''Batman: Original Motion Picture Score'' is the score album for the 1989 film ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'', composed by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

. According to the ''Batman''

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Special Edition, Elfman said that producer Jon Peters was not sure about him as a composer until director

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, although this was later changed. Some parts of the Elfman score are also heard in '' Static Shock'', '' 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), '' DC League of Super-Pets'' and the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and 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 ...

crossover ''

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

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theme parks.

Production

Burton hired Elfman 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'' but originally titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller ...

''. 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. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

In an interview with '' Keyboard'' in October 1989, Elfman said that he never read Batman as a child, preferring

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

heroes such as

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

and the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

. 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. The ...

to write music for the Joker and

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to do the romance songs. Elfman would then combine the style of Prince and Jackson's songs together for the entire film score. Elfman worked separately from Prince, who was responsible for writing songs for the film. Prince proposed to extend his songs into the score, and the producers asked Elfman to collaborate with Prince on the score. Elfman refused because he was already working on the score, and did not want to serve as mere

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under Prince. Elfman enlisted the help of

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lead guitarist Steve Bartek and

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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 audio channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aest ...

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

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's " Beautiful Dreamer", 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. 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 film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

's score for the 1961 film '' Mysterious Island'', a film he enjoyed as a child. Elfman completed his score in May 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!" composed by

with John L. Nelson
(***) includes " Beautiful Dreamer" composed by

Chart positions

References

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