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The 1982 Conan film was one of those rare films where its soundtrack became a cultural entity, and ultimately became the litmus test for every sword & sorcery flick to come after it. Did that weigh on your mind at all when taking on this project? ...
PrintEmailPrintEmailChicago-bred composer Tyler Bates never seems to stop scoring. Whether it be video games (TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON, ARMY OF TWO: THE 40TH DAY), television (CALIFORNICATION, SYMBIONIC TITAN), or film (SUCKER PUNCH, SUPER, WATCHMEN), Bates is in no short supply of projects.
Predominantly known for his dark atmospherics and brutal intensity (i.e. Rob Zombie?s HALLOWEEN, 300, DAWN OF THE DEAD), his talent lies in meticulously injecting music beneath the skin of the visuals to create a visceral, multi-sensory experience. With two films already under his belt for 2011 (the aforementioned SUCKER PUNCH and SUPER), and two more on the way by year?s end (THE WAY and THE DARKEST HOUR), his most anticipated work for the year is the reboot of CONAN THE BARBARIAN.
Filling the shoes of a bonafide legend (Basil Poledouris) cannot be an easy task, but Bates has a knack for transforming remakes (re-imaginings, reboots, or whatever you want to call them) into his own heart-pounding beasts. Read on as Bates unsheathes his broadsword and slices and dices his way through the mystical realm of the Hyborian Age.
The 1982 Conan film was one of those rare films where its soundtrack became a cultural entity, and ultimately became the litmus test for every sword & sorcery flick to come after it. Did that weigh on your mind at all when taking on this project?
Honestly, the greatest service I could do for this CONAN film in particular and its fans, was to ignore the lore of the great music Basil Poledouris created for the first two Conan films, and approach this movie from my perspective entirely. I have worked on several films that are remakes or part of an existing series of movies.
To do an effective job I cannot allow myself to be overly concerned with fan expectations based on the work of the great composers who scored the original versions of the films many years prior. Filmmaking has changed so much in the past fifteen years that it is rare when a theme or motif established thirty years ago bears relevance to the modern version of the same or similar title.
I know this is a new, entirely different film playing off of the same mythology, but did you feel compelled at all to give a nod to Poledouris in the score?
In the eyes of the producers and director, Mr. Poledouris? work in the first two Conan films. I have stepped into several projects that were originally scored by some of Hollywood?s greatest composers. I couldn?t create a score with any degree of passion or conviction if I engaged in studying their work in the original films unless the director had wished to work with the original themes.
We did that on Rob Zombie?s first HALLOWEEN movie, and I have to say, while it was exciting at first, to have the opportunity to work with John Carpenter?s themes, it was also a bit debilitating because his original score was perfectly executed in the first two films. It?s very difficult to deviate from them, yet Rob?s filmmaking style is so completely different than the original HALLOWEEN movie, that it created a bit of a paradox every time I experimented with the themes with a sound that was distinctly different from the original score.
While Poledouris was limited visually because of technological and budgetary constraints of the era, do you see yourself in a better position to flesh out the atmosphere and theming thanks to modern technology?
Not necessarily. The limitation of the original visual effects creates for room to stimulate the imagination with abstract musical imagery and bold themes. The modern visual effects technology paints a very articulate picture of the most abstract concepts, to which music has to respond to. This can sometimes give license to create the wildest music imaginable, or it can require the composer to express a literal interpretation of what we?re seeing on screen. This is primarily a director?s choice.
All in all, I think that the advancement of technology has introduced wonderful possibilities to all artists, but at the same time, working in a primarily digital medium allows for the film to continue to develop both visually and editorially to the very last minute, to which music must adjust accordingly. This generally means a period of little to no sleep as you near the dub!
Mark is an avid film music collector and reviewer. His work has been featured at retailers like BestBuy.com, CD Universe, and HMV. He hopes his...
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