Zanobard Reviews

Hans Zimmer’s iconic Gladiator score is just that really; sixty minutes of superbly stylish soundtrack drenched in this gorgeously serene orchestral & vocal (courtesy of Lisa Gerrard) ambience and awash with many a memorable theme, which altogether make it absolutely one for the ages.

With a surprise sequel for the iconic original film on the horizon in 2024, I felt it was high time that we finally tackled Hans Zimmer’s intensely heartfelt score for Ridley Scott’s original Gladiator on this site. Zimmer’s music here is almost as well known as the film itself, and the story begins with opening track “Progeny”. The cue starts softly and rather wistfully, with some rather ominous woodwinds sounding through before slow, low-pitched brass and serene strings then join the fray and the music altogether takes on a rather moody yet solemn tone for the remainder of its two minute runtime.

The woodwind opening of “Progeny” is a tonal theme of sorts for the film’s psychopathic villain Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix), but the gently serene ambience that follows is key throughout much of Gladiator‘s score, and this opening track together with the subsequent “The Wheat” – a track which notably makes excellent sombre use of Lisa Gerrard’s phenomenal vocals alongside increasingly ominous drums – do an excellent job of establishing the morose tone of the film before ten minute action setpiece “The Battle” then properly kicks things up a notch. Morose vocals and low-pitched brass open this track, with a six note war theme for Russell Crowe’s Maximus then nobly entering the fray on the latter instrument. Tensions rise for the next minute or so with an ominous orchestra building to crescendo, at which point the fight then begins. It’s interesting actually listening to Zimmer’s action style from here on, as it’s very proto-Pirates Of The Caribbean in style – I mean you can really hear the origins of that iconic 2003 score here. In the final minutes of the track things then slow down quite dramatically from swashbuckling mode, with serene vocals and strings hinting back toward the war theme before the music then fades quietly away.

“Earth” introduces the best theme of the score, a gently ethereal motif for the afterlife and the loss of Maximus’ family. The track opens with quietly peaceful strings and brass before the aforementioned six-note theme then debuts at 01:50, playing gently and wistfully in its introductory rendition and receieving an enjoyably minute-long playthrough before the cue then fades to just as gentle a close as it started. The subsequent “Sorrow” then unsurprisingly doubles down on the more solemn side of the prior track, with some particularly melancholic vocals taking prominence for the entirety of the downtrodden eighty second piece. “To Zucchabar” returns to the quiet strings-based serene ambience from earlier cues, which then continues somewhat into “Patricide” before Commodus’ malevolent motif reprises on high-pitched, villainous strings that then build to a particularly worrisome finishing crescendo at the four minute mark. “The Emperor Is Dead” then lingers on some particularly harrowing strings-based atmosphere throughout its eighty second runtime, which continues a little into the start of “The Might Of Rome” before a crash of militaristic drums then encourages noble and rather grandiose brass to live up to the title of the track, playing enthusiastically alongside increasingly emphatic additional percussion and vocals.

Quietly noble brass opens “Strength And Honor” which then builds slowly over the course of the track’s two minute runtime, getting louder and more intense as the tone turns bolder and almost prideful with the music then fading in a near-heroic stance once that finishing hundred-and-twenty-nine-second mark is reached. The subsequent “Reunion” returns to the gentle vocal ambience of prior cues for a brief minute-long spell, before marching percussion and triumphant crashes of brass then soldier through in the similarly short “Slaves To Rome”. Another ten minute action setpiece is then up next in “Barbarian Horde”; Commodus’ malevolent woodwinds open the track, before a brassy crescendo then transitions the track into another lengthy tense build-up a la “The Battle”. From here on the music is much more frenetic and worrisome, with frequent bursts of brass and imposing crashes of percussion taking prominence in a very Pirates-esque fashion until a surprisingly heroic rendition of Maximus’ loss theme then crashes out the action. Ominous strings and brass then occupy much of the track’s remaining three minutes, until Maximus’ war theme from “The Battle” reprises in triumphantly heroic form to close the cue proper.

Commodus’ theme gets one last villainous appearance in “Am I Not Merciful?”, with loudly morose strings thundering a particularly melancholic tone through the first half of the track before crashing brass and deafeningly malevolent vocals then crescendo the aforementioned theme out. Lisa Gerrard’s wondrous vocals return in the peaceful “Elysium” alongside similarly serene strings, making for a very enjoyable two and a half minutes of pure atmospheric bliss. The real treat however then comes in the final two tracks of the score; “Honor Him” puts gently noble brass right at the forefront as Maximus’ loss theme reprises in similarly grand form to that of “The Battle”, and standout cue “Now We Are Free” then makes absolutely exquisite use of Lisa Gerrard’s vocals once again with the aforementioned theme centre stage. All the gorgeous orchestral and vocal ambience of the score so far feels like it’s been building up to this moment and at four minutes long it certainly doesn’t disappoint, being a pretty perfectly serene yet also rather wondrous finish to this pretty fantastic score.

Overall, Hans Zimmer’s score for Ridley Scott’s iconic Gladiator is noble yet heartfelt, which not only pretty expertly summarises the tone of the film but also manages to be utterly mesmerising both in theme and style throughout its sixty minute runtime. For the former, Zimmer’s exquisitely serene theme for Maximus and the losses he suffers is by far the highlight of the score – as shown in the beautiful standout cue “Now We Are Free” – but rapid runners up for sure are the proudly grand war theme and the mirroringly malevolent motif for Commodus, and all together each of these perform excellently in both conveying the film’s solemn narrative and also being very memorable in their own right. Stylistically, the score is utterly drenched in this richly wonderful ambience with a gentle orchestra in tow for much of its runtime alongside Lisa Gerrard’s frankly fantastic vocals, though action does heed its call when needed as evidented in “The Battle” and “Barbarian Horde” (both of which rather entertainingly show early signs of a proto-Pirates Of The Caribbean action style) and it’s all exceedingly enjoyable. All-in then, with exquisite themes and an enjoyable style, Gladiator is of course well worth checking out.

Score: 8.5/10

Standout Cue: 17. Now We Are Free

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