Review Summary: A masterclass in movie scoring, and Zimmer's crowning achievement.
Hans Zimmer needs no introduction – the guy’s curriculum vitae looks like a tome at this point, given the number of movies he’s composed music for. As is to be expected from a man of Zimmer’s venerable stature, like John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Howard Shore and Danny Elfman (to name a few from the Hollywood composer pantheon), Hans Zimmer stands up to the very best of them. You can always tell when you’re listening to a Zimmer score; a forlorn framework juxtaposed with an unrestrained, upbeat vigour. Of course, every decade has spurred on varying disparities to his modus operandi, but the foundation remains the same. In my own case, I consider myself a fervent admirer of Hans Zimmer’s admirable body of work. Regardless of whether the movie he is composing for is unfettered trash, his work is generally excellent, and you can bet your bottom dollar Zimmer brings some of the strongest qualities to any movie he’s involved with. And yet, despite my gushing reverence for his work, there is one project in particular that stands above the rest of them, a record I’d name his magnum opus. 2003’s The Last Samurai.
For the uninitiated, the story of The Last Samurai is a classic storytelling template. Set in the late 19th century, Japan is in the throes of a political and cultural paradigm shift. The emperor’s obsession with Western culture leads to one of his politicians, Mr. Omura, setting out to modernise Japan by embracing the West’s advancements and way of life. Omura expedites the transition, creating contention between the samurai and this new industrialised order. Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), leader of the samurai, abhors Omura’s irreverence for their ancient traditions and forms a rebellion to fight against the shift. This leads Omura to create the Imperial Japanese Army to crush the samurai rebellion, hiring Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an alcoholic Civil War captain with a disturbed past, to train the army for the samurai’s destruction. However, only a couple of months into the process, Omura’s conceit hastily pushes the army out onto the battlefield against the Samurai, where the army is swiftly slaughtered and Algren is captured to learn of Omura’s intentions. While captive throughout the winter, Algren eventually grows to love the samurai’s humble way of life and assimilates into the culture, eventually aiding them in their plight against the Imperial Army. A simple premise to be sure, but the execution is second to none, with fantastic acting, pacing and direction, and, as we’ll see, a score that supports the narrative with exemplary results.
I listen to a lot of OSTs from video games, TV and film, and there are a lot of scores out there that I love, but few ever make it into the near-perfect album category, to the point where I can enjoy it as much as a conventional album. Jerry Goldsmith’s
The Mummy, Howard Shore’s
The Lord of the Rings trilogy, HEALTH’s
Max Payne 3, and Michael McCann’s
Deus Ex: Human Revolution are a few of the rare exceptions that make the cut, and as you’ve probably guessed, Hans Zimmer’s
The Last Samurai OST is on there too. In regards to Zimmer’s work, this is lightning in a bottle. Every aspect of this score is expertly crafted and elevates an already excellent movie to even grander heights. Zimmer is known for his signature downcast melodies, but the very nature of
The Last Samurai creates a devastating poignancy and beauty unmatched by anything he’s ever made. The soft repose and agonising swells coming from the koto harp, bamboo flute and woodwind instruments add critical efficacy to Hans’ ubiquitous traits of multi-layered, mountainous percussion and penchant for earworm melodies and accessibility.
At every level
The Last Samurai knows exactly where to go, what to do, and how to enact on its emotional response. For the action scenes, the score relies on emotive, fiery energy to carry the mood, but generally, the score focuses on really capturing the oriental flavour and serves up slow, organic ambience to convey Algren’s haunted past and alcoholism, as well as the disenfranchisement of the samurai. As a standalone score, the flow of the album is flawless and captures the essence of the film and all of its key beats and plot points. Typically, with most scores, there is a melody that functions as the linchpin for the album and things are built upon that. Auspiciously,
The Last Samurai’s main melody is a gorgeous ebb and flow of spacious notes that form the basis of this fantastic record, and where Zimmer masterfully expands on it with Japanese woodwind, flutes, and string arrangements.
Ultimately, if you’re a fan of OSTs, this is definitely worth checking out. It’s easily my favourite Zimmer score, but it’s up there with my all-time favourites as well. Because of how chilled out it is, it makes replayability nigh limitless.
