The Dark Knight Batman's Theme Music in TDK

[TNC9852002]

I like the idea of a continuation and evolution of the previous theme. I wanted something like this out of the X-Men films, but sadly, each movie had its own composer and that aspect really stood out...and not in a positive way.

-TNC

 

[Gianakin_]

Band soundtracks in these kind of films is really a bad idea. Really.
As for Zimmer. The man wasn't being literal. If he was, he just chose bad words, like others have said.
Plus, Elfman's score was perfect for the Burton films. They are not for Nolan's. The atmospheres and styles don't fit. So I don't care if the music itself is great (and it is IMO), as accompanying music (aka soundtrack) it would suck.

PS: U2 did nothing good for Batman Forever. Nothing at all. I can't even count it as a redeeming quality for the movie, much less as a tool to compare to the BB soundtrack.

 

[Alonsovich]

If he's going to develop the Batman theme more yahoo.

It's not like there wasn't a Batman theme b/c he hadn't "earned" it.

He could very well compose a new theme for Batman with the material from the BB score and make it sound like a completely new theme without it being totally unrelated... he did say in the interview that you could hear "hints" of it in the BB score...

 

[Thespiralgoeson]

PS: U2 did nothing good for Batman Forever. Nothing at all. I can't even count it as a redeeming quality for the movie, much less as a tool to compare to the BB soundtrack.

Blasphemy! I love that song and thought it fit the visual feel of the movie very well.

 

[Gianakin_]

I love that song, too. But I disagree about the visual feel. You already have a mediocre to bad movie on your hands, put a popular band's rock song in it, game over-IMO.

 

[Jerry!]

Any band music flavor of the month just spells disaster for movies. Everytime I watch the scene in B89 where the Joker is dancing around to Prince music I cringe. Forget about the art Jack, destroy the boom box for ****'s sake.

 

[Monster]

I wouldn't mind seeing Joker dancing to "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen

 

[Seibei]

Composers give characters a theme that is developed... but characters don't earn them after saving a city or something like that. Not to mention that... once again... Nolan's Batman already has a theme. They just wanted to change it.

Well, yes they do "earn them". For example, in Lord of the Rings, Shore hinted at themes and motifs that would appear in Two Towers, and Return of the King. He didn't use them in their full force because the characters and situation had not yet achieved prominence.

In the prequels, Williams goes backwards with the method. Anakin's theme can be transformed into the Imperial March, and William's hints at it through the prequels, and finally transforms in completely in Sith. Why? Because Anakin hadn't earned the theme yet. He was still Anakin, not Vader.

Same concept Zimmer is using. In Begins, Batman is just a crazy man in a suit. In The Dark Knight, he will finally take on the mysterious persona, he'll finally become a legend. That is Zimmer's idea. Not a generic action theme for Batman, but a theme for a legend. That's how Batman will "earn it".

 

[Papa Burgundy]

i love the music in bb. gives me goosebumps everytime.

 

[Jerry!]

Well, yes they do "earn them". For example, in Lord of the Rings, Shore hinted at themes and motifs that would appear in Two Towers, and Return of the King. He didn't use them in their full force because the characters and situation had not yet achieved prominence.

In the prequels, Williams goes backwards with the method. Anakin's theme can be transformed into the Imperial March, and William's hints at it through the prequels, and finally transforms in completely in Sith. Why? Because Anakin hadn't earned the theme yet. He was still Anakin, not Vader.

Same concept Zimmer is using. In Begins, Batman is just a crazy man in a suit. In The Dark Knight, he will finally take on the mysterious persona, he'll finally become a legend. That is Zimmer's idea. Not a generic action theme for Batman, but a theme for a legend. That's how Batman will "earn it".

Yeah that pretty much sums it up. I think people were getting thrown off by the "earning it" statement. Like he didn't deserve it or something. Its not that, its just that he doesn't REALLY become Batman until the end of BB and throughout TDK. He thought he had failed before that. Its really not until the very end, that last scene and dialogue with Batman and Gordon does he really become Batman, a trusted ally. The last lines pretty much seal it.
" I never said thank you"
"And you'll never have to."
Thats where Batman begins.

 

[JdlC]

To be honest, i think Molossus is quite poor.

in your opinion... but for me... HELL NO!

I hate to say this, especially since I do appreciate Zimmer's score... But Even Forever had more memorable music... Tying Kiss from a Rose by Seal and Hold me Thrill me by U2 made it a really memorable soundtrack, as well as the fact that the score at least has a discernable batman "theme", both of which Begins lacked.

dear God NO! there's no way I want a popular or unpopular band populating the soundtrack of TDK... it's off... way off...

 

[Thespiralgoeson]

I love that song, too. But I disagree about the visual feel. You already have a mediocre to bad movie on your hands, put a popular band's rock song in it, game over-IMO.

I disagree completely. There's nothing wrong with using popular music. Martin Scorsesse has been doing it masterfully for decades. I thought it worked especially well for the Burton/Schumacher movies because they placed such an emphasis on the fantasy-based, surrealistic appearance of Gotham city.

In fact, that's one of the things that I love the most about the Burton/Schumacher movies; that each film has one song that really complements the visuals and the tone of the movie (IMO)

Batman '89 has the Prince soundtrack which fit Nicholson's Joker like a glove.

Batman Returns has "Face to Face" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Great band, great song, and works for the movie on too many levels to name.

Batman Forever had "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," by U2. I thought the song, the video and the band itself complemented the movie on many levels. I thought the song fit the visual feel of the movie, because it really seemed to reflect the sort of "Gothic Vegas" look Gotham had in the movie, as well as the manic, Hollywood, pop-culture value that the entire movie had. I mean think about it. This is a movie where the Riddler is played by Jim Carrey. This movie is pure 90's pop culture nostalgia. It needed music by a larger than life band like U2 circa 1995.

Batman & Robin had "The End is the Beginning is the End" by the Smashing Pumpkins. Now we can all agree this is a terrible movie, but I love the song, and I love the video. And again, I feel that the song complemented the visuals of the movie, which was the one thing the movie had going for it.

 

[Gianakin_]

B89: The Prince music brought the movie and the Joker down IMO. Terrible terrible idea that was only done for marketing. Circus clown music by Elfman was more than enough and THAT fit Joker like a glove.
BR: Well, it only played in the background as a song of the party. Like the violins that play in BB in Bruce's party and in the hotel he later buys.
BF and B&R: At least Siouxsee's song was moody and mysterious. I love U2 and I'm a big fan, but when you hear a popular rock song in a Batman movie, Batman being a dark character and blablabla, then you know you're going down the "please the teens" route. And yes, BF did that. Same goes for B&R, and I hear the Smashing Pumpkins song all the time, almost every day. Maybe I'm saying all this, because I hate BF and B&R and the U2 and Smashing Pumpkins fit the badness, as in: they don't fit Batman. On that note, we agree.

But Prince? Hell no.

 

[Thespiralgoeson]

B89: The Prince music brought the movie and the Joker down IMO. Terrible terrible idea that was only done for marketing. Circus clown music by Elfman was more than enough and THAT fit Joker like a glove.

We'll just have to disagree here. I loved the Prince soundtrack, and I thought it fit Joker's scenes perfectly.

BR: Well, it only played in the background as a song of the party. Like the violins that play in BB in Bruce's party and in the hotel he later buys.

I think Danny Elfman would be a bit offended if you said that to him.

BF and B&R: At least Siouxsee's song was moody and mysterious. I love U2 and I'm a big fan, but when you hear a popular rock song in a Batman movie, Batman being a dark character and blablabla, then you know you're going down the "please the teens" route. And yes, BF did that. Same goes for B&R, and I hear the Smashing Pumpkins song all the time, almost every day. Maybe I'm saying all this, because I hate BF and B&R and the U2 and Smashing Pumpkins fit the badness, as in: they don't fit Batman. On that note, we agree.

No, I'm afraid we don't agree. Batman Forever had it's flaws, no doubt, but "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me" was not one of them IMO. That song fit that version of Batman like a glove. Maybe not so much the Batman character himself, but certainly the Gotham City that was presented in that movie. Same goes for the Smashing Pumpkins song. I thought those songs were redeeming qualities for the movies.

But Prince? Hell no.

Never bothered me.

 

[Gianakin_]

We'll just have to disagree here. I loved the Prince soundtrack, and I thought it fit Joker's scenes perfectly.

Yup, that's the case, it seems.

I think Danny Elfman would be a bit offended if you said that to him.

Don't get me wrong, I love the song and I also love it in the movie. But it's use is right for me. It's a song people hear at the party. Remember Xmen 2, when N'Sync or sth was heard for a couple of secs in the Cyclops car? N'Sync suck all kinds of ass, but their ridiculous song fit there.

No, I'm afraid we don't agree. Batman Forever had it's flaws, no doubt, but "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me" was not one of them IMO. That song fit that version of Batman like a glove. Maybe not so much the Batman character himself, but certainly the Gotham City that was presented in that movie. Same goes for the Smashing Pumpkins song. I thought those songs were redeeming qualities for the movies.

Fair enough.

Never bothered me.

Again, fair enough.

PS: I could have just said "fair enough" to your entire post, and it would have passed the message along, heh.

 

[Thespiralgoeson]

Don't get me wrong, I love the song and I also love it in the movie. But it's use is right for me. It's a song people hear at the party. Remember Xmen 2, when N'Sync or sth was heard for a couple of secs in the Cyclops car? N'Sync suck all kinds of ass, but their ridiculous song fit there.

There's a little more to it than that. The moment that Face to Face is playing is the moment that Bruce and Selina reveal their identities to each other. It's an emotional scene and a pretty crucial moment in the film. But yeah, I suppose it is a bit of a throw away moment. But I just know anytime I hear that song I immediately think "Batman Returns."

 

[Gianakin_]

Oh, I agree with that. Besides, the lyrics were ritten for the movie. But you understand what I mean, so I won't go on.

 

[chamber-music]

How many comic book movie scores has Elfaman done. I know he did Batman, Flash, Spider-Man and now Hellboys. His the go to guy for comic book movies.

 

[Gianakin_]

The Hulk is one more that comes to mind.

 

[Jerry!]

Not one of the better ones...

 

[FCEEVIPER]

How many comic book movie scores has Elfaman done. I know he did Batman, Flash, Spider-Man and now Hellboys. His the go to guy for comic book movies.

He also did the score for Darkman.

 

[Jerry!]

Didn't he do the score for the Evil Dead as well?

 

[Mike_D202]

I think you guys are looking into it TOO deeply. By "earned" I dont think he meant he had to save a city before he got his theme. He was just beginning in "Batman Begins", thats why we didnt hear a "real" theme (even though the music was good). Now that Batman has made his entrance, they get to use the theme.

 

[FCEEVIPER]

^Yeah this thread is becoming ridiculous.

 

[Gianakin_]

He also did the score for Darkman.

Not to be an ass, but Darkman was technically not a comic book character. He was, nevertheless, a superhero, so I guess you're right. Again, just getting nitpicky, not trying to start anything.