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I can see how Black Rain could be the seed from which the development of the more iconic "power anthem" score arose.

Define "established". Media Ventures was founded when Hans needed an American engineer to record Rain Man and Mark Mancina has entered the group having been getting and given (by the big Z himself) projects because of his association of the genre.

I always think that the scores that established the genre were really Speed (one source mentions that it was given to Mancina on Hans' recommendation, it would be supported by the fact that when the same group of producers were working on Broken Arrow they went for Zimmer himself), Bad Boys, Crimson Tide and The Rock. Mancina's influence shouldn't really be overlooked.

There seems to have been a general feeling in the online community at least that the score was highly influential, but I do wonder how many film composers you could speak to who would say they were influenced by Black Rain. Backdraft I could understand to an extent, but even that, other than Zimmer's own assistants/ghostwriters/whatever, did it really have a wide influence? The influence was probably more on filmmakers than composers, who saw that style and wanted it in their films, so hired Zimmer or cheaper underlings which really made the style such a commonplace sound.

Drop-dead gorgeous is reserved for Moriconne and Delerue only, btw

And Illarramendi.

You're right.

I am not so well versed with Rombi's work but definitely Illarramendi: his strings writing reminds me very much of Delerue's beautiful string work.

James Horner

Well, 'drop-dead gorgeous' is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, of course, but if you agree that the Zimmer power anthem style is one of the most influential sounds in Hollywood film music in the last 30 years (I have never met anyone who has claimed anything to the contrary -- whether they are critics or supporters), then it's pretty easy to trace it back to BLACK RAIN as the start shot. BLACK RAIN predates BACKDRAFT, and is pretty much the template that the latter and subsequent scores are modelled on. And there is nothing BEFORE BLACK RAIN that nurtured it to the same extent. I've met some who argue for Faltermeyer's TOP GUN, but IMO that's a slightly different, albeit related, sound.

Also, if you read what I wrote above, I did specify it to be about mainstream Hollywood action thrillers. There obviously weren't many power anthems in alternative European art cinema.

GLADIATOR is also influential, but for other reasons. There are power anthems in it, but it's mostly the duduk, Arabic sensibilities and wordless female vocal that became all the rave after this. In this -- and unlike the power anthems -- it even transgressed genre borders....it seeped into everything from comedies to historical epics to contemporary action films. And also beyond Hollywood.



In 1995, Media Ventures had existed for 6 years, they had renovated a huge industrial space in Santa Monica for their new offices and had a pretty extensive library of composer "students" already (including Mancina) -- most of whom composed music influenced by the Zimmer Sound to varying degrees.

I think you are underestimating the influence of Mancina to that original "Zimmer Sound". Notice how quickly it went away after Mancina stopped working with Zimmer. Poor Mancina. Nobody ever gives him enough credit. Not even Zimmer himself.

THE HUNGER GAMES | jnh

Not bad but not very memorable either. There's a good 20 minute album in there that I'd listen again to.

Btw, did you know that JNH is scoring the sequel to The Hunger Games, and not James Horner which Southall announced? I didn't know until just a moment ago. The movie is called Catching Fire. An appropriate title if this should happen to my interest for the score too!

I think you have a broader definition of "power anthem" than I do.
I thought it was telling when Mancina wrote Blood+ in 2006 and it sounded exactly like 90s "Zimmer". Hans moved on and was creating a new identity for himself from Gladiator onwards.

Sometimes one must wonder exactly how much, if even any, of the "sound" of Hans Zimmer is actually created by Zimmer himself as opposed to whoever he happens to be working with at the time. I mean, I think he's a great writer of melodies and his have had their own distinctive style throughout his career. But when moving beyond the basic melodies I'm honestly not sure how much Hans himself does anymore. lol. I'm just thinking out loud.

I agree, it's an entertainining survivalist action fest up until the end which is handled very badly with Stallone's OTT acting coming across as ladelled on with thick helpings of ham. I prefer the two dafty flag waving bullshit sequels, great fun.

How does the book First Blood differ? I won't be reading it so spoilers won't matter.

It's a pretty specific sound. I've tried to describe it above, but I'm no musicologist, so I can't formulate it with musical terms beyond the basics, unfortunately.



It's fine to think out loud, but I would call it somewhat pointless to 'speculate' on how much of it is his or not. That's too much conspiracy theory for my taste. Zimmer is easily recognizable, whatever other people he's collaborated with over the years, so that should account for something right there. He's also very specific about crediting others if they have composed music on a soundtrack.

Hans Zimmer - Frost/Nixon

Outside of Inception, my favourite Zimmer score since Da Vinci Code. Smart, intelligent, minimalist. Listening from the CD I received in the mail today.