The Dark Knight - Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard

Sunil wrote


Yes, i can hear you, my friend!

Take care!

Martijn wrote

Seriously?
No help at all?

William wrote

Sunil wrote

Steven wrote

William wrote


OK...?



And Batman Begins was loud too... But there was not nearly as much hype for that score.

Ralph Kruhm wrote
Beside the destinct Joker music, I doubt that people who aren´t too familiar with the scores would be able to tell which track belongs to which score if mixed wildly together. They are so deeply connected, it´s impossible for me to say which one I would prefer. I love them both, I think a combined album with the highlights from both scores would sound as if it came from one and the same movie.

William wrote


I'm not talking about your enjoyment of the score, per say, but rather, all the various people I've talked to who generally have nothing to do with film scores, not even the Batman Begins score, but for some reason went crazy over this one. It's not that they prefer The Dark Knight, I think, but rather, that it's the score to a cool film that had been getting a lot of media attention leading up to its release, and they just happened to think an overall rehash of the previous film's score (which they somehow didn't go crazy over, even with 80% to 90% of the same material?) was an incredible score... But someone could rip audio from the BB score and put it next to the TDK score, and I wouldn't be able to tell the two apart.

Basically, I believe half the reason most average people ran out to get this particular score, but not other, more noticeable scores, was because the film was as hyped up as it was. People go in and see a movie that will likely go down in history, and they want to have a piece of the action, and get the score. Not because it's necessarily truly a work of genius, but just because it's the score to a film they like. I don't think most of them even noticed the score much at all in the film, but they bought the album anyways and when they did, to them it became a masterpiece.

If only these same people would go out and purchase other scores, to lesser hyped films, which sometimes have better scores than TDK. The amount of media attention a film receives doesn't automatically mean it has the best score in the world. And when I see people who primarily listen only to popular music, that don't buy the BB score, but rush out to get the TDK score and act like it's a piece of heaven in audio form, I've got to wonder what's going on with today's culture...

Even if by some miracle the TDK score were a masterpiece, then the BB score would be just as much a masterpiece, because in the context of the films, they are virtually the same: they sound the same, stand out in the film just the same (which is not that much at all) fit their associated films just as well as each other, use entire chunks of the same music, etc. There is no logical reason for an average person to notice the TDK score any more than the BB score, for there is little way to tell them apart.

William wrote


I'm not talking about your enjoyment of the score, per say, but rather, all the various people I've talked to who generally have nothing to do with film scores, not even the Batman Begins score, but for some reason went crazy over this one. It's not that they prefer The Dark Knight, I think, but rather, that it's the score to a cool film that had been getting a lot of media attention leading up to its release, and they just happened to think an overall rehash of the previous film's score (which they somehow didn't go crazy over, even with 80% to 90% of the same material?) was an incredible score... But someone could rip audio from the BB score and put it next to the TDK score, and I wouldn't be able to tell the two apart.

Basically, I believe half the reason most average people ran out to get this particular score, but not other, more noticeable scores, was because the film was as hyped up as it was. People go in and see a movie that will likely go down in history, and they want to have a piece of the action, and get the score. Not because it's necessarily truly a work of genius, but just because it's the score to a film they like. I don't think most of them even noticed the score much at all in the film, but they bought the album anyways and when they did, to them it became a masterpiece.

If only these same people would go out and purchase other scores, to lesser hyped films, which sometimes have better scores than TDK. The amount of media attention a film receives doesn't automatically mean it has the best score in the world. And when I see people who primarily listen only to popular music, that don't buy the BB score, but rush out to get the TDK score and act like it's a piece of heaven in audio form, I've got to wonder what's going on with today's culture...

Even if by some miracle the TDK score were a masterpiece, then the BB score would be just as much a masterpiece, because in the context of the films, they are virtually the same: they sound the same, stand out in the film just the same (which is not that much at all) fit their associated films just as well as each other, use entire chunks of the same music, etc. There is no logical reason for an average person to notice the TDK score any more than the BB score, for there is little way to tell them apart.

Ralph Kruhm wrote

I wouldn´t call it an improvement, I think it just grew naturally from the "Black Rainy" first statements in BB, followed by the amazing BB End Title, to the inclusion of thematic material in Dog Chasing Cars up to the final and most positive statement in Introducing Anarchy. I think the latter versions´ impact wouldn´t have been possible without the previous work in BB.


There is no Dent Theme. It´s the old Gotham Theme from BB, just played more powerfully.


You should try it again someday.

Steven wrote


To me, that pretty much is the definition of an improvement. But hey ho.



Okay, fine. The more powerfully played version of the old Gotham Theme from Batman Begins is one of the reasons I prefer The Dark Knight album. (Technically it is Dent's theme as it's used as his theme in the second movie. It just happens to be a pre-existing piece.)



Never really enjoyed the album that much any way, so it's doubtful I will.

Ralph Kruhm wrote

Well, if you put it that way, I can see where you´re coming from.


See above.


So you don´t like the groundwork from BB, but like what Zimmer & JNH made of it in TDK? Fair enough. Still, I find them stylistically inseparable. To me, TDK just sounds like the second disc of a double disc score.