Music for a Darkened Hype--The Danny Elfman Thread

[ross2287]

Elfman is one of my favourite composers working today. Say what you will about the staleness of Burton nowadays, but Elfman seldom disappoints. His score for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory makes the movie watchable.

I'm writing a review for the score for Alice in Wonderland for an internship position and I'll post it as soon as I'm done.

So what's your favourite score? Favourite track? Favourite Oingo Boingo song? Discuss!

 

[Emma Frost]

I really like Ice Dance from Edward Scissorhands.

 

[PyroChamber]

I didn't know he did the music for Notorious.

 

[Raiden]

I still love Elfman's old band Oingo Boingo. Some of the songs I love include "Hey", "Dead Men's Party", "Weird Science", and even "Little Girls".

 

[Sawyer]

Elfman's Batman score=

 

[mongoose-mania]

'Bout time there was a Danny Elfman thread! Thank you, ross!

But, on topic, Elfman is the man who got me into music. I was raised on his score for The Nightmare Before Christmas and it's because of him that I began to care about film music and other musical styles.
Also, Oingo Boingo is in my top 3 list of favorite bands. Boingo's songs got me through high school and really helped me figure out who I was and what I was doing. I've never heard a band that were so human in their lyrics, while being so sinister at the same time. And the horns aren't bad, either.
As far as favorite score, I'm going with Edward Scissorhands. It's hands-down the greatest score he's ever done, and his score for Alice in Wonderland was probably the best part about that film.

 

[ross2287]

I agree with you all the way mongoose about Elfman getting me into music--film music that is. Anyway, here's the score review for Alice in Wonderland.

Tim Burton’s latest film, “Alice in Wonderland”, is about Alice going back to Wonderland as a 19-year-old young adult and viewing it through her matured eyes. Likewise, Danny Elfman has written as score that matches that theme perfectly.

In a way, Elfman takes us down his own musical rabbit hole, filled with 25 years of his signature style. Fans might be pleasantly surprised with the juxtaposition of the bombastic and the mystical, often within the same track. However, some will feel that there are too many similarities with Elfman’s other scores.

For example, in the first minute of the opening track—“Alice’s Theme”—there are musical shadows of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Edward Scissorhands”, “Spider-Man” and “Black Beauty”. Then original lyrics by Elfman kick in! It will be interesting to see how the lyrics, which are almost indiscernible until one of the many reprises of the theme, are used in the film. There are snippets of “Serenada Schizophrana” and “Corpse Bride” within this first track as well.

“Little Alice” sounds similar to “Big Fish” and “Edward Scissorhands” and swells without any real payoff. “Proposal/Down the Hole” opens with Victorian-style music but quickly transforms into the staccato-staccato, legato-legato triplets of “Alice’s Theme”. Typical Elfman “la-la’s” replace the lyrics this time before the track transforms into something very closely resembling “Up and Out” from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.

“Bandersnatched” launches with a sound combining the Green Goblin’s theme from “Spider-Man” with “Planet of the Apes”. There’s an interesting militaristic version of Alice’s theme that you might miss if you aren't listening closely—it only lasts four seconds.

In “The Cheshire Cat”, Elfman somehow bends the sound of the strings into something that is both reminiscent of the plaintive strings of “Batman Returns” but creates an entirely new sound for the grinning feline.

The real treats here are the reprises of Alice’s theme. Five in all, they range from a stripped down version—“Alice Reprise #2”—to “Alice Reprise #5”, which opens with arpeggios that sound like they’re from Phillip Glass’ “Pruit Igoe & Prophecies”. The lyrics are swapped for “la-la’s” but return full-force by the track’s end.

The best cues, other than those are “Alice Escapes”, “Alice Decides”, “Going to Battle”, “Blood of the Jabberwocky”, and “Alice Returns”. In those first three tracks, Elfman does some really interesting variations with Alice’s theme, its most adventurous rendition in “Going to Battle”. “Blood of the Jabberwocky” is melancholic and somber, which probably indicates how the scene will play out.

“Alice Returns” is quiet and contemplative, yet hopeful. At about the 2-minute mark, there is a variation—probably the best—of Alice’s theme that is the most reminiscent to the music in “Black Beauty”. If you can’t hear the comparisons throughout the rest of the album, you will in this track.

With “Alice in Wonderland” Elfman has given us a dark fantasy score that is sometimes epic and sometimes solemn. Fans will be joyous that Elfman has revisited his “Black Beauty” pool to write his best fantasy score yet. The biggest complaint it will receive is that Elfman is self-plagiarizing. While that might be true to a point—“Going to Battle” and the second half of “Proposal/Down the Hole” could have been bonus tracks from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”—the score mirrors the film’s theme about revisiting places with a new perspective. No matter how different something is years later, part of it will always look—or sound—the same.

 

[mongoose-mania]

^Great review, ross. I agree about the "self-plagiarizing" thing; some of the cues did have the same thumping strings from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But I think it's one of Elfman's best scores of this decade, and it really took me by surprise. It's very lush, and can get very exciting, and makes for an excellent listen if you feel like reading or doing something quiet.

 

[ross2287]

The "Alice" score is much better than the film, which is sad because it's such an epic fantasy score and the film really isn't.

 

[mongoose-mania]

Elfman's score for Batman is being re-released as a two-disc limited edition by La-La Land Records this month. It's about frikkin' time.

 

[maenalus]

The "Batman" score is sublime.

 

[CFE]

BATMAN
Original Motion Picture Score (1989)

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Composed by … Danny Elfman
Orchestrated by … Shirley Walker, Steve Bartek and Steve Scott-Smalley
Conducted by … Shirley Walker
Performed by … The Sinfonia of London Orchestra

Executive Produced by … Jon Peters and Peter Guber
Produced by … Steve Bartek and Danny Elfman

Track Listing:

1: The Batman Theme (2:38)
2: Roof Fight (1:20)
3: First Confrontation (4:43)
4: Kitchen/Surgery/Face-Off (3:07)
5: Flowers (1:51)
6: Clown Attack (1:45)
7: Batman to the Rescue (3:56)
8: Roasted Dude (1:01)
9: Photos/Beautiful Dreamer (2:27)
10: Descent Into Mystery (1:31)
11: The Bat Cave (2:35)
12: The Joker’s Poem (0:56)
13: Childhood Remembered (2:43)
14: Love Theme (1:30)
15: Charge of the Batmobile (1:41)
16: Attack of the Batwing (4:44)
17: Up the Cathedral (5:04)
18: Waltz to the Death (3:55)
19: The Final Confrontation (3:47)
20: Finale (1:45)
21: Batman Theme Reprise (1:28)​

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Following a stirring return to the high-art concept of symphonic motion picture music enacted by John Williams’ masterful compositions for “Jaws” (1975), “Star Wars” (1977) and “Superman: The Movie” (1978) it became clear that a true mark of cinematic excellence could be achieved not just through casting and production design…but through the choice of composer and score.

For “BATMAN” (1989), director Tim Burton made a gamble nearly equivalent to his own hiring for the project; turning not to an established composer such as Williams or Jerry Goldsmith…but to a total risk in the form of Oingo Boingo front man Danny Elfman.

Prior to the film, Elfman had cut his teeth scoring Burton’s earlier films such as “Beetlejuice” (1988) and it was clear that their respective aesthetics were quite in tune. But just as Burton had never directed a picture of such action-packed, operatic scale…Elfman was in unfamiliar territory trying to bring a voice to Gotham City.

Having read Frank Miller’s “Dark Knight Returns” mini-series and walked Anton Furst’s gorgeously designed back lot at Pinewood Studios, Danny began the steady approach of tapping into his dark, creative well.

And needless to say, what he came up with was nothing short of baroquely gothic brilliance.

For me personally, given both the generation I born into…the Batman I was first introduced to…no one and I mean no one has musically nailed the concept or the atmosphere of Batman like Danny Elfman.

The score, in its bombastic sense of fun and mystery, seems to rely on its strength more in brass and percussion…it’s a very bold, powerful score…clearly defined.

The score takes its cues from classic film noir, a lot of gangster motifs and mysterioso canvas upon which Elfman paints a beautifully dark portrait of this hellish urban nightmare…of a crazed mob enforcer turned homicidal clown…and a man who dresses up as a giant bat to create an effect meant to strike sheer horror into the souls of criminals.

It’s everything that makes Batman the great figure of fantasy, horror, adventure that he is…in a musical sense.

And it all begins with, in my opinion, one of the most iconic themes in motion picture history.

Of course no composer is naïve nor pretentious enough to declare they’re setting out to create something that will be remembered. Hell, I’m sure composers are lucky if they can manage material that fits the footage…like all composers that was Elfman’s intent.

But somewhere along the way...in combining elements of gothic mystery, bold heroics, broad adventure and a dash of whimsy he successfully crafted “The Batman Theme”…a powerful march that can easily stand beside other legendary movie themes such as “Superman,” “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “James Bond” or “Halloween.”

There’s just something so visceral…so beautiful about that theme.

It’s just like the animated sequence that opened every episode of “Batman: The Animated Series”…in so much that, without uttering a single word…it captures and symbolizes ‘BATMAN’ so perfectly.

You play that theme…and it’s Batman…that’s all there is to it.

Since the bulk of the film really centers and focuses on Batman himself, the score emulates that. Most of the material is set up in similar fashions and cues, highlighting the sense of hopelessness in Gotham City (“Roasted Dude” and “Clown Attack”), the kooky sense of fun that can still be had with the character (“Roof Fight”), the futile yet star-crossed romanticism of Bruce Wayne’s relationship with Vicki Vale (“Photos/Beautiful Dreamer” and “Love Theme”), the mysterious…almost horror like qualities of Batman’s modus operandi (“The Bat Cave”) and the emotional undercurrent for Wayne’s psychological motivations (“Flowers” and “Childhood Remembered”).

Aside from the Batman centered material, Danny does get to have a bit of playful fun with his Joker theme…namely Joker’s “Waltz to the Death.” It’s a very whimsical yet sinister piece of music and a perfect fit for Nicholson’s depiction of the Clown Prince of Crime…especially the brass version that cues in at the end of “Kitchen/Surgery/Face-Off” when the Joker first reveals himself and kills Carl Grissom.

Personal standout tracks from the score included “First Confrontation” which runs the entire length of the shoot-out in Axis Chemicals. It’s very moody, fitting right in with the set designed at Actin Power Station as Jack Napier and his goons get caught in a face off with the Gotham Police. Elfman’s variations on Batman’s theme motif are brilliantly used here.

Another is “Roasted Dude,” as the Joker consults with the charred corpse of gangster Anthony Rotelli. For me, this always seemed to be the theme for the Joker’s dark side. Where the Waltz represents the crazed clown, the primal drum beats and distressed French horn used here fit perfect for the psychopathic monster that Napier truly is.

The fun gets rolling yet again in “Batman to the Rescue,” when Batman retrieves Vicki from the Fluggelheim Museum. This is a very kinetic track and a particularly wonderful cue resides in the percussive symbols when Batman is confronted by the Joker’s Sword-wielding Ninja Henchman.

Of course a fan favorite HAS to be the monolithic “Descent into Mystery” as Batman drives Vicki back to the Batcave. Noted for being only one of the two uses of chorus in the score (a technique Elfman would utilize more prominently in “Batman Returns”), “Descent into Mystery” is exceedingly operatic…probably the most theatrical track in the entire composition next to “Waltz to the Death.”

Chorus is utilized once more for the most haunting cue…“Childhood Remembered.” It’s a wonderfully brilliant dichotomy of the torment Bruce retains over his parent’s murder and the dedication he has to his mission as Batman. I also love the balance of strings in the cue…this is probably the best string work in the entire score.

But Elfman packs his biggest bang collectively in the film’s finale cues… “Charge of the Batmobile,” “Attack of the Batwing” and “The Final Confrontation.”

“Charge of the Batmobile” begins Batman’s final assault against the Joker’s reign of terror by destroying Axis Chemicals and Napier’s Smilex Toxin operations with tons of explosive panache, both literally and musically. I love the cue right after the explosion as the Batmobile makes its escape with the insistent trumpets playing to catch every single explosion in rhythmic aggression.

“Attack of the Batwing” is the same way only a bit bolder…a bit broader (perhaps meant to note that the battle is taking place now in the vastness of the Gotham skies and not the cramped chemical works) and I love the finality of it as motifs for both Batman and Joker become laced; one instance it’s the dark strings and brass of Batman the next it’s the cartoonish instrumentations of the Joker…as if they, like the characters, are on a collision course heading for the film’s outcome. The final straw of the track…the foreboding church bells as the downed Batwing crash-lands on the steps of the cathedral…is simply breathtaking. WOW!!!

It all comes to a genuinely powerful and gripping point with “The Final Confrontation” as a desperate Batman simultaneously tries to keep Vicki safe while figuring out how to stop the Joker once and for all. In a beautiful moment meant to startle the audience with one final sting Elfman gives his protagonists a fleeting beat to breathe easy after the Joker’s demise…only to stir up the chaos yet again as Batman and Vale are caught in free fall! As expected both Batman and the score make it in just the nick of time and the cue ends with a tinkering final gesture for Joker…

As the film ends, we’re given a wonderfully triumphant “Finale” as the Bat-Signal is lit and the citizens of Gotham commend the efforts of their newfound hero. The Batman theme makes another appearance but this time in a much more victorious, uplifted variation that caps off beautifully with a powerfully octane moment of sheer elation as the camera veers up the skyscrapers to find Batman himself, keeping vigil over the city as the signal shines through the ebony clouds.

In the end, what could I possibly say? I can’t speak more highly about Danny Elfman’s work for “BATMAN.”

It’s adventure…it’s mystery…it’s intrigue…

It’s Batman…pure and simple.

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[ross2287]

The finale in Batman is still the best finale in any Batman film. Elfman's score makes it this way. It elevates it to an almost surreal level.

I'll definitely be picking this up.

 

[mongoose-mania]

From what I heard, Danny Elfman attended Comic-Con on Thursday to promote a new release:

The Tim Burton & Danny Elfman 25th Anniversary Music Box Set.

Included in the set will be 14 CDs, a DVD, art from Tim Burton, and a book of interviews and conversations between the two. It'll be released before Christmas.

Anyone going to be getting this? I'd love to, but I already have every Burton soundtrack that Elfman composed, so I don't really need it.

 

[Catman]

I'll buy it depending on the price. I remember when LaLa Records charged $30 for the Batman: The Animated Series set. Since this is a 14-disc set I'd imagine that the price will be ridiculously high.

 

[howl]

check the vid below concerning this awesome boxset.

i hope its a reasonable price, coz its looks amazing.

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