The Power of Music: Interstellar & The Bond Between Image And Sound.

!!!!There are moderate spoilers later in this post. Read at your own discretion!!!!

A year ago, I went to see The Desolation of Smaug with a good friend. It was a midnight showing, packed house, with lots of good buzz. With snacks and drinks procured, we headed to our seats. As the lights dimmed, I was fully ready to take in the next Peter Jackson trip to Middle Earth. However, I was caught completely off guard by a trailer. This doesn't happen often because I've seen many good trailers before. What was so different, so special, about this one?


The green preview screen appeared and disappeared. Next, I was met with a beautiful piano arrangement, echoing as the Paramount, Warner Bros., Legendary, and Syncopy film logos flashed across the screen. I then suddenly knew what this was.....the trailer for Interstellar. I had read about the next project from Christopher Nolan only briefly, as I wanted to remain as unspoiled as possible. So this was a pleasant surprise as I had no idea it was attached to The Hobbit. What followed was, for me, the perfect movie trailer. WATCH:

Think about it. The imagery backs up these awesome words about resilience and exploration. But underneath all of that is this song. This beautiful piano arrangement that builds and builds and brings such emotion to these words, then BAM title card that says "ONE YEAR FROM NOW". The music was....warming, soothing, inspiring. The flashes of space flight and exploration brought to life by this simple yet bold piano sound. I was already hooked on this film and it hadn't even come out yet! This is everything you need for a trailer. An idea, and a direction to point it towards. I know a lot of people may be burned out by the Mystery Box that Abrams uses, but this was a wholly different mystery for a trailer. I've watched it many times and it still hooks me. Granted, I'm a huge Nolan fan. But that doesn't mean this trailer wouldn't have grabbed me if I wasn't. Seeing this for the first time on a huge movie screen made it even more powerful. Scope is something that has fallen by the wayside with major films. Since everything is connected now, we may take for granted that we can see the world from our homes. But this trailer.....I was near tears. Beautiful music, powerful words, and pictures come together seamlessly. You don't always need a peek at a big action sequence or a cheap laugh to get you into something. Nolan is a master at showing us what HE wants us to see, not what the marketing or executives want to. He knows what will get us more intrigued and more interested. Just look at all of his films. To me, this is a great speech that speaks to an idea of where we are now as people. What's our direction? We've shown that when we all work together, we can overcome and do the impossible, and that made us mighty. But we've strayed. So how do we reclaim that glory? To be known in history not as consumers, but builders. Not as parasites, but pioneers? It's a great question that we get to see played out on the spectacle of film. And I learned that from only a 1:53 of music and picture. The trailer ends and I'm floored. I actually said to myself, "Now I gotta sit through a whole movie before I get to see that again." I enjoyed Smaug rather much, but right when I got home, I knew I had to see the trailer again.

Fast forward a year.

I stayed as much away from the later previews in preparation for the film. I wanted whatever I saw from this film to be on the big screen. The night finally arrived for Interstellar to grace the world with it's presence. Tickets in hand, I walked to the theatre trying to temper my expectations. I sat in my seat, the lights dimmed, and what followed was one of the most visceral yet intelligent movies that I've ever experienced. Such amazing pictures, powerful & compelling storytelling, and breathtaking music. I am truly satisfied on so many levels with this film.

But I'm sure you noticed the title of this post. The movie is a complete success to me, and I believe the music is heavily responsible. Put simply, this is a story about a father having to leave his daughter to save humanity. (I know he has other children but the connection between Cooper and Murph is the focus.) From a composer's standpoint, how do you even approach making a theme or a song about this relationship? Well, I'll let Hans Zimmer answer that:

"Chris said to me, in his casual way. 'So, Hans, if I wrote one page of something, didn't tell you what it was about, just give you one page, would you give me one day of work?'" Zimmer told Tom Shone. "'Whatever you came up with on that one day would be fine.'" Zimmer agreed, and then one day he received a one-page typewritten letter. On the paper was a short story, no more than a precis, about a father who leaves his child to do an important job. It contained two lines of dialogue — "I'll come back" "When?" — and quoted something Zimmer had said a year before, during a long conversation with Nolan and his wife at the Wolesley restaurant in London ... "There was no movie to be made, there was no movie to discuss, we were talking about our children," said Zimmer, who has a 15-year-old son. "I said, once your children are born, you can never look at yourself through your eyes any more, you always look at yourself through their eyes." Zimmer spent a day composing the theme and then showed it to Nolan, and Nolan loved it. It was only then that Nolan revealed what kind of movie he had in mind. "I asked him, 'Well, yes, but what is the movie?' And he started describing this huge, epic tale of space and science and humanity, on this epic scale. I’m going, 'Chris, hang on, I’ve just written this highly personal thing, you know?' He goes, 'Yes, but I now know where the heart of the movie is.' Everything about this movie was personal.'"

If you want to read more, check out http://www.businessinsider.com/how-hans-zimmer-wrote-the-interstellar-theme-2014-11

I can't help but think that that's probably the coolest damn origin story for a music score. Straight from the heart, no directives or persuasion, just doing what feels right. I read that interview and immediately knew this soundtrack was even more special, even after I had heard it in the film. I did the research and found there would be 3 releases of the score. Two of them to arrive a week and a half after the film's release and a larger version to be released a month after that. With the 3rd version being caught up in mystery as to when it'll actually be released, I bought the deluxe soundtrack. Very pleased and happy to have it, but there is one hiccup.

There's a scene towards the end of the film where Cooper must pull a risky flight maneuver to dock with The Endurance to ensure it doesn't fall to an ice planet. It's the most gripping and intense sequence of the film. And what pulls it all together? You guessed it, the Score. HOLY BATSHIT INSANITY, BATMAN, the music during this scene is beyond epic. A truly moving and powerful music cue, bringing such emotion and awe. Was it an emotionally exhausting sequence? Yes. Was it worth it? YES. This scene is one of many lynch pins that hold this story together so well. When the scene finishes, I made the mental note of, "DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO GET THAT SONG." Here's the audio from the scene:

Sadly, this particular song was not on the Deluxe Soundtrack. Understandably, I was a bit disappointed. The most powerful track from the whole film......and it's missing. I began to search the web to see if anyone knew anything more about this. Sure enough, I stumbled across a bunch of people who had the same concerns. After going down the rabbit hole, I arrived at a Hans Zimmer fan site that had a heavy discussion thread about this issue. It seems it was just not included on the soundtrack. So most who know that a 3rd version of the soundtrack was coming asked if this track would be on that one. At this point no one knows. However, it seems this movement caught the eye of a few people who are close to Zimmer and WaterTower Music. They then disseminated that the Docking Sequence track would be released. HUZZAH. A couple days after reading that, the track was recently released. Aaaaaand it's not the track we were all looking/hoping for. It appears to be a version of the song, but not the one that was used for release. Very frustrating to say the least. And now, there's been an update that the version in the film may not even exist. Taken from a reddit post, which was taken from www.hans-zimmer.com:

Hybrid Soldier reply Replies: 22 || 2014-11-22 15:48:50

"Actually I got it confirmed, the cue as you're looking for it doesn't really exist, it's just post production mess in the hands of music editors & mixers (so obviously Mountains material used)...

Reminds me of First Flight from MOS, where the strings were put totally upfront in the mix..."

Hybrid Soldier 2014-11-22 16:39:28

"It is EXACTLY the same case as Batman Chased... Exactly... A cue written, and then music editors messing around."

So.....this is plain crappy. I hope that there will be a way to release the "Mess". Because that's what grabbed everyone, that's what moved everyone, that's what had everyone on the edge of their seat. That music elicited one of the most profound mixture of emotions that I have ever experienced. The whirling and blaring organ is so damn good. Amazing mixing done there. I guess I'm just wondering why this was bungled. This movie is a masterwork, using all elements of film making to maximize and expand an amazing human story. The responsibility of being a father, the prospect of mankind's future, and the possibilities of what people are capable of. Beautiful, emotional, powerful, satisfying, gripping, engaging, and bold. Interstellar goes way beyond being a movie, it's speaks to an idea. And we all know how Nolan feels about ideas. And it wouldn't have had this effect if it wasn't for the music.

There's a real human moment happening here. While the movie has been polarizing, it's still doing it's job: Giving the chance to get out of one's world. I love this film because it gives something that few movies can: A moment of infinite possibility. For that, this movie is beyond important to me and to my life. Christopher Nolan was quoted as saying, "I believe that Hans' score for 'Interstellar' has the tightest bond between music and image that we've yet achieved." I believe that 100 F**king percent. And this film would not and could not succeed without the profound emotion and experience of Hans Zimmer. Two visionaries of their craft coming together to make something truly original. Feelings, you guys. Feel all of them.