Gladiator is in many ways a traditional Zimmer action score, with its brass fanfares, synths, predictable rhythms, and long cues (or in this case, the entire soundtrack is mixed to flow from cue to cue without any breaks). To provide softer and more etheral moments, Zimmer collaborated with Dead Can Dance founder Lisa Gerrard, whose vocal contributions can be heard in cues like "Sorrow," "Reunion" and "Now We Are Free" among others. These vocals create a kind of Arabian sound to the score, although by now such vocals are becoming more and more like a cliché in Hollywood (think about Troy?). Other contributions include the duduk solos by the instrumentalist Djivan Gasparyan in the cue "To Zucchabar" and additional material written by Klaus Badelt. Also there are extensive quotations of "Mars, the Bringer of War" from Gustav Holst's The Planets Suite (one of the most over-plagiarised pieces of classical music in the movie industry), along with distinctive derivations of Wagner, like the "Natur-Motiv" from Das Rheingold
in "The Might of Rome" and Siegfried's Funeral March from Götterdämmerung in "Am I Not Merciful" that also features the oft-quoted Dies Irae sequence from the Latin Requiem Mass (though without words). I could even hear certain similarities with the music of Vangelis, most notably 1492: Conquest of Paradise (also a Ridley Scott film), which was built in a very similar fashion on album and also consisted of almost entirely of synthesizers (temp tracking anyone?).
From this we can already deduce that the score for Gladiator is not highly original. In fact, much of Zimmer's music often seems to bare a great resemblance with his previous scores, like The Rock, Backdraft, The Peacemaker and The Thin Red Line, among many others and Gladiator is no exception. The noble and sad main theme sounds a lot like something out of Backdraft, the vocals closely resemble The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt, and the grand action cues could well be from The Peacemaker or The Rock. However, resemblances towards other scores have never been a problem for me. If the score works in the film and is entertaining to listen to, what does it really matter if the music isn't that original. But the feel of a temp track does remain.
As I have said before, the score relies heavily on synths, that can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the subject of the film. In this case I would have opted for a more orchestral approach, with the electronics providing textural backing. As it is, the hard, metallic edge of the electronics can be a little too overbearing and annoying at times. As a notable exception, the cue "Patricide" offers a very string-heavy elegy with no synth-backing, and I find this to really give the music a more emotionally weighty feeling than anything else in the rest of the score. The two great action-set pieces, "The Battle" and "Barbarian Horde" (both reaching the length of 10 minutes) are of course highlights of the album (even with the Holst quotations) and the final four tracks are truly magical. An adult chorus is used in a few places, most notably in "The Might of Rome" and "Am I Not Merciful?" cues, that creates much power to the music. The final "Now We Are Free" cue is also nice, but sounds somewhat out of place with its pop rhythms.
Now, despite my apparent criticisms of Gladiator, and it's composer, I have to say that I enjoy the score very much. It does have its fair share of problems, but there are a number of appealing melodies, rousing excitement, and, as a whole, is very well balanced between the differing styles of Zimmer and Gerrard, never sounding mixed. And, when compared to the more subtle and elusive The Last Samurai of 2003, Gladiator is really a more flavoursome score. If the hardness of Zimmer's synthesizers doesn't bother you, Gladiator is a very rewarding score in the end. As per the popularity of Gladiator, a second CD, "More Music from Gladator," was also released shortly after that included alternate takes, demo recordings, accidents, dialogue and others such features. This second CD is only for die-hard Gladiator and Zimmer fans and offers nothing really interesting for the average Joe.
1. Progeny (2:15) 2. The Wheat* (1:03) 3. The Battle (10:02) 4. Earth (3:02) 5. Sorrow*** (1:26) 6. To Zucchabar**** (3:16) 7. Patricide (4:08) 8. The Emperor is Dead*** (1:21) 9. The Might of Rome (5:18) 10. Strength and Honor (2:10) 11. Reunion*** (1:14) 12. Slaves to Rome (1:00) 13. Barbarian Horde (10:33) 14. Am I Not Merciful? (6:33) 15. Elysium*** (2:41) 16. Honor Him (1:20) 17. Now We Are Free** (4:14)
Music Composed by Hans Zimmer, except:
Written by Lisa Gerrard
* Written by Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard and Klaus Badelt
** Written by Lisa Gerrard and Klaus Badelt
*** Written by Hans Zimmer and Djivan Gasparyan
Technical data: Score Performed by The Lyndhurst Orchestra Conducted by Gavin Greenaway Featured Performers: Lisa Gerrard, vocals; Heitor Pereira, guitars; Djivan Gasparyan, Duduk; Tony Pleeth, solo cello; Maurice Murphy, solo trumpet Orchestrated by Bruce Fowler, Yvonne S. Moriarty, Walt Fowler, Ladd McIntosh, Elizabeth Finch and Jack Smalley Recorded and Mixed by Alan Meyerson at Air Studios Lyndhurst, London Edited by Adam Smalley
Advantages: Beautiful, stunning, atmospheric soundtrack; fits in perfectly with the film; excellent album in its own right, regardless of what you think of the film Disadvantages: A bit short at only 61 minutes
Collingwood21 28.11.2002 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Gladiator - Soundtrack
Advantages: Its stirring, emotional and all blended together seamlessly Disadvantages: Surely there could be more- I hear rumours of a second CD so maybe there is
Advantages: Beautiful, stunning, atmospheric soundtrack; fits in perfectly with the film; excellent album in its own right, regardless of what you think of the film Disadvantages: A bit short at only 61 minutes
Collingwood21 28.11.2002 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Gladiator - Soundtrack
Advantages: Its stirring, emotional and all blended together seamlessly Disadvantages: Surely there could be more- I hear rumours of a second CD so maybe there is
Aug 6th, 2004
very helpful by (100%):
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