"The Dark Knight" - James Newton-Howard & Hans Zimmer

The Dark Knight

Composers: James Newton-Howard, Hans Zimmer

Release Date: July 18, 2008

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Amazon user's rating: 4,5/5 stars.

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All About Soundtracks Review:
After their elegant effort on Batman Begins, Newton-Howard and Zimmer join forces again to the second installent in the series with the direction of Cristopher Nolan.
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This score is better than the previous one, maybe because the movie is better too. This time, the Joker comes in the play, and with him comes "The Note", as Zimmer called it. "The Note" is Joker sound, a strange, scary methalic sound, that is excellently explored and developed through the score, with particular intensity in track 1, Why So Serious.
While Zimmer has scored the darkest character of the movie, Newton-Howard scored Harvey Dent, providing us a beautiful and elegant six-note theme, that evolves with the character, and re-appears later, played with a darker feeling. (Track 3, Harvey Two-Face)
The Batman also has his theme, played in the cues I'm Not a Hero and A Dark Knight; it's an heroic and intense motif, with sad undertones that match the character and the feeling of the movie.
All these themes all well explored.
The action cues are excellent (special atention to Agent of Chaos, track 11), with some occasional over-the-top heaviness (listen to Introduce a Little Anarchy). In short, they're very Zimmer-ish.
There are also some cues that don't have this energy, but are also very well composed (e. g. Blood on My Hans, track 6)
The best track is probably the 16-minute cue A Dark Knight, but there is one track that deserves special atention. Watch the World Burn is played in the climax of the movie, and is an extraordinary intense cue. It's elegant, dark, sad, dramatic and desperate: all at the same time.
James Newton-Howard and Hans Zimmer team has succefully created a music that is mixed with sound desing to match the feeling of Gotham City. This score's balance between electronic and orchestral is excellent. There is no weak moments; only some peaceful lower cues, that are not consumed by the crazyness and heavyness of the rest of the score.

Noteworthy tracks: all of them.

Score note: 10/10.


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