Soundtrack Review: The Dark Knight Rises

With the DVD/Blu-ray release of "The Dark Knight Rises"this week, I thought it would be a good time to review the soundtrack. I saw this movie on opening weekend, and was not blown away with it, a good movie but not the best in the trilogy (The Dark Knight set the bar VERY high) but on par with Batman Begins.

As with the previous Batman movies in the Christopher Nolan trilogy the music was scored by Hans Zimmer. I was very impressed with his first two entries and was hopeful for this as well. Zimmer has scored some of the most successful movies in the past fifteen years, including: Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and both Kung-fu Panda movies. His writing is varied but frantic and intense. He did an amazing job with the Kung-Fu Panda series adding an element of fun and rock alongside the traditional Chinese sounds. 

I have a hard time summarizing the work of Zimmer because it is so varied and he has sustained success for such a long time. There are few film composers working today with his recent track record of working on successful movies. Even with box-office success comes a modest amount of awards, including eight Oscar nominations and one win (Lion King). There have been issues with the nomination process for Zimmer in the past, (see: The Dark Knight) but he still puts out quality work that will continue to be recognized by the academy.

I found this article about how some of this sound track came together.

I was hoping for an intense ride and was pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of intense moments but the tracks that were chosen don't seem to follow the music that I remember from the movie. Let's take a look:

Track 1: A Storm is Coming 00:37
Track 2: On Thin Ice 02:55

For simplicity's sake I have combined the first two tracks as TR 1 is only 00:37 in length. The intro hints at an intense second track but that never comes together, it has some structural elements that we will hear throughout the score but none of that rhythmic drive that we are used to hearing (at least not yet). Great sorrowful feeling and you may notice the "The Dark Knight" theme being played but the supporting chords give a feeling of sadness instead of hope. This is a theme in the movie that is played here in the music.


Track 3: Gotham's Reckoning 04:08

This is the sound that I was expecting from the beginning. A simple rhythmic melody helped with light percussion that drives the song forward. This is the first of many uses of chanting throughout the soundtrack. A sudden change happens at 02:34 when the strings just play a rhythm on a polychord to give an almost percussion sound. The trumpet get a brief moment to up the intensity, and immediately the entire ensemble creeps up chromatically and dynamically. We end this track with our chant returning.


Track 4: Mind if I Cut In? 03:28

This track has a nice minimalist feel to it the three note melody that begins at 00:41 gets augmented and added to. The feel of the melody changes completely based on the accompaniment behind it. The track stays slow until, again, the background changes and the intensity gets ramped up for a bit. Then back to simple nice understated track.


Track 5: Underground Army 03:12

The low synth sound creates the drive at the beginning, as we get into the song you will notice the "Dark Knight" theme come in for the first time at 00:21. I felt like this track was disappointing no new themes or techniques used to make the music, seems more like part of the orchestration not the score.


Track 6: Born In Darkness 01:57

"Born" has a nice understated sorrow to it. A new theme is introduced at 00:08 that we will hear again. I was enjoying the contrast but as the song continued I didn't feel as if it lead anywhere.


 Track 7: The Fire Rises 05:34

We have come back to the intense music that I was expecting for more of this soundtrack. I really enjoyed the moment at 00:15 and again at 00:25 the effect was very surprising. The addition of the low brass at 01:18 was fantastic! The swells kept the excitement building all the way to 01:30. We settle down for a bit until 04:11 when the intensity starts to build again, with a new part from the strings and trumpets. We get a half-time feel at 04:56 that drives this song to it's conclusion.


Track 8: Nothing Out There 02:51

We have another nice ballad here, with a great piano solo at 01:32. The piano is playing over the chords introduced in "Born In Darkness"


Track 9: Despair 03:15

Strings begin the pulse reinforced by a synth "wind?" sound. The "Dark Knight" theme appears often in this track but will take a loooong time to resolve (e.g. 01:08-01:30), the theme doesn't seem to "ring" like it usually will at other points in the soundtrack. I think this is a statement that reflects the characters in the movie and the unwillingness of Bruce Wayne to go back to being Batman. The new theme we heard in "Born in Darkness" is here but presented in a heroic manner not the remorseful one we heard earlier (02:27). My download (Google Play) had some trouble at 02:04,02:06 and 3 seconds of static at 02:22-02:25.


Track 10: Fear Will Find You 03:09

Intense, very frantic we hear a shuffle of "Gotham's Reckoning". The "Dark Knight" theme, the "chant", the ascending chromatics, and the trumpet part come at you within the first 45 seconds. The quarter note triplets make an interesting transition to the music that I came out of the theater singing (00:45-01:09). I thought that there would be more of this music and feel throughout the soundtrack. I like the low strings carrying things and if you listen VERY carefully you'll hear the "Dark Knight" theme at 01:38, and a few other times towards the end of the song.


Track 11: Why Do We Fall? 02:03

My first listen to this track I wasn't impressed but listening to it again I don't know why. It starts with low volume and energy and just cranks it up continuously. The "Dark Knight" theme makes it's first grand entrance.


Track 12: Death By Exile 00:24

I don't quite understand why this "song" was included. No melody, no pulse, if they wanted an introduction to the next song, just combine them.


Track 13: Imagine the Fire 07:26

Here we have a completely new song, very little seems to be borrowed from the songs before it. The violins are doing something new to drive the song (it puts me in mind of Mega Man). While the violas and cellos are keeping the pulse. New theme introduced at 01:25 in the horns. The heavy synth in the new section at 02:42, was a nice contrast. The middle part of the song had upload problems again, skipping like a scratched CD. A very subtle addition of the "chant" is back at 04:22. The last section of this song is transitioned to by using the sounds from "A Storm is Coming", I like the lows with the melody again in the last section. They give a nice power and when the high voices come back it really adds to the intensity. A brief quote from the "chant" closes this song.


Track 14: Necessary Evil 03:17

This song restates the theme from "The Fear will Find You" that I feel was played all over the last act of the movie. The legato section is very nice but I don't feel like it went anywhere.


Track 15: Rise 07:16

A very chaotic beginning with the "Dark Knight" theme entering almost immediately. For the first time in this entire soundtrack we hear a female voice at 01:03 singing on a neutral vowel. 03:09 Begins an ascending line that continues for over a minute, representing "Rise" quite well. The feeling of hope is very prominent throughout this song and for the first time resolves into a major chord at 06:31. At 06:36 the "Dark Knight" theme is heard for the final time. I find it very interesting that the entire soundtrack would end in almost silence.


TL;DR

I like this soundtrack the music has a great deal of range and is different from most of the other soundtracks in movies today. However, I don't feel that this album is the movie music "distilled". There was a higher percentage of slow, lyrical moments than were in the movie. The intensity of the movie did not match the CD. Zimmer played on his music from his previous Batman music and took it somewhere unexpected. Was is great? Yes. Was it what I expected? No. Would I buy it again? Not the entire soundtrack but some of the songs.

Interview Intermezzo

Last Saturday (11/10) as I was driving to my in-laws, an interview with John Williams came on NPR. I thought it was very interesting. I thought the most interesting thing he said was that on a good day he finishes one-and-a-half to two minutes on a good day. I had no idea what his pace was, but with his experience and expertise I thought it would be faster (not judging, just saying). Anyway, here's the link: NPR. Enjoy!

"The Hobbit" Preview: Radagast the Brown

Last week io9 posted a short article about the release of a track from the upcoming Hobbit movie. In the time since the video that I watched has been taken down, but here is another.

The song title is "Radagast the Brown". For those not intimately familiar with the LotR cannon, Radagast is the wizard most closely related to nature, he can speak with birds and small woodland creatures. He is a close ally to Gandalf and is thought of VERY poorly by Saruman.

This song along with all LotR music so far is written by Howard Shore. I have so far been a fan of the music for the series, and after a few (dozen) listens to this track it sounds like more of the same, in a good way. He has previously won Oscars for the LotR: Return of the King soundtrack and original song. He was nominated again last year for his work on the animated film "Hugo". Howard Shore has won numerous ASCAP awards including the prestigious Henry Mancini Award in 2004.

This song can easily be broken down into four main parts:
Beginning to 00:51 - introduction
00:51 to 02:04 - A Section
02:04 to 03:40 - B Section
03:40 to 04:53 - Recap of A

Introduction

As the song opens I'm put in mind of a fade in from black with a swooping crane shot, before the (elvish) choir enters. I love the perfect intervals by the vocalists at 00:28 and 00:48. With the french horns and euphoniums behind the choir the music implies a safe, familiar feeling but not joyous. When the strings enter at 00:38 they are not conveying a good emotion, and they set up the transition to the A section by beginning the rhythmic drive that permeates the rest of the track.

A Section

This is where the song picks up the pace and intensity. The main drive are the percussion instruments with the melody being carried by the violin in a very fiddle-like fashion. The song at this point switched to a triple meter (6/8, 9/8 or I believe 12/8) with a 2/4 measure thrown in occasionally to keep you on your toes. At 01:13 the section introduces a 2/4 (4/4?)lyrical layer which will have the 12/8 percussion playing behind, almost like a chase. In fact my first impression of this song was that of a chase (de Meij Gandalf anyone?). Here we are reintroduced to the strings playing the arpeggios that we heard at the end of the introduction.

B Section

When I first listened to this song I had to go back and listen to the entrance at 02:04 over and over again. I couldn't believe my ears! I thought that the entrance was awful, and as I listen to it more and more I have accepted it as intentional and not a mistake, but I still don't like it (a professional musician infinitely more talented than I, may make mistakes, but not ones that I'll notice). The bass drum sounds late. It was very distracting to me, the band director who spends most of his time working entrances and cut-offs.

This section is transitioned to by the string section, but belongs to the double reeds. The first notes you hear is the oboe playing a very familiar sounding theme, it reminded me of the "Ring" theme from the first trilogy. That could be because of the strings in the background more than the double reed. After the bass interlude at around 03:12 , we get the oboe beginning a theme and the bassoon picking it up in the lower register. Afterwards the English horn gets a chance to shine, if only briefly.

A Section Recapitulation

This section wraps up the track nicely, between adding the choir back in and having the brass section add their part back from the introduction. The violin restates it's fiddle theme with a little variation. The moment that sticks out to me is the piccolo solo at 04:36, I believe that it will represent a specific bird.

TL;DR

This piece of music is standard LotR Shore. He does a wonderful job of setting the mood, and location of the scene. He can keep your interest in many different ways and will use anything and everything at his disposal to get the feeling that he wants. I am very much looking forward to hearing this played in theaters.

Big Screen Review: Wreck-it Ralph

I'm not going to lie, my wife and I were looking forward to seeing this movie with our 3-year old. Since I was having trouble finding time to watch a newly relevant old movie(e.g. re-release of Blade Runner on Blu-ray), I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for the first post.

The original music in this movie was written by Henry Jackman a man whose work I am not familiar with at all. As I look through his credits I can see why, he is new(ish) to the scene, and the movies that he has written for (Kick-Ass, Gulliver Travels, X-Men: First Class) I have not seen. He has made the jump to movie scoring with an assist from Hans Zimmer, after leading with his synthesizer work on some of the more popular movies and scores of the last decade.

As an old-school gamer I was looking forward to this movie for the visual, and hopefully musical references. I did my best to stay focused on the music, however the movie did a nice job of drawing me in. To that end I never really noticed the music, which could have been the goal. There were many moments when I thought that there should have been music where there wasn't, such as any time there was sadness on the part of the main character. (As I think about it this is not unusual in childrens' movies, think Toy Story). Toy Story did use minimal scoring during those moments, but Ralph seemed to use none. This is very indicative of another composer which worked on The Dark Knight with Zimmer, James Newton Howard. Howard does a nice job of knowing when to not write something. I think that Jackman was playing on this as well.

The music that was prominent was very well done and quite appropriate. The real-life game Halo was the obvious inspiration for the in-movie game Hero's Duty and the music plays that part very well. However, the "kiddie go-kart game" Sugar Rush (inspired by Mario Kart?) did not have any memorable melodies for the emotional moments or the exciting moments. Any music that was there did not have any musical ties to one another.

Overall, the score was too sparse but well written. Nothing exceptional, nothing to take you out of the experience of the movie. There was nothing musical to keep you in the movie either.

Quality of Music 1.5/2.5

Appropriateness of Music 2.0/2.5

Musical Moments 1.5/2.5

Purchasing Power 1.0/2.5

Total 6.0/10