Batman: Original Motion Picture Score [SOUNDTRACK]

Danny Elfman, Batman (Related Recordings)

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 2, 1989)
• Original Release Date: August 8, 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002LIM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,697 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elfman meets Batman, January 19, 2005

By	Bruce Aguilar (Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Undoubtably my favorite Elfman score. It's dark, mysterious, gothic and operatic yet playful and touching too. This isn't your typical action adventure film score. "Childhood Remembered" starts off quiet and mysterious and carries you along until you reach the unerving ending. I get chills most every time I listen to it. Very creepy stuff. Then you get big operatic tracks like "First Confrontation" and action-packed tracks like "Attack of the Batwing." Somehow Elfman manages to keep all of this sounding fresh and give it his own personal falir. Never do you have a sence of been there, done that with this score. His sound in these days was very distinct something that he's strayed from in recent films.

For fans of Elfman, Batman, gothic music and/or film scores this is something that should not be passed up. A distinctive one-of-a-kind find.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extremely powerful and heroic score, January 1, 2003

By	Brandon Cutro (Tyler, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the best work of Danny Elfman and contains one of the best themes for a superhero out there. The music is bold, brassy, heroic, mighty, and percussive. It contains outstanding orchestral music that soars and never lets up. The Batman march is an extraordinary work that is used in almost every action cue, when Batman does something heroic. The music is mainly dark and gothic, which represents the dark knight and Gotham City perfectly. The dark, ominous music which is mixed with child-like rhythms and awesome action and adventurous music makes this score an incredible and thrilling ride. The action music really shines in "Roof Fight", "First Confrontation", "Batman to the Rescue", "Charge of the Batmobile", "Attack of the Batwing", "Up the Cathedral", and "The Final Confrontation". The love theme is also good and includes bits and pieces of Prince's song "Scandalous", which can also be found in "Kitchen, Surgery, Face-Off" and one tiny part of "Finale". "Beautiful Dreamer" by Stephen Foster is thrown in the score in various parts, such as "Photos/Beautiful Dreamer" (you think!), "Finale", and a tiny snippet if you listen closely toward the end of "Final Confrontation". The Joker's theme is a comedic like waltz that shows off the funny side of the villain. "Descent Into Mystery" contains great choral passages, along with wonderful string work and an explosion of the main theme. "Finale" is one of the best finales I have ever heard in a film score. It is powerful, awesome, mighty, bold, noble, and heroic. We are finally left with the "Batman Theme Reprise" which states his musical voice one last time. This is a truly awesome score that is without a doubt, one of the best and most powerful scores out there.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the classics - Elfman at his best, February 13, 2001

By	Joshua Kaufman (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(Prenote: For some reason, Amazon decided to link this, the score album, with the song album. They do this sometimes when something has more than one edition, however in this case they are not the same at all. This is the score CD, comtaining Danny Elfman's BGM to the film, while the other contains Prince's songs )

Back in 1989, director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman teamed up for thier third film, an adaptation of the legendary comic book hero, Batman. They decided to go a totally different route from the 60s TV series, with a dark and gothic setting. It worked. Well. A big part of its success is the wonderful music Elfman wrote for the film.

The music starts off with what has now become the signature theme for Batman. It's a wonderful theme that instantly gets stuck in your head once you hear it. Over the course of the CD, it's played many times. The overall atmosphere of the music is dark, but that never stops it from being forceful and exiting.

Other notible tracks in the score include the wonderful 'Waltz to the Death' representing the Joker, some brilliant choral work in 'Decent Into Madness', and even a quote from the Stephen Foster song, 'Beautiful Dreamer'. But beyond these highly memorable and wonderful tracks there are plenty of great moments, with almost no dullness in between. Perhaps the best moment is in 'Finale', which is so grand and wonderful, you can't help but smile.

Overall, this CD is a must have. It's a classic that will live on after many others are forgotten, and it's still a prime example of what Elfman can do when he puts his mind to it.