*THIS PIECE WAS WRITTEN AFTER THE OSCARS IN MARCH 2018. HERE’S A LITTLE SOMETHIN-SOMETHIN ON ONE OF MY FAVORITE ASPECTS OF ALL THINGS CINEMA.*
As a frequent movie-goer, I’ve learned that watching movies is an entire bodily experience, not only reserved for the eyes to marvel at. Haven’t you ever wondered why movies are dynamic and captivating? I mean, yeah, the visuals are cool and enchanting at times, but where would we be without the musical score? Not getting the entire picture.
Kanye West once said “I guess every superhero needs his theme music” and the only person I would trust with such a task is none other than Hans Zimmer. The 11-time Academy Award nominated ingenious composer and musician is almost single-handedly responsible for how super and action heroes of the past 25 years command not just the screens, but our ears.
From both of Christian Bale’s and Ben Affleck’s Batman character to Dreamworks’ animated villain turned hero Megamind to Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlock Holmes, Zimmer’s orchestral and musical genius has graced our ears with compelling sound to pair with Oscar-nominated films and RomComs alike. Sherlock Holmes’s score was recorded on a broken, out-of-tune piano and squeaky violins Zimmer thought would add authenticity to the classic British character’s adventures.
Most recently, Mr. Zimmer has composed the motion picture score for Christopher Nolan’s Oscar nominated film Dunkirk. If you didn’t already know, they’ve worked together before to create some of the most visually and audibly stimulating movies in the last fifteen years. Along with Dunkirk, the dynamic duo have made masterpieces by the names of Inception, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar. Because of his score on Batman Begins, Zimmer created a new style of musical score composition that would be mimicked and appropriated in dramatic and action films 10 years after the films debut. Though that sounds pretty bleak, Nolan and Zimmer make a tag team unlike any other. Their work together has led to Hans Zimmer becoming a household name in the millennial generation, even performing at the home of hipster music fairs, Coachella.
But that wasn’t what intrigued me at first. When Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl came out in 2003, I wasn’t too fond of Disney trying to do “different”. What did Disney know about pirates… or the Caribbean, for that matter? My cousin couldn’t stop raving about it for weeks after buying it on DVD and finally got me to watch it with him. Long story short, I had found my newest obsession. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of his character Captain Jack Sparrow was revolutionary in the eyes of someone who, at the age of 7, couldn’t believe was so naturally themself. I watched Pirates about a few billion times before the sequel came to theaters four years later and my 11-year-old self was ready for visuals of open blue waters, grand ships, and 18th century ports in Disney’s latest success.
Of course, I wasn’t alone in my early skepticism. Zimmer himself said in an interview with Vulture.com that, after being asked by the director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer to score the second installment, he wasn’t entirely certain he’d be up for the gig. But, in his words, “I looked at the movie, and I thought it was fantastic. I just thought it was going to be this horrible Disney thing, but he’d [Verbinski] done these things I couldn’t have imagined.” He then composed the entire film 5 weeks before its release. Iconic.
In Dead Man’s Chest (the sequel to Curse of the Black Pearl), Captain Jack Sparrow had his own musical piece indicating that the scene was dominated by his presence, adding to his dramatics and whimsical nature. It’s clear that Zimmer took his time defining the essence of what Pirates of the Caribbean meant to him when you hear the first 30 seconds of the film all the way through to the third and fourth installments. It’s magical, in a way, how each installment of Pirates have completely different sounds and themes that alters the tone of the franchise while giving each of the films a unique dynamic of unison to the storyline. My personal favorite being that of At World’s End, the third installment of (what I thought would be just a trilogy and not a 6 film) franchise, is “musically, the best” (Vulture.com). Zimmer really put his foot into that one.
I remember sitting in the theater watching as Captain Barbossa, Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner, Tia Dalma, and other members of the crew shivering their way through an icy river scene, heading to the Farthest Gate. “At Wit’s End” plays and the string instruments paired with horns, drums, and ethereal vocals whilst the characters come to the realization that they might die trying to save the infamous Jack Sparrow was an experience like no other. I can still feel the goosebumps.
Anyone who knows me knows I love me some Pirates and Hans Zimmer is mainly to thank for that. If it weren’t for his addition to the already beautifully directed movies, I don’t think it would have had the same impact on me and many other viewers.
I sing high praise for Zimmer because he really is that guy. He has scored over one hundred films ranging from quirky animated movies like Kung Fu Panda to action films such as Black Hawk Down to my favorite Christmas movie The Holiday to this century’s Superman in Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Zimmer even composed the original theme for the popular video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The man is indispensable.
And to think, he’s only won one Academy Award for his work and that was for Disney’s animated film The Lion King back in 1994. Oh, you didn’t know Zimmer is the one responsible for one of the most well-known intros in the history of music? NAAAAAHHHHHHHHH-ow you do.
With a rap sheet like his, you’d think he’d be more decorated. Of course he has other accolades but his contribution to cinema goes fairly unnoticed or, as I would put it, under appreciated by The Academy. Just last week, Zimmer was beat by composer Alexandre Desplat (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Grand Budapest Hotel) for composing the original score for Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, The Shape of Water. Yes, Desplat is also a talented composer but Zimmer’s score for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is one of his best works to date, critics say. *Nothing beats At World’s End for me, that soundtrack is legendary.*
I’m pretty bummed I didn’t get to see him perform some of his famed pieces when he was on his self-titled tour last year but, thanks to the Internet, I can listen to his performance Live in Prague where he put on a showcase of his best work throughout the years. All I know is that Hans Zimmer has drastically changed the way movies sound and, without him, cinema would be nothing.
Alright, that’s a little bit dramatic but, as a fan of all things movies, some of my favorites and many others wouldn’t be the same without his masterpieces or influence on the art of music in cinema.
I can’t imagine a world where Jack Sparrow doesn’t have a score composed that matches his personality or Bruce Wayne not being backed up by dramatic synthesized notes or Sherlock Holmes solving crime played off on a fully functioning piano.
It’s safe to say that Hans Zimmer is not a hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight. But in the musical sense.
KrashingWaves 
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