Count me in for all of Zimmer's eras. It has always been music to my ears. Paperhouse is a favorite; Black Rain is a favorite; The Power of One is a favorite; Toys is a favorite; Broken Arrow is a favorite; The Peacemaker is a favorite; The Thin Red Line is a favorite; The Ring is a favorite; Black Hawk Down is a favorite; King Arthur is a favorite; Inception is a favorite; The Dark Knight Rises is a favorite; Man of Steel is a favorite; Interstellar is a favorite; WW84 is a favorite; Dune is a favorite; yadda yadda. Why limit what I enjoy?
This - without him being a genuine favourite there aren’t any eras that I can point to and prefer more than others. Seems pretty facile to be honest to say “I liked him up to 19xx but he was crap after that”. Interstellar is brilliant, for example and Dune worked really well in the film.
100%. Zimmer's music varied throughout the years so how certain films or film periods are magic stopping points never made sense to me.
I suspect it has less to do with his music and more to do with him being mega-successful after the 2000s. A lot of traditional music fans can't stand his popularity.
I think Zimmer in his early years was really innovative. His favorite works of mine all come from his earlier years.
Broken Arrow, Backdraft The Rock, Rain Man, Drop Zone, Lion King, Crimson Tide, True Romance, Days of Thunder, and more are all great work.
I am still a big fan of his works from the 2000s to now. But there is a magic to those 1980s and 1990s scores. Some of that magic may just be my childhood connection to these movies.
I always found Broken Arrow to be a really innovative above the others. I just found it to be incredibly unique, heart pounding, and action packed. Drop Zone is like this to, but Broken Arrow took it to a whole other level. I wish he did more scores like Broken Arrow today.
I'll never forget hearing WITNESS in 1985 with synths among the Amish courtesy of Jarre, and then DRIVING MISS DAISY in 1989, and thinking, "That's the end of decent and appropriate film music." I haven't changed my opinion much since then.
I suspect it has less to do with his music and more to do with him being mega-successful after the 2000s. A lot of traditional music fans can't stand his popularity.
Absolutely, hence my previous comment, seems that a lot of people don’t like his later works on principle!
Much bigger fan of his earlier, more melodious work. A League of Their Own expanded/C&C is top of my grail list for film scores.
I would add Cool Runnings to that list. What a great score! I listened a suite on Youtube. I really enjoyed The House of Spirits. If anyone interested here is an hour long documentary on Zimmer (with cigarette) on his career from 1995. I am sure it was posted here before, but nonetheless this fits this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-bwFrhRatE&ab_channel=DarthLordRaven
This - without him being a genuine favourite there aren’t any eras that I can point to and prefer more than others. Seems pretty facile to be honest to say “I liked him up to 19xx but he was crap after that”. Interstellar is brilliant, for example and Dune worked really well in the film.
100%. Zimmer's music varied throughout the years so how certain films or film periods are magic stopping points never made sense to me.
I suspect it has less to do with his music and more to do with him being mega-successful after the 2000s. A lot of traditional music fans can't stand his popularity.
Don't agree. While it isn't a case of liking them up to 19xx and hating them afterwards, we all have preferences. Some prefer the early Jerry Goldsmith scores, some prefer the later Woody Allens, some prefer Picasso's blue period. Especially if the music (or whatever kind of art) varied throughout the years, as it inevitably will because the musician (or whatever kind of artist) cannot help but vary throughout the years. If Zimmer's music hadn't varied over the years, if every new score still sounded like either GREEN CARD or DROP ZONE (depending on what genre he was scoring that month) then certain films being stopping points wouldn't make any sense.
The idea that it's anything to do with how successful he was is dubious as well. Did we all go off John Williams when he was on that roll of SUPERMAN, STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES and ET? Did we all start hating John Barry for yet another James Bond score or yet another Academy Award? It's true that I don't generally like Zimmer's more recent works, such as MAN OF STEEL or THE DARK KNIGHT, but that's nothing to do with their success.
My Zimmer preference is for the earlier scores, and looking at the list of films he's scored his prime decade was the 1990s. Not exclusively: I like 1989's BLACK RAIN, there are some major pre-2000 titles that I don't care for (I still think CRIMSON TIDE is utterly uninteresting) and I rather liked CHAPPIE, a full fifteen years after that vague and prehaps arbitrary cut-off. My personal theory is that back in ye olden days of BROKEN ARROW and K2 and DAYS OF THUNDER Hans Zimmer was a fresh and different sound, whereas today the prevailing style seems deliberately designed to sound like the modern Zimmer, so he doesn't stand out any more.
The other factor, of course, is that we change as well: we mature and change and our tastes develop over the decades. None of us are the same person we were thirty years ago: how could we be? And as a great man once said: if you think at fifty exactly as you did at twenty, then you've wasted the last thirty years of your life.
If Zimmer's music hadn't varied over the years, if every new score still sounded like either GREEN CARD or DROP ZONE (depending on what genre he was scoring that month) then certain films being stopping points wouldn't make any sense.
The idea that it's anything to do with how successful he was is dubious as well. Did we all go off John Williams when he was on that roll of SUPERMAN, STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES and ET? Did we all start hating John Barry for yet another James Bond score or yet another Academy Award? It's true that I don't generally like Zimmer's more recent works, such as MAN OF STEEL or THE DARK KNIGHT, but that's nothing to do with their success.
I agree with this. Zimmer's music has pretty distinctive periods of style shifts, just like other composers. John Williams is a great example of a composer who is generally beloved but his style noticeably shifted in the 90s and some people didn't like that. It doesn't mean there isn't an occasional snippet of music that might be enjoyable outside the preferred period. It's the same as people not being into the "Golden Age" or "Silver Age" because they don't like the sound. Not EVERY score from those periods sounds the same and some sound surprisingly modern, but it's a reasonable assertion to make as in general each period is broadly distinctive.
To the person who mentioned WITNESS as being a disappointment, I do recall the music being quite bland but found it very effective in the film. Usually synths can be interchangeable but I thought it perfectly fit what the film had.
Unfortunatelly I am not a Zimmer fan. I like some themes from some of his scores like Driving Miss daisy , Rainman, The peacemaker, Da vinci code, Lion king...My main problem is Remote control productions that was founded way back in 1989. Zimmer is more Zimmer Inc than a composer IMHO. Why I feel this way? When I started my journey in film music back in 1988 with great film composers (Rozsa, Williams, Korngold, Goldsmith) I found out that the classical music world considered film music inferior music. Ben Hur, El Cid, Superman, Planet of the Apes, Sea Hawk were considered works of lesser quality. Through the years I saw that opinion change, especially with the help of my favourite composer John Williams. Was so glad to see that happen. And now most film music is written by a team of composers with a mentor that gets the credit and all the others are mentioned in small letters inside the booklet of the cd or the end credits. So it is fair that the classical music world can now dismiss film music as inferior and maybe just consider some film music works as exceptional especially films from the past. Another complaint of mine is the orchestration and the themes nowadays. Most scores sound the same and very few good themes and action tracks are exceptional. Well I have to blame Goldsmith and Williams for that. I mean Zimmer and all his composers just never wrote IMHO an action cue in the artistry level of Goldsmith. They never will.
The other factor, of course, is that we change as well: we mature and change and our tastes develop over the decades. None of us are the same person we were thirty years ago: how could we be? And as a great man once said: if you think at fifty exactly as you did at twenty, then you've wasted the last thirty years of your life.
I'll never forget hearing WITNESS in 1985 with synths among the Amish courtesy of Jarre, and then DRIVING MISS DAISY in 1989, and thinking, "That's the end of decent and appropriate film music." I haven't changed my opinion much since then.
So two scores were all it took for you to state that it was The End?
Backdraft was the score that introduced me to Zimmer and still remains one of my favorite scores of his. Broken Arrow came out when I was in college, and I remember friends of mine that weren't into film music loving that score (and Rudy). A League of Their Own deserves an expansion, and Cool Runnings needs a proper score release too. Both are great scores. There was something special about Zimmer's early work that was highly innovative and memorable. That's why I loved the recent WW84 score so much because it felt like a throwback to some of his more melodic scores.
I really liked him a LOT when I first heard him, to the point where I was looking for his name (and for years thought he composed Con Air).
But, his scores I really like from those earlier days are Radio Flyer, Black Rain, Drop Zone, Crimson Tide, The Rock and the theme from Space Rangers were all great. I really enjoyed his combo of synth and orchestra and though his rock licks were a fun addition to my usual playlists.
Now, the scores he does which are to my taste are less frequent, but they do exist. Man of Steel is a good listen and I really love the score to Amazing Spider-Man 2. Dark Phoenix has some wonderful minutes but there's a lot of droning. Inception is a masterwork and I really, really like No Time To Die. As I said in the other thread, a lot of it depends on who he's working with.
Honestly, my issues with him are probably just a prejudice. Because when I actually listen to the scores which appeal to my taste, they're usually excellent. I try to do better.
My vocal participation in the "How can you guys not like Zimmer" thread not-withstanding, I do have fond memories of THE LION KING cassette from childhood and I always really liked the atmosphere he created in PACIFIC HEIGHTS.
Strange that people are talking about his 90s work as "early years". For me, they're the pinnacle or heights of his musical powers.
Early years would be the 80s for me, pre-RAIN MAN. A lot of it is hit and miss, but some true gems to be found, like the Nicholas Roeg movies he did with Stanley Myers.
