Michael Giacchino WILL score The Batman

[Gothamsknight]

!!!!!!!

I'm so ready!!

 

[chintai80]

i am tempted to listen to the whole soundtrack but i want to avoid it until after having watched the movie.
also tracklist names sometimes are a bit spoilerish as well.

this is like placing a fish in front of a cat and expecting the cat not to eat the fish. lol

 

[Sawyer]

When they drop the full album, I’m going to try to resist listening to the whole thing, but with WB/Reeves dropping breadcrumbs like this, and with Giacchino’s contributions being the thing I’ve been most curious about for some time now, of course I’m going to listen right away.

 

[chintai80]

When they drop the full album, I’m going to try to resist listening to the whole thing, but with WB/Reeves dropping breadcrumbs like this, and with Giacchino’s contributions being the thing I’ve been most curious about for some time now, of course I’m going to listen right away.

i will avoid listening to it and will even avoid looking at the tracklist until after i have seen the movie.

 

[Gee]

 

[OnLeatherWings]

^RIP to anyone using headphones at 2:06.

(Yes, this is a quick warning to prepare thy earholes).

 

[RokMeAmadeus]

I must be crazy... I'm a bit let down. I don't really get Riddler vibes off this. Like, yeah, I guess there's the sense of "mystery" or whatever and I get the Walker/Elfman influence is cool and all but it just sounds so... Typical to me, and it does not make me think of Riddler. It makes me think of friggin Nightmare Before Christmas. And for a movie so apparently "dark" the score hardly sounds quite as dark for the most part. Maybe I need a couple relistens, idk. First impression tho, not really engaging for me.

 

[Robbypattypats]

I must be crazy... I'm a bit let down. I don't really get Riddler vibes off this. Like, yeah, I guess there's the sense of "mystery" or whatever and I get the Walker/Elfman influence is cool and all but it just sounds so... Typical to me, and it does not make me think of Riddler. It makes me think of friggin Nightmare Before Christmas. And for a movie so apparently "dark" the score hardly sounds quite as dark for the most part. Maybe I need a couple relistens, idk. First impression tho, not really engaging for me.

For me it fits this version of the character, which is all that matters

 

[Marvolo]

This would have been a better theme for Batman. Giacchino got his wires crossed.

 

[RokMeAmadeus]

No the theme for Batman is still incredible, I'm not gonna deny that, but even then I didn't expect that large portion in the middle of it to have that sort of... Tone lol.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

This would have been a better theme for Batman.

Holy crap, you're right!

 

[Sawyer]

Nah. There’s something sinister about the piece. That’s villain score.

 

[BatLobster]

I'm not saying this as a good or bad thing, but Riddler's theme doesn't feel like it would be out of place in a Burton OR Schumacher film. Which is strange to say considering how incredibly dark this version is.

Will need to see how it plays in the film.

 

[Art Vandelay]

This would have been a better theme for Batman. Giacchino got his wires crossed.

No, I like the Batman theme because it's so distinct. This is a bit too vague, even for the Riddler.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

The reason his Batman theme is so good is because it feels like a conscious effort to not be sinister. The way it segues out of the more obvious "menacing" Batman theme into something really sweeping and romantic and heroic. It has the darkness to it at the beginning and end but it isn't the heart of the theme, just like that darkness isn't really the heart of Batman.

Riddler theme is a lot of fun. Incredibly Elfman. I really love how unashamedly melodramatic and comic booky the music is. Way more interesting to me than the more obvious, lowkey noir style you might imagine the film having from earlier trailers.

Isn't the kid implied to be baby Paul Dano in that newspaper clipping we've seen in the trailers in a choir in said clipping??

 

[Invader Joker]

I wouldn't call the music comic-booky, to me it just sounds as orchestral as noir films of the 70s did, which tended to have these really big in scope themes even tho they were fairly grounded. Even the Godfather tended to go ridiculously over-dramatic with its music.

The reason it's reminiscent of TAS is because TAS also tried to emulate those sort of themes.

 

[C Prometheus]

I'm fairly certain at this point that Giacchino's basing his leitmotifs for Batman and Riddler off of existing classical pieces that reflect something about their respective characters. For Bruce, it was Chopin's Funeral March (an easy tie-in to his lingering trauma with his parents' murder and the confirmed efforts from other crew members that they're intending to depict Batman as an almost Grim Reaper-y type figure).

For Riddler, I'm fairly sure the melody is based on Schubert's Ave Maria. We already know from the officially released scene that the original piece itself is in the film, and

Spoiler: TV Spot and Prequel Book Details

we know that Edward was part of the Wayne Manor Orphanage's children's choir.

Assuming that's all intentional on Giacchino's part, I wonder if he'll be doing the same for the leitmotifs of the other characters like Selina, Gordon or Penguin?

 

[Mindreaper21]

I must be crazy... I'm a bit let down. I don't really get Riddler vibes off this. Like, yeah, I guess there's the sense of "mystery" or whatever and I get the Walker/Elfman influence is cool and all but it just sounds so... Typical to me, and it does not make me think of Riddler. It makes me think of friggin Nightmare Before Christmas. And for a movie so apparently "dark" the score hardly sounds quite as dark for the most part. Maybe I need a couple relistens, idk. First impression tho, not really engaging for me.

Riddler’s theme is like the music you hear in movies about possession.

 

[BatLobster]

I'm honestly having a hard time imagining how the more bombastic parts of that score will fit with any of the imagery we've seen. That 100% sounds like a mustache twirling supervillain theme and not one of a scary Zodiac-inspired serial killer.

Maybe we don't have this film's tone as pegged as we thought we did.

The thing is, sure, you can point to scores of the 70s. But it is not the 70s. Tastes have changed a lot. Doing a throwback score does impact the tone of the film in a drastic way.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

He’s a serial killer, yeah, but for all the Zodiac imagery he’s very clearly a movie serial killer. Movie serial killers have virtually no connection to real life murderers and are functionally supervillains to begin with - like, Hannibal Lecter or John Doe have far more in common with comic book villains than anything from the real world to begin with.

Riddler is still a super villain here. With a costume and a gimmick. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not like he’s some Aronofsky’s Year One style totally removed from anything ‘silly’ take.

 

[Invader Joker]

Reeves described him as a serial killer mixed with a terrorist.

 

[BatLobster]

He’s a serial killer, yeah, but for all the Zodiac imagery he’s very clearly a movie serial killer. Movie serial killers have virtually no connection to real life murderers and are functionally supervillains to begin with - like, Hannibal Lecter or John Doe have far more in common with comic book villains than anything from the real world to begin with.

Riddler is still a super villain here. With a costume and a gimmick. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not like he’s some Aronofsky’s Year One style totally removed from anything ‘silly’ take.

That's fair. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Part of me would low key love it if this movie was secretly a camp-fest and parody of a dark Batman movie, if only to sit back and watch the meltdowns.

Obviously that's not the case, but I do think that score is riding a fine line here. The imagery of this film thus far just feels super dark and Fincher-y. Maybe the juxtaposition will make for something really interesting, but this just struck me as something that would feel very at home in a 90s Batman movie. And to be honest, as much as we can intellectualize the influences and intent...it very well may strike some people as cheesy. Could be a bit disorienting considering how the film has been marketed.

 

[Invader Joker]

That's fair. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Part of me would low key love it if this movie was secretly a camp-fest and parody of a dark Batman movie, if only to sit back and watch the meltdowns.

Obviously that's not the case, but I do think that score is riding a fine line here. The imagery of this film thus far just feels super dark and Fincher-y. Maybe the juxtaposition will make for something really interesting, but this just struck me as something that would feel very at home in a 90s Batman movie. And to be honest, as much as we can intellectualize the influences and intent...it very well may strike some people as cheesy. Could be a bit disorienting considering how the film has been marketed.

I think Reeves just really wasn't kidding when he said he wanted this movie to feel almost like a film of the 70s.

 

[Rick190293]

I like it, don't love it (not yet). Very creepy, has a childish tone that makes you feel unconfortable and tense. But I think it has the same problem I have with Bat's theme: the main melody gets repetitive after some time.

 

[poncholuke]

I'm honestly surprised and absolutely love how comic booky this sounds. And tbf, this movie never once hid its campier influences, such as batman 66, so I guess we should have seen this coming.