If there is a challenger to John Williams’ incredible record, it is certainly Hans Zimmer. Composer of over 150 film scores, his major successes include the various Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Gladiator, Dunkirk, Driving Miss Daisy, Rain Man, The Lion King, The Thin Red Line . . . well, you get the picture (sorry). He is known for his inventiveness, and often incorporates electronic synthesizers to enhance his material. But he has many tricks. In The Dark Knight Rises, he notably features a chant theme to a phrase, deshi basara-- putatively Arabic dialect for “rise up.” But that remains obscure. The simple motive, in typical Zimmer style, is the basis of elaborate and extensive variation, and is associated with the character, Bane, and used in myriad contexts.
--Wm. E. Runyan
©2019 William E. Runyan