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| Elfman |
Batman: (Danny Elfman) Action movie aficionados
have Tim Burton's 1989 vision of
Batman to thank for the
resurrection of the superhero concept on film, a genre that would
flourish with success for almost two decades following
Batman's
explosive debut. With its outrageous marketing bonanza courtesy of an
enthusiastic Warner Brothers,
Batman was one of the rare action
productions that actually exceeded expectations, predictably replacing
serious awards consideration for the kind of eye candy approach that
yielded several sequels throughout the next decade. Balancing the
carnival atmosphere natural to Burton's zany artistic tendencies,
embodied in both Jack Nicholson's extremely expensive Joker and the
handful of songs performed by Prince that actually made the final cut of
the film, was the director's ability to provide serious, adult comic
book-style action and sensuality. Burton had collaborated with composer
Danny Elfman for the wildly creative
Beetlejuice the previous
year, serving notice to film score collectors of the composer's arrival
into the mainstream (beyond just the sideshow theatrics of
Pee-wee's
Big Adventure and Elfman's other stabs at comedy). The highly
effective score for
Batman, however, would not only shake the
producers' initial notion that the film's music could be provided by a
series of pop stars that included Michael Jackson, George Michael, and
Prince (only the latter would remain), but also introduce the composer
to the masses and consolidate a budding group of avid collectors and
fans of Elfman's whimsically tragic music that would solidify with
Edward Scissorhands and
The Nightmare Before Christmas in
the following four years. In the interim, Elfman and Burton attempted to
carry the success of
Batman over to a 1992 sequel, and although
Batman Returns takes far more chances in the diversity of its
score, Elfman proved unable to recapture the same raw sense of action
and elegance of performance. While considered more of a "guilty
pleasure" by critics at the time, the
Batman score has aged
remarkably well, outlasting the sequel scores by Elliot Goldenthal and
remaining leagues ahead of the music resulting from the continuance of
the franchise in the 2000's.
Regardless of the lack of connection in crew, cast, or
concept, Elfman's primary theme for the Batman character has proven
useful in advertising the franchise long after the composer's exit from
it, testifying to the lasting impression that the composer provided for
the character on screen. Whereas John Williams is universally recognized
as the musical voice of
Superman, Elfman has cemented himself,
despite the attention-seeking cries of the most ardent in the Hans
Zimmer fanbase, as the same for
Batman. Perhaps no title theme
has had more impact on a superhero as this one, however; its four-note
minor key ascent and two-note major key descent is frightfully
simplistic and yet it perfectly addresses the duality of the Bruce Wayne
character. The theme is often misidentified as only consisting of five
notes; even Jeff Bond's notes for the 2010 album release of
Batman made this error. The sixth note is the payoff only
occasionally afforded the theme, a keen acknowledgement by Elfman that
Wayne's existence is defined by a lack of personal completion. The
easily recognizable construct of this theme allows Elfman to use
fragments of its progression with ease, often producing the suspense
before a battle with only the rise of the first two notes. The composer
claims that he first thought up the tune on an airplane flight from
London back to America and embarrassingly went to the toilet several
times so he could hum various portions of the tune into a tape recorder
in private. Later, he also acknowledged that some of the inspiration in
how the theme was fleshed out came from Bernard Herrmann's opening to
Journey to the Center of the Earth, with almost a complete
reprise of the Herrmann composition at the outset of
Batman. The
three-minute opening credits to
Batman follow the tradition of
the great superhero films of the modern age by providing an overture in
which the score introduces itself. Elfman maximizes the effectiveness of
his identity for the title character by drawing out the performance of
the title theme, repeating the first five notes in heavily dramatic
layers before only proceeding to the last, major-key descent as the
character's logo is revealed in full on screen. Two such massive and
lengthy crescendos highlight
Batman, including the opening bars
of "Charge of the Batmobile," the seemingly obligatory scene in which
Michael Keaton is suiting up for the battle to the death.
When the title theme for
Batman is performed by
sweeping strings, as in short interludes in "First Confrontation," or in
its slightly altered suspense mode, as in "Bat Zone," Elfman presents
its elegant alter-ego. The melody is eventually performed by every
section of the ensemble, including light percussion and massive organ,
before sending the character on to the sequel with rousing ensemble
performances in the uplifting "Finale" and the first half of the end
titles cue. The legacy of this theme would live on in Elliot
Goldenthal's two
Batman scores, though the later composer
cleverly altered the same minor-to-major key progression to suit his own
style. The concept of building a crescendo around the anticipated switch
to the major key remained effectively intact. Other themes and motifs
exist in
Batman, but they are relatively unmemorable or obscure
by comparison to the title theme. For the Joker, Elfman chose to utilize
a comical, over-the-top waltz that explodes with the introduction of the
altered character in "Face-Off" (as everyone's favorite one-armed
push-up master Jack Palance receives his share of hot lead) and
culminates in a lengthy, robust performance in the climactic "Waltz to
the Death" atop the cathedral. Elfman offers very subtle foreshadowing
of this theme for Jack Napier's pre-Joker persona in "Jack vs. Eckhardt"
(along with some faint noir jazz in "Card Snap"). Elfman also adapts
Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" theme for the Joker's more
sensitive side, if one could call it that, and faint performances of
this theme echo after the Joker's death at the conclusion of the film. A
music box effect underlines these performances, providing a humorous
side to the character's sickness with a triangle and xylophone-like
atmosphere that is interrupted quite rudely by a fragment of the waltz
at the end of "Joker's Poem." For his henchmen, Elfman conjures an array
of wildly percussive rhythms that accompany their chaotic activities,
eventually yielding to Prince's recordings for the balloon parade
sequence. The love theme, based in part on the Prince's song
"Scandalous" (which the singer co-wrote with John L. Nelson), has pieces
of Batman's primary theme built into its construct, a bittersweet and
yearning adaptation of the score's main identity into a piano and string
performance in "Love Theme" that only exists in small pieces throughout
the film (reinforcing the fleeting nature of the affair).
A variant of Elfman's love theme also represents Wayne's
lingering affinity towards his dead parents, with one of the score's
more poignant moments of reflection existing on cello in "Flowers."
Several rhythmic motifs also represent specific locations or concepts. A
distant and menacing bass line in "Childhood Remembered" is performed by
piano under dissonant brass and choral effects. Far more splashy is the
rolling, churning string rhythm that Elfman provides the Axis chemical
company, complete with tuba and bass bassoon for additional depth; the
style of this rolling rhythm (which quite well represents a
manufacturing atmosphere), with its frenetic variations in "First
Confrontation," strays the closest that Elfman came to the more colorful
comic book style that would prevail in
Dick Tracy the following
year. In this cue, Elfman also introduces a motif specifically for the
Joker's falling, an act that both creates and destroys the character.
The far more melodramatic performance of this motif, obviously, occurs
in "The Final Confrontation." As impressive as Elfman's themes for
Batman may be, the instrumental assignments and their
performances are even better. For many years, there was some controversy
over the roles that Steve Bartek and Shirley Walker played in the
orchestration and conducting of
Batman, specifically whether they
indeed deserve more credit for the success of the finished version of
the score than Elfman himself. Some in the establishment of the
composing industry simply did not believe that Elfman, an untrained
rocker, was capable of writing a score of this caliber, and just as they
had joked that William Ross had written much of
Beetlejuice
(rather than just conducting it), the same issue arose with
Batman. Bartek and others have reminded us, however, that Elfman
during this period refused to delegate writing duties and instead
insisted upon controlling the sound of the score in totality. As such,
Elfman has long been rather annoyed by the speculation that Bartek and
Walker contributed more than their documented roles to
Batman,
despite the acknowledged assistance they provided in shepherding the
inexperienced composer's music through challenging recording
circumstances. As testimony to Elfman's guiding hand in both scores,
Batman is much like
Beetlejuice in that its instrumental
creativity may be the most memorable aspect of the recording, despite
the catchiness of the title theme.
The orchestra's brass section for
Batman is handled
brilliantly, often performing in successive layers that treat normal
trumpet usage as a distinctly different layer as muted ones. The muted
trumpets in the score, though noirish in intent, seem like another
throwback to the techniques of Herrmann. A pipe organ often lends
overwhelming power to cues in a fashion far more forceful than in
Beetlejuice; it's used during all of the major crescendos
involving the title theme and understandably receives a prominent solo
role in "Up the Cathedral." Hints of the agonizing heroism of the organ
in this cue would be touched upon again by Elfman in his subsequent
music for
Darkman. The organ is also a staple of
Batman
Returns, though its application to the Penguin's material in the
sequel is extremely overbearing in the bass region; compared to its
clarity in
Batman, the organ in
Batman Returns may as well
have been cheaply synthesized. The piano reprises its role from
Beetlejuice and
Pee-wee's Big Adventure as well, mixed
with dry clarity at the forefront of the recording and often serving as
a rhythm-setter for the less bombastic cues. Cutting jabs on the piano
often do battle with the trumpets in those louder moments. Sorrowful
elegance results when the piano beautifully conveys the title theme in
"Beddy Bye." Whining violin solos also emphasize moments of lonely
sympathy, sometimes sickeningly when applied to the Joker. The choral
employment in
Batman is less obvious than it would be in
Batman Returns, often used as only an accent to orchestrally
robust cues. The two striking exceptions both involve scenes of nature;
in "Childhood Remembered," the choir offers disjointed and unsettling
ambience, though in "Descent into Mystery," a cue that stands out as a
highlight in the film, Elfman relies on the chanting of the voices (in
the style of Carl Orff, but not with the same resonance) to provide the
awe necessary to introduce the Kim Basinger's character to the mystique
of her winged savior. Together with the title theme, this cue is a
glorified advertisement for the batmobile (the scene is even shot like a
car commercial), and veteran Elfman collectors will hear similarities in
choral technique to
Scrooged here as well. Unfortunately, the
emphasis on the choir evident in the album mix of "Descent into Mystery"
is not utilized in the film, where the singers were somewhat dialed out
for apparently no good reason.
The most intriguing element in the score for
Batman
is easily the hyperactive percussion section. During the lengthier
performances of the title theme, including the credits pieces, you do
hear the stereotypical snare rhythms that you'd expect. But beyond that,
Elfman's use of drums is astoundingly dynamic. The composer incorporates
the percussionists as a bridge between his score and the few Prince
songs that made the film, and the mix of the drums specifically creates
an outstanding soundscape, especially for moments of rowdy Joker
behavior and the resulting havoc. The metallic percussion also is
significant, with cymbals and gong often performing in succession to
present ultra-cool transitions (no better is this utilized than at the
beginning of "Charge of the Batmobile"). With Gotham and its cathedral
hosting several tolling bells, Elfman typically returns to the banging
of chimes to emphasize a point in the plot. Always harmonious, these
clangs are a highlight of the conclusion of the cues "Attack of the
Batwing" (tolling away for the premature death of the flying machine)
and "Finale" (which uses them, along with organ and harp, to push the
envelope for unrestrained heroism in the genre). The harp provides
several lovely flourishes in the score, perhaps most notably in the
interludes of the end credits, though this contributor again suffers
from a generally poorer balance of all the elements in the film mix as
opposed to the album presentation. A handful of unique sound effects
(from either the percussion section or synthesizers) include the sound
of an aerosol can shaking in "Batman to the Rescue" and a fading steam
train whistle in "Attack of the Batwing." The aerosol can effect,
mimicking the spray-painting by the Joker's henchmen in the film,
borders on genius. In sum, an inspired performance by The Sinfonia of
London with Walker at the helm brings Elfman's best superhero score to
life. Some critics continue to lament that they hear pieces of Holst,
Orff, Strauss, and Wagner in
Batman (not to mention Herrmann, of
course), but Elfman packages all of the pieces of the score so well that
these influences don't hinder its effectiveness. In sales, the score
album has fare relatively well against Prince's hyped (and much better
promoted) song album despite being released six weeks later, and so
profound the score's legacy has been that it was the subject of one of
Scarecrow Press' Film Score Series of books, devoting an entire volume
to the analysis of just this score (and Prince's songs).
The legacy of Elfman's work for the
Batman
franchise remains untarnished despite Hans Zimmer's 2008 denouncement of
the classic 1989 title theme as "happy" and "jolly," a clear
misunderstanding of the incredibly dark and brooding applications of
Elfman's theme in most of the original film. Elfman's ability to leave
his theme in yearning flux (by dropping its sixth note) and balancing
major and minor-key progressions within its construct far better
represents the duality of Wayne than anything Zimmer has provided the
franchise. The long-standing 1989 Warner Brothers score-only album of 55
minutes for
Batman has served Elfman's music well, despite the
composer's negative opinion of it. Its mix often differed from that
heard in the film in terms of sound quality, section emphasis, and
edited arrangements. The most intriguing distinction comes from the fact
that the album has always presented a more powerful, vibrant mix of the
score than the film itself. This circumstance was made painfully clear
when La-La Land Records had to assemble the film version of the score
from three different sources to compile a decent presentation of its
entirety for a limited, 5,000-copy release of
Batman in 2010. For
some listeners, the most noticeable distinctions are the edits that the
score underwent when transferred to album, but for audiophiles, engineer
Shawn Murphy's resounding mix of the album version simply blows away the
film version without exception. La-La Land's 2-CD set contains the film
version of the score on the first CD and the album version on the
second, along with a variety of alternate takes and source music. The
Murphy mix of the album version is remastered for the 2010 product, but
there is no significant improvement on the already impressive sound of
the 1989 original. For those accustomed to this fuller, magnificent
version of the original album mix of
Batman, hearing the film
version will likely be a disappointment, highly reminiscent of the
muted, restricted soundscape of
Beetlejuice and, not
surprisingly,
Batman Returns (which La-La Land also tackled in
2010). The varying sources may be to blame for these extremely divergent
presentations, and it does bring into question whether the 2010 album is
worth its price for fans of the score. Complicating matters is the
release of the immense $500 set, "The Danny Elfman and Tim Burton 25th
Anniversary Music Box" in 2011, which itself contained a disparate,
expanded version of
Batman on its third CD.
Both the 2010 La-La Land album and the 2011
Elfman/Burton set contain interesting additional material not contained
on the original album, but those extra tracks are not identical. The
2011 set contains
Batman only on one CD, which means that it
could not provide all the extensive bonus cues of the La-La Land
product. It does, like many of the scores in that set, exhibit a
collection of worktape demos that show the music's evolution in
primitive form. But if you seek the most comprehensive presentation of
the film version of the score, the La-La Land album is clearly superior.
On that product, you'll best be able to appreciate nuggets like the
outstandingly restrained performances of the title theme in "Bat Zone"
and "Showdown I." The bonus tracks at the end of the second CD of that
album include two alternate versions of the overture, but with only
subtle changes. Ironically, the "Joker's Commercial" is the most
entertaining track (and far better in sound quality). The final track on
the 2010 album has a hidden recording at the end with the studio crew
seemingly drunkenly performing "Beautiful Dreamer" complete with
catcalls, testimony to the toll that long days of recording must take on
peoples' sanity. That album does have a curious editing defect that
fades out about five seconds in "Joker Flies to Gotham/Batwing I," and
that problem is solved by the bonus track on the 2011 set. Both products
feature the extended version of "Attack of the Batwing" that was missing
from the 1989 CD. It is clear that those who assembled the 2011 set
recognized that a presentation of
Batman as thorough as that on
the 2010 2-CD set was not possible, so there is really no intent to try
to match it. The mastering and mixing of the two products is slightly
different, however, and the only way to maximize your material from the
score is, unfortunately, to have both. When compared to the legacy of
the original album, the La-La Land product still didn't live up to the
hype that it initially generated because of the blatant sound quality
issues involving the film versions of the recording, and the 2011 set
suffers from the same concerns (as well as the detraction of failing to
provide a chronological presentation). Thankfully, La-La Land did
improve, though not spectacularly, the sound quality on a 2014 re-issue
of the same contents. As for the entirety of the score, while die-hard
Elfman fans continue to argue that the more varied and brooding sounds
of
Batman Returns are superior, the majority the mainstream
agrees that the original
Batman is a classic of such
accomplishment that none of the sequel scores (by any composer) can
compete. Dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight would never sound
so good again.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Danny Elfman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.16
(in 85 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.26
(in 146,742 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The sparse insert of the 1989 Warner album includes no extra information about
the score or film. The 2010 La-La Land album's insert contains an analysis of both, but
not as in-depth as expected and erroneous at times. The 2011 Warner set features some
notes from Elfman about his choices of music for inclusion on the product. The 2014 La-La
Land set's insert includes more detailed notes about both Elfman scores for the franchise.
