Hulk (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack accompanying the 2003 superhero film Hulk, directed by Ang Lee based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The soundtrack featured musical score composed by Danny Elfman and the song "Set Me Free" by Velvet Revolver; the album was released through Decca Records on June 17, 2003.
| Hulk (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Film score by | ||||
| Released | June 17, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2003 | |||
| Studio | Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 63:41 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Danny Elfman | |||
| Marvel Comics film series soundtrack chronology | ||||
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| Danny Elfman chronology | ||||
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Development
editThe film's score was set to be composed by Mychael Danna, who previously associated with Lee on The Ice Storm (1997) and Ride with the Devil (1999). However, the executives at Universal Pictures rejected Danna's score due to its non-traditional approach; his score consisted of Japanese taiko, African drumming, and Arabic singing.[1] Later, Universal's president of film music, Kathy Nelson, contacted composer Danny Elfman through telephonic conversation indicating his involvement in the film. Since Elfman was a fan of Lee's works and had also scored for the superhero films: Batman (1989) and Spider-Man (2002), he agreed to it and eventually flew to Los Angeles where he visited Lee at the Industrial Light & Magic studio where the film was in post-production. With 37 days to compose over two hours of music, Elfman agreed out of respect to Lee.[2] While instructing to retain much of the character of Danna's score, Lee pushed Elfman to write material that did not sound like his previous superhero scores.[3] Danna said, "They did leave some of my music in the movie, so the Arabic singing and some of the drumming is mine. What happened is that they panicked, they brought in Danny, and he heard what I've been doing, and I guess he liked it."[4] Danna's initial score had an ethereal, world music element which Elfman deciphered it as "beautiful" but felt that it somehow did not suit with the film's tone.[2]
Critical reception
editHeather Phares of AllMusic rated two-and-a-half out of five, and summarized: "Presumably, the only people interested in this soundtrack will be either people who enjoyed the movie or die-hard Elfman fans; the former already know what to expect, while the latter might wonder if Elfman—or his music, anyway—hasn't undergone some strange transformation."[5] In a more negative review, Filmtracks.com wrote "Elfman's work is an admirable failure, especially in context, though you can't fault him for the result of this nightmarish experience."[3] However, Mark Hockley of Music Web International wrote "A potent, dynamic, fiercely moving work that reminds us, if we should need reminding, that Danny Elfman is unquestionably one of the great modern day film music composers."[6]
Accolades
editAt the 30th Saturn Awards, Elfman was nominated for Best Music but lost to Howard Shore for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.[7][8] However, Elfman won the Film Music Award for BMI Film & TV Awards.[9][10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Main Titles" | 4:36 |
| 2. | "Prologue" | 4:38 |
| 3. | "Betty's Dream" | 2:14 |
| 4. | "Bruce's Memories" | 2:45 |
| 5. | "Captured" | 3:41 |
| 6. | "Dad's Visit" | 2:15 |
| 7. | "Hulk Out!" | 4:00 |
| 8. | "Father Knows Best" | 3:34 |
| 9. | "...Making Me Angry" | 4:02 |
| 10. | "Gentle Giant" | 1:02 |
| 11. | "Hounds of Hell" | 3:47 |
| 12. | "The Truth Revealed" | 4:19 |
| 13. | "Hulk's Freedom" | 2:36 |
| 14. | "A Man Again" | 7:48 |
| 15. | "The Lake Battle" | 4:32 |
| 16. | "The Aftermath" | 0:56 |
| 17. | "The Phone Call" | 1:34 |
| 18. | "End Credits" | 1:13 |
| 19. | "Set Me Free" (performed by Dave Kushner, Duff McKagan, Slash, Matt Sorum, and Scott Weiland) | 4:09 |
| Total length: | 1:03:41 | |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from liner notes.[11]
- Music composer and producer – Danny Elfman
- Programming – Buck Sanders, Clay Duncan, Don Harper, Ernie Lee, Judd Miller, Kenneth Burgomaster, Randy Kerber, Trevor Morris
- Engineer – Greg Dennen, Ryan Robinson
- Recording – Nick Wollage, Robert Fernandez
- Score recordist – John Rodd, Noah Snyder
- Mixing – Dennis Sands
- Mastering – Patricia Sullivan Fourstar
- Supervising music editor – Ellen Segal
- Additional music editor – Shie Rozow
- Assistant music editor – Oliver Hug
- Scoring crew – Bill Talbott, Damon Tedesco, Tom Steel
- Music co-ordinator – Meredith Friedman
Orchestra
- Orchestrators – Bruce Fowler, David Slonaker, Edgardo Simone, Jeff Atmajian, Mark McKenzie, Pete Anthony, Robert Elhai, Steve Bartek
- Supervising orchestrator – Steve Bartek
- Conductor – Pete Anthony
- Contractor – Debbi Datz-Pyle, The Music Team
- Music preparation – Julian Bratolyubov, Sean Hickey
- Additional music preparation – Ron Vermillion
Instruments
- Bass – Christian Kollgaard, Norman Ludwin
- Drums – Mike Fisher
- Flute – Jim Walker, Louise Di Tullio
- French horn – Brad Warnaar, Brian O'Connor, Daniel P. Kelley, James Thatcher, Jerry Folsom, Joe Meyer, John A. Reynolds, Kurt Snyder, Nathan Campbell, Paul Klintworth, Phil Yao, Richard Todd, Steve Becknell, Steven Durnin, Todd Miller, Yvonne S. Moriarty
- Oboe – Tom Boyd
- Percussion – Brian Kilgore
- Trombone – Alan Kaplan, Alex Iles, Bill Reichenbach, Bob Sanders, Charles Loper, Dick Nash, Phil Teele, Steven Holtman
- Trumpet – Jon Lewis, Malcolm McNab, Marissa Benedict, Rick Baptist, Tim Morrison, Warren Luening
- Tuba – Tommy Johnson, John Van Houten
- Viola – Maria Newman
- Violin – Eun-Mee Ahn, Jagan Ramamoorthy
- Vocals – Natacha Atlas
References
edit- ^ Wheeler, Brad (February 25, 2013). "Life of Pi composer Mychael Danna on making a soundtrack sing and a director happy". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ a b Goldstein, Patrick (June 24, 2003). "Elfman masters a monster: Score one for 'The Hulk'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ a b "Filmtracks: Hulk". Filmtracks.com. March 8, 2009. Archived from the original on July 22, 2003. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ "An Evening with Mychael Danna on the Phone". BSOSpirit. March 20, 2004. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Hulk [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ Hockley, Mark (July 3, 2003). "The Hulk". Music Web International. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ^ ""The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" leads the nominations for the 30th Annual Saturn Awards". Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Archived from the original on October 17, 2004. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ Morfoot, Addie (February 17, 2004). "Saturns' rings around 'King' with 13 noms". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2004.
- ^ "2004 BMI Film/TV Awards". Broadcast Music, Inc. May 12, 2004. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ Goldwasser, Dan (May 16, 2004). "2004 ASCAP and BMI Film and TV Music Awards – Exclusive". Soundtrack.net. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ^ Danny Elfman. Hulk (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). Decca Records.