Hans Zimmer Scoring The Man of Steel

[hopefuldreamer]

Originally Posted by rondroid

well i have to disagree about tdk's theme(s), i think they are recognisable maybe not as distinctive as other themes but definitely memorable. i think there are so many parts to the score that the central theme gets lost a little but if i start humming the more memorable stuff some people might recognise it or maybe they think im just some mad person with my own theme song.

Seriously? You genuinely think people in the GA would recognise parts of TDK's score if you hummed them?

I'm sorry, I just can't imagine it.

Like I said, I liked the score, think it perfectly suited the movie, and had some great moments.

But it is not one of those 'catchy' or instantly recognisable 'tunes', like some scores are.

[El Payaso]

Zimmer. It was kind of obvious.

So, was it Howard the one who said 'no thanks and good luck topping Williams?' I can't remember.

[craigdbfan]

Funnily enough it was actually Zimmer who said that.

[rondroid]

Originally Posted by hopefuldreamer

Seriously? You genuinely think people in the GA would recognise parts of TDK's score if you hummed them?

I'm sorry, I just can't imagine it.

Like I said, I liked the score, think it perfectly suited the movie, and had some great moments.

But it is not one of those 'catchy' or instantly recognisable 'tunes', like some scores are.

maybe i have more faith in the GA intelligence or maybe i'm being naive but i think so yeah.

[GreenKToo]

To me, his first ( HUGE ) heroic act (maybe its saving the guys on the oil platform, or the tornado in SV ) will set the stage score wise. That first reveal and score must be done right.

I keep thinking back to SR when clark rushed out of the bar to save the plane/shuttle. I was pumped. Oh boy I thought, here we go, wait for it, pins and needles, then.........nothing much happened, just a generic half-a$$ed shirt rip and a blah score played. The save itself was awesome, but the lead up to it was so disappointing.

We definitely don't need a repeat of that. I want a rich powerful score that makes me think, uh oh, somebody is about to get a beatdown thrown on them.

[Project862006]

Originally Posted by rondroid

maybe i have more faith in the GA intelligence or maybe i'm being naive but i think so yeah.

elfman's bat theme is far more memorable and catchy

[EtherMagic]

Originally Posted by hopefuldreamer

Don't get me wrong, I love a good score that has a recognisable element to it. And Zimmer has done a few himself.

For example, Sherlock Holmes. When that theme plays I get all excited

But I also thought the BB and TDK scores worked incredibly well... But it's not like if I started humming parts of that score people would recognise what it was.

And it certainly didn't detract from those films, so I just don't think it'll be that big a deal if the score isn't so distinctive.



The OLD score is huge, in terms of how big it was in the day, how memorable, and how nostalgic it makes people feel.

But you're right, as someone who is not a huge worshipper of the Donner films, the John Williams theme does not make me feel nostalgic. It, like the rest of that franchise, feels cheesy to me. Outdated.


Though my strong hopes that they avoid any reference to the JW theme is completely seperate from my belief that a fairly generic score for MOS wouldn't be this huge fail.

In fact, I could see it as a positive.

I'm just guessing here, but maybe the Donner films feel cheesy to you because you are not old enough to appreciate the technology that went into them films (at the times)?


I recently had my 2 daughters watch Superman: The Movie, and they could Not sit and watch it, all they kept doing was making fun of how the film looked and the lame tech at the time.


My question to you.... How old are you (if you don't mind me asking), and at what age did you first see the Reeve movie's???

[rondroid]

Originally Posted by Project862006

elfman's bat theme is far more memorable and catchy

agreed. i believe zimmers thematic score is also very memorable as well.

[7heBoss]

Originally Posted by Project862006

elfman's bat theme is far more memorable and catchy

I agree

[El Payaso]

Originally Posted by craigdbfan

Funnily enough it was actually Zimmer who said that.

BWAAAA-HAHAHAH
AHAHAHA
HAHAHAHA
HAHA

Somebody has to post his old quote here!

[STARMAN]

I can see Zimmer's score working well with scenes on Krypton, growing up in Smallville, etc. But what about the music being played when Clark rips open his shirt to reveal the S symbol? If such a scenes exists. That's when the comparison to the Williams score will be most obvious.

[hopefuldreamer]

Originally Posted by rondroid

maybe i have more faith in the GA intelligence or maybe i'm being naive but i think so yeah.

Whether or not you remember how a film score goes does not indicate intelligence level.

It indicates how catchy the tune is, and how often a person has heard it/cares about it.

JW theme has been around for decades, and is very distinctive and catchy. It's been used in various pop culture references and is generally just well known.

The Dark Knight's score has been around a few years. It's no where near as distinctive or memorable. It's heard in the background of the film, and that's it.

And I'll I'm saying, is that if the same is true of MOS. If MOS has the same kind of score as TDK has, it will be absolutely fine.

Because a good superhero film doesn't NEED a score like the JW one anymore. In fact, it's just not really the trend, is it?

Originally Posted by EtherMagic

I'm just guessing here, but maybe the Donner films feel cheesy to you because you are not old enough to appreciate the technology that went into them films (at the times)?

I recently had my 2 daughters watch Superman: The Movie, and they could Not sit and watch it, all they kept doing was making fun of how the film looked and the lame tech at the time.

I completely understand how game changing the film was, and how much went into it. I would never call them 'bad' films. They just aren't my taste, that's all.

And I don't think the films are cheesy because of the tech

I think they are cheesy because of the toothy grins, waving at the camera, boyscout motto one liners, camp clutzy CK, and what I consider incredibly awkward and cringeworthy romance.

Originally Posted by EtherMagic

My question to you.... How old are you (if you don't mind me asking), and at what age did you first see the Reeve movie's???

I'm 24. Is that an age you'd consider too young to appreciate them?

I don't know. I'm sure there are plenty of posters on this forum that are my age or even younger, that grew up loving STM.

I just didn't. Even as a kid, I didn't love em. I loved Superman. I loved the tv shows, and now I love the comics. But not the movies. For whatever reason, I just never connected.

[The Guard]

Honestly, I know i'm in the minority with this, but it's not all that important to me if the theme is memorable, legendary or iconic.

That's what I want the story to achieve, not the music. The music I just want to be complimentary, enjoyable and not overpowering - which if it's written by a competent composer like Zimmer, it will be.

The thing is...that should be happening anyway. I've rarely seen a professional composer who can't do just that. Talentwise, that's how you become a professional film composer. By being able to make music work in tandem with story. I'd rather the job go to someone who wants to make Superman's music not just work in context with the story, but memorable and effective on an emotional level. The theme is part of that. And who knows? Maybe this isn't just about money. Maybe he will.

[X Knight]

I want a hummable, identifiable, iconic theme for MOS.

I can hum the Williams theme, the Elfman Batman theme.

can't really hum the themes from the Nolan Bat films.

I mean you can.....but it's just less identifiable.

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by rondroid

i'm sorry i havent posted for a while but what!! i respect your opinion kalel but zimmer at his best and that includes hia batman score(s) is so unique and varied in tone that he makes other composers look pedestrian, there's a reason why he's spawned alot of copycats and that's because he's awesome.

Zimmer doesn't make other composers look pedestrian, but himself. The reason he's spawned a lot of copycats b/c he has a music production company(RCP- Remote Control Productions) where he trains or teaches up and coming film composers his techniques (Harry and Rupert Gregson Williams, John Powell, Marc Streitenfeld, Ramin Djawadi, Steve Jablonsky, etc. started there) of composing film music with electronics. A lot of the guys I just mentioned are scoring most of the blockbuster movies these days. TPTB also want composers young and old to copy the techniques for some of their blockbuster movies(JNH did with GL, John Debney did with IM2, Craig Armstrong did with TIH, Patrick Doyle did with Thor and even ROTPOTA, etc.). So it's not b/c Zimmer's "awesome" but b/c Hollywood is lazy. They don't anything fresh or original when it comes to music (not just films). Hollywood wants to recycle the same generic sound over and over again and force it down the audiences ears in almost every blockbuster movie and I'm getting sick of it.

Originally Posted by The Guard

The thing is...that should be happening anyway. I've rarely seen a professional composer who can't do just that. Talentwise, that's how you become a professional film composer. By being able to make music work in tandem with story. I'd rather the job go to someone who wants to make Superman's music not just work in context with the story, but memorable and effective on an emotional level. The theme is part of that. And who knows? Maybe this isn't just about money. Maybe he will.

I don't think Zimmer is doing it for the paycheck. I think he's scoring this for Nolan b/c I remember somewhere Snyder mentioned he wanted Zimmer to score MOS. If you remember Zimmer didn't want to score this back in 2010. So Snyder (probably after being impressed with TDKR music from the trailers and maybe the score itself) probably begged Nolan to talk Zimmer into scoring the film. That's just me speculating that's not a fact. Who knows Zimmer probably liked what he saw of the footage (assuming he saw the footage) wanted to score it.

My problem is Zimmer couldn't say no. And let some other composer take a shot at this. I mean Zimmer's scored plenty of blockbusters and will most likely continue to. I remember Elfman in an interview mentioned how he almost lost the gig to scoring B89 b/c Jon Peters didn't believe Elfman was capable. Since that was Elfman's first time scoring a blockbuster picture. He even mentioned that Peters was wondering if this or that composer was availiable. I bet that composer was either Williams or Goldsmith. Now imagine if Williams scored B89 we wouldn't have the "iconic" theme Elfman wrote if Peters hadn't given Elfman a chance. I'm not saying Williams wouldn't have wrote anything good or great. But Elfman's approach would be a lot more fresh since Williams was already a recognizeable high profile composer. Why can't TPTB have the same attitude. Instead of recycling a sound that we hear in most action movies these days. Now that Zimmer's scoring this I know it will sound like any action score today. After all he and cronies are scoring most of them. That's a shame b/c Supeman deserves better.

I guess WB & DC want the Zimmer sound since the Nolan Batman trilogy, GL (and now MOS will) have it.

[X Knight]

do you think it's too late for Zimmer to work on something for the trailer??

or has the trailer pretty much been shot already?

[hopefuldreamer]

Just had a bit of a re listen to the TDK soundtrack... forgot how much I loved it

[Dr.]

Originally Posted by X Knight

I want a hummable, identifiable, iconic theme for MOS.

I can hum the Williams theme, the Elfman Batman theme.

can't really hum the themes from the Nolan Bat films.

I mean you can.....but it's just less identifiable.

Zimmer is certainly capable of producing distinctive themes. But for Batman and Inception, Nolan obviously wanted something more experimental/atmospheric. So the question is, what instructions does Zimmer get from Snyder/Nolan for MOS?

[hopefuldreamer]

Originally Posted by X Knight

I want a hummable, identifiable, iconic theme for MOS.

I can hum the Williams theme, the Elfman Batman theme.

can't really hum the themes from the Nolan Bat films.

I mean you can.....but it's just less identifiable.

Are there any other Superhero films you can hum off the top of your head?

When I think of themes I remember, I think Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Back to the Future, The Goonies etc. They are feel good, uplifting tracks.

Seems like they just don't make em like they used to though. I mean, just look at Avengers theme... it was okay, but it's not got that level of good old cinematic fun to it. And I can't think of any modern Superhero films that really do have that magic.

[RoughNTumble]

Originally Posted by hopefuldreamer

Are there any other Superhero films you can hum off the top of your head?

When I think of themes I remember, I think Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Back to the Future, The Goonies etc. They are feel good, uplifting tracks.

Seems like they just don't make em like they used to though. I mean, just look at Avengers theme... it was okay, but it's not got that level of good old cinematic fun to it. And I can't think of any modern Superhero films that really do have that magic.

spider-man is the closest

and he's getting the ol' reboot

[The Guard]

Are there any other Superhero films you can hum off the top of your head?

Batman Forever, Unbreakable, Spider-Man, Superman Returns, The Punisher, The Flash TV theme, The Shadow, X-Men 2 and The Last Stand, Green Lantern, oddly enough. Captain America, The Rocketeer, Watchmen ( ).

[hopefuldreamer]

Uh huh... well I can't hum any of them off the top of my head...

In fact, a couple of those i'm not sure I could even hum.

And Watchmen so does not count

[RoughNTumble]

batman forever hell yes, the theme is the best thing about those movies

the rest, I don't remember

[xmangambit]

I would actually like a theme to remember from this film!

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by The Guard

Batman Forever, Unbreakable, Spider-Man, Superman Returns, The Punisher, The Flash TV theme, The Shadow, X-Men 2 and The Last Stand, Green Lantern, oddly enough. Captain America, The Rocketeer, Watchmen ( ).

Though I really didn't care for JNH's GL or Bates' Watchmen. I agree with you for the most part. I'll add some more superhero themes that I find easily memorable.

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Btw I don't care if the music is hummable or not. I just care if the music enhances the movie and is appropriate for the film. And if the music captures the heart of the film, story and characters. Instead of just being a wall of noise like Zimmer's Batman scores and Bates' Watchmen score tend to be, imo.