Hans Zimmer

[drebo]

So I just got done watching like 8 hours of extras off the Gladiator bluray disks...is it just me, or is Hans Zimmer like the best composer of our era?

And, isn't it kind of pathetic (by that I mean our society, not him) that his compositions are mostly movie themes?

My wife studied music in college for 6 years while we dated...I've been thoroughly exposed to so-called contemporary classic music, and it's all rubbish...but I could listen to the Lion King sound track all day.

Just an observation.

 

[Ichinisan]

[timewarp]

Greatest film score composer ever.

I have The Wings of a Film CD.

Loved the scores in The Lion King and The Prince of Egypt. It's a shame Elton John and Tim Rice got all the credit for TLK.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Hans Zimmer is definitely in my top 3 favorite musical score composers. Hell, he's probably #1.

So many great scores from him. I love just listening to various soundtracks from him while doing work.

 

[Ichinisan]

Also loved the music used in the trailer for Inception. Very powerful and appropriately jarring.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001877/

 

[Ichinisan]

I also like Clint Mansell's work in Moon, The Fountain, and Requiem for a Dream.

I think Carter Burwell also does a great job on the Coen Bros. movies.

 

[clamum]

Yeah Zimmer is pretty badass and a genius. His work in Inception and Pirates of the Caribbean is great (among countless others).

Example

 

[Red Squirrel]

He does indeed make awesome music.

So does Howard Shore. The LOTR soundtrack is one of my favorites. Come to think of it most of the music I listen to is sound tracks.

 

[Crono]

Agreed. Zimmer, John Williams, Howard Shore. My favorite 3 modern composers.

There are many other composers I like, but those are my top.

 

[drebo]

True, the LOTR soundtrack is pretty epic. I can't listen to John Williams without seeing Stewie as Darth Vader, though I did like the Jurassic Park sound track.

I still think it's absurd that most of our best orchestral music comes in the form of movie themes. We just don't get good music for music's sake anymore, outside of a few freak occurences like Metallica S&M.

 

[Via]

Zimmer is very good at what he does, but he's also the most cliche-ridden modern movie composer out there. I bet you I could write a Hans Zimmer theme in about a minute and a half.

All that being said - the Gladiator music is among my all time favorites. I find this very beautiful, especially when the theme comes in around 1:00:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP37zmcmBZk

 

[Miramonti]

So I just got done watching like 8 hours of extras off the Gladiator bluray disks...is it just me, or is Hans Zimmer like the best composer of our era?

And, isn't it kind of pathetic (by that I mean our society, not him) that his compositions are mostly movie themes?

My wife studied music in college for 6 years while we dated...I've been thoroughly exposed to so-called contemporary classic music, and it's all rubbish...but I could listen to the Lion King sound track all day.

Just an observation.

It's not just you, he's a composing god. His filmography is surreal, and his creativity and range is genius.

My favorite soundtracks of his are from the Batman series, very moving. Second favorite is probably from Angels and Demons, altho it didn't hurt to have Joshua Bell on strings. Am really looking forward to Dark Knight Rises release, moreso for Zimmer's soundtrack than the movie.

Other awesome soundtrack composers...Clint Mansell is fantastic, so is James Horner, but Zimmer is in a league of his own imo. Unfortunately he's probably going to have to die before he's truly appreciated to the extent that he deserves.

 

[Miramonti]

Zimmer is very good at what he does, but he's also the most cliche-ridden modern movie composer out there. I bet you I could write a Hans Zimmer theme in about a minute and a half.

All that being said - the Gladiator music is among my all time favorites. I find this very beautiful, especially when the theme comes in around 1:00:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP37zmcmBZk

That's very ignorant.

 

[Dominato3r]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP37zmcmBZk

This is an amazing piece, my favorite from him. This would be a close second: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOJqicM6x84

 

[Via]

That's very ignorant.

I'm ignorant about a great many things, but not that. I could go to the piano right now a write a decent Zimmer-like theme pretty quickly.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

I'm ignorant about a great many things, but not that. I could go to the piano right now a write a decent Zimmer-like theme pretty quickly.

 

[Ichinisan]

I'm ignorant about a great many things, but not that. I could go to the piano right now a write a decent Zimmer-like theme pretty quickly.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You might think it's equal, but Zimmerman fans would probably say it isn't even close.

 

[Miramonti]

A few favorites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exyV8Jm2ncQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5FyRZbqfeM

I'm ignorant about a great many things, but not that. I could go to the piano right now a write a decent Zimmer-like theme pretty quickly.

I assume you're referring to the easy beginning, buildup, and hollywood ending. There's some truth to that part and I don't doubt you can recreate that if you're musical, but to actually make them sound great and applicable is a whole nuther art. Personally I love his use of strings, which often are a big part of his compositions.

 

[Via]

Take the theme I posted:

I don't know what key its in, but if you have a piano nearby check it.

Lets pretend it's in C.

Roll some open 5ths (C-G-C) and hit an ascending baseline - C-D-E-F

There's you opening.

Now for the theme:

e-a-c- d - c - b d-e-g- c -b- a

over

(d minor) (G major) (a minor) (F major)

It's a simple as can be. That's not whats makes it so great to listen to.

 

[destrekor]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You might think it's equal, but Zimmerman fans would probably say it isn't even close.

I don't think he is saying he could make it in the same quality as Zimmer, but I do agree on his overall statement: his scores, while brilliant on a standalone basis, are, at a fundamental level, quite cliched. The bombastic tones, the highs and lows, the hooks, the [any more and I'd be showing my own musical ignorance ]... a lot of his scores follow a fairly unoriginal pattern that, especially when coupled with the film, gives it a very guided-course emotional rollercoaster feeling.

Not that I would ever tell the guy to stop doing what he does. His music is half the reason I tend to enjoy the movies attached to them. But while I can listen to the score/soundtracks on their own from time to time, I can't do it nearly as often as the soundtracks composed by Clint Mansell.

On a sheer musical/skill level, Zimmer is amazing, almost like a Deity, and I would still argue quite original - but the progression of the overall sound tends to feel predictable in many ways. That's a more "zoomed-out" view, because up close, it's brilliance at play.

 

[drebo]

The progressions aren't what make his music good to listen to. I mean, shit, every single rock song in the last 50 years uses the exact same progression. It's the orchestrations that make his music great.

Sure, you could probably write the same music...and monkies could write Shakespeare. But that doesn't mean that you would be able to add the same feeling and depth that he does with his choice of instruments and voice.

I know what sounds good and what I like...but I could never begin to take a series of notes on a page and make them sound anything remotely like what he does.

 

[Crono]

Zimmer knows epic music.

Whether it sounds "cliched" or not is beside the point. Great music always has a signature, even (especially) among the classic composers.

 

[destrekor]

The progressions aren't what make his music good to listen to. I mean, shit, every single rock song in the last 50 years uses the exact same progression. It's the orchestrations that make his music great.

Sure, you could probably write the same music...and monkies could write Shakespeare. But that doesn't mean that you would be able to add the same feeling and depth that he does with his choice of instruments and voice.

I know what sounds good and what I like...but I could never begin to take a series of notes on a page and make them sound anything remotely like what he does.

Zimmer knows epic music.

Whether it sounds "cliched" or not is beside the point. Great music always has a signature, even (especially) among the classic composers.

As far as I am concerned, I couldn't agree more with these posts.
For the style of movie his music accompanies, I would have difficulty arguing any other composer would be a better fit.

 

[Crusty]

Sadly he's never telling his own story with the music.

 

[CZroe]

[timewarp]

Greatest film score composer ever.

I have The Wings of a Film CD.

Loved the scores in The Lion King and The Prince of Egypt. It's a shame Elton John and Tim Rice got all the credit for TLK.

You forgot to say that we also have both Gladiator soundtracks.

His "Batman Begins" stuff sure seemed to buck his "cliche."

 

[rockyct]

I do love Zimmer and the Gladiator soundtrack, but some of it was borrowed pretty heavily from Holst: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I I can't hate on him for it though, borrowing from other works and making it yours is basically what music is about.