A brief prefatory note: I've noticed that some of these have become mini-reviews. So don't be surprised if some of the material is included in the full reviews (assuming I actually write any, since so far, Wallace and Gromit is the only one).
Batman Begins/The Dark Knight-Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
I'm not the biggest fan of these scores--as far as music for The World's Greatest Detective goes, I prefer Elfman, Walker, and Goldenthal. For me, the most enjoyable part of these scores include the quieter, more emotional material and Harvey Dent's theme. The music for the Joker is effective, if not as revolutionary as some think. But the first film does feature a power anthem heard in the track "Molossus" and plays in the film when Bruce Wayne is escaping from the League of Shadows fortress and again at the film's climax. Puzzlingly, this theme is not heard in The Dark Knight in full, though the underlying chords are heard in the track "Like a Dog Chasing Cars." Because, as we all know, Batman doesn't need a theme! Simplistic droning and endlessly repeating minor thirds perfectly express the complexity of Batman's character, especially since it sounds so much like the music of every Jerry Bruckheimer action film ever made.
Pearl Harbor-Hans Zimmer
For this film, which drew raves for Ben Affleck's subtle, nuanced, and powerful Brando-esque performance, Zimmer wrote a slight love theme and lots of other unsubstantial material. The CD contained almost no action material, except for the track "War," which is an admittedly rousing piece with some particularly fine string churning about two-thirds of the way through. But the true power anthem in this score is in the unreleased cue following the attack when Affleck and Hartnett go all macho and dogfight with the Japanese planes. The theme here is more than a little similar to one in Gladiator (see below) and, thus, the "He's a Pirate." You can listen to it on Youtube here, though there are unfortunately machine gun and plane sound effects.
Gladiator-Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard, Klaus Badelt
About halfway into the "Battle" cue (underscoring the opening skirmish), we hear a figure that seems to have directly influenced the "He's a Pirate" theme. I tried typing several statements comparing the two that didn't sound like I was typing out of my ass (which I am), but since I have no formal musical training, I gave up. Sorry. Suffice to say, the two are very structurally and melodically similar. The track also opens up with a simpler yet still muscular theme for Maximus.
Pirates of the Caribbean-Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt, Henry Jackman, about a dozen more
Wonder why the Pirates of the Caribbean films have so many themes? One of the reasons is probably because so many composers worked on it. Besides the "He's a Pirate" theme, there's a quirky string dance, a grander theme for Jack's entrance, a Black Pearl motif, a "rocking" theme for the undead pirates ("rocking" in more ways than one--it's very similar to the theme for Hummel in The Rock), and several action themes (one of them based on a theme from Drop Zone). And that's just the first film--the next two films offer a ridiculous (yet fun) theme for the Kraken, an expansion on the string dance that is transformed into Jack Sparrow's theme, Davy Jones's music box/organ theme, a tune for Tia Dalma, a sweeping three-part love theme for Will and Elizabeth, themes for Sao Feng and Beckett, and the "Hoist the Colours" chant. There are themes for Blackbeard, mermaids, and the Fountain of Youth in the fourth movie, but I honestly can't recall them. The problem is that the themes in the first film sound similar and tend to run together, and the second film doesn't use its themes enough. Yet the third film, along with Last Samurai, has one of the best scores Zimmer has done since 1998.
Drop Zone-Hans Zimmer and Nick Glennie-Smith
This score is completely synthesized and performed by Zimmer and Glennie-Smith. It attempts to emulate the sound of an orchestra, which makes it sound a little dated. But the cleverly titled "Too Many Notes, Not Enough Rests" contains a theme that would find its way into Pirates of the Caribbean. It features prominently in the suite "Pirates, Day One 4:56 AM" that Zimmer composed before handing scoring duties to Klaus Badelt and others.
Broken Arrow-Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams
John Travolta hams it up as a villain in this John Woo film, and Zimmer and Gregson-Williams provide swaggering accompaniment. One tension-building theme is adapted from (and credited to) Randy Edelman, but original themes include a rising theme for the hero, a cool guitar lick that turns into a massive anthem for Travolta's character, and an exciting action anthem that again sounds like it could be an inspiration for the "He's a Pirate" theme. The music for the final battle of the film ("Hammerhead" on La-La-Land Records' expanded CD) is a nonstop adrenaline blast.
Backdraft-Hans Zimmer
This score was written in the ancient days of 1991, but it is still arguably one of Zimmer's most effective, benefiting from the talents of orchestrator and conductor Shirley Walker. Some of its music was famously used in the TV show Iron Chef, setting the precedent for scoring cooking competitions and reality shows with ridiculous, laughably over-the-top dramatic music. The score features an anticipatory ostinato that would influence many other MV/RC scores, and the triumphant "Show Me Your Firetruck" cue that is either one of the most inspiring or most hokey tunes you will ever hear. I imagine this is the sort of music that would pump athletes up before a big game (or a little one, as the case may be.)
Crimson Tide-Hans Zimmer
This score for Tony Scott's entertaining thriller features the ultimate power anthem in the cue "Roll Tide." A solo trumpet leads into the anthem played softly on real and synthesized brass and strings. It repeats and gets louder and louder, and just when it seems like it has reached its peak, three massive percussion hits precede a gargantuan statement of the theme This leads into a blood-pumping ten-note ostinato on low strings and then a brassy bridge before simmering down. And would you believe that the scene in question (the ending of the film; the aforementioned three percussion hits mark the final cut to black and the text epilogue) is not a macho march or slow-motion action scene, but merely Denzel Washington watching Gene Hackman walking away with his dog? Nonetheless, this is probably the definitive example of this type of music.
The Peacemaker-Hans Zimmer
This ballsy action score is like Crimson Tide on steroids (apart from the main anthem, most of the score to Crimson Tide is relatively low-key.) Although it contains a neat theme for Sarajevo and various other thematic material, most of the action material can be summed up in the 17-minute cue "The Chase," one of the most exhilarating pieces of music Zimmer has ever written (even though consists of a few cues edited together). The main theme appears in full in the last two minutes of the cue, and is actually the end credits. It resembles the theme from Crimson Tide more than a little, especially with the low string ostinato, which here rises steadily instead of going up and down. It ends with a march-like horn tune that builds before rhythmic strings fade out. Again, the combination of orchestra and synth is remarkably potent, and this 1997 score would be Zimmer's last effective use of this style of scoring.
The Rock-Nick Glennie-Smith, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams
Zimmer wrote the title theme for Michael Bay's best film (unless Armageddon and The Island, which I haven't seen, are better), a slow, melancholy march that plays much the same way in the scene where (MILD SPOILER ALERT) Michael Biehn dies yet again, along with his crew (END OF SPOILER). The theme can also conveys a more adventurous tone when played faster (Sherlock observed perceptively). Glennie-Smith and Gregson-Williams provide a plethora of additional themes. Besides a guitar-based love theme and a flute theme for Sean Connery (reprised in power anthem mode in "Mason's Walk") there is a swashbuckling theme for Nicolas Cage's exploits that opens the end credits (similar to, yes, "He's a Pirate") and an angular theme for Ed Harris (Hummel) and his troops (part of which is similar to another Pirates of the Caribbean theme played when Elizabeth first encounters the pirates in their undead form). Gregson-Williams also provides some themes in the San Francisco car chase that appear again in the final fight scenes, one that uses more repeated notes and one that is slightly more lyrical. Like the film itself, the score is not terribly original (though certainly more original than certain score that would follow), but it's one of the most entertaining scores of its kind.
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