CD 1
1. Opening Titles/Young Bruce Falls (2:02)
2. Prison Nightmare (1:02)
3. Meeting Ducard (1:58)
4. The Long Walk (2:22)
5. Monastery (2:45)
6. Father to the Rescue (2:11)
7. Bruce’s Discomfort (0:35)
8. Mugging (Part 1) (1:16)
9. Mugging (Part 2)/Gordon Comforts Bruce (2:48)
11. Campfire/Bruce Goes Home (3:26)
12. Courthouse (Part 1) (2:38)
13. Your System is Broken (0:55)
14. Meeting Falcone (3:08)
16. Hide in the Dark (2:59)
17. Initiation Into League/Temple Fight/Saving Ducard (6:27)
18. Return to Gotham (0:51)
19. Crane Warns Rachel A (0:58)
20. Crane Warns Rachel B (1:19)
21. The Bat Cave (2:59)
22. Wayne Enterprises (1:24)
23. Prototypes (1:38)
25. Batman Visits Gordon (1:10)
26. I Need You at the Docks/Why Bats? (2:33)
27. Dockyard Ambush (3:07)
28. Rachel Attacked (2:22)
29. Microwave Stolen (1:24)
30. Meeting Rachel (1:36)
CD 2
1. Gordon at Home (1:25)
2. Batman On Fire (2:31)
4. Fox is Fired (1:11)
5. Making Medicine (4:08)
6. Fight in Crane’s Lab (4:59)
7. Back Up (1:32)
8. Batmobile Chase (4:59)
9. Rachel in Bat Cave (1:24)
10. Your Father’s Name (0:55)
11. Crane Interrogated (0:32)
13. Ducard and Gotham’s Fate/Bruce Left For Dead (6:37)
14. Rachel Gives Gordon the Antidote (3:30)
15. Batman Arrives (2:27)
16. Batman Rescues Rachel/Fight With League (2:53)
17. Final Confrontation (1:18)
19. Danger Over (0:52)
20. Surveying the Ruins (3:19)
21. Gordon Says Thanks (1:49)
22. End Credits (9:01)
23. Batman Theme (3:16)
CD 3
1. Prison Nightmare (Alt.) (1:02)
2. Monastery (Alt.) (2:44)
3. Father to the Rescue (Alt.) (2:11)
4. Mugging (Part 1) (Alt.) (1:06)
5. Mugging (Part 2)/Gordon Comforts Bruce (Alt.) (2:49)
6. Training (Alt. 1) (2:58)
7. Training (Alt. 2) (2:51)
8. Campfire (Alt. 1) (3:27)
9. Campfire (Alt. 2) (3:27)
10. Your System is Broken (Alt.) (0:54)
11. Meeting Falcone (Alt.) (3:09)
12. Decision (Alt.) (2:30)
13. Crane Warns Rachel A (Alt.) (0:58)
14. Crane Warns Rachel B (Alt.) (1:19)
15. Preparing Equipment (Alt.) (1:53)
16. I Need You at the Docks/Why Bats? (Alt.) (2:33)
17. Batman on Fire (Alt.) (2:26)
18. Batmobile Chase (Alt.) (4:50)
19. Gordon Says Thanks (Alt.) (1:49)
20. Original End Credits (7:15)
In 2005, composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard contributed to the complete reboot of one of DC's most iconic superheros, Batman. Christopher Nolan, who helmed the project, went in a completely different direction for the new Batman film along with David S. Goyer. Together, they penned a gritty and realistic script; a treatment in which Batman had arguably never gotten before.
In the film, Bruce Wayne, a brooding man with a troubled past, confused present, and unsure future, is found in a foreign prison by a mysterious figure who calls himself "Henri Ducard". Ducard, seeing that Wayne has completely lost himself from the billionaire lifestyle he was destined to inherit, offers him a path as a member of "the League of Shadows". Bruce reluctantly accepts and journeys to the desolate monastery of the league, and thus begins his training to become a member.
Along the way, Ducard as well as the audience is enlightened to just what happened in Bruce's past that caused him to become where and what he is now. Bruce's parents were murdered in a mugging gone horribly wrong, causing him to become vengeful and seek to avenge his parent's murderer. His intent to kill appalls his love interest, Rachel Dawes, and a quick chat with main mobster in town, Carmine Falcone, causes Bruce to reach an ultimate epiphany and journey into the criminal fraternity. Bruce gains insight into the mind of the average criminal, and starts to empathize with who he once thought were cold-blooded monsters.
This brings him to the present moment, where Ducard convinces Bruce that criminals are not as complicated as he thinks, and that crime cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. In order to complete his initiation process, Bruce is forced to execute a prisoner. This is where Bruce draws his ultimate line between hero and executioner, and vows to never rightly kill anyone he comes across. He immediately enacts his vow by refusing to kill the prisoner and burning down the monastery. After a narrow escape, he saves the dying Ducard and returns to the crime-ridden Gotham City, upon which his family rules, to become the symbol of vengeance he was always meant to be-- Batman.
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard had an unprecedented task on their hands. They needed to define an iconic symbol that almost everyone is familiar with, while at the same time giving it the treatment it needed and deserved. The ending result is a beautiful masterpiece of film music, which is arguably among the best of modern superhero film scores.
Hearing the score in it's complete form allows us to accurately experience the music the way the film and story presented it, and thus delve into the psychology behind it's structure.
That being said, the complete score listed above can be further divided into four major sections.
The first of these sections begins with "Opening Titles/Young Bruce Falls" and spans all the way until "Return to Gotham". This section consists of Bruce's journey to find himself and discover what he was destined to be through the League of Shadows training process, which consists of brooding and determined-sounding cues largely defined by the strings.
Such heroic string motifs such as those found in "Training" and the first section of "Campfire/Bruce Goes Home" are what I have dubbed as the "Training Themes". These said training themes coexist wonderfully with the more dramatic and brooding sounds of the flashback sequences, most prominently heard in "Father to the Rescue" and the second section of "Campfire/Bruce Goes Home".
After "Initiation Into League/Temple Fight/Saving Ducard", which I might add is ultimately the last time we ever hear any of the training themes in the entire score (with the exception of "Rachel Attacked", which we'll get to in a second), the music follows and adapts to Bruce's return to Gotham City after so many years only to find it completely overridden by crime and despair, even more so then when he left it. This second section of the score, which I have dubbed as "The Return to Gotham" section, spans from "Return to Gotham" unto "Dockyard Ambush". This section consists of the music revolving around Bruce coming up with his specific plans for his newly-conceived hero, such as the productive-sounding motifs in "Preparing Equipment" and "I Need You at the Docks/Why Bats?", as well as several other inconsistent sounds that deliberately lack any definition or specific structure, such as "Crane Warns Rachel A & B" (which is where we first catch a snippet of Scarecrow's theme, which we'll also get to in a second), and "Wayne Enterprises" (a lovely string cue in itself, but nothing that appears any other time in the score).
Once we get to "Dockyard Ambush" is when we first hear the sound of Batman in it's completely deliberate and conceived form (mostly in the final 30 seconds). As the phrase "I'm Batman" is first uttered by the Caped Crusader himself, we are treated to what is the first glimpse of Batman's official hero themes and sounds, and also our segue into the third section of the score. This section, dubbed "The Middle", is actually kind of anticlimactic for that reason; it's essentially the middle. We get nothing more then Scarecrows theme a few times in different renditions (which we will elaborate on later) in "Crane's mask" and 'Batman On Fire", and a few instances of the "Batman's Intel" themes in cues like "Rachel Attacked" and "Gordon at Home". We do get treated by a motif from "Training" towards the end of "Rachel Attacked", when Gordon first discovers the bat signal, but other then that, this section is mostly devoid of any glorified Batman sounds.
Not to worry, though, because they start making their appearance in the next section, which begins with "Finder's Keepers". This fourth section, dubbed "The Precursor" (because it comes directly before our next section, "The Turn", which we'll get to in a second), is when we first start hearing Batman in his full glory. Cues like "Finder's Keepers", "Backup", and "Batmobile Chase", are all gems in their indulgently heroic sound. But we haven't quite reached Batman's quintessence yet.
This is where we come to the fifth and final section, dubbed "The Turn". This section is ultimately where the story takes a 180 degree turn, because we discover that the beloved Ducard is actually the real Ra's Al Ghul, who is hell bent on destroying Gotham City from the outside in. We hear Ra's Al Ghul's theme for the second time in the score in "Ducard Appears" and again in "Ducard and Gotham's Fate" (we had heard it once before in "Meeting Ducard", however we had yet to realize that this was actually Ra's theme).
This is where the real action starts.
"Bruce Left For Dead" is a far more menacing and apocalyptic rehash of the battle theme we had heard once before in "Initiation Into League/Temple Fight/Saving Ducard". This segues us into the final stretch, beginning with the somewhat uninteresting "Rachel Gives Gordon the Antidote". However, the momentum picks up with "Batman Arrives", which is where we have finally reached the quintessential Batman. The momentum doesn't stop there, and we are treated to more indulgent pieces like "Batman Rescues Rachel" and "Final Confrontation".
Then we reach our climax, which is "Train Fight". Arguably the most indulgent and menacing piece in the entire score, it also interestingly breaks all of the rules. We hear more of a hybrid-sounding action motif that is more geared towards Ra's Al Ghul, but still maintains the classic Batman feel. It's a wonderful treat that marks the end of the danger, which is affirmed in the cue fittingly titled "Danger Over".
This leaves only two more film tracks left on the CD, "Surveying the Ruins" and "Gordon Says Thanks". Both of these cues draw an appropriate close to the film itself; "Surveying the Ruins" utilizing some of the more dramatic string motifs from the first section of the score, and "Gordon Says Thanks" utilizing both the two-note Batman/Gotham City theme, while still maintaining a heroic feel (especially towards the last 30 seconds).
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard managed to create masterful themes for the film's villains. Scarecrow's theme, which isn't technically 'music' as much as creepy sound effects, does the character justice nonetheless. The distinct and very creepy shrill 'screaming'-esque theme, most notably heard in "Crane's Mask" and "Batman On Fire", give the appropriate distinct and creepy feeling to Dr. Crane/Scarecrow himself.
Ra's Al Ghuls theme, on the other hand, is very brooding and atmospheric. Heard distinctly in cues such as "Meeting Ducard", "Ducard Appears", "Ducard and Gotham's Fate", and "Original End Credits" (which will be discussed in just a second), it utilizes a kind of 'groaning' sound harmonized by strings. This balance, in my opinion, creates the perfect and ideal sound that matches the brooding, dark, and fearless character phenomenally.
This leaves only two more film tracks left on the CD, "Surveying the Ruins" and "Gordon Says Thanks". Both of these cues draw an appropriate close to the film itself; "Surveying the Ruins" utilizing some of the more dramatic string motifs from the first section of the score, and "Gordon Says Thanks" utilizing both the two-note Batman/Gotham City theme, while still maintaining a heroic feel (especially towards the last 30 seconds).
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard managed to create masterful themes for the film's villains. Scarecrow's theme, which isn't technically 'music' as much as creepy sound effects, does the character justice nonetheless. The distinct and very creepy shrill 'screaming'-esque theme, most notably heard in "Crane's Mask" and "Batman On Fire", give the appropriate distinct and creepy feeling to Dr. Crane/Scarecrow himself.
Ra's Al Ghuls theme, on the other hand, is very brooding and atmospheric. Heard distinctly in cues such as "Meeting Ducard", "Ducard Appears", "Ducard and Gotham's Fate", and "Original End Credits" (which will be discussed in just a second), it utilizes a kind of 'groaning' sound harmonized by strings. This balance, in my opinion, creates the perfect and ideal sound that matches the brooding, dark, and fearless character phenomenally.
Batman, our main character, has many distinct themes. The most notable one is the end credits theme heard in "Backup" and "Batman Arrives". The track "Batman Theme", which unfortunately never made it to the film, contains motifs heard in "Finder's Keepers" and "Batmobile Chase", along with some fresh new treats.
In conclusion, the score for Batman Begins composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard is a spot-on interpretation that provides the perfect musical accompaniment for the Caped Crusader's reinvention, and the music they've created leaves a lasting impression on the listener's ears.
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