Ridley Scott’s highly successful film Gladiator, the first Roman epic to come out of Hollywood in more than 25 years, set new standards for realism with its breathtaking “you are there” battle scenes. Where it does not set any standards, however, is in film scoring. The music of Hans Zimmer (with additional songs by Lisa Gerrard) pretty much falls within the stylistic parameters set a decade ago by Danny Elfman, which means there’s a lot of the fast, percussion-heavy marching familiar from Batman. There’s also the obligatory pop/world song performed by a female vocalist (replete with “ethnic” instruments) that’s been in vogue ever since Titanic. The result is music that sounds a lot like what is heard on today’s television commercials, and that’s a very good thing for merchandise tie-ins. We’ve clearly come a long way from the days of Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, or even Jerry Goldsmith. To his credit, Zimmer does enhance the brutality of the battle sequences, and convincingly underlines the pervasive despair of the main character. Also, the incorporation of “ethnic” elements makes the music sound less anachronistic than the symphony orchestra traditionally used in this film genre. In any event, if this album doesn’t consistently intrigue you and hold your attention the way the recent Chandos disc of Alan Rawsthorne’s film music does, then you’re probably not in its intended, more pop-oriented audience. Chances are those listeners probably won’t play it much after the film has left the big screen anyway.
