Ranking the X-Men Film Scores

As far as superhero films go, it has become sadly accepted that there will be no musical continuity between films—it’s become the exception rather than the rule. It’s understandable that reboots like The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Man of Steel, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman would have different scores from the originals (though coincidentally, I didn’t really enjoy the scores from any of these films, especially compared to their predecessors.) Iron Man went from Ramin Djawadi to John Debney to Brian Tyler, with the last two being vastly superior scores to the first, so maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Nolan’s Batman lost James Newton Howard for the last installment, to its detriment. Thor is going from Patrick Doyle to Brian Tyler and Captain America from Alan Silvestri to Henry Jackman. Perhaps most inexplicable of all, The Amazing Spider-Man is ditching James Horner for Hans Zimmer. And if rumor has it, Tyler may be replacing Silvestri for Avengers: Age of Ultron (or it could be puffery; the original Captain America was rumored to be scored by Michael Giacchino or John Powell at one point). These frustrations are another topic, but the X-Men films were ahead of the curve in that all six were scored by different composers. It has taken seven films for a composer to score two X-Men films with John Ottman slated for X-Men: Days of Future Past. 

With the recent release of The Wolverine, I decided to do a personal ranking of the X-Men film scores. I do not have Marco Beltrami’s score to The Wolverine on CD and only heard it in the film, but there would have to be some pretty epic unused material for me to change its ranking on here.

6. X2: X-Men United (John Ottman)

Ottman’s theme is catchy and rousing, even if the rhythm recalls Henry Mancini’s Lifeforce and the melody is a sped-up variation of Danny Elfman’s Batman. But whenever I listen to the score, I find my mind wandering; most of it sounds like orchestral mush. Things happen and melodic fragments drift here and there, but there’s no discernible structure and the melodies are nebulous and unmemorable. There are apparently themes for Magneto, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler,  Mystique,  and Pyro according to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, but I can’t recall any of them. There’s nothing offensive about the music, but even the main theme doesn’t appear much in the body of the score. The “Suite from X2” contains the best statement of the theme, but only the first 90 seconds and last minute are interesting, with five minutes of noodling in between. One moment I do like is the part is near the end of the film when Xavier, using Cerebro, targets every non-mutant on Earth, and there is an effective, creepy use of pipe organ. But other than that, I don’t really enjoy this score that much.

5. The Wolverine (Marco Beltrami)

Again, I don’t have this score on CD, but I did hear it in the film. I didn’t really pick up on a theme (though from what I’ve read from other reviews, there isn’t really one). It definitely supports the film, but nothing really stood out, apart from sparse use of harmonica in some of the early scenes. Music for the quiet/tender scenes is understated, and the action music is very brutal and somewhat complex—sort of a messier, less structured (and less interesting) version of Elfman’s modern action music. It wasn’t really a theme, but I did like the cue that played during the first part of the end credits (before the extra scene); it really stood out from the rest of the score in a good way. Which was probably why it was in the end credits, but that’s another topic.

4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Harry Gregson-Williams)

This isn’t at the absolute top of HGW’s body of scores. Much of the action cues are ostinato based but, as he often does, HGW makes good use of the choir, with some powerful writing in “The Towers Collapse.” “Agent Zero Comes For Logan” is also a pulse-pounding action cue with electric guitars. “Wade Goes To Work” is the most “modern” sounding cue, with percussive electronics and a backbeat, sort of a toned down version of some of the composer’s Metal Gear Solid material. The best part of the score is a great theme for Logan, introduced in “Logan Through Time,” which plays under the title sequence and is perhaps the best track. HGW’s distinctive choral work melds with the theme, which gets two full plays. It appears again at the beginning of “Adamantium” and gets a charged, final playing in “I’ll Find My Own Way” over ascending string ostinatos. The theme does an admirable job portraying Logan’s stoic loneliness and restrained emotion. There’s also a lovely theme for Kayla Silverfox best heard in “Kayla.” HGW has always been good at these tender themes, heard in the quieter moments of scores like Man on Fire, Spy Game, Veronica Guerin, and the first two Narnia films. Unfortunately, the score also contains a fair amount of droning, filler material. Nevertheless, the themes and action are worth listening to.

3. X-Men (Michael K-Men)

I don’t know the full story behind this score, but I do know that director Bryan Singer only chose Kamen because his regular composer (and editor) John Ottman wasn’t available. I also know that Klaus Badelt overlaid a lot of electronic material over Kamen’s score. I won’t use the term “electronic junk” because some of it actually works fine, particularly in the first part of the end credits and “X-Jet”. Because of these factors, the score probably isn’t quite as good as Kamen was capable of, but it is still a worthy effort. Much of it is low-key, but Kamen does have a very good, simple main theme and an unsettling, slithering motif for Mystique. Kamen fans will definitely recognize his delightful style in “Mutant School,” and a heartfelt theme for oboe in “Logan and Rogue” that he also used for Mr. Holland’s Opus. There’s a yeaning adagio in “Concentration Camp” (reused for the opening of First Class) and exciting action music for the climax of the film. The best statement and expansion of the main theme can be heard during the final scene and first few minutes of the end credits (also heard in abbreviated form in “X-Jet.”) The sparse use of the main theme, subtle nature of many of the cues, and electronic overlays may be a turn-off to some, but there are also undeniable highlights that make one wonder what Kamen would have achieved had he done X2.

2. X-Men: First Class (Henry Jackman)

If you watch the documentary on the Blu-ray, you can see a segment on the score where Jackman explains that his original approach was much more orchestral and full-bodied. Furthermore, the theme for Magneto seems simple because it was originally the bass line for a much more elaborate, James Bond-style theme for the character. Stripped-down as the final score is, it is still highly effective, with a great main theme for the X-Men and a simple, badass theme for Magneto with reams of electrifying action music. Shaw’s motif is similar to Magneto’s, heard in cues like “Sub Lift.” More tender music can be found for Mystique in tracks like “Would You Date Me,” and “To Beast Or Not To Beast.” Magneto’s guitar theme highlights brutal cues such as “Not That Sort Of Bank” and “Frankenstein’s Monster.” Guitar backs the main theme in “X-Training” and the introduction to the New Mutants Division and is given a Russian flavor in the aptly named “Mobilize for Russia.” “Rage and Serenity” features the theme at its emotional height as Erik learns how to harness his power and use it to its fullest extent.

Electronics are also deftly incorporated into the numerous thrilling action cues, from the boat fight and “Rise Up To Rule” to the lengthy final battle. Only half of the music for the final battle (or less) is available on CD, but can be heard on the Blu-ray’s isolated score, including fast-paced, adventurous variations on the main theme, the triumphant “Sub Lift,” dramatic renditions of Magneto’s theme for Shaw’s demise, frantic action for Erik’s final attack, and an adagio of sorts for Charles’s and Erik’s parting of ways. “Magneto” and “First Class” present final, full arrangements of the themes for the end credits. Jackman’s score is always interesting and composed with a sense of class (sorry) made even more impressive by the fact that the building blocks of the score are so simple. I would have loved to hear what he would have done had Vaughn directed Days of Future Past.

1. X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)

Powell wrote the best X-Men score for the worst X-Men film, an apocalyptic, raging work filled with relentless action and awesome wonder. It has to be said, before I start the raving, that there are some dull, dead spots in the early part of the score, especially before Xavier’s death. But from then on, it’s pretty much an endless action symphony. Powell wrote four primary themes for the film, each different yet able to exist with each other. The main theme builds off of Ottman’s (which in turn was built off of Kamen’s) and the first phrase bears some resemblance in shape to John Barry’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, but not too much. There is a jubilant, soaring theme with two distinct phrases that can be attributed to either Angel or the mutant cure. There is a menacing theme for Magneto often played on brass. And finally there is Phoenix’s theme, a vaguely exotic sounding tune that is accompanied by a women’s choir during its most raging statements. Though much of the score is action, there are effective quieter bits, found in “Angel’s Cure,” “X Funeral,” and “Skating and Rogue Leaves.”

But much of the score, especially in its boisterous latter half, showcases, Powell’s penchant for writing complex, rambunctious, almost out-of-control action music. For instance, witness the flutes 30 seconds before the end of “The Death of X” (there’s similar music in “The Phoenix Arises,” but it’s harder to hear because on top of all that orchestral craziness, there’s a chanting female choir as well.) The 20 minutes from “Building Bridges” to “The Phoenix Arises” is a non-stop maelstrom of orchestral frenzy. About 3-4 minutes or so of this is cut from the CD and in truth a bit of fatigue can set in; there is one phrase based on a shortened version of the main theme that plays just a bit too often in the complete score. But once Phoenix/Jean Grey starts disintegrating everybody, the aforementioned female choir enters and Powell has your full attention again. The album version statement of the title theme (almost identical to the end credit version) uses a rhythm from John Williams’s Superman score, while the more interesting film version draws upon Danny Elfman’s Spider-Man, with its swirling strings along with Powell’s own great use of bass strings and brass. One of the few prominent uses of electronics is the final statement of Phoenix’s theme in the end credits. The score can be slow during the first half and exhausting during the second, but it’s undoubtedly a stellar achievement as yet unmatched in the X-Men cinematic universe.

The Future

John Ottman is set to write the score for X-Men: Days of Future Past. As X2 is my least favorite X-Men score, I’m not too wildly keen on it, but Ottman may surprise me. I will say that superhero scores don’t seem to be Ottman’s forte; his scores for X2, Superman Returns, and the two Fantastic Four films were all underwhelming. On the positive side, I did like his score for Astro Boy, and his work for Jack the Giant Slayer, while not great, proves that Ottman has shown some improvement in the fantasy-adventure genre. I know he probably won’t do this, but I would like him to expand on Jackman’s highly effective Magneto theme from First Class because for the life of me I can’t remember what Ottman himself wrote for the character—and I just finished listening to X2! And I suppose a pleasant surprise from Ottman would be better than a disappointment from Powell or Jackman, but for now, my expectations remain tempered.

See also Ranking the X-Men Films

Koji Kondo

Koji Kondo is the most influential and one of the most talented composers for video games. His addictive, hummable, yet surprisingly complex tunes for games in the legendary Mario and Legend of Zelda series are known worldwide. Kondo worked on sound design and music for many early Nintendo games and actively composed full scores from the NES era to the N64 era. He provided the sound effects for Star Fox and co-composed the music for Star Fox 64 with Hajime Wakai. He wrote full scores in a range of musical styles for the primary games in the Mario and Zelda series up to Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. After these games, he did provide musical pieces to further entries in the series, but transitioned more to the role of supervisor for Nintendo's sound division. Although much of his most popular music is synthesized and he is not classically trained, Kondo has a clear talent for melody and composition. His tunes are engaging enough to stand alongside  the best of orchestral music for media. His various tunes call to mind moods and settings from underwater sailing and exotic climates to creepy dungeons and questing adventure--many of them in 8 bit! In terms of setting up atmosphere and setting in a gaming world while still providing catchy, melodic hooks, Kondo has no peer.

Super Mario 64**

On Non-Film Music Matters

To the two people reading this blog:

Hopefully I will find time to write more stuff here. But for writings unrelated to soundtracks (mainly films, theme parks, and maybe literature) I have started a new blog.

The pointless ramblings continue! Enjoy.

http://mantismiscellany.blogspot.com

Iron Man 3, Hans Zimmer, and Melodic Themes in Modern Film Music

(Unorganized Bloated Ponderings)

Musical elitism is not a particularly attractive trait, yet I must admit in my early days as a film score fan, I exhibited it to some degree (notwithstanding the fact that I rarely vocalized my thoughts on the subject in any form, spoken, written, or otherwise). Any film music that had any hint of rock or pop elements I dismissed as lowest common denominator pap. My gradual appreciation of these elements, if done effectively, came slowly (Danny Elfman’s “Costume Montage” from Spider-Man was an early favorite).

Despite my increasing admiration for more musical styles, the rich, melodic orchestral idiom popularized by John Williams remains my decided favorite. Lush, memorable melodies bolstered by sweeping, complex counterpoint and clever harmonies—this is the kind of music that most touches, excites, and even enlightens me. Unfortunately, this style of scoring has fallen out of favor with many filmmakers, both talented and untalented. There are still composers who write great melodies and who have impeccable ears for orchestral color and thematic development—Giacchino, Elfman, Silvestri, and (of course) Williams are a few. But good melodies seem to be harder to find these days.

I will admit that when I heard the theme to Iron Man 3, by Brian Tyler, I loved it. The word ”epic” is criminally overused these days, but the theme does impart a sense of large-scale glory that I find invigorating. When one looks closer, however, one realizes that the theme isn’t too different from some of the others Tyler has written previously. Not only that, but it’s rather simple, with basic harmonies and little counterpoint and complexity. This puts the theme in “power anthem” territory.

Which brings us, as it always seems to these days, to Hans Zimmer. Zimmer’s music is far from complex, yet lots of people find it effective—probably more because of its similarity to rock and pop music than anything else. Is Tyler’s Iron Man 3 theme, then, little more than a modified Zimmer melody? I’m not a musicologist or composer, so I can’t tell whether there are compositional differences between Tyler’s theme and the common, garden-variety Zimmer anthem. What I do know is that I enjoy it, just like I enjoy many of Zimmer’s early (up to 1998) scores.

While Tyler is not quite one up on my list of the top 10 film composers working today, I still prefer him to Zimmer post-1998. This might be blasphemous, since so much of Tyler’s current style owes a debt to Zimmer. But I do think Tyler has adapted that power anthem style well, and Zimmer’s last really good power anthem was in The Peacemaker in 1997.

In fact, Tyler’s simplified style of writing these days (exemplified by scores such as Battle: Los Angeles, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, The Expendables, and Transformers: Prime) resembles a path Zimmer might have taken after 1998 and his wondrous scores to The Prince of Egypt and The Thin Red Line. And I must say I may have been happier with his music had he taken a similar direction—Tyler’s more modern music does have moments of complexity not found in most Zimmer scores, but Zimmer in fact ended up going the opposite direction. He began focusing more on creating “new” sounds, though in honesty I don’t find them all that new or refreshing, and worse, the actual music began to suffer as a byproduct. I understand Zimmer’s decision to move on from his older style, but it’s the case of a film composer merely doing something different (not better) in lieu of actual growth and development; James Horner is another example. All this is my opinion, of course. And I have churned up more words regarding Zimmer than most other composers, so that’s something.

Anyway, the fact that I liked Tyler’s theme so much when it is so simple made me wonder if it was just because there are so few good melodies in film music today. That may be part of the story, but there are plenty of other recent scores with melodies I’ve liked: John Carter, War Horse, Super 8, Captain America, Alice in Wonderland, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass, Dream House, Harry Gregson-Williams’s melody for Prometheus, etc. And it’s not just the case of me going nuts over any old melody, as I’ve been underwhelmed by tunes from scores like Jack the Giant Slayer, Mars Needs Moms, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Croods, and The Amazing Spider-Man (though with the exception of the last, I did enjoy these scores—at least they had melodies!) But it’s clear that relatively speaking, these melodic scores are sparse, outnumbered by countless drone scores now in vogue—including the score for the first Iron Man!

A bit of a tangent: It’s a microcosm within a microcosm, but the scores for the Iron Man films have certainly gotten better. I am not slamming John Debney’s great score to Iron Man 2 at all, but hearing that wonderful melody he wrote in the track “I Am Iron Man” get used only once, and almost buried by sound effects (when Iron Man suits up in the Monaco race scene) was painful. And the full “I Am Iron Man” version itself never appeared in the film—not even in the end credits! (Shades of Alan Silvestri’s score for GI Joe: Rise of Cobra). I haven’t seen Iron Man 3 as of this posting, so I have yet to hear whether the score is audible in the film. But at least the filmmakers allowed Tyler to actually use and develop his theme as heard on the album. And the less said about the first film’s score, the better.

Tyler has shown with his score to LEGO Universe that he can still write in that robust, adventurous style that he established in early scores like Children of Dune, Darkness Falls, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, and Eagle Eye. Perhaps it is Tyler’s background with writing this kind of music that has allowed him to imbue Iron Man 3 with unidentifiable or subtle musical elements that allow the score to connect with me more than the average MV/RC score. Or I could be typing out of my posterior. If someone had told me that Zimmer wrote the score to Iron Man 3, I might have believed it. But more importantly, I still would have liked it, and hope that this would represent a style that Zimmer would continue to explore (and develop) in future scores.

Ultimately, it’s all about what’s effective to each listener. But this “essay” is an attempt for me to find out why I like something, especially when it doesn’t fit into the more lush, complex (but still accessible) style that I like and is more similar to the more simplistic music that I find, for the most part, less appealing. Maybe my musical elitism (if I ever had it) is being chipped away. Or maybe not; I still find the scores to Christopher Nolan’s Batman films terribly pedestrian (aside from some tender moments in the first two scores and, to a lesser extent, the Joker “theme”). And I can’t really be accused of being a musical elitist when I‘m a fan of film music, the “bastard child” of classical music (the little classical music I own, mostly Mahler and Beethoven, I love, and I do realize I need to hear more). In any case, I clearly haven’t been successful, and maybe that’s how it should be. Over-analyzing something you like can kill your appreciation for it, but that doesn’t preclude analysis period. However, it doesn’t take much to discern that this piece is far from analysis, and more like scatterbrained observations. One thing is certain, however: Despite listening to more than two dozen of Tyler’s scores, Iron Man 3 will be the first Tyler-scored film I’ll see (and the first I’ve wanted to see.)

Wendy Carlos

Nowadays, any old fool with a computer can find decent sounding samples and whip up some electronic music. (And dare I say there are a few prominent film composers with very expensive equipment creating music at the same level as these fools). But it was much harder in the mid-'60s, and composer Wendy Carlos was at the forefront of the electronic music revolution. She collaborated with Robert Moog in pioneering the brave new world of synthesized music. However, Carlos was no mere technician playing with toys. She was a classically trained musician, with a deep knowledge and understanding of music theory and classical works. Not only has she reworked and deconstructed pieces by composers like Bach and Beethoven, she has also developed musical scales she names the Harmonic, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Her solo works are legion, but she also composed music for three prominent films. Two of them were for Stanley Kubrick: A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, though the latter film didn't use a lot of her music. Her score for Disney's Tron is one of the best works of electronic/orchestral/choral music that I've heard. Not only is her use of synthesizers unique even to this day, but also she clearly knows her way around the orchestra. In some ways, her fusion of all these elements has yet to be surpassed. Her site (www.wendycarlos.com) contains much more information, with articulate essays by the composer on her works and other interests, which range from solar eclipses and maps to color and art.

Tron

Best Scores of 2012

Even though it’s a month into 2012 and I haven’t written a post in forever, I thought it would be prudent to write up what I thought were the best scores of 2012. Absolutely no one has thought of doing anything remotely similar to this, so I’ll take a moment and bask in the illustrious light of my ingenuity.

Anyway, this was an OK year for scores, though only one I thought was worthy of two asterisks (the best of the best), with five more earning one asterisk (almost the best).  All in all, I listened to 29 soundtracks and found at least some merit in all of them. However, I did see some films that I did not get the scores too because they sounded downright abysmal.

A few brief notes about some scores that didn’t make the cut. I might be becoming one of Henry Jackman’s biggest fans, but Man on a Ledge was disappointing, aside from the somewhat engaging final cue. I actually enjoyed Jackman’s score to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter a bit more than I expected, though it’s not one of his best. Harry Gregson-Williams’s Total Recall was of course nothing compared to Jerry Goldsmith’s masterpiece score for the original, though it had its moments and was a little better than most of the MV/RC dreck out there. Bourne Legacy by James Newton Howard had a couple of good action cues, but was overall rather nondescript. Alan Silvestri’s Flight and Danny Elfman’s Promised Land were decent, though very subdued and not the most engaging listens on their own. Elfman’s Men in Black 3 was solid and entertaining as all the MIB scores are, though the first is still my favorite. Cloud Atlas by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil was pleasant enough, but nothing revolutionary. James Horner’s Amazing Spider-Man was the best and most original score he’d done in a while (by his standards, at least), but I found most of it dull or cheesy despite the OK main theme. Christopher Young and especially Danny Elfman wrote better scores for the Sam Raimi trilogy. I didn’t buy or want the score to Hans Zimmer’s The Dark Knight Rises, but I think, due to its popularity, it at least warrants a mention. There, I mentioned it. Battleship’s score by Steve Jablonsky also warrants a mention because it’s ghastly. I subjected myself to Battleship the film, and hearing the score in it was egregious enough. I couldn’t imagine what listening to the CD would be like.

A special note on two scores: I saw Prometheus and didn’t think much of Marc Streitenfeld’s score. But Harry Gregson-Williams’s “Life” theme, which plays under the opening credits and numerous other places in the film, was quite captivating. I can see why he was hired to write that theme as it overshadowed by a disconcertingly large margin everything else in the score. 21 Jump Street has become one of my favorite comedies, and Devo member Mark Mothersbaugh wrote a score worthy of one of Hans Zimmer’s ‘90s action opuses. The opening logos blast us with a mega-muscular power anthem that stands up there with the best of them, and Mothersbaugh develops that theme along with a slightly pop-flavored love theme throughout the film. A remix (of sorts) of the power anthem plays in the middle portion of the end credits (starting as the crawl begins). Unfortunately, that score remains unreleased in any form.

In any case, here’s some thoughts about the 20 scores I enjoyed most this year.

20. The Hunger Games (James Newton Howard)

When I heard Danny Elfman had been replaced on this because he was busy on Dark Shadows, I was a bit bummed. But then I learned that his replacement was James Newton Howard, and I got my hopes up again. His score for The Hunger Games is quite subdued, but it grew on me with repeated listenings. “Rue’s Farewell” is a gorgeous cue of the kind Howard seems to turn out regularly, and his choral arrangement of Arcade Fire’s “Horn of Plenty” is glorious.

19. Mirror Mirror (Alan Menken)

Apparently the movie was terrible, but Menken took a cue from Jerry Goldsmith and wrote a good score for a bad film. Menken is best known for his songs, but his scores for films like Beauty and the Beast, Enchanted, and especially The Hunchback of Notre Dame are first rate. Mirror Mirror doesn’t quite reach those heights, but it contains the full romantic sound that he has become known for.

18. Moonrise Kingdom (Alexandre Desplat)

Desplat wrote less than half an hour of score for this film, which also contains brilliant use of Benjamin Britten music, some Hank Williams, a dash of Schubert and Camille Saint-Saëns, a Franciose Hardy French song, and a percussive Mark Mothersbaugh march thrown in for good measure. Desplat’s contributions are whimsical and quirky, utilizing varied instrumentation and orchestration as heard in the end credits demonstration.

17. Sorcery (Mark Mancina)

In my opinion, Mark Mancina has been missing from the film scoring scene for too long. So it was a pleasant surprise to hear a new score from him, even if it’s for a video game and not a film. Mancina employs lush Celtic-flavored themes and his trademark driving action for this fantasy game. The themes aren’t quite as impactful as those he wrote for films like Speed, Twister, Tarzan, and Blood+, but it’s an entertaining listen nonetheless.

16. Silver Linings Playbook (Danny Elfman)

Danny Elfman may have left The Hunger Games, but he would end up scoring no less than six films in 2012. Elfman wrote a highly enjoyable (though brief) soft rock-ish score for this highly acclaimed film, using a small ensemble including guitars and his own vocals. Some surprisingly tender piano and string writing rounds out the score. Elfman proves that a score for a romantic comedy need not consist of generic, syrupy mush, especially when the composer (unlike Elfman) has no idea how to write for an orchestra.

15. W.E. (Abel Korzeniowski)

On the other hand, when a composer does know how to write for orchestra, writing romantic tunes for such an ensemble tends to transcend the merely sentimental and approaches the sublime. The score for Madonna’s W.E. isn’t quite sublime, but the sensitive writing makes for an extremely engaging listen and further cements Korzeniowski’s status as one of the best new composers in the medium of film.

14. Skyfall (Thomas Newman)

John Barry is untouchable as far as Bond music goes, but David Arnold with his five Bond scores came the closest by far to approaching Barry in terms of quality. Thomas Newman in turn wrote a score for Skyfall almost worthy of Arnold. Newman hadn’t really written a full-on action score before, but he proved up to the task and brought his own unique style and sound to Mendes’s film. Skyfall is another score that grew on me, with its effective writing for strings and woodwinds and a tender, noble theme for M. Adele’s great song (not written by Newman) is the cherry on top (a real cherry, not one of those bright-red, fake looking cherries that taste like sugared plastic.)

13. Hitchcock (Danny Elfman)

For this biopic about Hitchcock and the making of Psycho, Elfman could have written a score in the vein of Bernard Herrmann, but he went in his own direction for the most part. He wrote one of his characteristically melancholy themes for the master of suspense, as well as actual suspense music that runs from silky to brooding and downright ominous. Perhaps as a nod to Psycho, there’s great violin work as well. Yet another great work from Elfman,

12. The Master (Jonny Greenwood)

Famed Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood created a highly complex and difficult score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s film, which apparently focused more on character than on plot. Appropriately, Greenwood’s score has no obvious through-line (at least not one apparent to musical novices like myself), but creates an individualized, distinctive soundscape that aptly reflects the various aspects that make up a fully realized character.

11. Snow White and the Huntsman (James Newton Howard)

Howard wrote a beautiful theme for a not-so-fairest-in-the-land Kristen Stewart (especially when compared with Charlize Theron, and let’s not get started on the substantial difference in acting ability). The action material veers dangerously to the generic MV/RC side, but when Howard lets rip with his romantic material, the score shines. I’m also extremely fond of his orchestral additions to Florence + the Machine’s “Breath of Life”—it’s a fine song, and I’m not much into modern pop music at all.

10. Dark Shadows (Danny Elfman)

Some have called this score “Wolfman-lite” (which in turn owes a debt to Wojciech Kilar’s Dracula). Maybe I need to listen to Wolfman again, which is indeed a very fine score, but I found Dark Shadows to be more entertaining. Elfman mostly plays it straight with Gothic, tragic, melodies and mysterious, fluttering flute material (a nod to Robert Cobert’s music from the original show). And that cheesy synthesizer portamento (heard in “Dark Shadows-Reprise”) sure put a grin on my face when I first heard it.

9. Brave (Patrick Doyle)

Doyle had a mighty comeback in 2011 with the mighty Thor, La Ligne droite, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. In 2012, he continued with his score to Brave, an appropriate assignment given the composer’s Scottish heritage. In addition to some boisterous bagpipe jigs, Doyle also wrote two lovely main themes. One opens a bit like John Williams’s song “Somewhere in My Memory” from Home Alone, and the other is an evocative, traditional sounding tune he used for the vocal ballad “Noble Maiden Fair.”

8. The Avengers (Alan Silvestri)

Alan Silvestri followed his heroic score to Captain America with a slightly more modern, but still refreshingly orchestral score to this superhero epic. Silvestri’s talent for writing dynamic, thrilling action music is on full display, anchored by snippets of his Captain America theme, a malleable tune for Black Widow, and a simple yet rousing theme for the Avengers as a whole. The score meanders a bit in the non-action scenes, but once the action does get going, it’s quite a ride. Especially impressive is how Silvestri never lets the momentum halt in the lengthy mid-film and climactic action sequences while keeping the music fresh.

7. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (Andrew Lockington)

Lockington’s score to Journey to the Center of the Earth was a solid effort, but his music for the sequel surpasses it in every way.  His adventurous action music utilizes a variety of orchestral colors, and he introduces several distinct themes and motifs. The score has a measured quality about it and it never quite soars into the stratosphere, but it gets very high into the troposphere. (How’s that for taking a cliché and making it sound even lamer?)

6. Wreck-It Ralph* (Henry Jackman)

I’ve raved about Henry Jackman plenty, but his score for Wreck-It Ralph does contain his most emotional writing since his music for Kick-Ass (no joke.) He mixes retro sounds with catchy modern electronic riffs and dramatic orchestral themes. The more silly, slapstick music may not be the best listen separated from the film, but the score at its best approaches the masterful. The track “Wreck-It Ralph” is one of the few mainly electronic tracks that I find truly affecting, evoking all the hope, melancholy, and enduring spirit of the title character and his quest to find his purpose. It’s probably my favorite track of the year.

5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey* (Howard Shore)

It’s no Lord of the Rings, but I actually preferred this as a standalone listen to The Two Towers. The new themes are subtler and not as memorable as most of those in LOTR, but the action music is a distinct improvement, with more interesting melodic things going on. “Khazad-Dum” was one of my favorite tracks from Fellowship of the Ring, and it was nice to hear more choral Dwarf action material. Insert your own joke about choral Dwarf action here, because I’m not witty enough to think of a good one right now.

4. Rise of the Guardians* (Alexandre Desplat)

Like Elfman, Alexandre Desplat wrote about 47 scores this year, but unlike Elfman, Desplat seems to do that every year. Rise of the Guardians is one of my favorite scores of his. Desplat was let loose to write a full-blown fantasy-adventure score that shows what he could have done with Harry Potter 7.1 and 7.2 (which are still pretty good scores) had the real You-Know-Who let him. Desplat writes the most fun, boisterous action music of his career for this DreamWorks underperformer, featuring a beautiful theme representing the power of dreams and a thrilling, David Arnold-esque fanfare for the guardians themselves (who apparently have nothing to do with owls).

3. Frankenweenie* (Danny Elfman)

Elfman continued his fecund collaboration with Tim Burton with this delightful score. He weaves together a tender, whimsical theme for Sparky the dog with portentous, intentionally over-the-top Gothic grandeur. One of the dark themes sounds suspiciously like Elfman’s own theme for Batman, complete with what may be the most massive sounding pipe organ in any score of his.  The skill with which Elfman meshes the lighthearted and ominous material is admirable. The main theme is lively for the most part, but the third trio of notes hints at something deeper and more reflective. And the darker music may be even more grandiose than the music for Dark Shadows. Elfman had a great year, and I thought this was his best.

2. Lincoln* (John Williams)

Any score from Williams nowadays is extremely welcome. Lincoln may not be quite as strong as either of the master’s two scores from last year, but it still shows that Williams has no living equal at his craft (save Ennio Morricone). Williams paints a restrained, noble portrait of the president, with a surprising number of themes, each rich in nuance. It may not break any new ground or contain anything overtly rousing and unabashedly emotional, but in contains that intangible “magic” that makes great music what it is. From the nobility of “The People’s House” to the almost ethereal simplicity of “With Malice Toward None,” this is definitely a score to savor.

1. John Carter** (Michael Giacchino)

Giacchino is no Williams (obviously, no one is), but he’s definitely one of the top composers of his generation. For Andrew Stanton’s commendable, entertaining sci-fi adventure, Giacchino took the style of his best music for Lost and crafted a magnificent, swashbuckling score that is his own. There are several high-quality themes, including the slightly exotic theme for Carter, a melancholy melody for Princess Dejah Thoris and a mystical tune for the mysterious Therns. There are also minor motifs for London, the six-limbed Tharks, and the treacherous Sab Than (sadly, there is no theme for Poopos Flem). On top of that are some spectacular standalone melodies, including a jagged action motif that serves as the spine of “Sab Than Pursues the Princess” and a dramatic choral composition in “The Prize is Barsoom.” Giacchino knits these superb threads together into a cohesive whole that serves as a perfect accompaniment to the drama on screen and is also an engrossing listen on its own. It all culminates in an exquisite, nearly nine-minute end credits suite that climaxes with a glorious flourish. This is my favorite score of 2012.

Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil

Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil together make up the group sometimes known as Pale 3. Tykwer is best known as a writer/director of films like Run Lola Run, The Princess and the Warrior, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, The International, and (with the Wachowskis) Cloud Atlas.   Tykwer provides musical ideas for his films that are fleshed out by Klimek and Heil. One of the trio's contributions outside the Tykwer films was the song "In My Head" used in the Club Hel sequence of The Matrix Revolutions. This composition, along with the scores for Run Lola Run and Land of the Dead (the latter without Tykwer's involvement), features a heavily electronic style built on the mens' former experience playing in rock bands. But Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and Cloud Atlas feature effective orchestral writing while still retaining more modern electronic elements in a lesser role. The latter film uses a mix of musical styles to score the six variegated stories set in different time periods, united by a classical-style sextet. Klimek and Heil have also collaborated on films such as One Hour Photo, The Cave, One Missed Call, and The Killer Elite and the TV series Deadwood, Without a Trace, and Awake.

Cloud Atlas
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Jonny Greenwood

In times past, most film composers were classically trained folks who learned their craft scoring for the concert stage, radio, or TV. Today, it is become more common for film composers to have been from a rock band or involved in some other kind of pop music. While the contributions of composers like Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Trevor Rabin (Yes), and Paul Haslinger (Tangerine Dream) have been questionable, there are also composers like Alan Silvestri (Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders), Michael Kamen (orchestral arranger for bands like Pink Floyd), and James Newton Howard (arranger and keyboardist for Elton John) who have written music as good as the best of their contemporaries. Indeed, former Oingo Boingo songwriter/guitarist/lead singer Danny Elfman may be the most prominent and accomplished composer in this category. However, with the exception of Reznor, most of these composers were either in bands with a smaller following or they played a more behind-the-scenes role. Jonny Greenwood of the well-known and successful band Radiohead is an exception. And unlike Reznor, he has quickly become one of the most interesting new voices in film scoring.

Greenwood is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of Radiohead, and his aggressive method of guitar playing has apparently been quite influential. He grew up playing the viola, and also plays Elmer Bernstein's favorite instrument, the ondes Martenot (roughly a keyboard version of the theremin). Along with various pop influences, Greenwood is also fond of famed composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and in fact released a CD containing Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima and Polymorphia with Greenwood's own compositions Popcorn Superhet Receiver and 48 Responses to Polymorphia. Greenwood's first score was for a film called Bodysong, and he was subsequently asked to become the BBC Concert Orchestra's composer in residence in 2004. He composed the aforementioned Popcorn Superhet Receiver and included fragments of it in his breakout score for Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Greenwood's string-heavy, complex score features interesting chord clusters, rhythms, and tones passing by each other. He has also written scores for Norwegian Wood, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and Anderson's The Master. Norwegian Wood features a blend of austere and heartfelt writing that contains some of the most touching violin writing since James Newton Howard's The Village. Greenwood seems to choose projects that fit his distinctive style, and I look forward to more of his music, whether he continues to write for film or not.

The Master
Norwegian Wood
Phantom Thread
There Will Be Blood