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I’ve been hearing from vested interests for a long time now that Hans Zimmer’s score for Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” is something quite extraordinary. I haven’t paid a lot of mind because it’s all jockeying for position and putting your best foot forward this time of year, etc.
But the chatter is getting louder lately as more and more people see the film in-house. It’s the one element that keeps being brought up and I have to wonder if there might be something to this.
I have no idea what to expect. Frankly I would have assumed something fairly standard for a film like this, but truly, Zimmer has been doing great work even in films that missed on nearly every other level (like, say, “The Da Vinci Code”). He’s a seven-time nominee after all, despite his flirtations with action-oriented entertainments. So it’s fair to assume we may be in for a pleasant surprise.
Zimmer and James Newton Howard probably left a sour taste in the music branch’s mouth last year with the shenanigans surrounding the eligibility of the score for “The Dark Knight,” but he’s regardless a favorite in the branch. I’m told the work on Ritchie’s film is as inventive as ever, so who knows?
The film finally starts screening for most press tonight and into next week, so the verdict will be out soon enough (embargoes will be in place for two weeks). But I have to say, the more the enthusiasm builds around whatever Zimmer has cooked up, the more difficult it is for me to maintain a blase attitude about it and, indeed, the film itself.
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20 responses so far
1 12-03-2009 at 8:57 am
Dreams said...
I heard that most of this score is not written by him but by his team of slaves in Remote Control. Last year the branch snubbed The dark Knight and Frost Nixon because they don’t trust in him anymore. So he has several issues to fight if he want to get a nod. I doubt it. Not with this year’s wonderful scores such as Coraline, Drag me to hell, Avatar, and all the Desplat music that came out this 2009.
2 12-03-2009 at 9:21 am
red_wine said...
I really dislike Zimmer and what Dreams says is actually true. In the soundtrack reviewing community, he’s really looked upon as somewhat of a hack whose scores all sound similar and they truly have a group-produced feeling about them.
3 12-03-2009 at 9:25 am
mike said...
this the film i really wanna see out of all the upcoming films. pure entertainment in a see of oh so serious art.
4 12-03-2009 at 9:36 am
Hunter said...
I love Zimmer’s scores. He’s my favourite composer after the amazing Carter Burwell.
As for Holmes I hear it’s a terrific ride. People are comparing it to Raiders of the Lost Ark or the first great Pirates of the Caribbean.
5 12-03-2009 at 10:25 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
Meh, I dig Zimmer. I won’t pretend to know what goes on behind the scenes.
6 12-03-2009 at 10:28 am
BurmaShave said...
Yeah Zimmer’s DA VINCI CODE score is startlingly beautiful. It almost adds a layer of quality to that film. I became so transfixed with it I downloaded a few tracks on iTunes back in ’07.
Also if you want any picture of how bad action films scores have gotten his decade, go back and watch GLADIATOR. A cut above, and maybe one of the most imitated scores of the ’00s.
7 12-03-2009 at 10:35 am
Sawyer said...
The Gladiator score that ripped off Gustav Holst’s Mars Bringer of War.
8 12-03-2009 at 10:37 am
Jonathan Spuij said...
The Gladiator score that is MEANT to echo Holst. Sawyer, don’t bring us decade old arguments that have been debunked many times since.
And yes, I love Zimmer, he’s my favorite composer. There’s no sound clips available from this score but I’ve been reading some great stuff about it too. But again, the whole film might surprise us all.
9 12-03-2009 at 10:40 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
Sawyer: It’s reminiscent, a familiar theme anyway, but “ripped off?” Not really. It almost reads as homage.
And regardless, that action-oriented section of the score isn’t even the most memorable aspect. It’s the collaboration with Lisa Gerrard that I think has the most gravitas.
10 12-03-2009 at 10:41 am
Kristopher Tapley said...
Well, Spuij was quicker on the draw there I guess.
11 12-03-2009 at 2:01 pm
Mark Kratina said...
What shenanigans did Zimmer pull with TDK? Perhaps I’m not remembering it correctly, but wasn’t it the Academy’s archaic rules that disqualified him because he gave credit to those who assisted him in constructing the score rather than hog the credit?
His work on The Last Samurai is great, too.
12 12-03-2009 at 2:19 pm
Puchika said...
Thin Red Line is still my favorite soundtrack
13 12-03-2009 at 2:40 pm
Jonathan Spuij said...
His Pirates trilogy (I know, he only supplied the themes for the first one) is truly entertaining. I can’t stop listening to the third one and the suites from the box set.
14 12-03-2009 at 3:42 pm
C. Brown said...
For my money, Christopher Young’s haunting score for Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell” was hands down the best this year.
15 12-03-2009 at 7:30 pm
luke828 said...
The score isn’t even eligible since they changed the rules a few years back. They don’t nominate scores that are written by more than one person, so the score won’t go anywhere. And like others have mentioned, Zimmer is no longer respected by most because he continually recycles the same ideas and probably writes one theme and then has his cronies write the rest
16 12-04-2009 at 9:25 am
Morgan said...
A “special” score compared to what?
There have been utterly brilliant prior scores written for prior Sherlock Holmes films, by some of the best composers in the business and I tend to doubt Zimmer is really going to be up to their level.
The creme de la creme is Patrick Gowers’ music for the British “Sherlock Holmes” TV series. Or John Addison for “The Seven Per Cent Solution.”
17 12-04-2009 at 12:06 pm
Mark Kratina said...
A lot of Zimmer zingers here, I see.
18 12-05-2009 at 11:59 am
Mr. Gittes said...
Where can one listen to Zimmer’s Sherlock Holmes score?
Can’t wait to hear Zimmer’s work on Inception…
Zimmer’s work in The Thin Red Line is masterful.
19 12-06-2009 at 7:50 am
Carlo said...
I’m a big Zimmer fan even though, yes, a lot of them feel rehashed. But think of it this way, John Williams’ scores all sound practically the same anyway, so why punish Zimmer?
I don’t see any problem with a fully orchestral composer such as Williams being compared to the pretty much synthesized sound of Zimmer. They’re both quality musicians in their own right and I think Zimmer does bring a a new flavor and style to modern film scoring.
Here’s to hoping Sherlock Holmes doesn’t disappoint!
By the way, where has John Williams been the past few years? The last thing he did was Indy 4, which was a bust. I hope he’s not slowing down because of age…
20 12-08-2009 at 5:04 am
hotdvdmovie said...
I love Zimmer’s scores.