allows for some memorable and well-constructed themes.  The new love theme is a welcome break from the original’s bore; the sweeping approach flows like nothing else I can recall by the composer, and its weaving with the new main theme in the film’s closing is a superb demonstration of counterpoint. Sao Feng’s music boasts an impressively tailored ethnic presence with erhu, ethnic flute, and fun action rhythms in Singapore, even if the theme isn’t particularly strong.  Beckett’s theme from DMC, which suffered from being poorly applied, is now turned into a propulsive device that provides fine suspense in “Deal With Beckett”, though I applaud the new descending motif that better hits on the militaristic menace of the character. Yet best may be the end of the world theme performed in “At Wit’s End” by an other-worldly duet for two female voices, a refreshingly new sound for the composer.

Conclusion

But the raving isn’t done yet folks, for there’s action music to be had!  The aforementioned sample of “I Don’t Think Now Is The Best Time” is surrounded by the best rendition of Jack’s action theme, a choral take on the B theme for Hoist the Colours, and wicked Goldenthalian horn trills, highlighting a superbly energetic 23 minute action bombardment for the final battle.  Also a keeper is “Up Is Down” and its surprising amount of orchestra, with playful fiddle, whirling flute, and slurring horns making the piece an addictive joy.  Bouncing, fresh, and piratey, it’s nice to see what Zimmer can pull off with his action music when he’s not hammering out the dramatic seriousness of everything.  Mind you, this isn’t a perfect score. Zimmer rips both his rising 3-note motif from Crimson Tide/The Last Samurai and (more blatantly) string lines from King Arthur while a typical dark choral mourning overshadows Beckett’s demise.  But so much of the score is an unsupsected high point for Zimmer with regards to orchestration, emotion, and thrills.  Finally there is something more than pure schlock entertainment value to a POTC score, and to that I raise my hat for the composer’s finest effort in years.

Album Situation:  The commercial album hits on most of the highlights.  No high-quality bootleg exists but some versions with minimal sfx can be found containing the rest of the final battle, the full version of “Singapore”, etc.
Best Album: 2-Disc Partial DVD Rip

Original Album (55:45)
1. Hoist the Colours (1:31)
2. Singapore (3:40)
3. At Wit’s End (8:05)
4. Multiple Jacks (3:51)
5. Up is Down (2:42)
6. I See Dead People in Boats (7:09)
7. The Brethren Court (2:21)
8. Parlay (2:10)
9. Calypso (3:02)
10. What Shall We Die For (2:02)
11. I Don’t Think Now is the Best Time (10:45)
12. One Day (4:01)
13. Drink Up Me Hearties (4:31)

2-Disc Partial DVD Rip (110:00)
Disc 1
1.    Hoist the Colours (1:31)
2.    Singapore (9:00) sfx
3.    Singapore (Alternate) (2:47) – first 2:47 of commercial #2
4.    At Wit’s End (8:06)
5.    Order for Davy Jones (2:58) sfx
6.    Multiple Jacks (3:52)
7.    At World’s End (3:36) sfx – features rest of commercial #2
8.    I See Dead People in Boats (5:04) – first 5:04 of commercial #6
9.    Up Is Down (2:42)
10.    Pintel & Ragetti, Kraken Slayers (4:50) sfx
11.    Deal With Beckett (6:50) sfx
12.    Sao Feng’s Death (3:08) sfx
13.    Choosing a Side (2:07) – rest of commercial #6
Disc 2
1.    Shipwreck Cove (3:22) sfx
2.    The Brethren Court (2:21)
3.    Parlay (2:10)
4.    Calypso (3:03)
5.    What Shall We Die For (2:03)
6.    Maelstrom (5:42) sfx
7.    I Don’t Think Now Is The Best Time (5:01) – 5:00-10:01 of commercial #11
8.    Escape From The Flying Dutchman (7:49) sfx
9.    Honoring the Agreement (5:00) – first 5:00 of commercial #11
10.    Victory (1:36) – First 1:36 of commercial #12
11.    Goodbye, Poppet (2:08) sfx
12.    One Day (2:30) rest of commercial #12
13.    The Pearl is Gone (1:09) sfx
14.    Drink Up Me Hearties/Hoist the Colours Suite (9:45)

Listen to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End by Hans Zimmer below:

Other articles of interest:

• Soundtrack Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
• Soundtrack Review: Frost/Nixon (2008)
• Soundtrack Review: Forfeit (2008)
• Giving An Action Classic Its Due: Another Take On The Rock
• Soundtrack Review: The Rock (1996)

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