Hanz Zimmer: The Dark Knight Soundtrack

Album: The Dark Knight (Soundtrack)

Composer: Hanz Zimmer

14 Songs 13 min

1: Why so Serious?:

It first sounds calm, like a summer breeze, then it turns into anarchy, like riots, then it settles down for a bit, like something held at bay. It goes up again like more anarchy, then settles down. This happens throughout the song, keeping similar intensity. Even as it gets less loud, it still keeps the intensity, especially with that bass. I felt it pulse around. It is so intense can feel it. I heard and can tell a detuned piano, violin, bass, drums, and string bass.

2: I'm Not a Hero:

You can tell this is a transition between scenes because there is no pause from the first song. Now, some of the music is fighting, and suspense. The music is similar to a predator, like a cougar, hunting prey.

3: Harvey Two-Face:

The beginning sounds heroic, like hope. It then turns into a blend of hope and sadness. It slowly turns into more intensity, like a fight, or something happening. Then saddness befalls again. One of these three are throughout. There is string basses, brasses, cellos, etc. It changes key.

4: Aggressive Expansion:

This immediately turns into aggressiveness type intensity. Then it gets quieter but still holds the intensity, as if a problem is getting larger. My thinking is like a pandemic. It gets more and more out of hand as time goes on.

5: Always a Catch:

Anarchy starts, and it increases in how bad it is. It then changes completely, like a scene change.

6: Blood on My Hands:

There is hope to stop the riots and violence across the city, it sounds like. Like good forces join together in alliance.

7: A Little Push:

The violence gets worse in the city, and people start being killed for no reason. Little children always get the worst of it, as a number of things happen, including abuse, torture, etc.

8: Like a Dog Chasing Cars:

This was in D minor. By the instrumentation, it is like a chase, the same a hunt for the lead anarchist. Near the end of the song, it suddenly sounds like a hip hop beat, but there is still something being hunted.

9: I am the Batman:

This was like a leadership/heroic song. It then starts to turn into another burst of riots during the last third.

10: And I Thought My Jokes Were Bad:

The burst continues until the last third, when it turns into something else, when it turns into more violence.

11: Agent of Chaos:

This sounds like another fight going on. It escalates and settles during the song. The last bit of it turns into calm, sadness, hope, and love.

12: Introduce a Little Anarchy:

It kicks off with anarchy. It gets worse during the song. It sounds as if it was planned too. The anarchy, the terror, the riots, all planned. As if someone is calling the shots.

13: Watch the World Burn:

It starts of with quiet anarchy, as if something horrendous is under the horizon. Over the course of the song, it starts to surface. At the end it really comes out, then goes away.

14: A Dark Knight:

The buildup starts again. Some of it is hope, as if the good is going to come out. It then turns into fighting between good and evil. This happened throughout the song.

Thoughts:

The movie was somewhat similar and different to what I wrote above. In the beginning, it was a buildup of unrest and anarchy. I believe it was the first song because I remember the sound of it and it's buildup. All of it is accompanied by the music and without it, the movie does not have as much depth or fullness hearing wise. The music adds to the movie greatly because it has more emotion in the movie with the music. None of it was really sad, but all of it really intense. The intensity is kept throughout the entire movie.