Zimmer Talks ‘Dark Knight’ Score – Considered Changing For Heath Ledger

We as movie-goers can sometimes forget all the different facets which go in to making a movie. As we sit there, popcorn in one hand, bucket of coke in the other, eyes glued to the big screen, do we ever consider the amount of work that has gone in to the musical score? And the amount of thought that has gone in to making sure the soundtrack fits the mood of the film?

When I go and see The Dark Knight on July 25th, I’ll be concentrating on many things, such as Bale’s brooding performance as Batman, the cinematics of the piece, and in particular, how Heath Ledger’s final film role plays out on the big screen.

One man who had to pay close attention to Ledger’s portrayal of the villainous Joker is Hans Zimmer, the man in charge of the musical score for the movie. He recently revealed to NDTV Music that he had considered changing the score for The Joker completely after Ledger’s premature death.

“I, for a moment, was thinking, ‘Oh my god, I should throw out all the music I’ve written for The Joker and just start over again,’ which is just exactly the wrong thing to do. To honour his (Ledger) performance, I had to stick to my guns.”

“The music has to portray the philosophy of anarchy that The Joker displays in the face of Batman’s valour. I couldn’t soften the music or compromise the evil he projects because Heath really did give such a tremendous performance. If I had taken my eye off the ball, if I had been sentimental, if I had done anything like that, it would really have not served him.”

Zimmer made the right decision in the end, as if the score was right for the character before Ledger passed away, then it still is now, and shouldn’t be influenced by real-life happenings. What this has done however, is made me realise the importance of the score, and that will be added to my list of things to watch out for when I finally get to see The Dark Knight.