''Batman: Original Motion Picture Score'' is the

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

album for the 1989 film ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

. According to the ''Batman'' DVD Special Edition, Elfman said that producer

Jon Peters John Peters (born June 2, 1945) is an American film producer and former hairdresser. Early life Peters was born on June 2, 1945 in Van Nuys, California. Peters is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent. While growing up in a rough ne ...

was not sure about him as a composer until

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

made him play the main titles. Elfman admitted he was stunned when Peters announced that the score would be released on its own album. The score was widely acclaimed by the press and in many contemporary reviews is cited as the highlight of the film. Elfman's "The Batman Theme" went on to become an iconic piece. It served as the basis for the theme music and played in some episodes of '' Batman: The Animated Series'', which premiered in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, although this was later changed. Some parts of the Elfman score are also heard in ''

Static Shock ''Static Shock'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero List of animated television series, animated television series based on the Milestone Media/DC Comics superhero Static (DC Comics), Static. It premiered on September 23, 2000, on the W ...

'', '' Lego Batman: The Videogame'', '' Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes'', '' Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham'', the 1989 Batmobile DLC for '' Batman: Arkham Knight'', the 2017 ''Justice League'' film (which was also composed by Elfman), and the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

crossover ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Mar ...

''. Parts are also played in the queue and on the station platform of Batman the Ride at various

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...

theme parks.

Production

Burton hired Danny to compose the music score for ''

''. For inspiration, Elfman was given ''

The Dark Knight Returns ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and pub ...

''. Elfman was worried, as he had never worked on a production this large in budget and scale.

, ''Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman'', 2005,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

In an interview with ''

Keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

'' in October 1989, Elfman said that he never read Batman as a child, preferring Marvel heroes such as

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

and the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...

. In addition, producer Jon Peters was skeptical of hiring Elfman, but was later convinced when he heard the opening number.

, Sam Hamm,

, ''Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight—The Legend Reborn'', 2005,

Peters and Peter Guber wanted

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

to write music for the Joker and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

to do the romance songs. Elfman would then combine the style of Prince and Jackson's songs together for the entire film score. Burton protested the ideas, citing "my movies aren't commercial like ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an ...

''". Elfman enlisted the help of

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the y ...

lead guitarist

Steve Bartek Steve Bartek (born January 30, 1952, in Garfield Heights, Ohio) is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the band Oingo Boingo and for his orchestration work with composer Da ...

and

Shirley Walker Shirley Anne Walker (née Rogers; April 10, 1945 – November 30, 2006) was an American film and television composer and conductor. She was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood. Walker was one of the first female c ...

to arrange the compositions for the orchestra. Elfman was later displeased with the

audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic ...

of his film score. According to Elfman: "''Batman'' was done in England by technicians who didn't care, and the non-caring showed. I'm not putting down England because they've done gorgeous dubs there, but this particular crew elected not to". Despite it, Elfman included several synthesizer cues in the film, mostly percussion samples. Elfman based his five-note Batman motif on his viewing experience on the rough cut of the film. In rearranging

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...

's "

Beautiful Dreamer "Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by American songwriter Stephen Foster. It was published posthumously in March 1864, by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition states on its title page that it is "the last song ever written by Steph ...

", Elfman added a "lovely climax" as the Joker twirls away. Elfman also recorded the composition twice, primarily on the violin. Meanwhile, in recording "Up the Cathedral", Elfman did not use a real church organ, but an electronic organ by

Rodgers Instruments Rodgers Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer of classical and church organs. Rodgers was incorporated May 1, 1958 in Beaverton, Oregon by founders, Rodgers W. Jenkins and Fred Tinker, employees of Tektronix, Inc., of Portland, O ...

. Elfman cites his inspiration for "Up the Cathedral" to

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

's score for the 1961 film '' Mysterious Island'', a film he enjoyed as a child. Elfman completed his score on May 15, 1989, just over a month before the film's release.

Track listing

;Additional music credited:

Complete score

La-La Land Records released Danny Elfman's complete score to ''Batman'' on July 27, 2010. Disc One: Original Score (film version)
Disc Two: Original Soundtrack Album (remastered)(tracks 22-29 are bonus cues) (*) Previously unreleased
(**) includes "

Scandalous! "Scandalous" (modified to "Scandalous!" for single release) is the eighth track on Prince's soundtrack album ''Batman'' and was released as the album's fourth single, five months after the album was released. The music is attributed to Prince and ...

" composed by

with John L. Nelson
(***) includes "

" composed by

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1989 soundtrack albums Batman (1989 film series) Batman film soundtracks Danny Elfman soundtracks Film scores Warner Records soundtracks