Thanks for articulating all this. It really gets at some of the issues I've had with Hans Zimmer's scores myself for the past 20 years or so. And none of it is meant to attack his work ethic or his character (I met him once, and he was extremely nice.) But it just seems like he's become more of a sound designer than a composer: more interested in the "soundscape" than in putting any genuinely interesting musical ideas in there to start with. And yeah, pair that with Christopher Nolan's puzzling sound mixing decisions, and you get an overprocessed "wall of sound" that actually pushes me out of the movie, rather than drawing me in.
Bingo! Instead of themes composed to accentuate characters and scenes we have background noise of blaring horns, oppressing strings, and/or wailing women. Nothing he has done recently can stand on its own for me. I look at what he did for Dune 2021 and want to cry. While I love the film it had such potential for a giant score in the vein of Lawrence of Arabia. Having watched the film in IMAX and two more times at home I cannot recall anything memorable about the score aside from the bagpiper in the one scene.
@@kennethfharkin while watching 2021s Dune I though, this Zimmers themes are not that bad. Then I heard again the 1984's soundtrack, specially Eno parts, and It's outstanding.
@@perrymanso6841 Hans Zimmer wants to be bach, but he can't and will never be. I think he has good ones, but his best work is usually a recreation of great pieces of music......for example Interstellar is literally Bach......you can hear the fucking notes and yes I didn't like that he use parts of Bachs piece
@@ballwreck1139 Well, I have to admit, that I heard a lot of Holst in Williams soundtracks. I don't get mad if composers base their pieces in others composers works, I do when they lack on freshness and effort. And sadly, Zimmer does It a lot this past decades...
Just thinking out loud here, but maybe one reason his BWAAANG scores resonate with so many people is a reflection of wider trends in popular music. About 15 years ago, certain genres of relatively underground electronic music, such as dubstep, started crossing over into the mainstream, eventually becoming EDM (vom). This type of pop electronic music really emphasizes 'the drop'; the dynamic basically being a binary: 0) quiet > 1) sudden wall of sound. The main focus here is on the energy, on taking a sonic punch to the face, and I think that's become a common feature of the musical landscape.
The trouble, for me, is that Zimmer has spawned so many disciples which in turn has homonogized film scores. Melodies, when we get them, are at a premium and when we do get them, they're very simplistic. How many great themes are there nowadays, how many new tunes which you can whistle to? Zimmer has done some fine work over they years, True Romance, Gladiator and Man of Steel spring to mind, but generally he comes across as a tad "copy and paste". We are lightyears away from the likes of John Barry, with his hugely atmospheric and emotional soundtracks (Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesties Secret Service, Midnight Cowboy, The Persuaders, Walkabout, Somewhere in Time and countless others), Morricone, Williams, Goldsmith, Horner. Of course, the same can be said for the general quality of current today writing, creativity (lack of), chart music etc, which is markedly inferior to what we've had in the past.
I think Zimmer's sound of overriding grim sadness these days is more a sign of the times, what directors currently want, rather than a limitation of his talent. Directors say "gimme a sound like you did here on such and such movie" and of course he aims to please. If directors would challenge him to show more versatility, with a more light-hearted whimsicality, I think he could deliver. It's like the score for Mad Max-Fury Road versus the score to Mad Max 2-The Road Warrior. Road Warrior had a somber, sad requiem for the death of civilized society, yes, but it also had an exciting, thrilling, pounding action motif as well as a hopeful theme for the gyro pilot. Fury Road is just awash in sadness, even over the action.
I've always liked Zimmer's score for "The Last Samurai" (2003), which I think has at least some emotional nuance and depth that is lacking in other soundtracks by him. Other than that, I like soundtracks from the late James Horner, specifically his "Enemy at the Gates" (2001) and "Troy" (2004). They both sound like Rachmaninov as well as Khachaturian's "Spartacus". With "Enemies", he incorporates Russian Jewish sounds with Hollywood flamboyance. Meanwhile, I think Bernard Hermann's stuff for the "Sinbad" series sounds like both Khachaturian and Rimsky-Korsakov.
I just saw Dune, and I can't agree more with you. A more discreet musician (especially when the movie is 2h 35m long) would have made Dune into a experience of another, much higher order. I can't but feel sad that we won't have a Dune score by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, who was the usual collaborator of the director Villeneuve; or by Jóhannsson's very much alive colleague Hildur Guðnadóttir (here is a sample of her music for Chernobyl: ua-cam.com/video/RVkAqegqlgg/v-deo.html ). Not a musician here, just a suffering member of the audience.
The main problem about Zimmer's "Dune" soundtrack, is that is totally tribalistic, It lacks the mysticism that Leno perfectly portrayed in the 1984's "Dune".
I recall enjoying the _Thelma and Louise_ soundtrack enough to buy the cd. I prefer the scores of Bernard Herrmann, Maurice Jarre, Ennio Morricone, and Angelo Badalamenti. Williams’ _Empire Strikes Back_ score is exceptional. I’m also quite fond of Coppola’s score for _Apocalypse Now_ and Steven Price’s score for _Gravity._ Thank you, deepfocuslens.
William Walton, more famous as a concert composer, is an underrated film composer -- Henry V and Richard III are amazing scores. Ralph Vaughan Williams's as well, with 49th Parallell and Scott of the Antarctic.
It is good to hear a honnest opinion about Hans Zimmer. It is really baffling how those who worship his music do not realise its lack of depth. Only truly educated composers can infuse depth and true beauty with their particular genius like Morricone, Goldsmith, Williams, Rosenthal, Shire, Elmer Bernstein, James Horner...going back to North, Rosenman, Korngold, Waxman and so on....Mastering Harmony, orchestration, structure....melodic genius...great dramatic instinct...but, oh well, he is so great at PR and production that he was able to adapt to the shark system of the commercial world of Hollywood for so long !
I think his bombastic sensibility actually really helps elevate something like Dunkirk. I think both Zimmer and Nolan definitely maximised strengths and minimised weak areas for that one, and the result on screen at least (even if you you'd probably never listen to the tracks on their own) is actually quite hypnotic. I didn't notice the ticking clock was used for the entire movie until the moment where it finally stops when they're on the train which is very effective. Also Interstellar's score is quite beautiful. Obviously you have the big set piece music, but some of the quieter piano stuff is wonderful, especially this scene ua-cam.com/video/ITwYEIY2FlE/v-deo.html
I enjoy his work on The Thin Red Line, 12 Years a Slave, and the underrated score for The Last Samurai. His Nolan work is suffocating, derivative, and oppressive.
One of my favorite composers is Joe Hisaishi. I don't know exactly how to describe it but his music creates this sense of immersion into the fantastical worlds of studio Ghibli movies.
Some of my favorites - Ry Cooder for Paris Texas & Southern Comfort. Tangerine Dream for Sorcerer & Risky Business & Don Ellis for The French Connection. Quincy Jones was quite good in the day especially on the underseen The Anderson Tapes.
I'm with you. As a former student of composition, my love for Zimmer wore off during my academic years. I think it's because when I dug deep into the works of composers such as Palestrina, Pergolesi, Stockhausen and Ligeti, my taste and pespectives expanded in such a way that, unfortunately, Zimmer's work often came off as predictable and Hollywood generic. But like you, I don't question his talent and there is the occasional Zimmer OST that I still like. I remember liking the Blade Runner 2049 OST, even though I've never listened to it outside the movie.
James Michael Bernard did most of them. His mode of composing was funny. He would take the title 'The Curse of Frankenstein' for instance then create his motifs based on the number of syllables. So 'The Curse of Frankenstein' would be Da-dum-da-dum-dum-dum. But somehow he made interesting scores.
THANK! YOU! I've never been a fan of his work. I've always felt a sameness to all of his music. A tendency towards more is more. Like his grandiocity is the only thing he has going, his only substance. To paraphrase what you said A Fabrication of Epic. His stuff always sounded like he was an imitation of epic scope. My favorites are Bernard Herrmann, Williams, Steiner, Goldsmith, Ifukube. Also nice Alex North plug! I DID however really love Zim's score for Dunkirk. Now I think Dunkirk is a masterpiece (and should have won Best Picture & Director), but his score was perfect for that film. It was eerie and unsettling in all the right ways, the ways the story needed it. In fact, I would have understood if he won the Oscar that year.. That's what he lacks I think: He tries to make his score tell the story instead of making his score fit the story being told.
His work on Rush and the Da Vinci Code is amazing, specifically Rush (Lost but won is a personal favourite of mine as a racing fan). Maybe his collaboration with Ron Howard is better than with Nolan.
Finally found a person that feels and explains what I feel about Zimmer 100%. I used to really liked him in his earlier days but his scores in the last few years like mos scores these days is just background noise with nothing memorable that sticks with you.
Ludwig Goransson is a genius imo.. how he created a new sound for Star Wars (instead of imitating) yet respecting the old stuff in The Mandalorian is amazing.
@@akosleoszilagyi2529 It really didn’t deserve that on any level
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I think Zimmer´s last good score was "Gladiator", all those years ago. And even then he had a lot of help from Lisa Gerrard and anonymous "collaborators". And that´s another thing I don´t like much about him... he is a like a "company". It´s well known that he has other people working with him in his scores, and he repeats himself a lot.
I can't talk about Zimmer's early work because I only became aware of him 'cos my brother is a fan. I don't tell my brother I think he's boring anymore, otherwise my brother will force me to sit through another soundtrack. What can you do?
I disagree profusely with you about Zimmer and the Inception score but I appreciate your well-thought out opinions on him. I'm actually not surprised by this video and I don't think you're going for something "edgy" expressing this either. :) Not sure if you're aware but over the past several years, there has been a sizeable backlash against him - Zimmer has such a large, unavoidable group of protégés doing scores like his including Yablonsky, Junkie XL, Harry Gregson that he's kind of become a brand. Honestly criticism of Zimmer is becoming as commonplace as criticizing Marvel at this point. That said, do you have the same opinion of the scores Zimmer has done for Steve McQueen in recent years? 12 Years a Slave, Widows...both scores are pretty minimalist but they're pretty great.
Totally with you on this one. "Dad Rock" is a pretty accurate way to put it. I do listen to his work sometimes just for that immediate punchy rush, but the instrumentation and compositions are definitely drowned out. Jonny Greenwood is amazing though. But even if I weren't with you I wouldn't be angry. I don't quite understand how people can get some inflammatory about such things.
I like his score for The Rock, but mostly he’s the second coming of James Horner, and that’s not a compliment. Basically, he composed one score, and he’s been using variations of that his entire career. He’s not Jerry Goldsmith; definitely not John Barry, or Ennio Morricone. For minimalism, I actually prefer John Carpenter. I listen to his stuff more than Hans Zimmer.
@@christopherrobin361 Cool! My personal favorite is Assault on Precinct 13. It baffles me why Carpenter was never contracted to do the scores for movies outside of his filmography. If I was a director I certainly would have sought him out, but that’s just me.
James Horner. I really like the score for Krull but it is just a tweaked wrath of Khan ;) theyre the ones of his I like, Along with star trek 3. Aliens ain't bad, although it blantly rips of 2001 at the beginning. The rest of his stuff i forget.
Thinking about this after having watched this video quite a few times, I've realised that most of his scores reminds me of the harmonies I made as kid playing my dad's piano. When you're young and don't now how to play, you just hit the keys and bascally make stacked thirds. That's basically most Zimmer scores recently. Stacked thirds with a drumbeat.
Totally agree with you-I’m an orchestral musician and in my job (when there isn’t a pandemic lol) we often play movie scores live with the film. There’s a reason we don’t/can’t do Hans Zimmer scores-maybe with the exception of his early stuff like Gladiator or even Pirates of the Caribbean, which still isn’t my favorite but has quite a catchy theme. Some film composers I’ve liked recently are Nicholas Britell (Moonlight, Beale Street) and Michael Abels (Get Out)
The truly sad part about Hans Zimmer's dominance in the film industry, is that movies were the last place where someone who was unfamiliar with the symphony could accidently enjoy the symphony, and that is disappearing now.
Excellent explanation of your opinion to which I also subscribe. I love the symphonic, operatic film scores with gorgeous texture, counterpoint, complexity. I'm a devoted fan of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Alan Silvestri, Ennio Morricone and even the old school scores of Dimitri Tiomkin, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner and the more unique compositions of Thomas Newman or Bernard Herrmann. Zimmer is too much repetitive minimslist for my taste.
This is a totally valid viewpoint. I personally think that some of his collaborations with Nolan are some of my favorites but I really feel like its a lot due to my musical background as both an orchestral player and someone who is very invested in electroacoustic music. The way he marries the two groups of sounds in many of Nolan’s films has just always worked for me. But thats just me. Curious to know how you feel about the Dunkirk score though, I kinda feel like thats his masterpiece
Completely agree; scores today are so bland and interchangeable. Goldsmith, Herrmann, and Williams are my favorites; Thomas Newman is right outside those 3 for me.
I respect your opinion, you explained it really well. Cornfield Chase from the Interstellar soundtrack is one of my favourite songs on a movie soundtrack so I do enjoy Hans quite a bit, but I totally get the criticisms of his scores. Also love that you mentioned Jonny Greenwood!!! So underrated.
That was not Ray, that was Ravi Shankar - and the music for Pather Panchali is indeed one of the MOST beautiful soundtracks in the history of the cinema!!!
@@jayasrighosh8852 No need to apologize - it is I who thanks you for mentioning the music for the Apu Trilogy - truly some of the greatest music in the cinema - exalted, it brings tears to my eyes.
I'm team Williams and Goldsmith here. I like Zimmer's Gladiator with its wide range of moods and its "battle waltz"--it's very inventive. I also like his grass-roots Thelma & Louise and of course his powerful African The Lion King. The rest of his scores kind of have a similar, somber sound, a wash of sadness.
When I looked up all his scores I was surprised only in that I remembered almost none of them until they got so bad it became a point of discussion in the later ones.
100% agree. It's as if Zimmer and directors have forgotten that great sound tracks are great for their musicality - pure texture and drones doesn't cut it.
Interstellar, Inception, Man Of steel, The Dark Knight, Gladiator, Blade Runner 2049, the guy is simply a genius and he should have more Oscars than he has.
As The Dude said "Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." Blaring horns and wailing women as background noise does not make a score which will be remembered in 20 years. Remember when he could make MUSIC like in Gladiator... he doesn't seem to.
@@kennethfharkin as the dude said "that's like your opinion man". Zimmer revolutionized scores with Inception, a score that everyone loves and has inspired so many more. Dune is winning original score at the Oscars and that's a certainty. The guy is the most acclaimed composer of the last 2 decades and you say he doesn't write stuff to remember. BS dude, BS.
@@Usedtobebillie Inception... DUM DUM DUM DUM dum dum dum dum DUM DUM DUM BWAAAA BWAAA dum dum chka chka chka dun dun BWAAAA It is adequate background atmospheric sound but as music goes it is shit. They give awards to rap also and it is also almost universally shit.
I just subscribed! I really appreciate the time you took out, to maintain a measured and purposefully diplomatic approach to addressing your opinion of Hans Zimmer's output, against the inevitable backlash that comes when anyone attempts to critique any artist who is so well known (I've had similar arguments with people when I've casually crtiticised Kanye West). I was just discussing my take on Hans Zimmer's film scores to my partner, and ended up here at your video. You managed to say almost everything that I feel about the subject, and it was quite uncanny that you also mentioned many of the same examples of other renowned film composers as I did myself before watching this. I'm steeped in music, play the trumpet professionally, teach music, produce music and am quite encyclopaedic in my musical tastes, but I found out a few years ago that criticising Zimmer was a big NO NO even in composers forums and other so called musically literate online groups. As you said, any criticism was often met with, 'well, who are you to criticise one of the greatest movie composers of our generation', or 'when you've got the first call job to write for nearly every blockbuster movie, we might listen to you', blah shit blah etc. The funny thing is, let me take Mahler as an example of one of the many composers that I am deeply intertwined with. So much has Maher's music had an impact on me over the last 30 years, that I am intrigued by people who don't like Mahler's music. I also acutely understand why anyone might not like Mahler's music, as what he is trying to say through music is not necessarily a vibe that everybody wants to even touch upon, let alone explore and experience. My point is, rather than trying to slate people who dont' like Mahler (or any other music that is close to my heart), I'm very interested in why they don't like it. I'm curious, and very keen to actually show them examples of exactly why I love something, not denigrate them for not liking it. What a destructive line of debate! I don't dislike Hans Zimmer at all. In fact, I could say I really love Hans Zimmer's music, but I became bored through the realisation that every score is just more of the same. There was that period of time where I'd go watch a film and the moment the music started, just like in every other film out at the time, it was 'oh, this again'. Boring variations on the same formula and - as you said - not enough unique melodic interest to keep me compelled to listen. I remember buying the soundtrack to the film 'Backdraft' because I LOVED the music. It's got glorious themes, emotional segues and the score is so integral to the feeling of the film. That was my first knowledge of the composer 'Hans Zimmer'. Then came Crimson Tide, The Rock etc, all good scores in a similar vein, but exactly that - a too similar vein. I mean, John Williams has a 'house sound' as well, but it's (another thing you said) glorious, symphonic, pliable, unpredictable music, played by an orchestra WITHOUT a click track, which seems to be prevalent throughout everything Zimmer writes - metronomic boredom. Yes, John Williams is recognisable in an instant. You could sing endless 'themes' by John Williams if asked, couldn't you, despite their commonalities? They all start with an open fifth, like Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park, ET, even Schindler's List (but the 5th goes down, not up). From the smallest child to the oldest grandparent, we can all recognise the theme to Indiana Jones and know what it is, not confuse it with Star Wars or ET. Yet, what big 'themes' can anyone sing of Hans Zimmer's? Good luck with that one! It's sad that you feel you have to tip toe around this subject so as to not offend people. Such is the times. Just as you said, don't get me wrong, I actually really appreciate Hans Zimmer's work. It's the sound of a generation of movie soundtracks, and in some sense of its safe simplicity, has shown just how effective one (or any budding composer) can be with their interesting use of simplistic yet insistent rhythms and enhanced sound, without having to 'carve' great ambitously musical pastiches played by a hundred musicians live with a conductor to accompany film sequences exactly and set mood naturally. I watched a documentary on Hans Zimmer that was very enlightening in that it highlighted the speed at which Zimmer gets his ideas out, to fruition and fully formed. That is a skill in itself, and no wonder he was in demand far and wide. He is a great creator of music and an extremely efficient deliverer of ideas, and for that in itself he rises to the top. But, it is so obvious and dare I say 'boring', the blatant formulas underpinning so many of his scores that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that can identify which soundtrack goes with which film with Zimmer. To anyone that disagrees with that sentiment, you really must be limited in your palette of musical appreciation. Zimmer is the epitome of 'fast food' film music. Sorry for the long rant, I've had a drink!
Sapere aude. It is so much more satisfying loving something that is totally uninfluenced by external opinion. I realized it early on when someone would recommend me something, a film by this director and a song by this artist etc... And it would totally disappoint me. I then tried to "shape" my opinion to align with the general consensus just not to shake the harmony, "Yes! Game of Thrones is the best show ever! (insert sarcasm)". But it felt inauthentic and exhaustive. Having formed my own "tastes", it is so much easier now to filter stuff that I know I would love and like, regardless of what other people. And it encouraged me to speak about things I don't like even though it might sound blasphemous to other people. I miss the melodies on mass media/pop culture though. And I am an unashamed lover of tear-jerker melodramatic emotional rollercoaster pieces by Michael Giacchino like what he did for LOST. One minute it was bittersweetly intimate, frantically paranoid the next. It was transparent. Clearly a work of passion, and the audience could feel it too, just like the characters. It is rare that a film or a series would leave the same impression on me. The last ones I could remember was Alex Weston's entire score for THE NOVICE and Johan Testad's score for the HBO series Björnstad (Beartown).
Can you make a portrait of Zimmer please lol 😆 This reminds me of the disappointment I felt that my peers didn't know any classic music when I was in school (Al Green, CCR, The Stones) i heard all that stuff in utero. When you have a trained ear, you can hear the difference between music and mediocrity.
Lately I am way more into the scores of videogames. There is more variation and I find it more interesting. There are a lot of great composers, especially Japanese composers have made some great work. Kow Otani, who did the OST for Shadow of the Colossus, is easily recognizable. And I love the soundtrack for Uncharted 4 by Henry Jackman. There are too many examples to name.
Ludovico Einaudi's score for the French movie The Intouchables is beautiful. That opening score for the movie just embodies the whole story. One of the best films ever written and one of the most beautiful scores in my opinion.
I used to listen to Hans Zimmer a lot, but nowadays, I don't. He is still one of my favorite composers. Hans Zimmer's Style is Great. I like the Soundscapes, Form/Structure, and his use for Melodies. He makes his tracks stand on their own feet. His music is easier to follow, like pop music, and I think his music is the pop version of film music. He does have cliches. I don't listen to him because all of the credit goes to him. He does have a ton of assistants and even more ghostwriters. He collaborates with other composers like James Newton Howard on Batman Begins, but you don't hear all of the other composers who contributed. He makes the sketches while everyone else fleshes them out. He doesn't score films entirely on his own like John Williams. Has anyone listened to Dune yet?
I am trying to follow your logic here. I can see you feel that some of his scores are quite bombastic but there are some extraordinary scores in his career: The Thin Red Line is absolutely superb, perfectly complementing the Malick aesthetic; Interstellar is very dramatic and perhaps uses the organ too much but it still creates a great atmosphere. Inception is much enhanced by Johnny Marr's guitar work and Dunkirk, for me, is a departure -more like a sound design than a conventional score. He also does a lot of scores that are not immediately identifable - The PLedge is good, as is Rush and Twelve Years A Slave. I know he has become mainstream now but I think he has been a pioneer in moving film scores away from the symphonic John WIlliams style to a more rock-based melodic style. So, I cannot agree with you. I think he is far more interesting than most composers. The Jackie and Under The Skin composer you mentioned is very good as are Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor but among his contemporary competition - Alexandre Desplat, for example, is also popular but nowhere near as inventive.
@@perrymanso6841 I don't know what 'self-plagiarising' means. He has his own style? I guess you mean he repeats himself. Perhaps Desplat is more subtle and people hate on Zimmer for being bombastic. I like his work on The Ghost Writer, Zero Dark Thirty, Little Women and his work for Wes Anderson. I just think Zimmer's dramatic work on Interstellar, Inception, Dunkirk, Pirates of the Caribbean were SUITABLY dramatic - they go well with what we are watching. But he has been doing scores for a long time. The Thin Red Line is still his best for me in 1998. And it is dramatic but also has subtlety. So, he was inventive then. Also Dunkirk was a very inventive score - more like a sound design. He may have done a fair share of overblown stuff but some great stuff too. All the hating on him is proof that he has single-handedly changed the modern movie score. Perhaps someone like Mica Levi is the future? I'm OK with that.
A movie score is not music per se. It is actually part of a film's "sound design." I see scores as no different from sound effects. In fact, some sound f/x are made from musical instruments. Some DVDs and Blu-rays have "isolated scores" in which all dialog and sound effects are removed and you hear only the music cues. And sometimes those cues hardly sound like music. How a score is composed, arranged, instrumentalized, etc., are for serving the purposes of the film, and not for creating music that is pleasant to listen to in the traditional sense. If a score sounds like complete gibberish (and some actually do, including great ones), it usually acquits itself because it has to serve the film in particular ways. Also, a film's soundtrack album isn't really "the score," since it is a separate recording for stand-alone listening. It is the music you hear in the film that matters; that is when a score does its work, and gets an Oscar for.
Almost all films, even classic flims, have an imperfection or two (or more) because of the collaborative nature of film. With paintings, you can expect perfection if the painter was Rembrandt or Picasso. But in filmmaking, not all positions are filled by "Picassos" or "Rembrandts." You look through the credits of any classic films and you'll find people who might be only serviceable at what they did for the film. Yes, score composing is a pretty big task, but I've heard serviceable scores in many classic films. The film medium is a different animal, and not one or two components in a film can make or break it, even with major components like acting and writing. The only thing that can make or break a film is the film itself.
Fantastic, perceptive video. I agree with everything you said! Although I think I dislike him about 100 times more than you. My favorite score not by Herrmann is Hugo Friedhofer's score for The Best Years of Our Lives. The best recent score I've heard is The Phantom Thread.
It's crazy that there is finally somebody saying what I've been thinking all along!! Hans Zimmer has made some good scores, but the core of his musical compositions and sound is flat and lacks "spice", to me it is lacking unique character and intricate harmony, it's just a sonic fassade without 3dimensionality and while it supports the action in front of the camera on a most rudimentary and forceful way, listening to it by itself leaves you without emotion. It's completely devoid of musical richness.
all of zimmer's stuff sounds like a pompous version of the soundtrack to 'xena: warrior princess' to me. i never managed to sit through any of the movies he was involved in (except for when i'm in a real good mood and expect ted raimi, dressed up as joxer, to enter the scene).
I think for marketing reasons, there has been more of a demand for soundtrack music to affect people emotionally, as blatantly and boisterously as possible if necessary, and Zimmer gets the job done. He's like the JJ Abrams of music. It works on most people, and the backlash you received shows that.
Hey Deep Focus My favourite composers were Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner , you should talk about them some time. You ought to make a Facebook group or Discord so we can share and talk movies with you x
I think you're being too kind. I don't like anything Hans Zimmer has done, at least not that I can remember. The nicest thing I could say is that some of it works with the movie - but it's never moving, there's no depth, no emotion. Interstellar is ok I guess, but that's not a ringing endorsement. As a musician I'm impressed by the sound design and a lot of the stuff sounds fantastic, but it all seems like a missed opportunity to me - imagine that kind of sound design combined with a sweeping melodic score. Imagine how much better Inception would be with a John Barry score. Every time I see his name listed as a composer I'm disappointed because it means the film probably won't make me feel much emotion. What's worse is that he's inspired a whole new generation of composers who employ the same tactic - melodies are old fashioned now. Nuance, subtlety, dynamics - forget it.
You hit on one of my chief complaints with scores over the last twenty five - thirty years. Instead of acting as an emotional undercurrent to enhance the many and varied moods within a film more and more scores are brought to the forefront and have limited tonal range. I can almost hear the director saying "insert dramatic or somber music here" as an unnecessary emotional crutch. It may work well as an immediate adrenalin payoff but as you indicated the replay value is greatly diminished . I also think a lot of the blame needs to be shared with the directors. In my experience most composers have the technical skill and musical toolbox to construct a varied emotional score but may be hamstrung creatively. But yeah, I agree with you on Zimmer. While widely celebrated I am not sure his craftsmanship is up to the standards of the composers you mentioned as well as one of my old school favorites Erich Korngold (For those who love John Williams "Star Wars" score listen to Korngold's "Kings Row").
I'm completely with you. Zimmer had a few decent scores in the beginning. But alas when I think Zimmer I think bombastic action movies. It's the kind of thing that John Williams started with the final space battle in Star Wars. But then Hans Zimmer takes the musical action tropes in reductio absurdum. After a while I don't hear what I find in Williams. And especially not Herrmann, who is much more interior and psychological.
I actually really like HanZimmers scores. Particularly the music from Batman vs Superman, TASM 2 and Dune. Although to your point, when Junkie XL took over the soundtrack The Snyder Cut his soundtracks definitely fit the style seamlessly. I attributed this to his skill and talent but I haven’t seen tenet so I’m curious to see how Ludwig did. I will confess that the most recent scores I heard from Zimmer via Dune part 2 and Rebel moon did not impress me as much as I’d hoped. There was nothing about rebel moon that met my hopes but that’s a different story. I’m not someone who has ever studied music but I do listen to sound tracks frequently. To give you a sense of my tastes. My favorites are James Horner, John Williams and Zimmer. But I also love Ludwig’s music, especially for creed 1 and 2, season 2 of Mandalorian and the first Black Panther movie. Ennio Morrisones score for the Good the Bad the Ugly also rocks. I also have to Shout out Martin Odonnells scores across the Bungie developed Halo games and Lorne Balfes soundtrack for AC revelations and 3.
The one opinion I don’t think I will ever agree with, though I do understand that objectively his music is quite simple and he uses very similar arrangements for a lot of films. I think for me it was the way he can match the vibe of the setting (be it pirates, sci fi, space, roman colosseum) and it really makes me feel I am immersed in the universe he is trying to convey. That said I think seeing him perform live helped even more. Even if you aren’t a fan of Zimmer or orchestral music I really do recommend going just once to experience it. One of the best moments of my life, but hey the world would be boring if we all liked the same things. 🤷🏼♂️
In film composition, the director ultimately has the decisive authority over the score, with the composer entrusted to actualize THEIR creative vision. The composer's personal inclinations take a backseat to the director's requirements. A prime example lies in Hans Zimmer's adeptness at crafting memorable, easily hummable melodies tailored to specific directorial preferences based on what’s happening in the film. It is essential to consider that evaluating a piece of film music separately from its visual counterpart overlooks the integral influence of narrative context on musical choices, as opposed to assessing the music's organic trajectory independent of the film. Though Zimmer may not be my favorite composer, his ability to meet the director’s expectations while on a tight deadline is admirable….something which I think many regular concert composers cannot handle. 😅
I like parts of Zimmer's work in the Lion King soundtrack as well. Other than that, I don't care that much for his work overall to be honest. It's not terrible by any means, but just kind of bland. I don't really care much for mainstream scores in general. And I agree with you on Ludwig Goransson's score for Tenet.
Yeah, the themes are pretty good, an his implementation of african elements is interesting and effective. My main problems are the orchestral writing and the mixing. Listening to cues like stampede on the album, the sound should be massive, but the orchestral writing and mixing honestly sounds amateur and smaller than it should.
Zimmer's score for Gladiator is one of my all-time favorites. I also really liked Driving Miss Daisy. But I was really surprised when he won the Oscar for Dune -- droning and intrusive, IMO.
I've seen plenty of shallow "analyses" by film critics that nitpick and/or miss points and fail to adequately explain their criticism seemingly looking for an excuse to be contrarian (Ex. the critics who gave negative reviews for Interstellar because they erroneously thought "love" saved them). I have binged a number of your videos and while we certainly do not agree on a number of films, directors, and in this case a composer, I appreciate your nuanced commentary and thoughtful insight. I definitely do not get contrarian just for the sake of attention vibes from you at all. In regards to this video I am a huge fan of Hans Zimmer. While I agree there has been a shift in style from his earlier scores, I still enjoy his recent work (and I LOVE the Dark Knight trilogy and BR2049 scores lol). I think it stems though from my love for ambience and mood music. Much of the other things we disagree on similarly stem from just differences in which elements of works speak to us individually. In your Interstellar review you mentioned the emphasis on the plot at some expense of character development. While I agree there can be some unnecessary expository dialogue, I still feel invested in the relationship between Cooper and Murph. Overall, the film and score on its own are both top 5 all time for me because I find the story extremely compelling, and the church organ perfectly encapsulates the ambient feeling of the vastness of space IMO. Combined with the jaw dropping cinematography, those 3 elements perfectly complement each other to create what I consider a visually, musically, and emotionally beautiful masterpiece.
*Quick note just to get it out of the way: when you said David Lean, I think you meant to say Maurice Jarre, the composer who frequently worked with Lean. And yes, the desert-trek theme of "Lawrence of Arabia" is one of the catchiest instrumentals that ever was or will be. I have to say that though Zimmer's detestability to you can be a curious thing, the points you make here are ones I can agree with. His early works are better. The score he wrote for "Thelma & Louise" in particular is fairly unobtrusive; it meshes with the storytelling and with the other contemporary soundtrack choices mixed in. I also enjoy the majestic quality he brought to "The Lion King" .... not much else I can say about that film's music that the internet hasn't droned on about to the nth degree. All in all there are quite a few recent composers who could use the love folks reserve for Zimmer. My shout-outs go to Fernando Velasquez (who scored "Crimson Peak") and Bear McCreary (who scored "10 Cloverfield Lane").
Listen MRS edgy and different.... I’m a zimmer fan but I COMPLETELY understand your criticism and agree with you. I preferred his “power of one”, “beyond Rangoon”, “thin red line” , “gladiator”, King Arthur”. Curious what you think of giacchinno’s lost score.
Gotta give Johnny “Radiohead” Greenwood another listen, soley based on you’re recommendation. Wasn’t a fan of the Power of the Dog score, totally sounded Zimmerish. Lord of solo Kontakt strings and such. Still your comments are spot on!!
I know many will think this is a joke, but his score for "Broken Arrow" was great! It was very simple, but very catchy; so much so that it was used in other films. That was when I first learned of Hans Zimmer and was the first movie score I ever purchased. Crap movie, but it introduced me to Zimmer, and that's when I started paying close attention to scores.
i'm mostly into electronic scores, my favorite of his is dawn of justice and dark phoenix very mesmerizing. carpenter and chris young tangerine dream are good ones also.
How about James Horner? I am a big fan. Before Braveheart was out in the movies. Meet him in Tuscon Az. Had a good half hour for a great talk with him. Talked about how he composes music. Great person! He should have won the Academy Award for Braveheart! A true masterpiece.
I love Horner. As a kid while most were buying popular music I was looking for the latest movie score LPs. Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan was one of my favorites and still is to this day. Glory, Troy, Apollo 13 are some others I adore.
I feel that more recently in his career his scores kind of all blend together. To me it becomes more distracting when I can go oh that sound exactly like the Blade Runner 2049 score when I’m watching Dune. Like he uses synthes and lots of chanting choirs. Don’t get me wrong I think it sounds good but it kind of feels more like he’s making a cameo rather than actually making a unique score for any movies he’s in. Also now there are so many other composers who are trying to do similar thing because Han Zimmer has this “style” that people love.
I totally agree with you. I can hear very similar music patterns in his music in different movies. Similar, very Hollywood style "solutions" in orchestration. I liked Gladiator soundtrack, but since then, when I hear Zimmer's music in next his movies, it seems like he is often simply recycling and slightly modyfing his "good old" ideas.
Hmm very interesting points. I've never actually heard anyone talk about how they are not big fans of Zimmer especially the more recent work with Nolan. What do you think of Hildur Guonadottir or the late Johann Johannsson?
Johan Johansson was a fantastic composer, this generation's Vangelis, but unfortunately he was lost far too soon. Its really one of the biggest losses to movie scoring.
Hans Zimmer scores have become too alike, overwrought and distracting. I don’t understand his God-like praise for the score of Dune part 1. Some of the scenes are less beautiful and quite jarring because of his presence in Dune particularly. Christopher Nolan was LUCKY to find Zimmer busy for Tenet. I’d love to see Ludwig Göransson take on Dune part 2. (Ha! I wrote this before you got to the Tenet part).
His work on “Tears of the Sun” is Orgasmic in every sense of the word. But Hans has said recently that he’s no longer interested in writing beautiful music.
I miss old school orchestrel scores. My favorites are John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Alan Silvestri and James Horner. I also like what Daft Punk did with the Tron Legacy score as well. And what ever happened to Mark Mencia?
It’s funny, I like your fav composers and agree with most of your points but I personally gravitate more towards composers that experiment with instrumentation in bold and innovative ways, instead of more orchestral stuff. I just find it much more evocative 🤷♂️. like Max Richter, Nils Frahm, Mica Levi, Ludwig Goransson, and Ben Salisbury/Geoff Barrow to name a few. P.S. Emille Mosseri is one to keep an eye on, his work on Last Black Man in San Francisco, Kajillionaire, and Minari were great.
Deepthony Focuslenso here, the internet's busiest movie nerd!
That's Sean Chandler.
Obligatory Eric Andre "Why Would You Say Something So Controversial Yet So Brave?"
RomCom plot twist: six months from now Maggie and Hans Zimmer get married.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
@@enemyofthesun000
Does she not like Robert Zemeckis?
@@ruly8153 I don't know, that was just a "I'm thinking of ending things" reference
@@enemyofthesun000 or Aronofsky
@@enemyofthesun000 I got the joke right away XD
Thanks for articulating all this. It really gets at some of the issues I've had with Hans Zimmer's scores myself for the past 20 years or so. And none of it is meant to attack his work ethic or his character (I met him once, and he was extremely nice.)
But it just seems like he's become more of a sound designer than a composer: more interested in the "soundscape" than in putting any genuinely interesting musical ideas in there to start with. And yeah, pair that with Christopher Nolan's puzzling sound mixing decisions, and you get an overprocessed "wall of sound" that actually pushes me out of the movie, rather than drawing me in.
Bingo! Instead of themes composed to accentuate characters and scenes we have background noise of blaring horns, oppressing strings, and/or wailing women. Nothing he has done recently can stand on its own for me. I look at what he did for Dune 2021 and want to cry. While I love the film it had such potential for a giant score in the vein of Lawrence of Arabia. Having watched the film in IMAX and two more times at home I cannot recall anything memorable about the score aside from the bagpiper in the one scene.
@@kennethfharkin while watching 2021s Dune I though, this Zimmers themes are not that bad. Then I heard again the 1984's soundtrack, specially Eno parts, and It's outstanding.
@@perrymanso6841 Hans Zimmer wants to be bach, but he can't and will never be. I think he has good ones, but his best work is usually a recreation of great pieces of music......for example Interstellar is literally Bach......you can hear the fucking notes and yes I didn't like that he use parts of Bachs piece
@@ballwreck1139 Well, I have to admit, that I heard a lot of Holst in Williams soundtracks. I don't get mad if composers base their pieces in others composers works, I do when they lack on freshness and effort. And sadly, Zimmer does It a lot this past decades...
Our society is disjointed, confused, and numb, and so are Hans' recent soundtracks like Dune. They are a perfect match for one another.
Every Zimmer score from the past decade: BWOOOOOOONGGGGG!!!
Not true! Sometimes their is wailing. WAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
*intense tribal percussion
Just thinking out loud here, but maybe one reason his BWAAANG scores resonate with so many people is a reflection of wider trends in popular music.
About 15 years ago, certain genres of relatively underground electronic music, such as dubstep, started crossing over into the mainstream, eventually becoming EDM (vom).
This type of pop electronic music really emphasizes 'the drop'; the dynamic basically being a binary: 0) quiet > 1) sudden wall of sound.
The main focus here is on the energy, on taking a sonic punch to the face, and I think that's become a common feature of the musical landscape.
The trouble, for me, is that Zimmer has spawned so many disciples which in turn has homonogized film scores. Melodies, when we get them, are at a premium and when we do get them, they're very simplistic. How many great themes are there nowadays, how many new tunes which you can whistle to? Zimmer has done some fine work over they years, True Romance, Gladiator and Man of Steel spring to mind, but generally he comes across as a tad "copy and paste".
We are lightyears away from the likes of John Barry, with his hugely atmospheric and emotional soundtracks (Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesties Secret Service, Midnight Cowboy, The Persuaders, Walkabout, Somewhere in Time and countless others), Morricone, Williams, Goldsmith, Horner. Of course, the same can be said for the general quality of current today writing, creativity (lack of), chart music etc, which is markedly inferior to what we've had in the past.
I think Zimmer's sound of overriding grim sadness these days is more a sign of the times, what directors currently want, rather than a limitation of his talent. Directors say "gimme a sound like you did here on such and such movie" and of course he aims to please. If directors would challenge him to show more versatility, with a more light-hearted whimsicality, I think he could deliver. It's like the score for Mad Max-Fury Road versus the score to Mad Max 2-The Road Warrior. Road Warrior had a somber, sad requiem for the death of civilized society, yes, but it also had an exciting, thrilling, pounding action motif as well as a hopeful theme for the gyro pilot. Fury Road is just awash in sadness, even over the action.
I've always liked Zimmer's score for "The Last Samurai" (2003), which I think has at least some emotional nuance and depth that is lacking in other soundtracks by him. Other than that, I like soundtracks from the late James Horner, specifically his "Enemy at the Gates" (2001) and "Troy" (2004). They both sound like Rachmaninov as well as Khachaturian's "Spartacus". With "Enemies", he incorporates Russian Jewish sounds with Hollywood flamboyance. Meanwhile, I think Bernard Hermann's stuff for the "Sinbad" series sounds like both Khachaturian and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Horner is a same self-plagiarize guy like Zimmer, they're both quite annoying on that...
Yared's rejected Troy score is much superior to Horner's, more peculiar to the film setting.
I just saw Dune, and I can't agree more with you. A more discreet musician (especially when the movie is 2h 35m long) would have made Dune into a experience of another, much higher order. I can't but feel sad that we won't have a Dune score by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, who was the usual collaborator of the director Villeneuve; or by Jóhannsson's very much alive colleague Hildur Guðnadóttir (here is a sample of her music for Chernobyl: ua-cam.com/video/RVkAqegqlgg/v-deo.html ). Not a musician here, just a suffering member of the audience.
Bene Bene Bene Gesserit
The main problem about Zimmer's "Dune" soundtrack, is that is totally tribalistic, It lacks the mysticism that Leno perfectly portrayed in the 1984's "Dune".
Her score for Joker was my favorite part of the film
I hated the dune score. It was distracting and annoying.
I recall enjoying the _Thelma and Louise_ soundtrack enough to buy the cd. I prefer the scores of Bernard Herrmann, Maurice Jarre, Ennio Morricone, and Angelo Badalamenti. Williams’ _Empire Strikes Back_ score is exceptional. I’m also quite fond of Coppola’s score for _Apocalypse Now_ and Steven Price’s score for _Gravity._
Thank you, deepfocuslens.
Angelo's story about how he came up with the Twin Peaks theme is one of the most magical videos on youtube.
@@johnhein2539 Yes! I think about this video often. Rest in peace Angelo.
William Walton, more famous as a concert composer, is an underrated film composer -- Henry V and Richard III are amazing scores. Ralph Vaughan Williams's as well, with 49th Parallell and Scott of the Antarctic.
It is good to hear a honnest opinion about Hans Zimmer. It is really baffling how those who worship his music do not realise its lack of depth. Only truly educated composers can infuse depth and true beauty with their particular genius like Morricone, Goldsmith, Williams, Rosenthal, Shire, Elmer Bernstein, James Horner...going back to North, Rosenman, Korngold, Waxman and so on....Mastering Harmony, orchestration, structure....melodic genius...great dramatic instinct...but, oh well, he is so great at PR and production that he was able to adapt to the shark system of the commercial world of Hollywood for so long !
I think his bombastic sensibility actually really helps elevate something like Dunkirk. I think both Zimmer and Nolan definitely maximised strengths and minimised weak areas for that one, and the result on screen at least (even if you you'd probably never listen to the tracks on their own) is actually quite hypnotic. I didn't notice the ticking clock was used for the entire movie until the moment where it finally stops when they're on the train which is very effective.
Also Interstellar's score is quite beautiful. Obviously you have the big set piece music, but some of the quieter piano stuff is wonderful, especially this scene ua-cam.com/video/ITwYEIY2FlE/v-deo.html
Hey, at least you made an exceptional argument
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNGGGG
Beat me to it lol
I enjoy his work on The Thin Red Line, 12 Years a Slave, and the underrated score for The Last Samurai. His Nolan work is suffocating, derivative, and oppressive.
One of my favorite composers is Joe Hisaishi.
I don't know exactly how to describe it but his music creates this sense of immersion into the fantastical worlds of studio Ghibli movies.
He is amazing.
Some of my favorites - Ry Cooder for Paris Texas & Southern Comfort. Tangerine Dream for Sorcerer & Risky Business & Don Ellis for The French Connection. Quincy Jones was quite good in the day especially on the underseen The Anderson Tapes.
I'm with you. As a former student of composition, my love for Zimmer wore off during my academic years. I think it's because when I dug deep into the works of composers such as Palestrina, Pergolesi, Stockhausen and Ligeti, my taste and pespectives expanded in such a way that, unfortunately, Zimmer's work often came off as predictable and Hollywood generic. But like you, I don't question his talent and there is the occasional Zimmer OST that I still like. I remember liking the Blade Runner 2049 OST, even though I've never listened to it outside the movie.
Whoever did the music for those old Hammer films was great too!!
James Michael Bernard did most of them. His mode of composing was funny. He would take the title 'The Curse of Frankenstein' for instance then create his motifs based on the number of syllables. So 'The Curse of Frankenstein' would be Da-dum-da-dum-dum-dum. But somehow he made interesting scores.
@@lacrimatorium Ya, I'm a big Hammer fan! Plus I love the Kate Bush song Hammer Horror as well!
THANK! YOU! I've never been a fan of his work. I've always felt a sameness to all of his music. A tendency towards more is more. Like his grandiocity is the only thing he has going, his only substance. To paraphrase what you said A Fabrication of Epic. His stuff always sounded like he was an imitation of epic scope. My favorites are Bernard Herrmann, Williams, Steiner, Goldsmith, Ifukube. Also nice Alex North plug!
I DID however really love Zim's score for Dunkirk. Now I think Dunkirk is a masterpiece (and should have won Best Picture & Director), but his score was perfect for that film. It was eerie and unsettling in all the right ways, the ways the story needed it. In fact, I would have understood if he won the Oscar that year..
That's what he lacks I think: He tries to make his score tell the story instead of making his score fit the story being told.
Maggie wants all the smoke!! 😡
His work on Rush and the Da Vinci Code is amazing, specifically Rush (Lost but won is a personal favourite of mine as a racing fan). Maybe his collaboration with Ron Howard is better than with Nolan.
I'm with you on this. My friends love his work. I like moments, but overall I'm left cold. Still a very talented person but he tends to drone on!
Finally found a person that feels and explains what I feel about Zimmer 100%. I used to really liked him in his earlier days but his scores in the last few years like mos scores these days is just background noise with nothing memorable that sticks with you.
I'm in the mood to listen to my Bladerunner soundtrack.
Yes, that Vangelis soundtrack is wonderful.
Ludwig Goransson is a genius imo.. how he created a new sound for Star Wars (instead of imitating) yet respecting the old stuff in The Mandalorian is amazing.
@Dundrael yeahh one by one top productions!
TENET should have been nominated for Best Score
@@akosleoszilagyi2529 It really didn’t deserve that on any level
I think Zimmer´s last good score was "Gladiator", all those years ago. And even then he had a lot of help from Lisa Gerrard and anonymous "collaborators". And that´s another thing I don´t like much about him... he is a like a "company". It´s well known that he has other people working with him in his scores, and he repeats himself a lot.
I can't talk about Zimmer's early work because I only became aware of him 'cos my brother is a fan. I don't tell my brother I think he's boring anymore, otherwise my brother will force me to sit through another soundtrack. What can you do?
Watch Black Rain and Days of Thunder.
I disagree profusely with you about Zimmer and the Inception score but I appreciate your well-thought out opinions on him. I'm actually not surprised by this video and I don't think you're going for something "edgy" expressing this either. :)
Not sure if you're aware but over the past several years, there has been a sizeable backlash against him - Zimmer has such a large, unavoidable group of protégés doing scores like his including Yablonsky, Junkie XL, Harry Gregson that he's kind of become a brand. Honestly criticism of Zimmer is becoming as commonplace as criticizing Marvel at this point.
That said, do you have the same opinion of the scores Zimmer has done for Steve McQueen in recent years? 12 Years a Slave, Widows...both scores are pretty minimalist but they're pretty great.
Totally with you on this one. "Dad Rock" is a pretty accurate way to put it. I do listen to his work sometimes just for that immediate punchy rush, but the instrumentation and compositions are definitely drowned out. Jonny Greenwood is amazing though.
But even if I weren't with you I wouldn't be angry. I don't quite understand how people can get some inflammatory about such things.
I like his score for The Rock, but mostly he’s the second coming of James Horner, and that’s not a compliment. Basically, he composed one score, and he’s been using variations of that his entire career. He’s not Jerry Goldsmith; definitely not John Barry, or Ennio Morricone. For minimalism, I actually prefer John Carpenter. I listen to his stuff more than Hans Zimmer.
I never saw it that way that he could be influence or be an echo of Horner but I guess I could see that.
@@christopherrobin361 Cool! My personal favorite is Assault on Precinct 13. It baffles me why Carpenter was never contracted to do the scores for movies outside of his filmography. If I was a director I certainly would have sought him out, but that’s just me.
James Horner. I really like the score for Krull but it is just a tweaked wrath of Khan ;) theyre the ones of his I like, Along with star trek 3. Aliens ain't bad, although it blantly rips of 2001 at the beginning. The rest of his stuff i forget.
Thomas Newman and Cliff Martinez are my favorite film composers.
Georges Delerue is one of my favorite composers who goes under many people's radar.
One of the most underrated composers. His theme for “Crimes of the heart” always gives me chills.
Delerue's music for Le Mepris was lovely.
one of the best for sure
The man lacks subtlety. I call him Sins Hammer.
Thinking about this after having watched this video quite a few times, I've realised that most of his scores reminds me of the harmonies I made as kid playing my dad's piano. When you're young and don't now how to play, you just hit the keys and bascally make stacked thirds. That's basically most Zimmer scores recently. Stacked thirds with a drumbeat.
Totally agree with you-I’m an orchestral musician and in my job (when there isn’t a pandemic lol) we often play movie scores live with the film. There’s a reason we don’t/can’t do Hans Zimmer scores-maybe with the exception of his early stuff like Gladiator or even Pirates of the Caribbean, which still isn’t my favorite but has quite a catchy theme. Some film composers I’ve liked recently are Nicholas Britell (Moonlight, Beale Street) and Michael Abels (Get Out)
The truly sad part about Hans Zimmer's dominance in the film industry, is that movies were the last place where someone who was unfamiliar with the symphony could accidently enjoy the symphony, and that is disappearing now.
Excellent explanation of your opinion to which I also subscribe. I love the symphonic, operatic film scores with gorgeous texture, counterpoint, complexity. I'm a devoted fan of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Alan Silvestri, Ennio Morricone and even the old school scores of Dimitri Tiomkin, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner and the more unique compositions of Thomas Newman or Bernard Herrmann. Zimmer is too much repetitive minimslist for my taste.
This is a totally valid viewpoint. I personally think that some of his collaborations with Nolan are some of my favorites but I really feel like its a lot due to my musical background as both an orchestral player and someone who is very invested in electroacoustic music. The way he marries the two groups of sounds in many of Nolan’s films has just always worked for me. But thats just me. Curious to know how you feel about the Dunkirk score though, I kinda feel like thats his masterpiece
Completely agree; scores today are so bland and interchangeable. Goldsmith, Herrmann, and Williams are my favorites; Thomas Newman is right outside those 3 for me.
I respect your opinion, you explained it really well. Cornfield Chase from the Interstellar soundtrack is one of my favourite songs on a movie soundtrack so I do enjoy Hans quite a bit, but I totally get the criticisms of his scores. Also love that you mentioned Jonny Greenwood!!! So underrated.
Satyajit ray was one of the few directors who scored most of his own films . listen to the soundtrack of pather panchali .It is raw beauty
That was not Ray, that was Ravi Shankar - and the music for Pather Panchali is indeed one of the MOST beautiful soundtracks in the history of the cinema!!!
@@zantigar yes you are right .Ray scored some of his later films , while ravi shankar scored the apu trilogy .Sorry for the mistake .
@@jayasrighosh8852 No need to apologize - it is I who thanks you for mentioning the music for the Apu Trilogy - truly some of the greatest music in the cinema - exalted, it brings tears to my eyes.
I'm team Williams and Goldsmith here. I like Zimmer's Gladiator with its wide range of moods and its "battle waltz"--it's very inventive. I also like his grass-roots Thelma & Louise and of course his powerful African The Lion King. The rest of his scores kind of have a similar, somber sound, a wash of sadness.
I'm glad you mentioned Alex North, as I think Dragonslayer is one of the greatest scores ever written.
When I looked up all his scores I was surprised only in that I remembered almost none of them until they got so bad it became a point of discussion in the later ones.
100% agree. It's as if Zimmer and directors have forgotten that great sound tracks are great for their musicality - pure texture and drones doesn't cut it.
Interstellar, Inception, Man Of steel, The Dark Knight, Gladiator, Blade Runner 2049, the guy is simply a genius and he should have more Oscars than he has.
Yes. But don't forget his earlier scores.
As The Dude said "Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." Blaring horns and wailing women as background noise does not make a score which will be remembered in 20 years. Remember when he could make MUSIC like in Gladiator... he doesn't seem to.
@@kennethfharkin as the dude said "that's like your opinion man". Zimmer revolutionized scores with Inception, a score that everyone loves and has inspired so many more. Dune is winning original score at the Oscars and that's a certainty. The guy is the most acclaimed composer of the last 2 decades and you say he doesn't write stuff to remember. BS dude, BS.
@@Usedtobebillie Inception... DUM DUM DUM DUM dum dum dum dum DUM DUM DUM BWAAAA BWAAA dum dum chka chka chka dun dun BWAAAA
It is adequate background atmospheric sound but as music goes it is shit.
They give awards to rap also and it is also almost universally shit.
I would imagine every composer alive was influenced by Bernard Hermann to some extent.
I just subscribed! I really appreciate the time you took out, to maintain a measured and purposefully diplomatic approach to addressing your opinion of Hans Zimmer's output, against the inevitable backlash that comes when anyone attempts to critique any artist who is so well known (I've had similar arguments with people when I've casually crtiticised Kanye West). I was just discussing my take on Hans Zimmer's film scores to my partner, and ended up here at your video. You managed to say almost everything that I feel about the subject, and it was quite uncanny that you also mentioned many of the same examples of other renowned film composers as I did myself before watching this.
I'm steeped in music, play the trumpet professionally, teach music, produce music and am quite encyclopaedic in my musical tastes, but I found out a few years ago that criticising Zimmer was a big NO NO even in composers forums and other so called musically literate online groups. As you said, any criticism was often met with, 'well, who are you to criticise one of the greatest movie composers of our generation', or 'when you've got the first call job to write for nearly every blockbuster movie, we might listen to you', blah shit blah etc. The funny thing is, let me take Mahler as an example of one of the many composers that I am deeply intertwined with. So much has Maher's music had an impact on me over the last 30 years, that I am intrigued by people who don't like Mahler's music. I also acutely understand why anyone might not like Mahler's music, as what he is trying to say through music is not necessarily a vibe that everybody wants to even touch upon, let alone explore and experience. My point is, rather than trying to slate people who dont' like Mahler (or any other music that is close to my heart), I'm very interested in why they don't like it. I'm curious, and very keen to actually show them examples of exactly why I love something, not denigrate them for not liking it. What a destructive line of debate!
I don't dislike Hans Zimmer at all. In fact, I could say I really love Hans Zimmer's music, but I became bored through the realisation that every score is just more of the same. There was that period of time where I'd go watch a film and the moment the music started, just like in every other film out at the time, it was 'oh, this again'. Boring variations on the same formula and - as you said - not enough unique melodic interest to keep me compelled to listen. I remember buying the soundtrack to the film 'Backdraft' because I LOVED the music. It's got glorious themes, emotional segues and the score is so integral to the feeling of the film. That was my first knowledge of the composer 'Hans Zimmer'. Then came Crimson Tide, The Rock etc, all good scores in a similar vein, but exactly that - a too similar vein. I mean, John Williams has a 'house sound' as well, but it's (another thing you said) glorious, symphonic, pliable, unpredictable music, played by an orchestra WITHOUT a click track, which seems to be prevalent throughout everything Zimmer writes - metronomic boredom. Yes, John Williams is recognisable in an instant. You could sing endless 'themes' by John Williams if asked, couldn't you, despite their commonalities? They all start with an open fifth, like Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park, ET, even Schindler's List (but the 5th goes down, not up). From the smallest child to the oldest grandparent, we can all recognise the theme to Indiana Jones and know what it is, not confuse it with Star Wars or ET. Yet, what big 'themes' can anyone sing of Hans Zimmer's? Good luck with that one!
It's sad that you feel you have to tip toe around this subject so as to not offend people. Such is the times. Just as you said, don't get me wrong, I actually really appreciate Hans Zimmer's work. It's the sound of a generation of movie soundtracks, and in some sense of its safe simplicity, has shown just how effective one (or any budding composer) can be with their interesting use of simplistic yet insistent rhythms and enhanced sound, without having to 'carve' great ambitously musical pastiches played by a hundred musicians live with a conductor to accompany film sequences exactly and set mood naturally. I watched a documentary on Hans Zimmer that was very enlightening in that it highlighted the speed at which Zimmer gets his ideas out, to fruition and fully formed. That is a skill in itself, and no wonder he was in demand far and wide. He is a great creator of music and an extremely efficient deliverer of ideas, and for that in itself he rises to the top. But, it is so obvious and dare I say 'boring', the blatant formulas underpinning so many of his scores that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that can identify which soundtrack goes with which film with Zimmer. To anyone that disagrees with that sentiment, you really must be limited in your palette of musical appreciation. Zimmer is the epitome of 'fast food' film music.
Sorry for the long rant, I've had a drink!
Sapere aude. It is so much more satisfying loving something that is totally uninfluenced by external opinion. I realized it early on when someone would recommend me something, a film by this director and a song by this artist etc... And it would totally disappoint me. I then tried to "shape" my opinion to align with the general consensus just not to shake the harmony, "Yes! Game of Thrones is the best show ever! (insert sarcasm)". But it felt inauthentic and exhaustive. Having formed my own "tastes", it is so much easier now to filter stuff that I know I would love and like, regardless of what other people. And it encouraged me to speak about things I don't like even though it might sound blasphemous to other people.
I miss the melodies on mass media/pop culture though. And I am an unashamed lover of tear-jerker melodramatic emotional rollercoaster pieces by Michael Giacchino like what he did for LOST. One minute it was bittersweetly intimate, frantically paranoid the next. It was transparent. Clearly a work of passion, and the audience could feel it too, just like the characters. It is rare that a film or a series would leave the same impression on me. The last ones I could remember was Alex Weston's entire score for THE NOVICE and Johan Testad's score for the HBO series Björnstad (Beartown).
Can you make a portrait of Zimmer please lol 😆 This reminds me of the disappointment I felt that my peers didn't know any classic music when I was in school (Al Green, CCR, The Stones) i heard all that stuff in utero. When you have a trained ear, you can hear the difference between music and mediocrity.
I like some of Simmers early work. Especially Lion King and Prince Of Egypt. It's kinda hit and miss with most of his work.
Lately I am way more into the scores of videogames. There is more variation and I find it more interesting. There are a lot of great composers, especially Japanese composers have made some great work. Kow Otani, who did the OST for Shadow of the Colossus, is easily recognizable. And I love the soundtrack for Uncharted 4 by Henry Jackman. There are too many examples to name.
Sega Out run (1986) and Tim Follin's treasure master are great OST
Nobuo Uematsu because you can't have a conversation about video game music without mentioning Nobuo.
I'd highly recommend Austin Wintory's scores for Journey, Abzu, and The Banner Saga trilogy. Some of the best game OSTs I've ever heard.
This should be the top video on this channel's playlist. Don't ever stop.
Ludovico Einaudi's score for the French movie The Intouchables is beautiful. That opening score for the movie just embodies the whole story. One of the best films ever written and one of the most beautiful scores in my opinion.
Would love to see some reviews of Jim Jarmusch and Kelly Reichardt films. I'm new to your channel and been working my way through your amazing videos.
I used to listen to Hans Zimmer a lot, but nowadays, I don't. He is still one of my favorite composers. Hans Zimmer's Style is Great. I like the Soundscapes, Form/Structure, and his use for Melodies. He makes his tracks stand on their own feet. His music is easier to follow, like pop music, and I think his music is the pop version of film music. He does have cliches. I don't listen to him because all of the credit goes to him. He does have a ton of assistants and even more ghostwriters. He collaborates with other composers like James Newton Howard on Batman Begins, but you don't hear all of the other composers who contributed. He makes the sketches while everyone else fleshes them out. He doesn't score films entirely on his own like John Williams.
Has anyone listened to Dune yet?
I am trying to follow your logic here. I can see you feel that some of his scores are quite bombastic but there are some extraordinary scores in his career: The Thin Red Line is absolutely superb, perfectly complementing the Malick aesthetic; Interstellar is very dramatic and perhaps uses the organ too much but it still creates a great atmosphere. Inception is much enhanced by Johnny Marr's guitar work and Dunkirk, for me, is a departure -more like a sound design than a conventional score. He also does a lot of scores that are not immediately identifable - The PLedge is good, as is Rush and Twelve Years A Slave. I know he has become mainstream now but I think he has been a pioneer in moving film scores away from the symphonic John WIlliams style to a more rock-based melodic style. So, I cannot agree with you. I think he is far more interesting than most composers. The Jackie and Under The Skin composer you mentioned is very good as are Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor but among his contemporary competition - Alexandre Desplat, for example, is also popular but nowhere near as inventive.
desplat's work puts zimmer's nonsense to shame. What in the flying fuck are you talking about
Mica Levi (composer for Jackie and Under The Skin) is incredible. Jonny Greenwood's score for The Master is one of the best scores ever.
Zimmer ruined Twelve Years a Slave.
Zimmer "inventive"?? WTF? He and Horner are both Mr.self-plagiarizing guys...
@@perrymanso6841 I don't know what 'self-plagiarising' means. He has his own style? I guess you mean he repeats himself. Perhaps Desplat is more subtle and people hate on Zimmer for being bombastic. I like his work on The Ghost Writer, Zero Dark Thirty, Little Women and his work for Wes Anderson. I just think Zimmer's dramatic work on Interstellar, Inception, Dunkirk, Pirates of the Caribbean were SUITABLY dramatic - they go well with what we are watching. But he has been doing scores for a long time. The Thin Red Line is still his best for me in 1998. And it is dramatic but also has subtlety. So, he was inventive then. Also Dunkirk was a very inventive score - more like a sound design. He may have done a fair share of overblown stuff but some great stuff too. All the hating on him is proof that he has single-handedly changed the modern movie score. Perhaps someone like Mica Levi is the future? I'm OK with that.
A movie score is not music per se. It is actually part of a film's "sound design." I see scores as no different from sound effects. In fact, some sound f/x are made from musical instruments. Some DVDs and Blu-rays have "isolated scores" in which all dialog and sound effects are removed and you hear only the music cues. And sometimes those cues hardly sound like music. How a score is composed, arranged, instrumentalized, etc., are for serving the purposes of the film, and not for creating music that is pleasant to listen to in the traditional sense. If a score sounds like complete gibberish (and some actually do, including great ones), it usually acquits itself because it has to serve the film in particular ways. Also, a film's soundtrack album isn't really "the score," since it is a separate recording for stand-alone listening. It is the music you hear in the film that matters; that is when a score does its work, and gets an Oscar for.
Almost all films, even classic flims, have an imperfection or two (or more) because of the collaborative nature of film. With paintings, you can expect perfection if the painter was Rembrandt or Picasso. But in filmmaking, not all positions are filled by "Picassos" or "Rembrandts." You look through the credits of any classic films and you'll find people who might be only serviceable at what they did for the film. Yes, score composing is a pretty big task, but I've heard serviceable scores in many classic films. The film medium is a different animal, and not one or two components in a film can make or break it, even with major components like acting and writing. The only thing that can make or break a film is the film itself.
Fantastic, perceptive video. I agree with everything you said! Although I think I dislike him about 100 times more than you. My favorite score not by Herrmann is Hugo Friedhofer's score for The Best Years of Our Lives. The best recent score I've heard is The Phantom Thread.
It's crazy that there is finally somebody saying what I've been thinking all along!!
Hans Zimmer has made some good scores, but the core of his musical compositions and sound is flat and lacks "spice", to me it is lacking unique character and intricate harmony, it's just a sonic fassade without 3dimensionality and while it supports the action in front of the camera on a most rudimentary and forceful way, listening to it by itself leaves you without emotion. It's completely devoid of musical richness.
all of zimmer's stuff sounds like a pompous version of the soundtrack to 'xena: warrior princess' to me. i never managed to sit through any of the movies he was involved in (except for when i'm in a real good mood and expect ted raimi, dressed up as joxer, to enter the scene).
I think for marketing reasons, there has been more of a demand for soundtrack music to affect people emotionally, as blatantly and boisterously as possible if necessary, and Zimmer gets the job done. He's like the JJ Abrams of music.
It works on most people, and the backlash you received shows that.
Hey Deep Focus
My favourite composers were Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner
, you should talk about them some time.
You ought to make a Facebook group or Discord so we can share and talk movies with you x
Two excellent composers. James Newton Howard fits in that style as well.
@@lacrimatorium I love James Newton Howard's score for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
@@crappymcdick Most of his scores are great.
Your analysis I love because I agree with at least it has valid arguments for those who don’t agree keep doing your vid’s they are great
I think you're being too kind. I don't like anything Hans Zimmer has done, at least not that I can remember. The nicest thing I could say is that some of it works with the movie - but it's never moving, there's no depth, no emotion. Interstellar is ok I guess, but that's not a ringing endorsement. As a musician I'm impressed by the sound design and a lot of the stuff sounds fantastic, but it all seems like a missed opportunity to me - imagine that kind of sound design combined with a sweeping melodic score. Imagine how much better Inception would be with a John Barry score. Every time I see his name listed as a composer I'm disappointed because it means the film probably won't make me feel much emotion.
What's worse is that he's inspired a whole new generation of composers who employ the same tactic - melodies are old fashioned now. Nuance, subtlety, dynamics - forget it.
Thank you! I agree with you. Although I love "The Thin Red Line" score by him from 1998. However, like you said, it's one of his earlier works.
You should do a review of Angel Heart, such a fantastic Noir movie. Also Chinatown is amazing regardless of controversy of its director.
Normally agree with Maggie about most things - this in an exception
You hit on one of my chief complaints with scores over the last twenty five - thirty years. Instead of acting as an emotional undercurrent to enhance the many and varied moods within a film more and more scores are brought to the forefront and have limited tonal range. I can almost hear the director saying "insert dramatic or somber music here" as an unnecessary emotional crutch. It may work well as an immediate adrenalin payoff but as you indicated the replay value is greatly diminished . I also think a lot of the blame needs to be shared with the directors. In my experience most composers have the technical skill and musical toolbox to construct a varied emotional score but may be hamstrung creatively. But yeah, I agree with you on Zimmer. While widely celebrated I am not sure his craftsmanship is up to the standards of the composers you mentioned as well as one of my old school favorites Erich Korngold (For those who love John Williams "Star Wars" score listen to Korngold's "Kings Row").
I'm completely with you. Zimmer had a few decent scores in the beginning. But alas when I think Zimmer I think bombastic action movies. It's the kind of thing that John Williams started with the final space battle in Star Wars. But then Hans Zimmer takes the musical action tropes in reductio absurdum. After a while I don't hear what I find in Williams. And especially not Herrmann, who is much more interior and psychological.
I actually really like HanZimmers scores. Particularly the music from Batman vs Superman, TASM 2 and Dune. Although to your point, when Junkie XL took over the soundtrack The Snyder Cut his soundtracks definitely fit the style seamlessly. I attributed this to his skill and talent but I haven’t seen tenet so I’m curious to see how Ludwig did. I will confess that the most recent scores I heard from Zimmer via Dune part 2 and Rebel moon did not impress me as much as I’d hoped. There was nothing about rebel moon that met my hopes but that’s a different story. I’m not someone who has ever studied music but I do listen to sound tracks frequently. To give you a sense of my tastes. My favorites are James Horner, John Williams and Zimmer. But I also love Ludwig’s music, especially for creed 1 and 2, season 2 of Mandalorian and the first Black Panther movie. Ennio Morrisones score for the Good the Bad the Ugly also rocks. I also have to Shout out Martin Odonnells scores across the Bungie developed Halo games and Lorne Balfes soundtrack for AC revelations and 3.
The one opinion I don’t think I will ever agree with, though I do understand that objectively his music is quite simple and he uses very similar arrangements for a lot of films. I think for me it was the way he can match the vibe of the setting (be it pirates, sci fi, space, roman colosseum) and it really makes me feel I am immersed in the universe he is trying to convey. That said I think seeing him perform live helped even more. Even if you aren’t a fan of Zimmer or orchestral music I really do recommend going just once to experience it. One of the best moments of my life, but hey the world would be boring if we all liked the same things. 🤷🏼♂️
In film composition, the director ultimately has the decisive authority over the score, with the composer entrusted to actualize THEIR creative vision. The composer's personal inclinations take a backseat to the director's requirements. A prime example lies in Hans Zimmer's adeptness at crafting memorable, easily hummable melodies tailored to specific directorial preferences based on what’s happening in the film. It is essential to consider that evaluating a piece of film music separately from its visual counterpart overlooks the integral influence of narrative context on musical choices, as opposed to assessing the music's organic trajectory independent of the film. Though Zimmer may not be my favorite composer, his ability to meet the director’s expectations while on a tight deadline is admirable….something which I think many regular concert composers cannot handle. 😅
I like parts of Zimmer's work in the Lion King soundtrack as well. Other than that, I don't care that much for his work overall to be honest. It's not terrible by any means, but just kind of bland. I don't really care much for mainstream scores in general. And I agree with you on Ludwig Goransson's score for Tenet.
Yeah, the themes are pretty good, an his implementation of african elements is interesting and effective. My main problems are the orchestral writing and the mixing. Listening to cues like stampede on the album, the sound should be massive, but the orchestral writing and mixing honestly sounds amateur and smaller than it should.
Zimmer's score for Gladiator is one of my all-time favorites. I also really liked Driving Miss Daisy. But I was really surprised when he won the Oscar for Dune -- droning and intrusive, IMO.
I've seen plenty of shallow "analyses" by film critics that nitpick and/or miss points and fail to adequately explain their criticism seemingly looking for an excuse to be contrarian (Ex. the critics who gave negative reviews for Interstellar because they erroneously thought "love" saved them). I have binged a number of your videos and while we certainly do not agree on a number of films, directors, and in this case a composer, I appreciate your nuanced commentary and thoughtful insight. I definitely do not get contrarian just for the sake of attention vibes from you at all.
In regards to this video I am a huge fan of Hans Zimmer. While I agree there has been a shift in style from his earlier scores, I still enjoy his recent work (and I LOVE the Dark Knight trilogy and BR2049 scores lol). I think it stems though from my love for ambience and mood music. Much of the other things we disagree on similarly stem from just differences in which elements of works speak to us individually. In your Interstellar review you mentioned the emphasis on the plot at some expense of character development. While I agree there can be some unnecessary expository dialogue, I still feel invested in the relationship between Cooper and Murph. Overall, the film and score on its own are both top 5 all time for me because I find the story extremely compelling, and the church organ perfectly encapsulates the ambient feeling of the vastness of space IMO. Combined with the jaw dropping cinematography, those 3 elements perfectly complement each other to create what I consider a visually, musically, and emotionally beautiful masterpiece.
*Quick note just to get it out of the way: when you said David Lean, I think you meant to say Maurice Jarre, the composer who frequently worked with Lean. And yes, the desert-trek theme of "Lawrence of Arabia" is one of the catchiest instrumentals that ever was or will be.
I have to say that though Zimmer's detestability to you can be a curious thing, the points you make here are ones I can agree with. His early works are better. The score he wrote for "Thelma & Louise" in particular is fairly unobtrusive; it meshes with the storytelling and with the other contemporary soundtrack choices mixed in. I also enjoy the majestic quality he brought to "The Lion King" .... not much else I can say about that film's music that the internet hasn't droned on about to the nth degree.
All in all there are quite a few recent composers who could use the love folks reserve for Zimmer. My shout-outs go to Fernando Velasquez (who scored "Crimson Peak") and Bear McCreary (who scored "10 Cloverfield Lane").
Danny elfman and john Williams are my favorite composers also john Powell
Listen MRS edgy and different....
I’m a zimmer fan but I COMPLETELY understand your criticism and agree with you. I preferred his “power of one”, “beyond Rangoon”, “thin red line” , “gladiator”, King Arthur”.
Curious what you think of giacchinno’s lost score.
James Horner's score for Sneakers. 🔥
Gotta give Johnny “Radiohead” Greenwood another listen, soley based on you’re recommendation. Wasn’t a fan of the Power of the Dog score, totally sounded Zimmerish. Lord of solo Kontakt strings and such. Still your comments are spot on!!
I know many will think this is a joke, but his score for "Broken Arrow" was great! It was very simple, but very catchy; so much so that it was used in other films. That was when I first learned of Hans Zimmer and was the first movie score I ever purchased. Crap movie, but it introduced me to Zimmer, and that's when I started paying close attention to scores.
i'm mostly into electronic scores, my favorite of his is dawn of justice and dark phoenix very mesmerizing. carpenter and chris young tangerine dream are good ones also.
How about James Horner? I am a big fan. Before Braveheart was out in the movies. Meet him in Tuscon Az. Had a good half hour for a great talk with him. Talked about how he composes music. Great person! He should have won the Academy Award for Braveheart! A true masterpiece.
What a great opportunity! Glad to hear about it. I agree on Braveheart, and I think his score for The Rocketeer is very underrated.
Cool story. His work is a bit too schmaltzy for my taste. Though I like his use of woodwinds.
I love Horner. As a kid while most were buying popular music I was looking for the latest movie score LPs. Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan was one of my favorites and still is to this day. Glory, Troy, Apollo 13 are some others I adore.
I feel that more recently in his career his scores kind of all blend together. To me it becomes more distracting when I can go oh that sound exactly like the Blade Runner 2049 score when I’m watching Dune. Like he uses synthes and lots of chanting choirs. Don’t get me wrong I think it sounds good but it kind of feels more like he’s making a cameo rather than actually making a unique score for any movies he’s in. Also now there are so many other composers who are trying to do similar thing because Han Zimmer has this “style” that people love.
I agree. I’m so disappointed by these droning scores. I want something bold and melodic.
Like Williams' Star Wars, Superman and Indiana Jones or Goldsmith's Patton!
@@kthx1138 mhm
I totally agree with you. I can hear very similar music patterns in his music in different movies. Similar, very Hollywood style "solutions" in orchestration. I liked Gladiator soundtrack, but since then, when I hear Zimmer's music in next his movies, it seems like he is often simply recycling and slightly modyfing his "good old" ideas.
Did you mean Maurice Jarre? Anyway, totally agree with you, though I have to say I enjoyed his Bond score a lot more than I thought I would!
Hmm very interesting points. I've never actually heard anyone talk about how they are not big fans of Zimmer especially the more recent work with Nolan. What do you think of Hildur Guonadottir or the late Johann Johannsson?
Johan Johansson was a fantastic composer, this generation's Vangelis, but unfortunately he was lost far too soon. Its really one of the biggest losses to movie scoring.
Two composers I like right on the top of my head are Thomas Newman and Howard Shore
same
and rupert gregson williams
Hans Zimmer scores have become too alike, overwrought and distracting. I don’t understand his God-like praise for the score of Dune part 1. Some of the scenes are less beautiful and quite jarring because of his presence in Dune particularly. Christopher Nolan was LUCKY to find Zimmer busy for Tenet. I’d love to see Ludwig Göransson take on Dune part 2. (Ha! I wrote this before you got to the Tenet part).
His work on “Tears of the Sun” is Orgasmic in every sense of the word.
But Hans has said recently that he’s no longer interested in writing beautiful music.
I miss old school orchestrel scores. My favorites are John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Alan Silvestri and James Horner.
I also like what Daft Punk did with the Tron Legacy score as well.
And what ever happened to Mark Mencia?
Check out composer John Scott. Another good one. Look up the Greystoke Soundtrack. He also did Lionheart.
@@seppukusushi2848 Yes, he's very good.
It’s funny, I like your fav composers and agree with most of your points but I personally gravitate more towards composers that experiment with instrumentation in bold and innovative ways, instead of more orchestral stuff. I just find it much more evocative 🤷♂️. like Max Richter, Nils Frahm, Mica Levi, Ludwig Goransson, and Ben Salisbury/Geoff Barrow to name a few.
P.S. Emille Mosseri is one to keep an eye on, his work on Last Black Man in San Francisco, Kajillionaire, and Minari were great.
Try yuka kitamura. I know she Makes Videogame music but she is very talented. The music totally fits in. Espacially the dark Souls 3 music.
Well argued but cannot agree at all! I’m not a big fan of Zimmer but his score for The Dark Knight and Gladiator are just like incredible.
I enjoyed Zimmer's scores for Rain Man and True Romance back in the day. Did you like his music for The Thin Red Line?