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Hi, all.
Not sure if this has already been posted, but if you listen carefully to the first 30 seconds or so of this Mindseye Films ‘making-of’ for Batman ’89, there appears to be an alternate take on the Main Theme…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0rujArU3il8&fmt=18
…Does anyone know if Danny Elfman composed this also? Either way, it sounds great!
This was mentioned in a previous thread when that video was first posted here, and yes, it is pretty cool! If I had my way, and were in charge of an expanded ’89 soundtrack, this would be on there.
OK, so I did some digging, and with the help of one of my good buddies and an esteemed member of this forum, I contacted editor Hubert de La Bouillerie, who was one of two editors of the “Making A Hero” BATMAN documentary. My e-mail:
“Dear Hubert, please excuse my intrusion, but I was hoping you could help. My name is Ryan Keaveney and I run [boastful description removed!] Danny Elfman website (http://elfman.filmmusic.com/). Elfman of course wrote the music for BATMAN in 1989, and you worked as an editor on a rare documentary on the making of the film (“The Making of A Hero”). There are a great deal of people who are wondering where the music in the opening of the documentary comes from (it sounds like it comes from the score, but it doesn’t appear in the film). I know it’s been almost 20 years, but I’m hoping that you might recall, or even have the music in your possession.
The opening can be viewed here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0rujArU3il8&fmt=18
Thank you for your time. It is greatly appreciated!
Best regards,
Ryan Keaveney
http://elfman.filmmusic.com”Hubert was gracious enough to reply just little while longer with more info:
“Ryan,
No intrusion happy to help. How you found out I cut this is unbelievable. I had long forgotten about it. John Peters brought all the material from London and I cut it over an extended weekend at Warners. I was also cutting Tango and Cash for Jon and Peter at the time, so it was a little crazy. But my memory was that it all came from London and the music was part of the original score. Hope that helps. (We did a dub at Warner, it’s possible all that material is still in the vaults at Warners. We were pretty methodical about boxing everything.) The only other person that could help you is Jon, it was his project, he might now were the original material is.
Hope that helps.
HB”So while we don’t necessarily know what the piece of music is, we know for sure that it is from the original score elements. It is not plucked from a library nor is it original material for the documentary itself. very cool!
Now, who has a contact for Jon Peters?
It does sound very Elfman-y. However, the brass sounds a lot more like Shirley Walker than anything Elfman.
See, (start at 2:32):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppkeNtYRCvU&feature=related
At any event, the way the percussion crescendos in the “making of” video, it might be an alternate main title, but to the best of my recollection, Elfman doesn’t write brass the way it’s heard in the “making of” video.
Wow, what a fantastic response! Cheers!
I remember catching the documentary in the UK when I was about four. Am I right in saying, a high quality version has not yet been released on-line, or for DVD? Shame if it hasn’t.
To me it sounds like Elfman. The first bit reminds me of the extended ending to “First Confrontation”, finished with what sounds like the melody and brass idea from “Up The Cathedral”.
Agreed, but this new theme also has an *additional quality* that I can’t quite seem to place… Hmm.
BTW – Proof that Elfman’s music fits pretty much anywhere
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kik_AmZ1ASw&fmt=18Dude, you think that theme is better than the one that was actually used? Or do you even have an opinion?
I don’t think it’s a matter of which theme is better. To me it’s fascinating just to hear this piece of music and wonder what it’s for. The BATMAN score is my all-time favorite. It was the score that got me interested in film music as a kid (and I’m not talking about discovering it on video, I’m talking 1989, in a movie theater here). Every little bit of info I can find or learn about this score is an absolute thrill. So I don’t believe anyone is rating this mystery theme as better, they’re probably just interested and excited, like me!
It’s definitely intriguing, but I don’t think it’s an “alternate” theme. I’m thinking it was originally part of the score, then he had to rescore the part due to added or cut scenes. The piece could be a mish-mash of a couple of different pieces, too. Alternate theme, though? I doubt it, considering the established theme is pretty bloody brilliant.
By the way, I just saw Dark Knight, and I heard a couple of cues that sounded like they would take off into “Decent into Mystery”. I guess Elfman just hit the proverbial nail on the head the first time, eh?
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