Elfman: Batman Returns Flashcards
When was Batman Returns released?
1992
Through the score, what 3 themes reoccur?
Batman’s theme
Catwoman’s theme
The Penguin’s theme
To perhaps reflect the theme of Batman Returns that all 3 main characters has suffered some great trauma, what has been done?
The 3 themes are all very similar melodically (visually look at them)
How do the 3 themes differ?
Orchestration
Rhythm
How is Batman’s theme unique?
Brass instruments to portray Batman
How is Catwoman’s theme unique?
Catwoman portrayed by slinky string sounds with…
High glissandi
Dissonant clusters
How is The Penguin’s theme unique?
Most theatrical:
Often using…
A chorus of voices
Pipe organ
Full orchestra
How is the mood of ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 1’ reflected as the wealthy Cobblepots abandon their baby?
Chilling way the soundtrack opens:
Low notes on organ (instrument associated with the Penguin, religious, expensive like parents)
=> threat and danger
The ‘Batman’ theme heard on horns over the top
How is innocence suggested in comparison to threat and danger in ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 1’?
Children’s voices
Music-box quality of the celesta
What is happening musically during the shot of Penguin disappearing into the sewer in ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 1’?
A two-bar coda
What is the two-bar coda in ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 1’ written for?
Harp
Low strings
What does the cue ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 2’ accompany?
Film’s main titles
What happens when the film’s title appears in ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 2’?
When does this happen?
Triumphant C major chord
Followed by a militaristic version of the ‘Batman’ theme
Bar 21
Describe the atmosphere of ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 2’
Melodramatic
Portentous
What adds to the dark, troubled atmosphere of ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 2’?
Use of predominantly low orchestral sounds
Frequent key changes
What happens to create an almost sigh like or sound of comfort in ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 2’?
When?
Falling minor third pattern in the voices
Bar 55
How does ‘Batman vs the Circus’ open?
What happens on screen?
What happens musically then?
Quietly in low strings
Batman signal sent to alert Batman of danger in Gotham city
Batman’s theme on brass
Over a long crescendo
What happens a bar 13 of ‘Batman vs the Circus’?
Less sinister
More cartoonish with ‘oom-pah-pah’ style trombones
How is the the threatening atmosphere kept in ‘Batman vs the Circus’?
Allusion to murder scene in Psycho in violins, bar 25
Describe the music in ‘Batman vs the Circus’ from bar 26
Manic
Fast
Lively
What happens at bar 26 of ‘Batman vs the Circus’?
Start of madcap xylophone solo
Give two examples of the orchestral effects in ‘Batman vs the Circus’
Trumpet extreme lip trill (bars 50-51)
Oboe extremely wide vibrato (bars 57-58)
What unusual instruments are used in ‘Batman vs the Circus’?
Fairground steam organ
Swannee whistle
What contributes to the unsettling nature of ‘Batman vs the Circus’?
Changing time signatures throughout
What does ‘The Rise and Fall From Grace’ begin with?
New theme in cello and basses
In ‘The Rise and Fall From Grace’ what accompanies appearances of Catwoman?
Harp glissando leads to high-pitched violins
What is heard beneath the new theme and appearances of Catwoman in ‘The Rise and Fall From Grace’?
Penguin’s theme on harp and organ
At bar 20 of ‘The Rise and Fall From Grace’, what solo appears?
What theme is this related to?
A jokey accordion solo
Features music related to the Penguin’s theme in the bass
At bar 30 and onwards, what references ‘Birth of a Penguin Part 1’?
The celesta
Describe the theme that appears in bar 47 of ‘The Rise and Fall From Grace’?
Pompous
C minor
What does the theme from bar 47 SUDDENLY change to in ‘The Rise and Fall From Grace’?
What effect does this create?
3 bars (50-52) based on a whole tone scale
Unsettling
What key does ‘The Rise and Fall From Grace’ end in?
Triumphant C major
