Batman : Mask Of The Phantasm - Complete Score [Official Version]

[VenomVsSpidey]

Another fantastic release from La La Lad Records, with the release of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Complete score...
they will be taking orders for this limited edition score on Tuesday 24th March, and not unlike the recently sold out! score for Batman: The Animated series this score will also be limited to 3000 copies.

source : http://gothamknightsonline.blogspot.com/2009/03/la-la-land-records-batman-mask-of.html

 

[Crook]

I want some exclusive autographed copies or something for the first few pre-orders. I missed out on that deal with the previous release.

 

[JTStarkiller]

Autographed by whom?

 

[CFE]

I wouldn't mind a copy (it'd be cool if it was signed by Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski and Kevin Conroy...).

 

[dusk20]

is there any chance of getting these 2 soundtracks in australia?

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

^^^

Well, if they send them to me in Ireland (With quick delivery, and a great price) then I imagine Australia would be no problem.

Although like the previous release... I would like it if it was autographed.

I didn't know Hans Zimmer worked on this movie... is it the same guy?

 

[VenomVsSpidey]

yup, he was the synthesizer.

 

[Kud-Dukan]

I got the email very early this morning that my copy has shipped! Can't wait to get my hands on it. t:

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Got it today...

Bottom line - Worth EVERY penny!!!

 

[Kud-Dukan]

Got it today...

Bottom line - Worth EVERY penny!!!

Agreed, mine came this morning.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

New "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" Soundtrack Release Sells Over 2000 Copies

April 06, 2009 by James Harvey
The new Batman: Mask of the Phantasm expanded soundtrack CD release is a success for La-La Land Records, selling over 2000 copies since the title officially shipped last week.



A representative for La-La Land Records, the label responsible for releasing the new Batman: Mask of the Phantasm expanded soundtrack, has confirmed for The World's Finest that the soundtrack release has sold over 2000 copies to date with demand for the title so strong that the label expects to sell out of the new release. The representative for La-La Land Records says that the high sales will help as the label hopes to convince Warner Bros. to allow La-La Land Records to release more Batman: The Animated Series and DC Animation-related soundtracks. The representative says that nothing has been finalized yet, but further details are forthcoming about future DC Animation-related soundtrack releases.

The new Batman: Mask of the Phantasm expanded score soundtrack release was officially shipped out on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009, becoming out-of-the-door hit for La-La Land Records and a successful follow-up to the label's release of the first official Batman: The Animated Series soundtrack in December 2008. The soundtrack had a limited edition print run of 3000 copies, leaving less than 1000 available to purchase.

A representative for La-La Land Records urges fans to order the new Batman: Mask of the Phantasm soundtrack releas as soon as possible to successfully obtain a copy.

This should hopefully allow for a few more albums to be made... such as B:TAS Vol 2... t:

 

[Two-Face]

And release more then 3,000 copies.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

And release more then 3,000 copies.

That would not be good business...

They still have a crapload of the Batman: Gotham Knight and Superman: Doomsday CD's, etc.

It is a very small market, and so as a result they need to keep it contained. 3000 copies is perfect for them to produce and make a profit on. If they have a store full of CD's, WB will not permit them the rights anymore.

 

[LooseNoose]

I love the scores from the shows and the tas movies... best official Batman stuff out there.

Should be more than 3000 copies though.

 

[McGraw]

I have a full promo OST of Mask of the Phantasm, though this sounds interesting

 

[VenomVsSpidey]

I have a full promo OST of Mask of the Phantasm, though this sounds interesting

you mean BOOTLEG..

 

[CLARKY]

And mine arrived yesterday. I'm so happy ! Listening to the score remind me of all the magic and of all the beauty the character used to have, and why I loved it so much. Made me think about the movie : MotP is so great, on so many levels ! From the animation or the story to the design and the whole conceptionof batman/Bruce Wayne, the evil of the Joker, the broken heart of Bruce Wayne, the inherent darkness of the characters .... excellent stuff. No films have thrilled me more than this one. And it keeps doing it. That's what I remember while listening to the songs.

 

[Elevator Man]

http://lalalandrecords.com/BatManMOTP.html

It looks like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm has finally SOLD OUT at LLLR.

So that makes three batman scores that sold out this year, The other two being Elfman's Batman Returns and Batman '89'.

You can still get LLLR B:MOTP score here:
http://www.screenarchives.com/title_detail.cfm/ID/12024/BATMAN-MASK-OF-THE-PHANTASM/

And here:

http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Mask-P...batman+mask+of+the+phantasm+lalalland+records

 

[Elevator Man]

Since Batman Mask Of The Phantasm turns 20 years old on Christmas day. I figured I’d talk about Walker’s operatic and somber score to it as best as I can. Even though I’ve posted my opinion on film scores before it’s still difficult for me to describe music and the instruments used in ’em in words b/c I’m not a music scholar but a film music fan. So I’ll do my best to explain why this score works for me and how it affects me emotionally, etc.

Walker did a phenomenal job with the music to MOTP. As she’s done with the soundtrack for B:TAS. The scores played as much of an important role to the show as the voices and animation did, imho. It’s easily some of the best music for television/animation. The show became even more cinematic with not just the top notch animation but with assistance from Walker’s music. What I find amazing about that was that Walker was able to do more with a little. On the B:TAS she was only able to use a 30-40 piece orchestra. A lot of the scores sounded like they belong in big budget adventure movies. When MOTP came Walker was finally able to take advantage of a bigger orchestra and got to show what she’s really made of. With MOTP she wrote one of her best scores. I know for some it is her best.

The haunting “Main Titles” that opens the film which is accompanied by CG images of Gotham City gives an eerie feeling of a city in need of a hero. I am also able to picture Batman mourning his parents as he watches over Gotham.. At the same time it reflects the narrative of the movie. For example, Bruce sacrificing a normal a life to be Batman in order to live up to his vow to his parents. The chorus adds a gothic touch to Walker’s main theme which represents Bruce’s tragic soul. Also of note the chorus wasn’t chanting anything in Latin, which I initially thought the first couple of times I saw the film, but was actually chanting some of the orchestrators names backwards as an in-joke. The main titles set the tone that MOTP will be darker and more mature than Batman’s ever been.
　
Walker’s daring Batman theme returns. It has been used in countless B:TAS episodes and yet she still managed to keep it brisk. For many fans MOTP has probably the most iconic quote of the theme in “Birth Of Batman” when Bruce dons the cape and cowl for the first time. It’s one of those scenes where the score and animation flawlessly blends together. There’s various statements of the theme throughout the score, which are either dramatic, triumphant, or vigilant as the character itself is.

Even though the Joker returns in MOTP, Walker’s theme for the “Clown Prince of Crime” occurs a brief amount of times in the score (“Joker‘s Big Entrance“, “Arturo And His Pal“, “True Identity“ , “Phantasm And Joker Fight”) compared to Batman‘s. As with her Batman theme she was able to prevent the Joker’s theme from being stale. It’s even a little bit more chilling than usual. Especially in “Arturo And His Pal”.

The third recurring theme/motif from B:TAS that appears in MOTP is the “mystery” theme. It plays whenever something shady or fishy is happening. As when Batman’s investigating a puzzling case or situation, but doesn’t quite add up for him. You can hear the theme in “Set Trap” as Councilman Reeves, Detective Bullock, and some of the police force are waiting for the caped crusader to show up as they call him through his bat signal. As well as at the beginning of “May They Rest In Peace”. The mystery theme has been featured in “Perchance Of Dream”, “Read My Lips”, “Shadow Of The Bat Part 1 and 2” and a few others I haven’t mentioned from B:TAS.

The MOTP score also introduces some new themes and motifs. Young Bruce gets a courageous and thrilling theme that depicts his early crime fighting days before he took on the Batman persona. It was very clever of Walker to refrain from using the Batman theme b/c even though Bruce has already ventured into crime fighting at that point. He still isn’t 100% ready to begin his war on crime. After all in the film Bruce was testing the waters. So Walker composed a temporary theme for Bruce that emulates his bravery and eagerness to take on crime. The theme (as was Bruce’s costume) was more like a work in progress. Though it’s a strong heroic theme it feels like it lacks something (in a good way) that her Batman theme has. As in the film Bruce required more intimidation b/c he was just a vigilante in a ski mask, who could be mistaken for any average criminal. So to quote Zimmer on his Batman scores “Bruce hasn’t earn his theme yet”. Plenty of instances where the “ski mask vigilante” theme was used (“Ski Mask Vigilante”). You could hear a brief victorious moment of it in “Good Samaritan” as Bruce punches a thug from his motorcycle (in slow mo), while protecting a helpless man from being rob by the thug’s biker gang.

 

[Elevator Man]

Another unfamiliar theme recurs from Bruce’s past that imitates the doomed romance between him and Andrea. Which you can hear develop through out the score like for example, in “The Promise”, “Fancy Footwork”, “First Love”, in the middle of “Birth Of Batman”, a snippet of it at the beginning of “The Big Chase”, “A Plea For Help”, more somber version of it in the middle of “Batman’s Destiny” as Andrea’s alone on some cruise ship. The love theme doesn’t only focus on the romance between Bruce and Andrea but it also depicts Bruce’s first relationship with a woman. Andrea was the woman he was willing to give up his “war on crime” for to live a ordinary happy life. Walker (as does the film itself) expertly indicates the memories of Bruce’s first and lost love with the her romantic theme. And it plays with the idea of what his life might’ve been like if he decided to give up crime fighting. This theme brings heart to the score. As the romance in the story brought to an animated Batman adventure film, which I (and I’m sure many others) weren’t expecting at the time. There’s a reason why fans prefer this love interest over the ones in any of the other Batman films to date. Andrea’s easily the most developed and didn’t feel like she was there for the sake of it as some of the films did. She also played a really important role in the film, in Bruce’s life, and even in his decision of becoming Batman, which I know irked a few fans. Walker’s theme for those particular moments proved how crucial Bruce and Andrea‘s love story was to the story and film.

Walker gave Sal Valestra a theme/motif that expresses the ruthless wise guy that he was. Every time you hear the menacing theme you knew it meant trouble. It gave me the impression that Andrea’s father is doing business with dangerous people. Sal’s theme can be heard in “Bad News”, “City Street Drive”, “Sal Valestra”, and “Nowhere To Run”. Good theme for a minor character.

During the film’s climax Walker wrote a suspenseful action motif that recurred in most of it as Batman fights the Joker at the condemned Gotham of the Future fair. A snippet of it was introduced in “What’s So Funny?”, as the Joker sends the deadly mini toy copters (carrying explosives) from the fair to Andrea’s apartment to kill Batman, which pretty much is setting up the viewer for the exciting finale of the movie. The action motif carries most of the track “Phantasm And Joker Fight”, which should be re-titled “Batman And Joker” since right when that track opens Batman tells Andrea to leave. And by that point the fist fight between Andrea and the Joker had already ended. This action motif adds a lot excitement to the action and animation on screen. It leaves me believing this moment could be the final battle between Batman and Joker. The movie even plays it that way. Walker‘s score for the climax was everything and more of what I’d want in a final confrontation between these two iconic characters. It made those moments even more engaging and personal, imho.

The Phantasm was given a gloomy and ominous theme. As the villain sort of symbolizes the Grim Reaper, Walker’s theme signifies the doom of the victims the Phantasm preys on. Not only the Phantasm’s theme gives the allusion (as does the story) that it could be supernatural, but it also added a lot of ambiguousness and tension, whenever it taunted and lurked around it’s enemies. The haunting theme can be heard in the middle of “Main Title: Batman Mask Of The Phantasm” (when Phantasm kills Chucky Sol), “Phantasm’s Graveyard Murder” (Buzz Bronski‘s murder), earlier in “The Big Chase” (as the Phantasm visits Sal’s home and escapes from Batman before the police appear), and at the beginning of “True Identity” (as the Phantasm pays Joker a visit).

The last theme introduced in MOTP, which I believe is the most important of the story and score. The “fate” theme for Bruce. It could also be portrayed as the Waynes’ theme or the theme for Bruce’s vow. Whatever the case it’s the theme that haunts Bruce the way his parents murder tormented him most of his life. It brings a tragic and doom laden tone to the score. While at the same time getting inside Bruce’s inner turmoil and conflict of keeping his vow to his parents I order to avenge their murders. It helps me sympathize for Bruce and his curse of leaving an ordinary life to become Batman. I also believe the theme really tapped into Bruce’s psychology. It makes the score (as well as the story) more personal for Batman/Bruce. It first appears at the beginning of “The Promise” (as a depressed Bruce reminisces about Andrea and his past), at the opening of “Ski Mask Vigilante”, in the middle of “May They Rest In Peace” (as Batman comes across his parents grave while investigating Bronsky’s murder), at the beginning (where Bruce, who’s drenched in the rain at a cemetery, begs his parents to allow him to break his vow he made to them) and middle (as the photo of his parents is shown and just before Bruce dons the cape and cowl for the first time) “Birth Of Batman”, and at the end of “Phantasm And Joker Fight” (as Batman barely escapes with his life from demolishing fair the Joker helped destroy in the finale, which for me really represents the fate theme for Bruce/Batman, imo). Though this score has plenty of striking themes I believe the “fate” theme is the most powerful of the new themes. This theme is the key to what makes Bruce Wayne tick, imho. It’s such a riveting theme that proved Walker had a vivid understanding of the character and story.

I remember when I first bought the soundtrack to B:MOTP nearly a decade ago at my local Barnes & Noble. It was the only copy there and I wasn’t planning on spending any money, but my brother, who came with me, insisted I should buy it anyway out of the possibility of it not being there the next time we came. So I bought and enjoyed it despite it missing some tracks (e.g. Batman taking on Chucky Sol’s gang in the opening, with some brilliant bits edited out of “Ski Mask Vigilante”, the cue where Batman riding his bat cycle saves Andrea from getting sucked in that giant sized fan, etc.) but I was still happy with the album b/c it had most of the highlights. Not to mention “The Big Chase” in it’s entirety, which is some of the most exhilarating action music to come from Walker. In the spring of ‘09’ La La Land Records reissued the score in complete form. Again I was pleased with this version and enjoyed it as well it was nice to hear “Ski Mask Vigilante” without the micro edits. As well as the missing tracks that I wanted to hear on the original 1993 soundtrack. The “Welcome To The Future” source music song from that fair was a nice treat too. Oh and I’ve always enjoyed the Tia Carrere end credits song “I Never Even Told You”, which was on both albums. Even though it might not have been written for MOTP. It still worked for me.

In conclusion, I think B:MOTP is easily one of Walker’s best scores. The score not only served the film but it made the animation, action, and story even more gripping and engaging. I believe Walker had as much a hand as Timm and co. did in helping us sympathize with Bruce/Batman. You can tell everybody involved was passionate about this movie. This score is up there with the best superhero/comic book movie scores. I place it up there with Elfman’s two excellent Batman scores. It’s way better than Zimmer’s three efforts for TDKT, which is funny b/c he did some synth work on this score I believe. Probably as a favor to Walker since in the very late 80s and early 90s she conducted and orchestrated some of his scores. A shame he didn’t learn much from his experience apparently during the scoring of B:MOTP. What’s also a shame is just like Elfman’s B89 and BR score never received an Oscar nomination neither did Walker’s MOTP. I know an oscar win wouldn’t change my opinion of the score regardless. Just saying it was worthy of a nomination, imo. Walker was able to come up with a score that was more than an animated superhero action adventure score. As did the film the score had a lot more depth in it than you’d expect from of a movie of this genre. You wouldn’t even think twice that music for this movie, and for B:TAS, as well as The Flash tv show was written by a woman. A talented woman in fact But then again I never judged or put too much thought into a composer’s gender when listening to a film score. What does it matter as long as long as you enjoy the music. It’s shame Walker passed away 7 years ago late November. May her soul rest in peace. Her talent is missed dearly in the film music industry , but she’ll live through her extraordinary music.

Happy 20th Anniversary B:MOTP. The movie and Walker’s score are timeless classics, imho. That still hold up well. I hope some day the movie will get a special edition blu ray dvd release.

 

[Dave McFly]

whoops wrong thread