Director Christopher Nolan originally invited Zimmer to compose the film score, and Zimmer asked the director if he could invite Howard to compose as well, as they had always planned a composers collaboration. The two composers collaborated on separate themes for the "split personality" of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman. Zimmer and Howard began composing in Los Angeles and moved to London where they stayed for 12 weeks to complete most of their writing. Zimmer and Howard sought inspiration for shaping the score by making set visits to Batman Begins. Zimmer wanted to avoid composing a film score that had been done before, so the score became an amalgamation of orchestra and electronic music. The film's ninety-piece orchestra was developed from members of various London orchestras, and Zimmer chose to use more than the normal number of cellos. Zimmer enlisted a choir boy to help reflect the music in the film's scene where Bruce Wayne's parents are killed. "He's singing a fairly pretty tune and then he gets stuck, it's like froze, arrested development", Zimmer said. Zimmer also attempted to add human dimension to Batman, whose behavior would typically be seen as "psychotic", through the music. Both composers collaborated to create 2 hours and 20 minutes' worth of music for the film. Zimmer composed the action sequences, while Howard focused on the film's drama.
Critical reception
Reviews of the score were positive. Soundtrack.net, for example, in a review by Matt Scheller, said that "the music complements the visuals flawlessly." He called the main action track, Molossus, the best of the soundtrack: "Once this track starts, it never quits." He does admit that the album is heavy on Hans Zimmer's style rather than James Newton Howard's, and that "Hans Zimmer/Media Ventures haters should probably skip this album. His score in the end is four stars out of five." Movie Music UK was equally positive—Jonathan Broxton claimed that "I personally found that there was a great deal of music in "Batman Begins" that is hugely enjoyable", specifically complimenting "Howard's exceptionally beautiful string elegy during the opening moments of Eptesicus", a motif that recurs in "the achingly emotional Macrotus and Coryhorinus". He did admit that a lack of strong superhero themes and a complete lack of similarities to Danny Elfman's Batman scores, now considered classics, did make the score "unremittingly downbeat". He also rates the album four out of five. Christian Clemmensen, sole reviewer of Filmtracks.com, was less ready to praise the score, saying that Zimmer and Howard's decision not to use Elfman's material was an attitude that "stinks of laziness". He also considers the theme used to represent Batman, a rising, two-note minor third, inadequate to represent the complex character of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego. Most of these complaints he lays on the shoulders of Zimmer, saying that "you could argue that Zimmer traded in his hoard of lesser-known ghostwriters for one top-notch ghostwriter ." His final rating is two stars out of five.
The titles of tracks 4 through 9 form an acrostic: Barbastella, Artibeus, Tadarida, Macrotus, Antrozous, and Nycterus all come together to spell "Batman".
Use in other works
The soundtrack is also often sampled for other superhero-related productions. "Vespertilio" and "Eptesicus" were used in the screener pilot for Heroes. It has also been sampled in the song "Nacht" by German rapper Kollegah. "Myotis" has been featured in trailers for King Kong, Fantastic Four and Far Cry. "Molossus" was sampled for the Aquaman pilot, and was also used in the trailer for V for Vendetta and The Dark Knight as well as a few episodes of Top Gear. The beginning of "Vespertilio" and part of "Myotis" was also used for the previously mentioned V for Vendetta trailer.
Track listing
Tracks not included within the release of the soundtrack:
