Hello all, I’m Vida Alek, but you can call me Alek (insta @vida.alek)
Originally an article I produced for The Esta La Vida Blog a place where you can earn money for writing articles, but since we’ve partnered up with the Filmocracy team, I’ll now be writing here too.
A Tad Intro
Commonly asscociated with Christopher Nolan given their frequent collaborations, Hans Zimmer is the legendary composer who has shaped some of the greatest films of our time with his music.
Films such as Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, Interstellar, The Dark Knight trilogy are a few of many films which featured Hans Zimmer’s exceptional music.
So let’s look at some of my personal favourites…
Cornfield Chase- Interstellar
Perhaps my favourite of his scores, cornfield chase took two years for Hans Zimmer to compose. The dreamy and moving piece starts with repeating organ beats with a consistent cello underneath. The tempo slowly grows and a ripple of piano keys strike through it. The tempo gradually gets bigger and bigger with the cellos getting louder and the organ valves higher before it comes to a sudden rest.
It’s a dreamy and moving score which compliments the scene beautifully as Cooper chases down the rogue drone through the golden cornfields.
Mombasa- Inception
Zimmer started the score with high tempo beats and short bursts of cello and then introduced the electrics guitars creating an interesting dichotomy of sounds. The rushed, high frequency nature of the piece forces the audience to feel the same tension as Cobb when he is running through the mazing streets of Mombasa,,,
Time- Inception
Saving the best for last
The tempo starts off slow with singular beats of the bass drum with long strokes of cello underneath. As the tempo grows, in comes the electric guitar. The Tempo then grows into a crescendo and the single cellos amass into an orchestra. Then suddenly it slows down again until there are only single piano keys and one final stroke of cello to bring it to a close, the climax that such a film deserved.
Other Notable Works
Do not forget the gallant beat of He’s a Pirate.
The score was actually a collaboration with fellow composer Klaus Badelt and together produced the iconic sound of the Pirates of the Caribbean and was the trademark of the franchise..
Taking a tad darker tone with the score he produced for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy…
Honourable Mentions
Hans Zimmer isn’t the only composer who’s music has influenced film.
Others include:
First Class – Henry Jackman
Ramin Djawadi’s guitar rock based score which nicely translates the metal theme of Pacific Rim.
Or perhaps a more heroic theme from Avengers Assemble