Batman '89 The Danny Elfman Appreciation Thread

[Elevator Man]

Elfman Adapting Zimmer And Crew’s Wonder Woman Riff

The only piece of music Elfman borrowed from Zimmer was the Wonder Woman riff from “Is She With You?” of the Batman V Superman soundtrack. According to the Justice League CD booklet “Is She With You” was composed by four other composers besides Zimmer. It took five people to compose something so simple as that Wonder Woman riff? Zimmer’s Wonder Woman riff is hailed as one of the best superhero themes in pop culture. To most that rhythmic electric cello riff elevated that moment where Wonder Woman rescued Batman from Doomsday. Not only was it used in the trailers for Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman movie, but Rupert Gregson-Williams (composer of Wonder Woman and a protégé of Zimmer’s) even adapted it into that film’s score. To me it’s an overrated piece of music. I find it absurd to even call it a theme or motif let alone one of the best superhero themes ever. Sure it’s performed well but becomes very repetitive and lacks nuance. Other than the fact that it’s an unconventional approach to a superhero theme. I believe the only reason it appeals to most people is because it’s something they can jam or workout to. However, it doesn’t really compliment the character. Zimmer’s Wonder Woman riff mostly reflects her amazon/warrior side, but fails to characterize her humanity. Which is one of the reasons why it felt jarring whenever it was adapted into the score of her solo movie. That electric cello riff ended up feeling contrived compared to the rest of Gregson-Williams’ score.

I was all for a complete overhaul of Zimmer’s themes/motifs after Elfman was hired. So imagine my surprise when Elfman decided to adapt Zimmer’s Wonder Woman riff for Justice League. He was already ignoring the Batfleck and Man Of Steel themes why bother even adapting the Wonder Woman riff? I’m assuming the studio convinced Elfman to use it not only because of the Wonder Woman solo movie being successful, but because her glorified cameo was considered one of the few highlights of Batman V Superman. The general consensus of both Affleck’s Batman and Cavill’s Superman were mixed, which was probably why WB/DC were comfortable about Elfman ditching Zimmer’s themes for the more iconic themes. I was disappointed because I wanted Elfman to come up with something better than what was composed for her character prior to Justice League. However, Elfman adapting the Wonder Woman riff would be one less thing for the DCEU/Zimmer fans to complain about, right? WRONG! They still complained about how Elfman chose to adapt it.

Two renditions of the Wonder Woman riff appears at the 1:17 and 2:18 mark during “Wonder Woman Rescue”, where Wonder Woman rescues hostages from terrorists. Elfman took a more orchestral approach. He avoided the assistance of Tina Guo’s electric cello performance, but instead had the riff performed on trumpets with minor use of the electric guitar. The reactions to Elfman’s adaptation of the riff have been mixed. Some fans like the riff no matter how it’s performed. While the purists thought Elfman stripped and neutered the riff from it’s so-called “ingenuity” by omitting the electric cello. Certain fans believe the riff added more nuance and stamina when performed by an orchestra.

Unfortunately Elfman’s adaptation of Zimmer’s Wonder Woman riff has failed to convert me into a fan. You can touch it up and dress it up but it’s still a shallow rhythmic riff, which has become very redundant. It served it’s purpose in Batman V Superman, which was to showcase Wonder Woman‘s abilities as well as her warrior side. That riff shouldn‘t have recurred again after that movie. Honestly I just wished Elfman had ignored the riff entirely and replaced it with something more heroic. I’m still waiting for a Wonder Woman theme that can rival Williams’ Superman and Elfman’s Batman. The riff that Zimmer and co. came up with just doesn‘t do the character justice. It boggles my mind that Elfman was even comfortable with adapting that annoying riff into his score. If it wasn’t for the contrived Wonder Woman riff “Wonder Woman’s Rescue’ would’ve been one of the highlights of the soundtrack. The riff is my least favorite portion of that track easily. However, I enjoyed the rest of the cue despite of the riff, which puts me in the minority.

 

[Elevator Man]

The Flash/Speed Force Motif

It’s interesting that Elfman avoided re-using his classic Flash theme from the 90s TV show based on the same character. He never mentioned why he avoided adapting it for Justice League. Maybe he wasn’t too fond of it or didn’t feel it was as iconic as his Batman theme or Williams Superman theme. Instead for Ezra Miller’s Flash he came up with a motif played rhythmically on strings. The rhythmic six note motif mostly depicts the Flash’s super speed/speeding abilities, which the film mistakenly calls the speed force. Whenever the Flash uses his super speed, I’m pretty sure he’s not using the speed force. Regardless Elfman’s motif describes this film’s depiction of the speed force.

This particular motif appears in three tracks. It first appears at the 3:36 mark of “Tunnel Fight” (edited version on disc 1), but at the 6:15 mark of the full length version on disc 2. That’s the moment where the Flash runs towards Wonder Woman’s sword to push it back into her hand as she’s struggling to reach it, while she, a parademon, and what’s left of the tunnel’s bridge are descending towards the ground. The Flash/Speed Force motif recurs at the 1:38 mark in “Spark Of The Flash”. Which is the moment on the kryptonian ship where the Flash uses his super speed to electrically charge the mother box before it touches the fluid of the genesis chamber containing Superman’s corpse. The motif concludes just before Superman is resurrected from the dead. The Speed Force motif appears in full for the last time in “Friends And Foes” at the 1:41 mark, as the Flash uses his super speed to outwit Superman but the tables are turned when Barry realizes Superman not only can see him but shares similar speeding abilities. A snippet of the Flash motif can be heard briefly in “Anti Hero’s Theme“.

Overall, Elfman’s Flash/Speed Force motif skillfully defines Barry’s speedster abilities. I’m assuming Elfman avoided writing a bold theme, which characterized the Scarlet Speedster, because other than the fact this was Justice League the Flash should earn his own theme in his solo movie.Nothing against Elfman’s new Flash theme but I still consider his Flash theme from the 90s TV show a superior theme. Out of the new themes Elfman composed for Justice League his Flash/Speed Force motif seems to be the least hated among the DCEU/Zimmer community.

Fans have complained about Elfman’s Flash motif being either a rip off or a nod to Blake Neely’s Flash theme from the CW TV series. I can see where people are coming from about there being similarities between both themes. However, I believe it’s just a coincidence. Both composers took a similar approach to depicting the Flash’s speeding abilities. If anything Blake Neely took inspiration from Elfman because a lot of the scores (though performed on mostly synthesizers) to that show are very Elfman-esque (e.g. Elfman’s Spider-Man) Even the choir (either electronic or real) that Neely applies into some of the scores give an Elfman vibe.

Some have also pointed out that Elfman’s Flash/Speed Force motif is reminiscent of his Hulk theme. Even though it shares similarities tonally with the use of descending strings I don’t feel it’s a rip off of his Hulk theme. It’s just a part of Elfman’s writing style, which his haters are still having difficulty accepting.

 

[Elevator Man]

Aquaman Motif

For Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Elfman wrote an eight note motif, which depicts the character’s more hostile side. There isn’t much heroic about this theme but then again the character as depicted in the movie doesn’t really see himself as a hero.

The Aquaman motif first appears at the 0:27 mark in “Aquaman In Atlantis” as it announces Aquaman aka Arthur Curry as he’s about to save a fisherman from drowning. It appears in both versions of “Tunnel Fight” at the 4:50 and 5:18 mark in the edited version on disc 1 but at the 9:11 and 9:39 mark in full length version on disc 2. The motif in that moment depicts Aquaman making his entrance into the tunnel under Gotham Harbor and proceeds to detain the flood (caused by Steppenwolf) with his trident. The Aquaman motif makes one final appearance in “The Final Battle”, which was edited out of the truncated version on disc 1, but can be heard in the full length version at 5:05. As well as the beginning four notes of the Aquaman motif at the 5:20 mark. Lets just say this hokey nonsensical moment takes place during an aerial battle between Aquaman and some parademons.

On my first listen of the Justice League score Aquaman’s motif didn’t resonate with me much. After repeat listens I recognized what motif represented his character but initially thought it was a secondary theme/motif for Steppenwolf. That’s because Aquaman’s motif seemed too dark, menacing, and aggressive compared to Momoa’s sardonic portrayal, which depicted Aquaman as a relaxed drinker than some antihero. So I wasn’t too impressed with Elfman’s Aquaman motif at first. Unfortunately, the Aquaman motif (just as the character in the movie) doesn’t get fleshed out enough. I figured with a character like Aquaman Elfman would’ve took a more swashbuckling approach with the theme. Or taken a more inventive approach by providing the superhero with an electric guitar driven motif, which would better accommodate Momoa’s more rocker/surfer portrayal. With that said Elfman’s Aquaman motif has grown on me since then. Would be nice if it gets referenced in the upcoming Aquaman movie. However, I doubt Wonder Woman composer Rupert Gregson-Williams, who’s also composing the score for James Wan’s Aquaman, will borrow anything from Elfman’s Justice League. He’ll most likely come up with a new theme/motif, which is fine. Just a pity he wasn’t allowed to do the same for the Wonder Woman movie. Now Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is stuck with that annoying riff. Overall, I thought Elfman’s Aquaman motif was decent and functional, but wished the movie gave him the opportunity to flesh it out more and let it shine.

 

[Elevator Man]

Cyborg/ Victor Stone Motif

Instead of giving Cyborg a cliché dark synthetic heroic theme, which I’m sure Junkie XL would’ve served the mechanical superhero. Elfman came up with an emotional/melancholic five note motif, which mostly depicts Victor Stone’s humanity, loneliness, grief, and personal/psychological struggles with his cybernetic abilities. The Cyborg motif is more of an sentimental theme for Victor Stone.

The motif can be heard throughout most of “Enter Cyborg”, which takes place when Cyborg is introduced in the movie, while having an emotional conversation with his father about coping with his robotic abilities and what is left of his humanity. As well as when Diana tries to convince Victor to join the league, which the Cyborg motif can be heard at the 1:28 (performed on violins) and 1:55 mark (performed on piano) in “Cyborg Meets Diana“. It’s unfortunate that both tracks and Elfman’s Cyborg motif doesn’t amount to much in the score. Victor Stone’s character arc gets cut short in the movie and Elfman’s motif suffers for it. Cyborg/Victor Stone’s emotional motif isn’t given an opportunity to transform into a more heroic fully fleshed theme because the motif doesn’t recur for the remainder of the album after “Enter Cyborg“ and “Cyborg Meets Diana“. The Cyborg/Victor Stone motif ends up being undeveloped due to the character itself being poorly developed in the movie. I actually believe that Elfman came up with an interesting motif that could’ve grown with the character if he was fleshed out better, but instead the movie set it up for a future Cyborg solo movie instead.

Once again listeners claimed that Elfman plagiarized one of his own themes for Cyborg. This time it’s his main theme from Terminator Salvation. However, Cyborg’s motif isn’t a rip off of anything from that score. Just because the first three notes of Cyborg’s motif is similar to the first three notes of his Terminator Salvation main theme doesn’t mean Elfman reused/copied it. If these Elfman detractors were that picky they should’ve recognized the instrumentation in “Enter Cyborg” at 1:05-1:16 being similar to Elfman’s own Fifty Shades Of Grey, which I’m sure wasn’t intentional but just Elfman’s writing style.

Overall, I liked Elfman’s motif for Cyborg and appreciated that he chose to explore the character’s more emotional/psychological side rather than the robotic heroic side. It’s a shame the motif is underdeveloped, ends up serving little purpose in the score, and won’t resonate with most listeners. If Cyborg was given stronger character development in the movie Elfman’s Victor Stone motif could’ve evolved with the character as he embraced his new abilities. Elfman mentioned avoiding big bold melodies for Cyborg, Flash, and Aquaman because the score would feel tedious. So he chose to give them minor motifs, but still manages to make the score somewhat clunky. The movie doesn’t allow him to explore/expand upon these motifs because the characters are mostly one-dimensional. I know Elfman wanted to focus on the team aspect with the score because this is supposed to be an ensemble movie. My guess is the studios wanted him to come up with themes for Aquaman, Cyborg, and Flash, which can be adapted or expanded upon into their solos films. At least Elfman left future DCEU composers the option to adapt or replace his motifs, which unfortunately both he and Rupert Gregson-Williams weren‘t given with Zimmer‘s Wonder Woman riff.

 

[Elevator Man]

The Justice League Theme

For the Justice League, Elfman came up with a triumphant and gallant 27 note main theme, which is split into two sections. The main theme mostly centers around the first thirteen notes, while the second portion of the main theme consists of twelve concluding notes.

Elfman’s Justice League theme can be heard during “The Justice League Theme - Logos, “The Tunnel Fight” (both edited and full length versions), briefly in the middle of “Justice League United”, throughout most of “The Final Battle” (both edited and full length versions) and carries most of “A New Hope”. Elfman’s Justice League theme is used very sparingly so doesn’t become overused or overexposed. By the third act as the league unites for the final battle against Steppenwolf and his army of parademons in Russia the Justice League theme recurs more into the forefront. However, Elfman’s Justice League theme isn’t really distinguishable from most superhero themes of it’s ilk. It’s pretty much what I’d expect from a team of superheroes on a mission to save the world, which isn’t necessarily a negative criticism from me. When it’s played straight forward it’s very conventional, but when the theme is being twisted inside and out, played in fragmented notes, etc. it becomes more captivating to my ears.

Due to the Justice League theme being subdued for nearly two thirds of the album it probably won’t resonate with certain listeners, who want to be able hum the theme when it’s over, on first listen at least. Whether a theme is “hummable” or not isn’t something that bothers me after watching a superhero movie or any movie for that matter. I normally don’t notice the score in most movies today anyway because I’m too busy focusing on the movie/story, acting and performances, or whether the movie measured up to my own expectations, etc. I tend to notice most scores (in current movies) a lot more on repeat viewings. Whether you like it or not I believe Elfman’s Justice League theme achieves what it sets out to do.

Now listeners have complained and nitpicked about Elfman’s Justice League theme being derivative of Silvestri’s Avengers theme and even Elfman’s own Avengers hybrid theme from Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Particularly during both versions of ‘The Final Battle” as a courageous rendition of Elfman’s Justice League theme kicks in at the 1:32 mark (in the edited version) and at the 4:03 mark (in the full length version). So because the brass section performed the Justice League theme during that moment it automatically means it’s a carbon copy of the brassy Avengers theme. Instruments from the brass section are often used in superhero scores (since Williams Superman: The Movie) to emulate heroism and valor. Honestly I don’t feel the Justice League theme is a blatant rip off of either Silvetsri’s theme or Elfman’s own hybrid theme anywhere in the score. If anything the portion that I mentioned earlier in both versions of “The Final Battle” sounds Silvestri-esque but that’s it. If the Justice League theme was blatant copy of Silvestri’s Avengers theme? How come these accusers didn’t notice the so-called similarities between both themes in tracks (“Justice League Theme - Logos”, “The Tunnel Battle” (abridged version), “Justice League United”) where the Justice League theme appeared prior to track #20, “The Final Battle”? The answer is because these claims are nothing more than hyperbole from zealots.

Some listeners have also claimed Elfman borrowed Blake Neely’s Legends Of Tomorrow theme. Really? So these detractors are accusing Elfman of ripping off another Blake Neely theme? If they are talking about the main Legends Of Tomorrow theme? They should’ve noticed that Neely’s Legends theme shares similarities with Brian Tyler’s Iron Man theme from Iron Man 3, which has distracted me whenever it recurred in the background in certain episodes. So does that mean that Elfman’s Justice League theme is a rip off of Brian Tyler’s Iron Man 3 main theme? I know it isn’t, but these irrational fanatics hear whatever they want to hear. Elfman’s Justice League theme doesn’t sound anything like Neely’s Legends theme or Tyler’s Iron Man theme for that matter. If these accusers are talking about the music during the opening narration prologue/intros. If anything the music, which even has a choir humming the Legends theme, during that portion is basically cheesy imitation of Elfman‘s superhero themes.

Is it really difficult for these detractors to critique Elfman’s Justice League theme for being indistinguishable with most superhero themes, which is a criticism I somewhat agree with? The Justice League movie isn’t that distinctive from other superhero movies either. In fact, it didn’t bring anything new to the genre. The final product ended up being a poor man’s Avengers movie. There isn’t much that separates the team in the movie from every other superhero teams (or team ups) on the big screen. So it isn’t like Elfman was given much to work with musically. Elfman’s Justice League theme isn’t as impressive as his previous superhero themes/motifs. I understand where the fans are coming from about the theme being unable to measure up to their expectations. However, the Justice League theme does have some standout moments on the album.

 

[Elevator Man]

Hero’s Theme

Now most listeners don’t know what “Hero’s Theme” represents in the score. For me it’s the secondary Justice League theme, which represents the team ready for battle. There was confusion to whether Elfman meant “Heroes Theme“ instead of “Hero‘s Theme“. Even speculation to whether Hero’s theme represented the Justice League or any individual hero. Elfman mentioned in an interview that “Hero’s Theme” is the main heroic theme for the Justice League, but considers the theme for the Justice League to be the secondary theme. That’s probably because Hero’s theme is explored throughout most of the score compared to his Justice League theme. There’s even truncated versions of the theme interweaved in certain tracks that listeners may notice after more listens.

Hero’s theme can be heard through out “Hero’s Theme” obviously, a truncated statement appears at the 0:59 mark of “Batman On The Roof”, briefly at the 1:47 mark of “Enter Cyborg”, at the 1:50 and 1:58 mark of “Wonder Woman’s Rescue” (which to my ears the mighty rendition of Hero’s theme would’ve carried the entire fight scene better without the contrived Zimmer Wonder Woman riff tarnishing the remainder of the track), used very subtlety at the beginning of “Cyborg Meets Diana”, briefly at the 0:29 mark of “Then There Were Three”, fragments sprinkled throughout “The Tunnel Fight” (both edited and unedited versions), a snippet is interweaved into the Flash/Speed Force motif at the 1:53 mark of “Spark Of The Flash”, somewhat tender/romantic arrangement recurs at 0:42 mark that concludes “Bruce And Diana”, fragments scattered throughout “The Final Battle” (full length version only), appears at the 2:28 and 2:50 mark of “A New Hope” and briefly for one final statement at the 4:36 mark of “Anti-Hero’s Theme”.

Hero’s theme consists of a six note ostinato contrapuntal to four ascending notes. Elfman skillfully interweaves Hero’s theme into fragments throughout most of the score. Some reviewers and listener believe Hero’s theme depicts Batman because Elfman’s Batman theme can be heard. In fact, some have claimed that Hero’s theme is another variation of his Batman theme. Even making assumptions that he removed some notes from the Batman theme and called it Hero‘s theme. Fans have also speculated that Hero’s theme is a hybrid of Elfman’s Batman theme and Zimmer’s Wonder Woman riff. I don’t agree. Sure it seems to often be associated with Wonder Woman and Batman during some of the action scenes, but I don’t believe it’s a hybrid of both themes. Plus he would’ve credited Zimmer and co. in the CD booklet if it was.

Fans, listeners, and critics also pointed out how similar Hero’s theme is to Jerry Goldsmith’s main theme from 1994’s The Shadow (which ironically the score shares some similarities with Elfman’s Batman). I don’t feel that there’s any similarity between both themes. Those that claim that there is will have to point it out to me. People seem to exaggerate about themes from different composers sounding the same because the melody may share some of the same notes. Regardless Elfman’s Hero’s theme is a lot more engaging than his Justice League theme, which isn‘t weak by any means. Elfman was able to show more nuance with Hero’s theme by comparison.

 

[Elevator Man]

Anti-Hero’s Theme

Anti-Hero’s theme consists of three notes with four rhythmic string notes (which is somewhat reminiscent to the ostinato from Elfman’s “The End?” from Dark Shadows) playing in conjunction with it. At the 0:49 mark of “Anti-Hero’s Theme” another four note rhythmic motif, which alternates between 4 and 5 notes (that is somewhat reminiscent of Elfman’s Hulk motif and his Victor/Sparky emotional theme from Frankieweenie) plays counterpoint to the main three note theme/motif. The three portions of Anti-Hero’s theme aren’t just featured in “Anti-Hero’s Theme”, but scattered throughout the score.

The four/five note rhythmic motif of Anti-Hero’s theme appears at the 0:14 and 1:27 mark of “Batman On The Roof“. A more foreboding rendition of Anti-Hero’s theme appears at the 0:59 mark of “The Story of Steppenwolf”. It carries the remainder of the track but shifts chaotic to tranquil after 1:41. Anti-Hero’s theme also appears in “The Amazon Mother Box” at the 2:12 and 2:27 mark. A brief statement of Anti-Hero’s theme appears at the 0:31 mark of “Cyborg Meets Diana”. The four note string ostinato recurs briefly during the 0:43 mark of “Aquaman In Atlantis”. At the beginning of “Then There Were Three” a brief statement of the Batman theme segues into a short statement of Anti-Hero’s theme, which appears at the 0:07 mark. Both edited and full length versions of “The Tunnel Fight” open with the four note counterpoint of Anti Hero’s theme, which recurs again at the 1:20 mark of full length version only. “The World Needs Superman” opens with a woeful statement of Anti-Hero’s theme, which also recurs at the 0:34 mark. A menacing version of Anti-Hero’s theme appears at the 0:42 mark of “Friends And Foes”. A heroic rendition of the Justice League theme segues into Anti Hero’s theme, which recurs at the 0:47 mark of “Justice League United“. Anti Hero’s theme appears in both versions of “The Final Battle”. In the truncated version a benign arrangement of the theme occurs at the 3:36 mark but a more adamant rendition recurs at the 4:06 mark, which wasn‘t included in the full length version. However, the more affectionate arrangement of the Anti-Hero’s theme does appear at the 12:18 mark. A bold soaring statement of Anti-Hero’s theme appears at the 4:07 mark of “A New Hope”.

Elfman make as much use of Anti-Hero‘s theme as he does with Hero‘s theme. It took a couple listens to catch all the recurrences, but it’s very skillfully interweave into tracks. I’m not exactly sure who/what Anti-Hero’s theme represents in the movie. It’s used in nearly every track. Reviewers and listeners believe Anti-Hero’s theme depicts Steppenwolf and Batman (probably because a statement of the Batman theme closes “Anti-Hero’s Theme”). An argument can be made that it somewhat represents Superman. Instead of a mournful rendition of Williams’ Superman theme Elfman relied on his Anti-Hero’s theme for “The World Needs Superman”. During “Friends And Foes“ when Superman attacks Cyborg with his heat vision a very unpleasant version of Anti-Hero’s theme occurs. Elfman chose to adapt his Anti-Hero’s theme during the Superman shirt rip and take off scene at the end of the movie (“A New Hope“ cue) instead of relying on a bold statement of the Williams theme, which is interesting. Could it be a theme, which represents the mother boxes? Anti-Hero’s theme could be a secondary theme for Superman, Steppenwolf, or an ambiguous theme which depicts the story/plot. Regardless Anti-Hero’s theme is quite intriguing.

 

[Elevator Man]

Steppenwolf’s Theme

When Steppenwolf’s theme is first introduced (on the album) at the beginning of “The Story Of Steppenwolf” it’s composed of about fourteen notes. However, when it’s repeated a few seconds afterwards (at the 0:37 mark) it’s extended with two extra notes. This particular theme Elfman either plays around or twists the notes, which prevents it from becoming stale. Some tracks the first four or six notes of Steppenwolf’s theme recurs, which makes it easier to interweave and alternate between other themes/motifs featured in the score. So the full statement of Steppenwolf’s theme only appears in “The Story Of Steppenwolf“ and “Mother Russia“. While snippets of the theme occurs in “The Amazon Mother Box”, “Aquaman In Atlantis”, “The Tunnel Fight” (both edited and full length versions), “The Final Battle” (both edited and full length versions), and “Mother Russia”.

Elfman’s Steppenwolf theme is very menacing and depraved, which is more than I can say for the actual character in the movie. This theme has everything that was otherwise lacking about Steppenwolf on screen. It’s a testament to Elfman’s capabilities as a composer to come up with an engaging theme for such a mundane villain. Not sure if it rivals his villain themes for Penguin, Catwoman, Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. For Steppenwolf he didn’t have much to work with visually or performance wise (no offense to Ciarán Hinds, who wasn‘t given much either). So for the most part Elfman had to do all the heavy lifting musically to make Steppenwolf seem threatening for the league. And he almost succeeds. I much prefer Steppenwolf’s theme over Zimmer’s Zod’s theme (which was mostly drums and droning), Zimmer’s Lex Luthor theme (which was just too obnoxious, but ironically a better Joker theme than the one he thought up for the Joker in The Dark Knight), Gregson-Williams Ares theme(which felt repetitive always repeating the same three notes on a loop during the final battle in Wonder Woman).

For some Steppenwolf’s theme may lack nuance because it’s mostly depicted as foreboding and sinister. However, that isn’t the fault of Elfman’s because Steppenwolf is depicted as being a one-dimensional evil villain in the movie without anything unique about him. There’s very little depth to this portrayal of Steppenwolf, who doesn‘t come off the least bit threatening in the movie. Steppenwolf ‘s theme isn’t overexposed or underused on the album but it’s presence is known when it recurs. The Steppenwolf that was depicted in the actual film wasn’t worthy of Elfman’s theme, which was exceptional and effective on the album overall.

 

[Elevator Man]

Lois And Clark’s Emotional Theme

Elfman’s emotional theme for Lois and Clark took me by surprise. Lois was barely in the movie. Aside from the brief cell phone footage moment, Superman appears two thirds into Justice League. Both characters are reunited near the third act. So Elfman didn’t have much to work with, but he made the most out of it during the Kent farm scene.

The emotional Lois and Clark theme appears briefly near the end of “Friends And Foes” (at the 3:49 mark) as Lois confronts Clark after owning the league and nearly killing Batman. “Home” is where the Lois and Clark theme really shines. I was taken aback by how much the cue tug the heartstrings. This cue help their relationship feel somewhat engaging because in the previous two films I found the romance between Lois and Clark unearned and contrived. Justice League hasn‘t change that.

Fans were disappointed that Elfman avoided Zimmer’s emotional Clark theme, which was used during this moment in one of the trailers. I couldn’t care less about the absence of that cue. Elfman’s “Home” was effective regardless of what the haters preferred or imagined in their head of the score for this scene. They really need to get over it. I don’t recall the Lois and Clark theme recurring anywhere in the movie prior to Lois confronting Clark. So the theme doesn’t get much development, which is somewhat of a disadvantage of scoring a sequel without any involvement in the prior installments. This theme could’ve been fleshed out or set up in the prior two films.

Even though this album lacks dramatic cues that resonated with me, which isn’t Elfman’s fault because the movie already lacks them, most of those moments are short, and don’t amount to much on the album e.g. “Enter Cyborg”, “Cyborg Meets Diana”, “Bruce And Diana”. However, “Home” almost makes up for it because it’s a captivating three and half minutes, which had an emotional impact on me.

 

[Elevator Man]

Highlight Cues Of The Album

The Justice League Theme - Logos
This short track was an excellent tease of Elfman’s Justice League theme. It also gave me the impression that Justice League was aiming to be more lighthearted, inspiring, and optimistic than previous DCEU movies. Even though the film failed at it’s attempt to do so “The Justice League Theme - Logos” (and the remainder of the score for that matter) succeeded. I felt it synced up nicely with DC logo and images of DC superheroes. For once the music in a DCEU movie made me feel (briefly) like I was about to watch a DC movie and not another apology for Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. Cue opens with a brief trumpet rendition of the Justice League theme. As the cue progresses, it becomes more awe-inspiring with some choir to give it some more grandeur before it closes somewhat abruptly.

Hero’s Theme
There’s a lot more grit and testosterone to “Hero’s Theme” compared to the more noble “The Justice League Theme - Logos”. Elfman really exhibits the six note ostinato, which opens the cue, by alternating between different instruments performing it. The four note melody, which alternates between four or five notes but is also counterpoint to the six notes, presents the impression of valor. In fact, whenever I listen to this track I think of the Justice League suiting up and prepping for battle. This theme pretty much represents the league in battle mode.

Some nitpicked and complained about this track/theme being “generic“. As well as criticized it for being Zimmer-esque. I didn’t get much of a Zimmer vibe from this track or entire score. I understand if this theme didn’t measure up to your expectations of what you imagined a Justice League theme would sound like. However, this Justice League battle theme works because throughout the movie the team is preparing to battle Steppenwolf and his army, which is one of Batman’s reasons for forming a team of beings with extraordinary abilities. I’ll admit “Hero’s Theme” does have sort of a trailer music vibe, which I think would’ve synced well with a Justice League trailer. I know I’ve criticized some of Zimmer scores for sounding like that or working better for trailers. However, Elfman wrote this track specifically for the album. So minor nitpick to an otherwise excellent track.

Batman On The Roof
This cue takes place during the opening fight scene with Batman and the thief on the rooftop. However this track doesn’t include the music during the fight between Batman and the parademon, which was edited from this track for some reason. The atmospheric “Batman On The Roof” opens very bleak hinting at the world coping with the death of Superman. At the 0:14 mark a desolate variation of Anti-Hero’s theme recurs, however a more confident version appears at the 1:27 mark. A somewhat earnest variation of “Hero’s Theme” appears at the 0:59 mark as the thief realizes Batman’s been lurking/watching him. I like how throughout the entire track Elfman refrains from using his Batman theme. He teases the theme, but not outright stating it at 2:17 - end of the track, which reminded me of early Elfman. This cue is proof that Elfman is capable of scoring any version of Batman. There isn’t anything lighthearted or jolly about this track.

The Story Of Steppenwolf
A very immoral and foreboding statement of Steppenwolf’s theme opens the infernal “The Story Of Steppenwolf“. This entire track depicted a much more ruthless and intimidating villain than what appeared in the actual movie. Steppenwolf (in the movie) was about as intimidating as a one dimensional Saturday morning cartoon villain with a very cliché villain plot. It’s very impressive Elfman was able to come up with something so deliciously wicked for such a lame interpretation of said character. A more antagonistic variation of Anti-Hero’s theme appears at the 0:59 second mark. As the track comes closer to it’s conclusion Anti-Hero’s theme becomes more comforting but ominous. This track perfectly conveys Steppenwolf’s back-story without the exposition and images on screen. If you enjoyed both Elfman’s “The Story” (from Sleepy Hollow), “Introduction” (from Hellboy II: The Golden Army), and “Dark Shadows - Prologue (Uncut)” [from Dark Shadows] then “The Story Of Steppenwolf“ should satisfy you.

The Amazon Mother Box
Listeners have complained about Elfman ripping off his own Hulk theme during the first 28 seconds of this track. I hear the similarities but I don’t believe it was a nod, intentional, or a sign of laziness. Whether you believe him or not Elfman has stated many times that he doesn’t listen to any of his scores after he’s scored them. So the similarities are just a coincidence, but a part of Elfman‘s writing style. Those opening “Hulk-esque” notes only occur at 28 seconds of a 4:33 track It doesn’t carry the entire track or score like some listeners have exaggerated without any end. Regardless of the similarities between Elfman’s Hulk theme, I like the ominous opening notes of this track, which indicates Steppenwolf’s inevitable attack on Themyscira for their mother box. There’s a sense of urgency and distress in the alternation between both Steppenwolf’s theme (at the 1:19, 1:56, 2:33, and 3:06 mark) and Anti-Hero’s theme (at the 2:12 and 2:27 mark), which depicts the amazons persistent desperation to prevent Steppenwolf from getting a hold of one of the mother boxes but eventually failing. Elfman’s detractors have complained about this track lacking suspense. Probably because they’re comfortable with the pulsating pounding of drums and synthesizers that Junkie XL would‘ve relied heavily on for this sequence. For me this was a welcome change from that approach.

Then There Were Three
A subtle statement of Elfman’s Batman theme segues into a snippet of Anti-Hero’s theme during the first seven seconds. An enthusiastic fragment of Hero’s theme appears at the 0:31 mark as the track builds the anticipation of Batman’s arrival on the rooftop with Gordon awaiting. At the 0:42 mark Elfman’s Batman theme announces the Caped Crusader’s arrival on the rooftop. The subtle use of the gong as Batman lands onto the rooftop (alongside Wonder Woman and the Flash) was very effective. Especially in injecting some vigor into Batfleck‘s presence. Elfman’s inconspicuous statement of his iconic Batman theme doesn’t overwhelm the actual scene. This entire cue complimented this moment flawlessly. It’s unfortunate that the track ends before the scene was over. This track is missing the music while Gordon discusses what he called Batman and co. for, Cyborg‘s arrival, and the league abruptly departing and leaving the Flash behind.

The Tunnel Fight (Truncated Version On Disc 1) and The Tunnel Fight (Full Length Bonus Track On Disc 2)
The trite action sequence during the tunnel fight under Gotham Harbor where the league (minus Superman) vs. Steppenwolf and his parademon army was very haphazard, which made it difficult to be invested in. Elfman’s score in that scene was poorly mixed in this sequence. Away from this sequence this cue is a standout action track. What’s impressive about this track is the way Elfman cleverly employs his themes/motifs throughout the track without becoming as overblown and cluttered as the scene it accompanies.

Anti-Hero’s theme, Hero’s Theme, snippets of Elfman’s Batman theme, The Flash/Speed Force motif, Aquaman motif, Steppenwolf’s theme, and some brief statements of the Justice League theme are each used effectively throughout the track. This track contains my favorite statement of Elfman’s Justice League theme, which took place during the moment Wonder Woman reaches her sword (with some assistance from the Flash pushes it towards her) as she and a parademon are descending to the ground but then slices a parademon in half then making a perfect landing to the ground. The Justice League theme gets a whimsically triumphant rendition in that moment, which occurs at the 6:45 mark on the full length version on disc 2. However, this moment occurs at the 4:05 mark on the edited version on disc 1.

Another standout moment was when the soaring Aquaman motif establishes his entrance into the fight at the 4:50 mark of the abridged version and at 9:11 in the full length version. Numerous variations and fragments of Hero’s theme, which represents this moment as the heroes somewhat dry run as a team during battle, emerge throughout. A more resilient and metallic hybrid of the Batman theme and Hero’s theme appears at the 2:24 and 5:50 mark in the edited version. As well as at the 4:25 and 10:21 mark in the full length version, which represents the nightcrawler or knightcrawler (one of Batman’s vehicles in the movie) in action. The clanging of the anvil as the nightcrawler or knightcrawler emerges in those moments was a nice touch.

There’s two versions of this track on the album which contains the truncated version, which is 6:25 long, on disc 1 and the full length version, which is 11:00 long, on disc 2. If you want a more fast paced action cue, which ignores the development of the action, then stick with the condensed version on disc 1. However, if you prefer lengthy action tracks, which doesn‘t cut the cue short, but has the cue in it’s entirety. Then I recommend the full length version. Or if you can keep both versions for your own personal preference as well.

I really enjoyed this track, which has the right amount of bombast and excitement. It’s quite a feat for Elfman to keep track of seven themes in such an extensive track, while highlighting all the action on screen. “The Tunnel Battle” is a lot more engaging than the action scene it accompanies, which is unfortunate that the score was buried in the mix during most of the sequence.

Spark Of The Flash
As the league embark on resurrecting Superman’s corpse with the last mother box, which Steppenwolf hadn’t got a hold of yet, on the Kryptonian ship Lex Luthor used to resurrect/mutate Zod into Doomsday. The first half of the cue is a mixture between ominous, mysterious, and doubtful, which reflects the league’s frustration of bringing Superman back from the dead and the repercussions that may follow. As the cue expands the music becomes a little more proactive as Cyborg countdowns for the Flash to jumpstart the mother box with the electricity from his speed. The Flash/Speed Force motif recurs (at the 1:38 mark) as the Flash races to create enough electrical current to charge the mother box. The brief bold insert of Hero’s theme (at the 1:53 mark) in the middle of the Flash/Speed Force motif heightens the moment for the league because of what’s at stake if the mother box is charged or not. For some reason the track doesn’t include the music as Superman’s eyes open and then he quickly ascends out of the ship, which took place directly after the mother box was charged. Unlike previous DCEU scores Elfman‘s “Spark Of The Flash” creates an adequate amount of suspense and adrenaline without having to rely on pulsating bass heavy droning.

 

[Elevator Man]

Friends And Foes
I’ve already praised Elfman for how he displayed Williams’ Superman theme in this track and score. The overall track is top notch. The brief menacing rendition of Anti-Hero’s theme at the 0:42 mark as Superman blasts Cyborg with his heat vision was cleverly placed. Reflecting perfectly that Superman isn’t fully himself yet. The instrumentation at the 1:11 mark is very effective as Wonder Woman wraps her lasso of truth around Superman and compelling him to remember who he is. The choir in that moment depicts Wonder Woman (through the power of her magic lasso) possibly getting through to Superman but ultimately failing. That moment was fascinating for me to hear in a DCEU score because we don’t normally hear anything like that in Zimmer’s and Junkie XL, etc scores prior.
The Flash/Speed Force motif recurring and becoming progressively intense as the Flash attempts to join the fight but quickly realizes that Superman also has super speed as well. An aggressive version of Williams’ Superman’s theme depicts the character’santagonistic side. The score’s transition from broody to soothing at the 3:11 mark as Lois shows up and prevents Superman from killing Batman. A compassionate variation of the Lois and Clark’s emotional motif, which is introduced in this track, concludes the rest of the cue on a peaceful note as Superman takes off with Lois.

This was one of the few scenes in the movie where the score wasn’t buried in the mixing, but was taken advantage of by the sound rerecording mixers. Only complaint I have is that the track was edited in between certain moments on the album. The more tense and suspicious moments were edited out of the track e.g. the league questioning if Superman was still himself, Cyborg’s defense system malfunctioning and then blasting Superman with his sonic cannon (which provoked Superman into fighting the league), or Superman head butting Wonder Woman and then hitting Batman into a police car, etc. With that said this is an underrated track that gets too much criticism for adapting William’s iconic Superman theme. I prefer this approach over the throbbing atmospheric droning sound design that would’ve plagued this scene if Zimmer or Junkie XL, Gregson-Williams, etc. had scored this moment/movie. Also this moment is the closest Elfman will ever get to scoring Tim Burton’s abandoned Superman Lives movie, because the plot would’ve dealt with the death and resurrection of Superman. So this track/scene will a nice parallel to that movie.

Justice League United
The music slowly escalates as the league (minus Superman) prepares to depart for Russia to stop Steppenwolf from uniting the three mother boxes, which would terraform Earth. At the 0:34 mark a soaring presentation of Elfman’s Justice League theme announces the heroes ascension into the flying fox (another one of Batman’s vehicles). The Justice League theme segues into a more urgent variation of Anti-Hero’s theme as the flying fox takes off. With the absence of Superman it’s interesting that Elfman chose to use his Justice League theme instead of Hero’s theme, which to me represents the team prepping/ready for battle. “Justice League United” is that moment the team is somewhat ready for the final battle. This isn’t a complaint because it doesn’t take away from the moment. Listening to this track I get the impression that the Justice League are the only ones who can and will defeat Steppenwolf.

Home
Easily one of the few tracks on the album where the dramatic moments don’t feel pointless. When I first heard this track I was surprised by how much I was moved by it. “Home“, which took place during the Clark, Lois and Martha reunion on the Kent farm, really tugged the heartstrings. Even though “Home” is a sentimental track it isn’t saccharine. I don’t recall the music during this scene having any impact on me. Maybe I was too distracted by Henry Cavill’s obvious CGI mustache removal to notice. Elfman’s Lois and Clark emotional theme dominates this track, but only recurred prior to this near the end of “Friends And Foes”. So it doesn‘t get any real development. “Home” makes the most of this theme enough to leave a lasting impression. With the arrangement of piano and acoustic guitars “Home” becomes a very tender but pastoral track, which reflects the farm setting and intimacy between Clark and Lois. During the 2:44 mark the music brings a Williams-esque Americana feel as it nears the track‘s conclusion. While closing on a somber note when the reunion gets cut short as Clark departs from the two people he cares most about to embrace his destiny as Superman and assisting the Justice League against Steppenwolf.

This track convinced me of the romance between this interpretation of Lois and Clark/Superman better than the movies themselves did, which speaks volumes about Elfman‘s skills of injecting depth into something that was otherwise lacking it. Lois and Clark being romantically involved felt contrived and unearned in Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman due to lacking any proper development or growth. The makers assumed because well the characters were a couple in the comics so let’s rush into the romance without much development.

The Zimmer fanatics were disappointed that Elfman didn’t use the emotional Clark piano theme, which was used during this moment in one of the Justice League trailers. I couldn’t care less if Elfman ignored it. “Home” was still an amazing but touching track, which managed to resonate with me. I just wish the album had more dramatic moments on this level, but it’s not like the film gave Elfman plenty of opportunities.

The Final Battle (Truncated Version On Disc 1) and The Final Battle (Full Length Bonus Track On Disc 2)
Elfman pulls out all the stops for “The Final Battle” (Full Length Version), which is about thirteen minutes long. It’s an impressive feat the way Elfman intertwines his Justice League theme, Hero’s theme, Anti-Hero’s theme, his iconic Batman theme, the Williams Superman theme (briefly), Aquaman theme, and Steppenwolf’s theme. Although the abridged version of “The Final Battle” edits out a lot of the exciting moments containing Hero’s theme, Aquaman’s theme, portions of Elfman’s Batman theme, etc. it does contain the full statement of Williams’ Superman theme (at the 2:43 mark), which the full length version omits the final bars of the march but includes the first few bars (at the 9:24 mark). The abridged version also contains a track (at the 4:06 - 6:15 mark) which wasn’t included with the full length version. Despite the slightly edited Superman theme, that doesn’t mean the full length version isn’t the complete track of “The Final Battle. A separate cue, which I think is the moment where the league defeats Steppenwolf, was combined with the edited version of “The Final Battle” to give the abridged version a more satisfying resolution. So for those reasons you’ll need both tracks.

I enjoyed both versions of “The Final Battle” but the full length version has a lot more momentum and doesn’t feel like it’s been cut short. The orchestration and instrumentation are very dynamic but it’s unfortunate all the effort and hard work put into it got butchered by the film’s sound mix. Both “The Tunnel Fight” and “The Final Battle” are some Elfman’s most robust action music that he’s done in a while. Both action cues rival Elfman’s “Train/Appreciation” (from Spider-Man 2) and “In The Army Chamber” (from Hellboy II: The Golden Army), which are some of his best action cues from the genre.

There’s plenty of standout moments during “The Final Battle” but I’ll mention the least obvious, which was a moment only included in the condensed version at the 4:06 - 4:32 mark. A more determined rendition of Anti-Hero’s theme occurs then evolves into a victorious crescendo as the league come together to defeat Steppenwolf. “The Final Battle” is an exciting propulsive action cue that is wasted on such a by the numbers CGI infested climax lacking any stakes raised for the heroes.

A New Hope
So since the league succeeded in beating Steppenwolf and saving the world in the process. Bruce and Diana decide to expand the league, while other members explore their purpose inside and outside of costume. Elfman exhibits variations of his Justice League theme throughout most of the track.

“A New Hope” opens with a short celebratory variation of Hero’s theme, which defines the league’s victory of saving the world as a team. At the 2:28 mark a brief patriotic statement of Hero’s theme occurs but transforms into a more motivational rendition at the 2:50 mark. The utilization of the trumpets (during the 3:34 mark) reminded me of Elfman’s Sommersby, which is a compliment and not a complaint because he’s rarely given opportunities to explore his pastoral side. A thunderous but victorious statement (complete with choir) of Anti-Hero’s theme occurs at the 4:07 mark as Clark does the iconic shirt rip and soars into the sky as Superman.

Overall, “A New Hope” is a very enthusiastic, uplifting, whimsical, lush, and sentimental track which expresses the Justice League standing for hope. This cue is more in line with his Black Beauty, Alice In Wonderland, and Alice Through The Looking Glass scores than any of his scores from the genre, which is refreshing , but will be a problem for the hardcore DCEU/Zimmer fans. I don’t get to hear this kind of music in many superhero scores let alone DCEU scores. So I embrace it. This track left a very positive impression on me like there was possible hope (not only in future stories/adventures with these DC characters) but with the future of the DCEU, which was immediately cut short after this movie.

A lot of the Zimmer devotees were disappointed that Elfman didn’t adapt Zimmer’s “What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?” from Man Of Steel, which was used during that movie’s finale. I guess because they wanted to hear Zimmer’s Man Of Steel theme blaring in the background after Clark’s shirt rip and take off in the air. It’s nonsensical for a Justice League movie to end with Superman’s theme from Man Of Steel. It’s already absurd to end a Justice League movie (instead of Superman’s own movie) with a Superman shirt rip and him soaring into the air. There’s a lot more going on with Elfman’s “A New Hope” than with Zimmer’s overrated “What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?”, which lacks nuance.

Anti-Hero’s Theme
This particular track resonated with me the most for some reason on my first listen. It’s unique from anything Elfman’s written for this score. It’s bleak, broody, mysterious, but expresses a sense of wonder. I was intrigued by all the variations of Anti-Hero’s theme throughout. And closing the track with a somber rendition of his Batman theme was a nice touch. Elfman wrote this track specifically for the album. Though a slightly condensed version of this track followed the Gary Frank Jr. cover of “Come Together”, which appeared after the mid credits scene (featuring The Flash and Superman). “Anti-Hero’s Theme” is a track that I’ve already randomly revisit on you tube.

Mother Russia (Bonus Track On Disc 2)
Not sure where this cue occurs in the movie. Either when Steppenwolf steals the last mother box that the league unwittingly left behind in the Kryptonian ship after resurrecting Superman or when Steppenwolf merges the three mother boxes by an abandoned nuclear plant in Russia. The reason I consider this track a highlight because of how dark and wickedly demented Steppenwolf’s theme (and the entire track for that matter) intensifies at the 0:59 mark. In some ways “Mother Russia” conveys that Steppenwolf has won because he has all three mother boxes, which can cause havoc once each coalesce into one box. Notice that the notes that comprise Steppenwolf’s theme aren’t condensed but is the full statement. Just as the full statement appeared in “Story Of Steppenwolf“. Probably Elfman’s way of expressing musically that Steppenwolf has completed his mission and is unstoppable now that he’s obtained all three mother boxes.

 

[Elevator Man]

Personal Complaints And Criticisms

Both Cyborg And Aquaman’s Motifs Aren’t Fleshed Out Enough.
I’ve already mentioned about both Cyborg and Aquaman’s motifs being underdeveloped, but this is an ensemble movie. This is more of a flaw with the film because Cyborg and Aquaman weren’t fully fleshed out characters by the end of the movie. In all actuality none of the characters in Justice League were fully fleshed out. There wasn’t any pay off with Elfman’s Cyborg motif. I was expecting by the film/album’s climax that Cyborg’s emotional motif permutates into a more heroic, slightly synthetic, and inspiring theme, which would’ve reflect the character embracing his new robotic abilities to protect and save lives. Either the movie failed to give Elfman the opportunity or that moment wasn’t earned in the movie.

Compelling Dramatic Tracks Are Lacking In Most Of The Score.
The album lacking very captivating dramatic moments to counterbalance the action moments, which the album has plenty of. Aside from “Home” and “A New Hope” most of the more quiet dramatic moments are too brief “Enter Cyborg”(2:00), “Hippolyta’s Arrow” (1:16), “Cyborg Meets Diana” (2:37), “The World Needs Superman”(1:00), “Bruce And Diana” (1:06) and don’t amount to much. Again this isn’t necessarily Elfman’s fault because the movie itself was about two hours long and lacking any emotionally gripping moments. There was a near symmetrical balance between the bombastic action moments and the sentimental moments with Elfman’s Batman (1989), Batman Returns, Spider-Man 1 and 2, Hulk, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and even Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Elfman was able to find a balance with the action and intimate moments in those scores. My main issue with most of the more calm cues on the album is that it won’t resonate with me much emotionally because it get’s cut short due to the brief track times.

The Lack Of A Danny Elfman Main Title/End Title Cue.
This isn’t necessarily a complaint/criticism. More of a nitpick, but Elfman should’ve been given an opportunity to score a main title sequence in the movie. I don’t mean the main title montage that was in the movie, but something along the lines of Superman: The Movie, Batman (1989), Spider-Man 1 and 2,and Hulk.I believe Elfman’s Justice League theme would’ve benefited from a main title sequence as well. It might take a couple listens for the theme to make an imprint in their memory. A lot of superhero movies today lack main title sequences. Most of the recent MCU movies refrain from revealing the title card till the end credits. Unlike with Batman(1989), Batman Returns, Spider-Man, Hulk, Avengers: Age Of Ultron,Elfman didn’t get the opportunity to write an end titles for Justice League, which would’ve given him another chance to explore the theme in a suite. In fact, a lengthy end credits suite comprised of Elfman’s Justice League theme, Hero’s theme, Anti-Hero’s theme, Cyborg motif, Aquaman motif, The Flash/Speed Force motif, Steppenwolf’s theme, and brief appearances of Elfman’s Batman theme and Williams’ Superman theme sprinkled somewhere would;ve been welcomed. Maybe Elfman didn’t have enough time or wasn’t given the opportunity to write a main title/end title suite of his Justice League theme. I think a brief title sequence (along the lines of the X-Men movies, both Schumacher Batman movies, and both Guillermo Del Toro Hellboy movies) where each league member’s emblem’s appear and integrate into the Justice League logo would‘ve worked as well. It’s a missed opportunity because Elfman wrote some of the most memorable music to main titles inside and outside of the genre. If it crossed Whedon’s mind it could’ve been a budget issue to go that route because the movie already was way over budget with the reshoots, effects, CGI mustache removal, etc. Regardless Whedon brought Elfman aboard the project so he might as well had taken advantage of his talents. It’s such a disadvantage that Elfman’s Justice League theme could’ve benefited from.

 

[Elevator Man]

Album Presentation

The Justice League soundtrack was released on a 2-CD set. The total runtime of both discs combined is 102 minutes. Disc 1 (standard album presentation), which is 76 minutes long, contains selections from the score plus three songs that were featured in the movie. Disc 2 (bonus disc), which is 26 minutes long, contains three bonus tracks (“Mother Russia”, extended versions of both “The Tunnel Fight” and “The Final Battle”).

Personally I don’t think the two disc album was necessary. The only real bonus track on disc 2 was the “Mother Russia” track. The edited versions of “The Tunnel Fight” and “The Final Battle” on disc 1 could’ve been replaced by the extended versions on disc 2. I know there’s minor differences between both versions of “The Final Battle”. They could’ve included the full unedited Superman theme (which occurred at the 2:43 mark) from the condensed version onto the full length version. As well as included the music during the 4:06-6:15 mark onto the full length version. All three songs (from disc 1). could’ve been excluded from the album. The “Icky Thump” song is an older song that’s available elsewhere. I’m sure Sigrid’s cover of “Everybody Knows” and Gary Frank Jr. cover of ‘Come Together” would’ve been available digitally or elsewhere regardless of this soundtrack release. By omitting the three songs and the edited versions of “The Tunnel Fight” and The Final Battle” while integrating the three bonus tracks from disc 2 into disc 1. It would’ve dropped the total run time from 102 minutes to around 75-80 minutes. A CD has about 80 minutes of disc space so that presentation I suggested would‘ve managed to fit.

There was also plenty of extra room on disc two. If they really wanted to take advantage of the 2-CD format they should’ve included more bonus tracks (that weren’t only extended versions of cues on disc 1) and the unedited versions of “Batman On The Roof”, “Wonder Woman’s Rescue”, and “Friends And Foes”. Elfman’s Goosebumps included twelve bonus tracks. And Elfman’s Alice Through The Looking Glass included seven bonus tracks, but neither of those soundtracks were 2-CD sets. I know all three soundtracks were released by different labels, but it comes off like a gimmick. With that said I’m grateful for them releasing the extended tracks and “Mother Russia”, which are all standout tracks. Overall it’s not a terrible presentation of the soundtrack but could’ve been better put together. I didn’t feel that there were any pacing issues either.

The album art is fine with the exception of the absence of Superman on the album cover. It doesn’t feel like Justice League without Superman. I know the marketing team did that on the posters/trailers upon release as well. It was their way of keeping Superman’s return confidential. Even though the final shot of Batman V Superman revealed the dirt rising over his coffin. Henry Cavill was billed second in Justice League so everybody knew Superman was returning just didn’t know how he would. The photos in the CD booklet included the Justice League scoring sessions, which is something that I don‘t normally see in a release as this. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a note from the director, Joss Whedon. He even submitted a note in the CD booklet/liner notes for The Avengers score album. After all, Whedon went out of his way to replace Junkie XL for Elfman. So it would’ve been interesting reading about his thoughts about Elfman’s score. I‘ve yet to see him give his thoughts about Elfman and his music.

 

[Elevator Man]

Songs

Everybody Knows (Performed by Sigrid)
I haven’t any real issue with Sigrid’s riveting cover of “Everybody Knows”. The music and lyrics were performed well but also complimented the melancholic imagery on screen. I would’ve never guessed Whedon was responsible for this song/cover being used in the movie, because this seemed like a Snyder decision based off his opening to 2009’s Watchmen alone.

I will say using this song for the titles sequence kind of came off like the makers were trying to be cute and deep. What bothers me about the actual montage during it was that it was reflecting the impact of Superman’s death on the world. Showing the world needing Superman in a Justice League movie. That montage should’ve focused on why the world needs more heroes i.e. the Justice League. The tagline of the movie “You can’t save the world alone”, which is also on the fold of the CD case. The movie contradicted this throughout where the league being forced to resurrect Superman from the dead because they couldn’t stop Steppenwolf and his army without him. The entire league being unable to subdue Superman. Superman was basically the deus ex machina of the movie. “You can’t save the world without Superman” should’ve been the slogan for what ended up in the final product.

My main issue with this song is that it robbed Elfman of scoring a title sequence. I don’t mean scoring this sequence, but a visual title sequence along the lines of Batman (1989) or Spider-Man. Or a short title sequence, where the visuals lead into the Justice League logo then segue into the “Everybody Knows” song montage. Having “Everybody Knows” open the Justice League soundtrack (let alone the album) was an odd decision. They had it open the album because it was used during movie’s main titles, which took place after the rooftop fight with Batman, the thief and the parademon. “Everybody Knows” should’ve been placed with the other two songs at the end of the album of disc 1. I’m not familiar with the singer Sigrid (in fact, this is the first I’ve heard of her).but I thought she did a pretty good cover of “Everybody Knows”. I just have an issue with the placement of this track on the album.

Come Together (Performed by Gary Clark Jr. and Junkie XL)
Gary Clark Jr. and Junkie XL did a cover of “Come Together” for one of the Justice League trailers, which also made it into a few of the TV spots. So the producers decided to include it on the soundtrack even though the song was already made available as a single elsewhere. WB must’ve felt they owed it to Holkenborg after giving him the boot. So they included his only contribution to the film (before being replaced) on the album. The track overall is upbeat, catchy and pretty good. This is probably one of the few times you’ll witness me praising anything involving Junkie XL. I wonder if this was the direction Holkenborg was heading into with the score. That is taking a contemporary/progressive rock and roll approach akin to The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

I enjoyed this song but wish it was used in a better movie because the story/picture didn’t “come together” at all for me at least. Justice League wasn’t worthy of this song. A better movie would’ve benefited this song. This song playing during the end credits was supposed to give me the impression that I had a great experience watching Justice League. I understand the cover song was paralleling the film’s goal of the heroes coming together, but the movie botched that with how invincible Superman was compared to the rest of the league. To the point he didn‘t really need the league but they needed him. Regardless of the movie’s quality or lack thereof I still enjoyed this song. Gary Clark Jr. weighty vocals injected some energy into this cover song, which happens to put me in a positive mood after it ends.

Icky Thump (Performed by The White Stripes)
This song occurred during the moment Aquaman was standing in the middle of a tidal wave. Though I’m not a follower of The White Stripes and I haven’t anything against this song. However, it doesn‘t bring anything to the album. It was used briefly in that one scene, but didn’t leave much of an imprint on me during the movie. I think one of rock duo’s songs was used for one of the film’s trailers, which was probably why they included “Icky Thump” in the movie. This song doesn’t really do anything for me on the album. It seems like it’s only included to fill up disc space. Both “Everybody Knows” and “Come Together” are cover songs which was used for either the main titles or end titles. This song was used briefly for a scene where viewers would either laugh or shout “Awesome!”.

 

[Elevator Man]

Addressing The Criticisms

“Elfman Justice League Score Is A Rehash Of Previous Superhero Scores (Batman, Spider-Man, Hulk, And Avengers: Age Of Ultron)! ”
I don’t agree with this hyperbole. Yes Elfman reused his Batman theme, but he didn’t track in his music directly from Batman (1989) or it’s sequel into Justice League. I don’t recall anything from Justice League sounding like any of his Spider-Man scores. As for the Hulk,the first 28 seconds of “The Amazon Mother Box“ does sound similar to Elfman’s Hulk theme, which I believe was a coincidence and unintentional. It’s not like those 28 seconds dominated the entire Justice League score , which is probably about 90-100 minutes long. Everybody claims that Elfman‘s Justice League theme is direct lift from his Avengers hybrid theme. The critics mostly address this accusation during both versions of ‘The Final Battle” as a mighty rendition of Elfman’s Justice League theme kicks in at the 1:32 mark (in the edited version) and at the 4:03 mark (in the full length version). Aside from both themes being written by Elfman the only thing both have in common in that particular moment is that both are bold, heroic, and brassy themes.

There’s bound to be moments in a score where a composer’s style, instrumentation, chord progression, or rhythm is recognizable/similar to his previous work. Heck I’ve noticed moments in the score, which reminded me of Black Beauty, Sommersby, Alice In Wonderland. It doesn’t mean he copied those scores, but it’s just a part of Elfman’s style. I mean Elfman’s getting criticized for something that distinguishes himself from other composers? It’s hilarious how people call Elfman out on this, which has been a common and tired criticism of him since the 90s I might add, when other composers are guilty of having moments in their scores that are similar to their other/prior scores they’ve written. Time for a reality check but Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, Michael Giacchino, Marco Beltrami, Thomas Newman, and every composer with a distinctive style is guilty of this. It isn’t laziness but apart of their style. It isn’t Elfman’s fault that his style is so recognizable. When it comes to genres there’s bound to be similarities with composer’s pervious music in that said genre. These haters make it seem like Elfman just copied his Batman, Spider-Man, Avengers 2, and Hulk scores and called it a day. When that’s not how it works with film scoring. For the Elfman detractors to think that shows how narrow-minded and delusional they are.

“Elfman’s Justice League Score Being Generic, Bland, And Outdated!”
Elfman’s Justice League score being “generic” and “bland” is subjective. I guess it’s fitting because the Justice League movie is generic, bland and typical of the genre. The movie followed nearly every superhero movie cliché. So it ended up being a poor man’s Avengers rather than it’s own thing that separates the two.

I don’t get why most seem to think Elfman’s score was outdated. Because Elfman’s score was more symphonic and orchestral. Really? Does that mean the recent Star Wars trilogy scores are outdated for the same reasons? As well as Michael Giacchino’s Star Trek scores? As well as the majority of the MCU scores that uses an orchestra? Maybe that’s why these detractors complain about the MCU scores being “bland” and “generic” because the orchestral approach taken with the scores, which is such a petty reason. I know people call Elfman‘s Justice League score outdated because it doesn‘t blend in with what Zimmer and co. had established from the previous DCEU movies. Also because Elfman used his iconic Batman theme and Williams’ Superman theme so it automatically means the themes/score is outdated. If anything both themes are timeless rather than outdated. I bet these complainers didn’t bat an eye hearing the iconic James Bond theme in various updated versions of the character. The same can be said for the recent Star Trek movies, the Mission Impossible movies, that RoboCop reboot etc. It’s your opinion if you think those themes (Elfman’s Batman and Williams’ Superman) are outdated in the DCEU, but to say Elfman’s score is outdated or belong in a 70s, 80s, or 90s movie is laughable. This outdated criticism reminded me of the unnecessary backlash Horner received for his traditional symphonic score (with minor electronics) to The Amazing Spider-Man. I guess a lot of these complainers are used to that Zimmer synthetic, atmospheric, bass heavy droning power anthems soundscape that accompanied The Dark Knight Trilogy. They must’ve been bewildered by the sounds of real organic instruments, which is what the DCEU fanatics might’ve experienced with Elfman’s Justice League. The ironic thing is when Hans Zimmer scored The Amazing Spider-Man 2 most complained about that score being too contemporary and having too much dubstep, which it didn’t.

Some have also complained and made daft remarks about Elfman’s Justice League sounding too much like Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, and The Hobbit scores. So just because Elfman’s score is more old fashioned and symphonic, which isn’t an outdated style, it’s similar to the scores to Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, etc. Talk about ignorance. Are they trying to say that “outdated” belongs in a Star Wars movie and it’s ilk but not a DCEU movie? So since Hans Zimmer‘s scores for Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman .are mostly electronic does that mean his scores sound Brad Fiedel’s Terminator 1 and 2, John Carpenter’s filmography, Vangelis’ Blade Runner, Giorgio Moroder’s Scarface, etc. See the absurdity in such a statement? Speaking of Zimmer’s DCEU scores, I personally believe those scores won’t age well. Some synthetic scores have dated past movies, which utilized them. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because sometimes it’s part of a particular film’s charm. If they believe that the Justice League score is dated, generic, and bland because it doesn’t match your preference of music (electronic droning) then to each their own.


“Elfman’s Score Borrowed Themes From Other Movies.”
Now when the Justice League soundtrack was released and fans/haters got to listen to it. People not only jumped to conclusions and accused Elfman of plagiarizing his previous superhero movie scores/themes. Some have claimed that the score borrowed themes from Jerry Goldmsith’s The Shadow, Howard Shore’s The Fly (1986), Nino Rota’s The Godfather, Williams’ Star Wars, Blake Neely’s The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow, etc. I think listening to this score has either driven listeners crazy or they’re hearing things/themes that aren’t really there. It’s annoying enough that people claimed Elfman phoned it in and copied his previous superhero scores, but to say he’s copying the main themes from The Shadow, The Fly (1986), etc is comical. I don’t know how to respond to that except that I don’t hear any of those themes when I listen to those scores. Either there listening to another score but mistook it for Elfman’s Justice League or they’re looking (in this case hearing) too much into something that isn’t there. Therefore making something out of nothing.


“Elfman’s Score Didn’t Match The Tone Of Justice League.”
The consensus with Elfman’s Justice League seems to be that it didn’t fit the tone of the movie, which is baloney, but debatable. The Justice League movie was going for lighter upbeat tone compared to the more bleak, gritty, and grounded tone of Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman. I’m pretty sure writer Chris Terrio stated in an interview before Batman V Superman was released in theaters that Justice League was going to be lighter. The mistake WB/DCEU made was not realizing Zack Snyder’s idea of what lighthearted/comical means might be different from everyone else’s. That would explain the reshoots Snyder had done then Whedon had done after Snyder “walked” from the project. The intention was to make the movie more fun, family friendly, comical, and lighthearted, which was why they hired Whedon. Elfman was hired to write a more whimsical, optimistic, and lighthearted score. Obviously Elfman’s style’s very distinguishable from Zimmer and Holkenborg’s. So the tonal shift in scores was inevitable. When it comes to the superhero genre Elfman likes to thoroughly follow the action on screen with his music, while Zimmer prefers to focus on the atmosphere/tone of the scene and the conflict/tension between characters. You either like one, the other, or both approaches.

A lot of people were taken aback by Elfman’s approach because it differentiated so much from Zimmer‘s approach, which the fans were comfortable with. However, I think Elfman’s approach for Justice League was the appropriate direction. Let’s be honest WB and Whedon weren’t going to hire Elfman to ape Zimmer’s sound. Elfman would’ve walked from the project if they had asked him that. And probably would’ve told them to hire Hans Zimmer or rehire Junkie XL. Also it’s not like Elfman isn’t capable of doing dark and gritty edgy music. He’s written somber, atmospheric, and melancholic scores before i.e. Wisdom, Dolores Claiborne, Dead Presidents, A Simple Plan, Proof Of Life, Planet Of The Apes (2001) The Kingdom, Standard Operating Procedure, Terminator Salvation, The Wolfman (2010), The Next Three Days, Dark Shadows (2012), The Girl On The Train, etc. If the movie had presented the opportunity to write a more ambient and moody score he would’ve accommodated such music for Justice League. It’s amazing how people forget how Elfman used to be typecast and criticized for being the dark, quirky, gothic composer. All Elfman had to work with was mostly storyboards, some rushed reshot footage, and a poorly made final product. He said scoring Justice League was like scoring an animated movie, which in some ways the movie was with all the heavy use of CGI. So it’s not like he was given much to work with. I also don’t agree with those who believe Elfman’s score being mediocre because of the short amount of time he had to prep. He’s scored Mission Impossible (1996) and Hulk in short amount of time and both of those scores still managed to be stellar despite of it. He got rushed into Justice League but he had more time on that compared to Mission Impossible (1996) and Hulk.

The Justice League movie that we ended up with is different tonally from Snyder’s previous two DCEU movies. The Snyder fanatics can blame it on Whedon and WB all they want but Justice League is significantly different tonally. So taking another ambient and somber approach with the score wouldn’t had worked with Justice League. Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman already conveyed a dark and gritty tone that those particular movies were aiming for. That’s why watching those you tube videos rescoring Justice League with music from Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman doesn‘t click with me. It made those moments more shallow. Plus those scores were written for different movies. It’s ironic that the Elfman haters complain about him “ripping off” of himself but are practically doing the same thing editing/tracking in music from Zimmer’s Man Of Steel, Batman V Superman, King Arthur (2004), Junkie XL’s Mad Max: Fury Road, 300: Rise Of An Empire and just assuming that’s how both composers would’ve scored/approached Justice League. These amateurs editing/tracking in Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman music in those Justice League rescore videos really believe they’re improving the movie even though the CGI is still bad, Steppenwolf is still a lame non-threatening villain, Affleck’s performance is still phoned in, the Saturday morning cartoon plot still exists, etc. These delusional fanatics actually believe they’re more capable at scoring a tent pole movie better than a 30+ year veteran composer. It’s bad enough people claiming Junkie XL is a superior and more innovative composer than Elfman but these amateurs editing these Justice League rescore video are arrogant and petty with this. We don’t know how Zimmer and Holkenborg would’ve approached Justice League, but I doubt they’d rehash their music from Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman especially with polar opposite direction Justice League was headed compared to prior Snyder DCEU movies. All those Justice League rescore videos (on you tube), which sounded like temp tracks and didn’t add much to the scenes, became repetitive and dull. The reason (other than the fact they’re probably Zimmer worshippers) people like those videos is because of their familiarity of those scores. It’s hilarious how fans believe that Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL could have saved this movie. Both composers dodged a bullet for not being involved with Justice League.


“Elfman’s Score Ruined Justice League.“
It’s laughable how people think Elfman’s score for Justice League is what destroyed the movie. First off, WB/DCEU rushing into Justice League and letting Zack Snyder direct it was what ruined Justice League (well at least for me anyway). They wouldn’t had to tweak, reshoot, and reedit the movie so much if they had gotten a more competent director. Snyder shouldn’t had been allowed anywhere near Justice League after all the negative and polarizing reactions to Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman. Then hiring Whedon to polish the turd Snyder left for them, which caused a tonal shift in styles between both directors. Then add the thin cliché plot, one dimensional characters, mundane villain, horrendous CGI and green screen effects, contrived humor, stiff performances, prerequisite set ups for sequels/spin off/solo movies, etc. The score was the least of this film’s problems. Whedon hired Elfman to aid him on polishing a turd. And you can’t polish a turd. Unfortunately Elfman’s score made little impact in the movie due to the shoddy mixing of the score, but he wouldn‘t have saved it regardless of the mix. As much as I enjoyed Elfman’s score the movie ended up wasting his talents. He’d had been better off scoring another DC movie that wasn’t riddled with as many issues as the prior DCEU movies.

Zimmer and Junkie XL wouldn‘t had saved Justice League either. Heck the scores for Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman didn’t improve either film. Both are still weak movies with or without Zimmer’s score. In fact, the scores to Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman are a detriment to both movies due to how negatively overpowering it is. With that said neither composer would’ve saved Justice League. Even John Williams, Howard Shore, Ennio Morricone, Michael Giacchino, etc. wouldn’t have saved Justice League. The movie was already screwed the moment they rushed it into production and began filming with Zack Snyder.


Threatening Elfman’s Life Over Their Aversion Towards His Justice League Score!
If you dislike Elfman’s style or score for Justice League so much then that sucks for you. Welcome to my pain for the past 13 years with Zimmer’s DC related superhero scores. Even though I don’t dislike all of DCEU scores I just find most of them un-engaging These DCEU/Zimmer fanatics are so unhinged that they even sent death threats to Elfman. I remember he canceled an AMA session on reddit which was to occur the Tuesday after Justice League was released in theaters. Coincidence? Doubtful. I bet a lot these haters wouldn’t have the courage to say any of the vile things they’ve posted (calling Elfman a hack and some other offensive words, hoping that he’d get run over by a truck, etc.) to his face, but they can hide behind the safety of their computer/laptop monitors like the cowards they are. I may have shown some antipathy towards Zimmer’s scores for the DCEU movies but I’ve never threatened the man’s life. These haters would go through such lengths by threatening a composer’s life because they didn’t get the Justice League score they wanted. How civilized! I knew these Zimmer worshippers were passionate and protective over Zimmer and his music but apparently they’re mentally disturbed as well. I enjoy a lot of Zimmer’s music, but his sycophants are the main reason why I believe he’s overrated as heck as a film composer. There’s isn’t anything wrong with disliking Elfman’s score for Justice League but to threaten his life over it is beyond insane. They need to seek professional help if they really feel that way.

 

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Bottom-Line/Final Thoughts

So overall, I enjoyed Elfman’s Justice League score, whichis the best DC score since John Ottman’s Superman Returns. And it also happens to be the best DCEU score by default. Most of the themes Elfman created resonated with me. The way Elfman was able to interweave and twist various themes throughout the score was impressive, which proves Elfman put more thought into this score than he‘s given credit for. With that said both the Cyborg and Aquaman motifs could’ve been fleshed out a little more. The score also lacks a strong counterbalance between the dramatic cues (aside from “Home” and “A New Hope”) and the action cues, which is some of Elfman’s best in the genre. Bonus points for Elfman effectively adapting his own Batman theme and Williams’ Superman theme into a Justice League score.

If you’re too attached to the Zimmer sound than don’t bother with this. However, I do recommend this score to those tired of the droning ambient percussive heavy scores from previous DCEU movies, but crave for a more dynamic symphonic score. This score might be a little bombastic and dense ala Hellboy II: The Golden Army.Some of the action cues may be difficult to follow without context. So it may take repeated listens to appreciate and comprehend some of it’s themes/motifs.

I don’t believe Elfman deserves any of the backlash or vitriol thrown at him. He did the best he could under the circumstances. If he had scored a far superior Justice League movie that had strong character arcs, an intriguing plot, an engaging villain, believable special effects, exciting action scenes, compelling performances from the entire cast, better pacing , etc. he would’ve scored one of the best comic book movies. Unfortunately, Justice League is easily the worst comic book movie he’s scored.

It’s a shame that this score didn’t click with most people, but hopefully overtime it’ll grow on them the way Elfman’s Spider-Man has. I remember both of Elfman’s Spider-Man scores being heavily criticized upon release for some nonsensical reasons to boot i.e. “lacking memorable themes“, “unable to measure up to his Batman scores“ and “being mostly Batman leftovers“. So maybe these detractors will come to appreciate Justice League in the long run. It’s a shame that this score wasn’t the stepping stone for the DCEU scores going forward because unfortunately WB/DCEU reverted back to the Zimmer sound by hiring Rupert Gregson-Williams to score the Aquaman solo movie.

I highly recommend Justice League to fans of Elfman’s current whimsical fantasy adventure scores i.e. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Alice In Wonderland, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and Alice Through The Looking Glass. If you’re expecting something on the level of Batman (1989), Batman Returns or anything from his “glory days” then you’re setting yourselves up for disappointment. Elfman’s composition and writing has matured from that period, which was three decades ago.



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[Elevator Man]

If you made it this far into my entire long winded review and finished it? Thank You for taking the time to read it. My apologies if this was too lengthy. I hope I didn’t bore or offend anyone (particularly the more rational Zimmer/DCEU fans) with my opinion in this review. If I did? That wasn’t my intention at all. This was something I had on my chest for a while and wanted to get it off. So again thanks for reading. I hope you got something out of this review/rant/analysis.

 

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Edward Scissorhands (Expanded) Low Quantity Alert! Less than 100 remaining!

 

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Stanford Symphony Orchestra works with Danny Elfman on new concerto

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Danny Elfman Is Always Eying the Next Thing

On YouTube, you can still pull up the 30-year-old redheaded Danny Elfman flailing around in his trademark tank top, wailing the lead vocal on the title lyric from Oingo Boingo’s New Wave hit, “Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me.” Thirty-five years later, there’s a lot more good happening to the perennial Angelino, who went on to win a Grammy for his soundtrack for the 1989 film Batman, and an Emmy for scoring the long-running TV series Desperate Housewives.

Continuing to compose for these media and touring internationally with a show compiling his collaborations with director Tim Burton, Elfman is now also writing regularly for the concert hall. He was at Stanford earlier this month, where the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and soloist Sandy Cameron presented his 2017 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. The San Francisco Symphony will perform the score for 1989’s Batman, behind a live screening of the film at Davies Hall on April 4 and 5. Fifty Shades Freed, with an Elfman score, opened in theaters last month, and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, a Gus Van Sant film scored by Elfman, will open in July. Elfman spent an energetic hour on the phone with SFCV, from the home he shares in L.A.’s oldest gated community with his wife, Bridget Fonda, and their son, Oliver.

Are there particular payoffs and challenges for you in having your score performed by an orchestra, while folks are watching the film again?

Actually, I put a lot of work into preparing that score to be playable. To translate from the studio to the concert stage means making orchestration adjustments.

Would you expand on this?

One really shocking moment for me was, when I heard [a live orchestra perform his score for] Peewee’s Big Adventure, I realized that the strings were sitting there doing almost nothing, because a lot of it was driven by acoustic and electric piano. So I had to write parts for the strings, when I wrote the suites for the Elfman-Burton tour. I listened to Batman the same way and heard that there were some areas that were not communicating well. Sometimes, for example, I had too many divisi going on in the strings, so I had to simplify that. In the studio, I can reach for things and when I’m writing a film score, I’m never thinking “How it will play on a concert stage?”

Should audiences expect that what they’ll hear at Davies will be different from what they’d hear at the AMC or the Cinemark?

It will be closer to what you heard in the movie theater than if you just took the exact original score and played it live, because when you do that, you miss things. Without being able to mix things up and down [as you can in a studio], you wouldn’t hear some things. By shifting, adjusting, and rebalancing, I’m bringing things out in different sections [of the orchestra] to make it sound more like it sounded in the theater.

Sarah Hicks, who will conduct, said she admires in your scores their inherent pulse, and their full-spectrum use of the orchestra.

At the point [of composing for Batman], I had no idea of what I was doing. But I wasn’t going to let my own ignorance handicap me.

But you grew up loving film music.

I’d been a fan, but when I heard The Rite of Spring, it turned my head around. When I started out [writing for film], I was often asked, “Did you listen to Mahler, did you listen to Wagner?” And I go, no, I listened to [film composers] Franz Waxman and Erich Korngold and Max Steiner and Bernard Herrmann, and these were the composers they grew up with. So I heard Mahler via Korngold, and Wagner via Steiner or Herrmann. I once told someone, when you listen to Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, you can hear the basis of classical film composition, top to bottom: heavy, light, funny, frolicsome, romantic. Film music is narrative; you’re telling a story with music.

How much did you have in the way of formal study of orchestration?

I never took a lesson. I’m self-taught. I learned early on that I had a good ear, and that if I listened and absorbed, I retained a lot of what I needed to use. I trained with the orchestras, as I went. I remember Tim Burton asking me, how are you able to write for four films between each one of mine, and you’re doing your own band [Oingo Boingo, with which Elfman continued to perform until its dissolution in 1995]. I go, if I didn’t do four films between each one of yours, I wouldn’t be able to do your next film, because each new score is demanding more from me.

What did Oingo Boingo do for you as a composer?

It didn’t do anything for me as a composer. But as a schizophrenic human being, it was just keeping me with … there’s always this other thing. Just the fact that I’m doing something intensely, and I know that there’s something completely different coming up, I find that kind of necessary.

That sounds mentally healthy.

It was like two sides that were in direct contrast: One was very physical, with sweat and audience, and the other was extremely disciplined solo work, with super-long hours. And whichever I was doing, I always longed to do the other one. And now I’m trying to find that balance between the film and the concert music.

How does the difference between those activities work for you?

Realizing that I’ve got another concert piece coming up, and that when I get to that, I can really leave behind those frameworks that I’ve had to stay within [for film]. You can do a lot within the construct of a film, but there’s definitely a boundary that, if you’re crossing it, you’d be doing it for yourself and not for the film.

This is not to suggest that you might give up film composing.

No, no, I love film composing! [chuckles] And I have a busy year coming up. It’s just that when I’m doing a film, at a certain point I might feel frustrated or constrained, and knowing that I’ve got something else, in three or six months, where I’m really going to let that Tourette’s stuff out of my system — I want to explode with notes, but I have to be patient, I know I’m going to get my moment to do that. I did a piece for the American Composers Orchestra about 13 years ago, it was called, Serenada Schizophrana.

Love it!

And then I did, about seven years ago, a ballet for Twyla Tharp, called Rabbit and Rogue. These were great opportunities for me, because I was going way out of my comfort zone. But I wrote things that weren’t designed to get back in the concert repertoire.

They were one-offs?

Yeah. Then, about three years ago, we were doing the Elfman-Burton show in Prague, and I was approached with, “How would you like to write a violin concerto?” I immediately said yes, because I’d never done that and I have a strong appetite for that kind of thing. Since I started doing the Elfman-Burton concerts and taking them all over the world, I saw there was an audience there, with good energy, and they tended to be young. And I started thinking to myself, “How can I do something that will appeal to this audience, which doesn’t usually come into concert halls and doesn’t listen to classical music necessarily, as well as to the audience that does in fact go to concerts? And how do I find this kind of line where I’m writing challenging music for my audience but trying at the same time to keep enough of my own personality in it that it doesn’t sound like a total departure?” That’s been the mistake of some other film composers who’ve gone to classical work, and their audience just goes, “I don’t understand this;” it leaves them cold.

Bernstein is one of the few that managed to go effortlessly between popular culture and his own compositions. I’ve been trying to find this way into [the audience’s] psyche — that’s probably the film composer in me, that likes to connect — but to not write what sounds like film-music-with-a-violin. In researching it, I understood that a lot of my favorite composers worked very closely with violinists.

Who were some of those favorites?

Well, specifically, Shostakovich and Prokofiev and Bernstein. I never would compare myself to Shostakovich, and, in fact, to start writing, I had to stop listening to him, because there’s a certain point where he’s so ****ing amazing to me — like a god — that if I listen too much, I get paralyzed. But Shostakovich, Tchaikovksy, even Brahms, all worked very closely with violinists, so I worked very closely with [violinist] Sandy Cameron on the cadenzas. I’d written a Cirque du Soleil show, and Sandy was the violinist for that show, and she [later] played an extended cadenza for Edward Scissorhands on the Elfman-Burton tour.

There must have been something in your composition which appealed to Sandy.

And I think she was excited by the fact that with me she’d be in the position of Joseph Joachim, the [Hungarian] violinist who worked with Brahms. Early on, I met with one of the creative directors of the Royal Scottish Orchestra, who was interested in being an involved-as-possible partner, and he asked me what I was going to do. I asked him for the breakdown that Prokofiev or Shostakovich would have used for concertos, and I looked at it, and I said, “this is all doable, except for one problem: I am a child of the second half of the 20th century, and I love percussion.”

I was raised on that world of Lou Harrison and Terry Riley and Steve Reich and Harry Partch, and there was a point in my career when I thought I was actually going to be a percussion instrument builder and player. In the early days, before Oingo Boingo, I’d been a year in West Africa, came back with a lot of instruments. The only music I had ever studied had been gamelan, at Cal Arts for three years. So the first thing that excited me [about the concerto] was a cadenza that would involve four players across the stage playing this variety of instruments, and a violinist.

Will your concert music be challenging?

It demands a lot of rhythmic accuracy, and it involves concentration for the players. If their repertoire is mostly classical, some things will throw them a bit. I’m used to working with very high-level musicians.

The L.A. studio musicians?

The L.A. and London musicians are extraordinary. Look at it this way: how many concerts does any symphony orchestra play each year? If they’re lucky, half a dozen. But studio people are playing new music every day, and you do that for 15 years, you get some pretty insane talent.

Many studio musicians also perform in classical settings, but you’ve said the shift isn’t so easy for composers.

There’s a lot of pushback: “Oh, really? The guy who wrote The Simpsons and Batman wants to write a symphony? [with a sarcastic groan:] Great!” I get it, but why does it have to be that defined?

Another aspect Sarah Hicks and I and probably many listening closely to your scores appreciate is your working your motifs differently toward different purposes throughout the films’ story lines.

I don’t hear that enough in contemporary film music. There’s an attitude right now of pure orchestration, and I’m not carrying anything away with that. You should be able to carry something out of the theater. This is something I learned from Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, that if you give us a bit of a tune, you can do all kinds of things around it, because our ears know what they’re following. You can take things out quite a bit, if you give those ears something to hang on to.

 

[Elevator Man]

BeetleJuice was released in theaters 30 years ago today. Hopefully Hollywood resists and avoids any sequels, prequels, remakes, etc. at least for a while.

BeetleJuice Main Title (with Elfman vocal intro)

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Lydia Discovers

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The Incantation

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Showtime!

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End Credits

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Before I Wake, which was originally titled Somnia, is a supernatural thriller directed by Mike Flanagan (director of Oculus). While still coping with the death of their only child a grieving married couple (played by Kate Bosworth and Thomas Jane) adopt a gifted young orphan (played by Jacob Tremblay), whose dreams and nightmares come to life while asleep.

Even though Before I Wake was filmed in the winter of 2013, it’s release date was repeatedly delayed (from May 08, 2015 to September 25, 2015 to April 08, 2016 to September 09, 2016) due to the company distributing the movie going bankrupt. Netflix eventually obtained the distribution rights and released it in April 2017 (worldwide) and January 2018 in the states.

Before I Wake isn’t your typical horror thriller. In fact, it’s more of a drama about how a couple and an orphan deal with grief through the supernatural. So don’t expect any gore or big scares. Bosworth, Jane, and Tremblay are all fine in their respective roles. Overall it was decent movie. However I have a few complaints and nitpicks about the movie.

Spoiler

Complaints and nitpicks contains spoilers.

Some of the issues I have with Before I Wake is that Cody’s dreams/nightmares manifest while he sleeps so when he’s awaken the dreams/nightmares disappear. He’s had nightmares about a monster (Canker Man), which manifests into reality and consumes the souls of it’s victims. However, once Cody is awaken Canker Man disappears. If Canker Man is all in Cody’s mind then how come it’s victims didn’t return to reality as the monster disappeared? After all these dreams/nightmares are projections and figments of Cody’s imagination/subconscious/conscious. None of Canker Man’s victims returned after it was defeated during the climax. It didn’t make sense for them to be dead. I figured the victims were trapped somewhere between reality and Cody’s nightmares but apparently not.

I was disappointed that they killed off Thomas Jane’s character (Mark Hobson), who happened to be the more likable and levelheaded parent. Mark even bonded with Cody shortly before he died. Bosworth’s character (Jessie), who wanted to exploit Cody’s abilities in order to see her dead child Sean again, was the more callous parent. She even bribed her doctor for some sleeping medication to get Cody to sleep. So in order for Jessie to see Sean again she secretly drugged Cody’s drink later that night. However, when that backfired and Cody couldn’t wake up Mark sacrificed himself in order to protect them from Canker Man. So it’s technically Jessie’s fault that Mark died. Having Mark being killed off made it seem like he was the throwaway parent with little importance. His death didn’t bring anything to the story. In fact the movie lost something for me when he was killed off. I’d rather the film’s climax dealt with both parents getting through to Cody. Each character was still grieving over the death of a loved one. The film should’ve had them all resolve their personal grief together as a family. It made it seem that Jessie was the more important parent. Maybe it was the writers way of showing that only a mother could get through to Cody and help him control his dreams/nightmares. Since it’s later revealed that Cody’s mother was a single parent, who took special care of him until she passed away, which was when he began losing control of his special ability. Another moment that upset me was when she blamed Mark for the death of Sean, who drowned in the tub due to the lack of a rail to keep himself afloat. Earlier in the movie it revealed Mark installing a rail over the tub before they welcomed Cody to their home. I’m not saying that Jessie should’ve been the parent they had killed off vy Canker Man but that Mark was treated unfairly in the movie and shouldn‘t had been killed off. I believe both parents could’ve/should’ve saved Cody.

At the end of the movie will Cody have to be sheltered for the rest of his life due to how sensitive he is? If he sees any horror movies, or anything disturbing on television or in real life will nightmares manifest from it? I wasn’t really certain that he was able to control his dreams at the end. Even adults have nightmares.

Despite my nitpicks and complaints I still managed to enjoy the movie.

The majority of the score to Before I Wake was written by The Newton Brothers, who also scored Flanagan’s Oculus. However, Danny Elfman provided fourteen minutes of additional music according to the combined track times on the album. It hasn’t been confirmed how Elfman’s involvement came about. However, Mali Elfman (Elfman’s daughter ) was an executive producer on the project. Elfman wrote three cues, which focused on the more emotional/poignant scenes, for the movie.

The Newton Brothers, who I’m not familiar with, portion of the score is moody, mysterious, and melancholic, which depicts the Hobson’s and Cody’s difficulty with coping with grief and loss. As well as Cody’s earlier attempts to keep himself awake so he couldn’t dream, while also keeping his special gift a secret from his new foster parents. The dramatic moments in the score are mostly piano driven. The Newton Brothers handled all the tense scenes in the movie as well. Most of those moments in the score are very atmospheric, ominous, and unpleasant, which sort takes away from enjoyment of the score. I know it suppose to make the listener feel uncomfortable/uneasy, but it’s more effective within the context of the movie. In fact most of the suspenseful cues work better with the movie than away from it The standout tracks from the Newton Brothers portion of the score are “A New Home”, “Cody”, “First Day Of School/Afraid To Sleep”, “Lighterflies”, ”The Life Cycle Of Butterflies”, “Memories Of Sean”, and “What Happens When He Dreams”. Each of those tracks are the less tense moments of their portion of the score.

Elfman wrote three emotional standout cues (“Sean“, “Christmas“, and “Defeated“). “Sean” is a little over two minutes long [BLACKOUT]and takes place when Cody’s dream projection of Sean appears before Mark and Jessie, who are in disbelief[/BLACKOUT]. The track is mostly performed with the piano, strings, and choir, which each perfectly depicts the emotions of the grieving couple reacting to seeing their dead child somewhat alive in front of them. It isn’t too sappy or too eerie, but almost bittersweet. “Christmas”, which is a little over two minutes long, [BLACKOUT]takes place when Cody’s dream projection of Sean’s last Christmas occurs that night. Thanks to Jessie selfishly persuading Cody to look at home movies of Sean’s last Christmas. [/BLACKOUT]This track also utilizes piano, violins, and choir. [BLACKOUT]The music evokes Jessie and Mark reliving their memories of their last Christmas with Sean[/BLACKOUT]. “Defeated” is a nearly ten minute track, which is the best track on the album. It’s always a treat when Elfman gets to write a lengthy emotional track i.e. “Finale“ from Big Fish. “Defeated” occurs during the movie’s finale [BLACKOUT]after Jessie frees Cody from his fear of Canker Man, revealing why he has these nightmares, how the death of his mother scarred him, etc.[/BLACKOUT] It’s a very cathartic track that ends the film/score on a heartwarming note. These three tracks brings a nice contrast to The Newton Brothers score, which otherwise would’ve been lacking in such a film. Even though neither Elfman or the Newton Brothers collaborated on this score none of their styles felt jarring with one another or distracted from the score. If it hadn’t already been pointed out in the track list some may not have even noticed which tracks were written by Elfman.

Some complaints I have about the album is that certain tracks are too short (under two minutes long) and get very little room to breathe. Some of those short cues could’ve been omitted from the album. As well as omit some of the more eerie tracks, which works better in context of the film than outside of it. In fact, they could’ve trimmed about 15 to 20 minutes of the album, which is a little over 68 minutes long. The album would’ve flowed better with a 45-50 minute runtime.

Overall, it’s a decent independent supernatural horror score with the Elfman material playing a pivotal role in elevating the score to an emotional level. I didn’t mind what The Newton Brothers wrote but it’s interesting to wonder what Elfman would’ve came up with for the rest of the score based off the fourteen minutes of music he wrote. Recommended to Elfman completists.

 

[Cobblepot]

Bottom-Line/Final Thoughts

So overall, I enjoyed Elfman’s Justice League score, whichis the best DC score since John Ottman’s Superman Returns. And it also happens to be the best DCEU score by default. Most of the themes Elfman created resonated with me. The way Elfman was able to interweave and twist various themes throughout the score was impressive, which proves Elfman put more thought into this score than he‘s given credit for. With that said both the Cyborg and Aquaman motifs could’ve been fleshed out a little more. The score also lacks a strong counterbalance between the dramatic cues (aside from “Home” and “A New Hope”) and the action cues, which is some of Elfman’s best in the genre. Bonus points for Elfman effectively adapting his own Batman theme and Williams’ Superman theme into a Justice League score.

If you’re too attached to the Zimmer sound than don’t bother with this. However, I do recommend this score to those tired of the droning ambient percussive heavy scores from previous DCEU movies, but crave for a more dynamic symphonic score. This score might be a little bombastic and dense ala Hellboy II: The Golden Army.Some of the action cues may be difficult to follow without context. So it may take repeated listens to appreciate and comprehend some of it’s themes/motifs.

I don’t believe Elfman deserves any of the backlash or vitriol thrown at him. He did the best he could under the circumstances. If he had scored a far superior Justice League movie that had strong character arcs, an intriguing plot, an engaging villain, believable special effects, exciting action scenes, compelling performances from the entire cast, better pacing , etc. he would’ve scored one of the best comic book movies. Unfortunately, Justice League is easily the worst comic book movie he’s scored.

It’s a shame that this score didn’t click with most people, but hopefully overtime it’ll grow on them the way Elfman’s Spider-Man has. I remember both of Elfman’s Spider-Man scores being heavily criticized upon release for some nonsensical reasons to boot i.e. “lacking memorable themes“, “unable to measure up to his Batman scores“ and “being mostly Batman leftovers“. So maybe these detractors will come to appreciate Justice League in the long run. It’s a shame that this score wasn’t the stepping stone for the DCEU scores going forward because unfortunately WB/DCEU reverted back to the Zimmer sound by hiring Rupert Gregson-Williams to score the Aquaman solo movie.

I highly recommend Justice League to fans of Elfman’s current whimsical fantasy adventure scores i.e. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Alice In Wonderland, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and Alice Through The Looking Glass. If you’re expecting something on the level of Batman (1989), Batman Returns or anything from his “glory days” then you’re setting yourselves up for disappointment. Elfman’s composition and writing has matured from that period, which was three decades ago.



Rating:

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But did it go well with movie?

 

[Elevator Man]

I've already shared my opinion about Elfman's score in the movie in the posts/links below.

Danny Elfman’s Score In The Movie

Addressing The Criticisms