Oscar award winning composer Hans Zimmer makes another masterpiece with his latest project Inception. Zimmer has composed some very epic pieces for big blockbuster movies and Inception is no different. He has revealed that the entire Inception score came from Édith Piaf's 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien. This is the song that is played when the characters of the film must awake and break out of the dream state. Zimmer said "All the music in the score is subdivisions and multiplications of the tempo of the Édith Piaf track. So I could slip into half-time; I could slip into a third of a time. Anything could go anywhere. At any moment I could drop into a different level of time."
The score has a very heroic feel. It definitely makes you feel that you are involved in something larger than life. Inception being the kind of complex movie it is the score does a good job of keeping pace with the film. You can imagine the buildings collapsing and the uncertainty of reality. The most powerful track would have to be time. This track starts off very slow and as the track progresses the music begins to crescendo and captures you. It feels as if you are struggling towards a goal trying your hardest to reach your destination but it seems out of reach. Zimmer does an amazing job of balancing the tone between ominous and hopeful. After a huge build up towards the end of the piece the music hits a fortissimo piano. The last few seconds are made up of only single keystrokes. Time is very appropriately played during the very last scene of the film. It leaves you questioning what you've seen and/or what you felt but is also gives you a sense of certainty and hope for what you've seen and/or felt.
I think you did an amazing job accurately showcasing Zimmer's most recent masterpiece. Even outlining one of the tracks can't really show it's true weight to the reader. The back story into the album and it's structure compared to the Édith Piaf track made for an interesting commentary on the originality of his work.
ReplyDeleteI had difficulty figuring out what the title of the song was called. I think it is called "Time". It would have been nice if you emphasized the title. The way you described the music was amazing. But for some people the vocabulary (while nice for those who understand musical terms)might have made it difficult to know what was actually going on in the music. I am just saying this if you want your audience to be general or specific.
ReplyDeleteRelating the film to the score is a very easy way to get the feel and style of the soundtrack across, and the research that went into the theory behind the composition of the music was super interesting and useful for the review.
ReplyDeleteGood job, you made a good argument for a piece of music you obviously like a lot. There were some redundant sentences, and there didn't seem to be much of a structure to your writing style, but you still got the points across. Also, you may wanted to describe more of the songs. I liked the description of time, but Id like to hear your thoughts on other songs.
ReplyDeleteI've seen Inception already and I've never really bad much attention to the type of music that was playing in the movie. After reading this, I can capture that scene that you are describing as they must wake up from the dream state when their in the van and the part where the buildings are collapsing. Even if I had not seen the movie before hand, I could imagine what kind of image you're describing here with Zimmer's music.
ReplyDeleteOriginal idea reviewing a score for a movie. I like that you described the score as heroic and being involved in something larger than life. It gives a good idea into how powerful the score must feel along and how it adds to the suspense of the movie.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked Hans Zimmer's music, and I think you've acurately portrayed it here, especially describing the feeling of his work. I like how specific you were in describing the music with the musical terms-it made it easier for me to understand what you were describing.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting review. I honestly never paid too much attention to movies sound tracks before. I haven't seen Inception and have no desire too but I['m interested in the sound track.
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