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This is why I think he's the most successful composer currently: because Hollywood filmmaking itself has become more homogenized and more like an assembly line. In that sense, he's the ideal composer for this time. He's efficient, he's a smart businessman, and he does what needs to be done for the projects he works on.
As a matter of taste, I can't say he really does anything for me, but I recognize his impact. You need only look over his filmography to see that he's also very talented. I find it odd that people defend him so ardently, though, like loving music is the same as cheering for a sports team. It's like going "Mozart never, Ravel forever!"
I enjoyed Zimmer's earlier Bruckheimer fare during the 90s because it was openly and honestly over-the-top, but the new stuff constantly gets puffed up and marketed as being "experimental" when it's easily replicated and conceived of by any amateur composer with a free virtual soundscape and percussion loop library from pretty much any sample library provider.
Not just fans (which is expected) but contemporary reviewers and his own coworkers defend him vehemently, while no other composer has a similar entourage of sycophants around them.
Every composer has their faults but Zimmer's puffery only makes his worse.
I'll point you to my custom cover art for his work on WW84:
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Not just fans (which is expected) but contemporary reviewers and his own coworkers defend him vehemently, while no other composer has a similar entourage of sycophants around them.
Yeah, this. And I love your “interview template” — LOL!
My favorite Zimmer is usually when he does smaller scale projects. Spanglish was an incredibly wonderful pleasant surprise some years back — but that’s not the sort of project he’s been getting lately.
Yavar
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I echo Thierry's thoughts--some of the artists that Zim has collaborated with over the years have produced some great stuff, specifically Powell and Mancina.
However...
Zim himself is boring. Just because somebody keeps getting work in Hollywood, this does not equate talent. It equates business acumen. Listening to a Zim score is like watching a Tom Cruise acting performance--you always know what you're gonna get. I can understand why directors might like this in music because it means they can keep a modicum of control over a creative process that is historically above their knowledge base, knowing that they're getting a composer who isn't going to come back with something completely avant guard and wrong for their vision. It probably minimizes the amount of "technical" conversations between the director and composer who can focus on the soft stuff like "feel" and "motivation."
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Ok, hands up who revived this dead duck? Lol.
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I don’t think it’s fair to say Zimmer is devoid of musical talent or interesting ideas, even though I do agree he’s overall been a detriment to film music. But I think in many ways he is the modern Dmitri Tiomkin: he has an even greater talent for self-promotion (and, to be fair, pleasing his collaborators), and that’s why he gets the attention and reputation.
Yavar
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Posted: |
May 12, 2021 - 6:17 PM
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By: |
Mephariel
(Member)
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I don’t think it’s fair to say Zimmer is devoid of musical talent or interesting ideas, even though I do agree he’s overall been a detriment to film music. But I think in many ways he is the modern Dmitri Tiomkin: he has an even greater talent for self-promotion (and, to be fair, pleasing his collaborators), and that’s why he gets the attention and reputation.
Yavar
No one says that Zimmer has no musical talent. He is a modestly talented composer.
(Hmm... a Dimitri Tiomkin without the melodies?)
I don’t think it’s fair to say Zimmer is devoid of musical talent or interesting ideas, even though I do agree he’s overall been a detriment to film music. But I think in many ways he is the modern Dmitri Tiomkin: he has an even greater talent for self-promotion (and, to be fair, pleasing his collaborators), and that’s why he gets the attention and reputation.
Yavar
No one says that Zimmer has no musical talent. He is a modestly talented composer.
(Hmm... a Dimitri Tiomkin without the melodies?)
I'll never understand the "without melodies" argument. If you make a list of composers who wrote memorable themes even in just the last 20 years, I think Zimmer is up there. Is just that along the way, Zimmer also wrote a lot of abstract music.
Zimmer is immensely talented. That is much clear. The fact that he is able write so many great scores without a formal music education speaks to that.
I think the question with Zimmer for me is, would he have had a better legacy if he spent all his time writing music that the film music community likes while sacrificing popularity.
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