Despite all these similarities I can still tell the difference between almost all of these (for the movies I know) and accurately name which song comes from which (and for some, where in the movie). So even if they're similar, they're different enough for me. In general the quality of the music is found in the layers of the song.
About chord progressions, there's only a few that sound decent so similarities are almost always found in songs in the same key (assuming they're both orchestral)
Hans Zimmer is fantastically overrated. He get's a lot of work because he works so quickly. He has a team of people dicking around on computers all day. He's basically an overpaid sound designer these days. Can't say any of his film scores inspire me.
@jazz4 You basically just said that because his work doesn't inspire YOU, you assume that he's ONLY hired because he works quickly. He can't POSSIBLY inspire anyone else. Your opinion trumps all, right? Wrong. He is one of the most talented composers in history. He may not inspire you, but he's hired because he inspires others. Lots of others.
I think the main reason for these similarities is the audiences they're aimed at. These are all fairly average hollywood action movies and their main market is not exactly gunna be educated music critics or artists. The composers compose unoriginal music because the audience they're composing for doesn't expect challenging or original music, they just want to hear cheesy chord sequences and horn solos for heroism and fast strings/percussion for action etc.
Ok, there is a difference between completely copying and being inspired by something. Zimmer is allowed to use his own work as inspiration for films he did the score for, it is an artist's style so when we hear the music we know, that must be Zimmer. I'm not saying that he hasn't taken a lot of the same phrases from other composers, but when it his work in his movies, cut the guy some slack...off soapbox.
The whole point of a music score in a movie is to set the mood and provide sound when there isn't any dialogue. So, to set a mood, you use chord progressions. It's really no shock that there are similarities, because they are trying to set the same mood. And natural chord progression sounds better than odd ones. :shrug: My own two cents.
Film music is a rather insane industry when it comes to this subject matter, breaking down to more then just themes sounding alike. For one, Badelt, Jablonsky, and Zimmer are more or less 'coworkers' in a studio Zimmer founded, hence why they're so similar so often. Either way it goes well beyond them. Even the greats, like John Williams, do it. I dare you to listen to the Harry Potter theme and then follow it up with Schindler's List, Hook, and Jurassic Park.
Most of the first ones I'd picked up on myself, but wondered if I was just hearing things! :) Hanz Zimmer's 'One Day' from POTC came on in the car, and I genuinely thought I was listening to 'All Of Them' from his King Arthur soundtrack for a minute or so!
And the Narnia/ Kingdom of Heaven one isn't even subtle! xD I mean, James Horner's more subtle than that!! (and I played a clip of his 'Glory' soundtrack to my mum and she thought it was 'Braveheart' so..)
Before I watched this vid, I thought that Zimmer was at least the second best film composer of all time behind John Williams. Now I'm not so sure. All he does is write one good compilation and then recycle it over and over again in different films. It's way more than just the ones you showed, too.
@klw7789 completely agree, hans zimmer just recycles the crap out of previous work. john williams changes up all the time - star wars, superman, JFK, harry potter, hook
I know, I am watching Gladiator now and I have to look up to make sure that it isn't pirates. As a band geek who has played Pirates many times, this makes me very sad.
Hans Zimmer sucks.Hans Zimmer has not made an actual real original score since "Prince Of Egypt"...and before that "Lion King". Compare those 2 soundtracks to he complete shit he makes nowdays.Hes a fucking lazy ass composer now...and he rips shit off left and right.Gladiator....was a piece of shit soundtrack that rips off Gustav Holst....as if that hasnt been done a million times already.
I rather suspect much of this "copying" is not intentional, but rather arises from repeated efforts to write similarly-styled scores.
The only copying I think must have a degree of intent is what Horner does - compare the "three chords" from Titanic and Avatar, and that brass trill from Avatar (Hometree), Braveheart, Brainstorm (Heart Attack)...
I dont think there is anything wrong with using your previous tracks to burrow certain parts or create a similar sound. Just listen to half the shit that comes out today in hip hop...its all same beat...and they take it from one another, hanz zimmer takes it from himself lol. Him, James and Steve are amazing and i for one dont give a shit if some tracks are similar....cause they are all amazing
This was really interesting to listen at. I did not know that so many scores are so close to each other, it is quite shocking for me. But I like Hans and I think you have to accredit his ability to make somthing great out of ideas from other composers. I see it as an art in itself being able to steal but making something new out of it and apply it to a different context. I think it's a great way. And you can't really reinvent the wheel you know.
I completely agree that a lot of film composers copy, but we have to keep in mind that these guys have sometimes only 2 or 3 weeks to write hours of music. To be able to come up with that amount of completely original material in such a short time would be insane. Also, to be be correct no music is original anymore (except avant garde stuff), but that is beside the point. So yes, film composers do copy, but given the ridiculous time frames they have, I say they are doing an incredible job! =)
This is pretty cool. I just watched Gladiator knowing that Hans Zimmer composed it in a week and borrowed a lot from Holst. But I noticed it sounded like his other movies and I couldn't help but look it up. This video really expanded my horizons. It's understandable how Klaus And Jablonsky use Zimmer's themes since they are under him but Hans copying Horner must make them rivals!
yes hans zimmer does recycle alot, but thats cuz hes a lazy bastard. he definite has the skills to write GOOD music unlike most other composers who has no music i like
another dumb video that thinks that just because music sounds similar, its the SAME MUSIC.
Just because something sounds the same, doesn't mean it is the same.
People forget that many directors and producers want a specific type of sound for their movies. Also, it's funny how people only criticize Zimmer for this and never people like Danny Elfman or John Williams. Why is that?
Zimmer has scored over 100 movies, check them out before deciding that "all his music is the same"
Nice job mate! Some of them are obviously two people having the same idea, others are the same composer running out of ideas, and then there's the plain rip off. Crazy!
I found a similarity between Kingdom of Heaven OST and Star Wars OST too.Listen the End Title Part II of KoH complete score, from 2:26 to 2:40 it's the Star Wars main theme but a very slow version I think.
Well remember these directors hire these composers because of their sound from the music, Zimmer has this dark powerful sound but he can change the music very easily depending on the film, what the film needs, and what does the director and him wants on the film, Micheal Giacchino is like a mini John Williams, such as Steve is a mini Zimmer, its all based on their sounds and what they can give to the film.
Begin comparing classical music, there you'll find just the same similarities. With the screenplay it doesn't really matter as long as it builds the right tension etc.. ;) And again, they make a lot of money using cliches, which are cliches for a reason. What Neil Parfitt said longer down is also a big reason why.
Begin comparing classical music, there you'll find just the same similarities. With the screenplay it doesn't really matter as long as it builds the right tension etc.. ;) And again, they make a lot of money using cliches, which are cliches for a reason. What Neil Parfitt said longer down is also a big reason why. I also find it quite silly when people of classical origin diss composers who doesn't fit in their classical niche of "original/old masters":)
This video is idiotic. Most of the comparisons sound nothing alike. They just have somewhat the same pattern, and who cares? If it's a formula that works, why change it? The notes sound nothing like, however, and the author of this video just knows nothing about music.
around 80% is by hans zimmer so it's not really copying it's more... reusing the old themes which I mean, there are only so many themes that go around it's not exactly a bad thing and sometimes it's just a style.
John Williams' Emperor's Theme from Star Wars vs Nicholas Hooper's "Death of Sirius"
"La Folía" chord progression vs Vangelis' "Conquest of Paradise" (I know, the melody is totally different)
You know, a composer hears a theme and it goes into his subconscious. He hardly knows he's plagiarizing. As for the plagiarizing the masters of classical music, I would take it just as a source of inspiration.
The important thing you're missing here is that when directors 'temp' a score - it's usually previous films that they WANT it to sound like. And once they've worked to that temp score for months - that's what they want to hear, so the composer has to mimic what was there - if it was their own score or another composers. That why things start sounding the same. Remember when all movies started to sound like Thomas Newman after Shawshank and American Beauty? It's all about the temp music.
this is a pretty good comparison video... but i reckon its alright if a compser finds a style they can work really well - i guess its the musical version of Tim Burton or Michael Bay - if you've watched one of their films you've pretty much seen the formula for all the rest of their films, but there's no doubt they're brilliant at what they do
a lot of the pieces being compared are diferent films by th same composer so the music s going to have a similar sound becuase of said composers style and the comparison between van helsing and backdrafts same one note thing they were completely different pitches the only thing that was the same was the driving eitgh note pusling.
Often, though, Zimmer takes the piss a bit - there's a chord sequence in Avatar that is a note different from one in Troy, and a sequence from Narnia and Kingdom of Heaven that is identical.
Ha, yep, this feeds my family's opinion that all James Horner scores sound the same. Sure, they use similar chords, rhythms, sequences, etc (I'm not very musical) but he's got his style and is sticking to it. And there's only so many things you can do with an orchestra, and only so many musical themes fitting for certain moods.
Speaking of horner, just listen to his Star Trek soundtracks (Star treks 2 & 3) and then listen to Aliens (especially the Klingon theme from search for spock, then the Alien motif)
Hans Zimmer is a FAR more versatile composer than Jablonsky. Jablonsky only has one score that I'd really call "amazing", and that's Steamboy, which most people don't even know. Zimmer has perfected a very distinct action style that Jablonsky, though he does it well, can only copy. Plus, Zimmer has done romcoms (The Holiday), dramas (Frost/Nixon), horror (The Ring), animated (Lion King etc.)...
@JoeSnyderwalk Well,apart from the genres..An opinion is an opinion but you really can't say that Jablosnky is better indeed. Zimmer defined himslef as a composer by doing exactly the same in a different style. Everyone with knowledge of filmmusic, like you, knows what i mean by that. And Jablonsky is a good one, but he's a copycat also.
@JoeSnyderwalk You're right. Hans Zimmer tracks are different, you can't recognize only hearing for the first time. Like you said, he's versatile. In my opinion, Hans Zimmer is the best composer in the world.
@JoeSnyderwalk While I agree that Hans Zimmer is better, I have to say that Jablonsky has several really good scores. In fact, he worked on The Curse of the Black Pearl, and has his music for Transformers is on par with many other soundtracks.
@JoeSnyderwalk I agree. It's also good to remember that before Steve Jablonsky worked for Hans, he was writing that light music for Desperate Housewives. Now listen to him; he's totally Zimmerfied.
What the animated corpse of sweet lord Jeebus -- how does Zimmer (and his ilk) earn their living nowadays?! Film producers can just download a decade old soundtrack of Zimmer's, hike up the tempo a couple of notches and maybe change the key if the audience is too alert. Arrrrrrghhhhh!!!
Nice catches there. I had already detected the Harry Gregson-Williams one and the Gladiator/POTC one. Hans Zimmer is awesome. I think he still does a lot of good original work (Sherlock Holmes, Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Black Hawk Down), so I forgive him.
If film composers are seeking not primarily originality but synchrony and justified context, then I'm not surprised that genres often amalgamate certain motifs and rhythms. But they should still publicly acknowledge their influences.
Wow, I'd say a lot of these are copyright infringements, right? Because the music isn't under Hans Zimmer's name... it's under the movie's production company and what not. So it is possible to steal from "himself?"
Si señor. No hay duda de que hay muchas copias y versiones en el mundo de las BSO. Hans Zimmer se autoplagia constantemente, aunque también puede entenderse como parte de un estilo. Y el hecho de que "Gladiator" esté clarísimamente inspirado en el "Marte" de Holst tiene mucha lógica, porque se trata del dios romano de la guerra. Ocurre igual con la "Marcha Imperial" de "El Imperio Contraataca" de John Williams.
@MrZygoticmynci True....I must admit, it does unfortunately sometimes seem like patchwork pieces that lacks originality. That's when the business side of hollywood triumphs the artistic side, which is often caused by too tight deadlines.
it is sad that so many copy from each other and sure somewhat pathetic that composers get lazy and rip themselves off... but nonetheless, i still love soundtrack music. althought, hans zimmer is the worst---i could listen to every piece he composed and think it was from the same film!!!!
This is brilliant. I'm not musical in the slightest, yet I KNEW I heard some of the same music for different films! Thanks for enlightening me on just how many there actually are though....
I don't really have too much of a problem with a composer or his prodegies reusing the same stuff, but one composer stealing from another crosses the line.
Hans Zimmer doesn't even like his own music, or so he says in a bunch of interviews.
I guess that's why he's ok with producing stock sounds; I would be surprised if he has just composed 30 second cues and is transposing them and piecing them together when needed.
You caught me - it's from a bonus track called "Pirates, Day One, 4:56 A.M." that came on the extra CD of the Pirates soundtracks box set. I was looking for the most obvious statement of that theme, one that has a similar rhythm/pace to the Rock theme it copied, that's why I took it.
I see....well, what about the part of King Arthur that sounds like "Hello Beastie", can that actually be found on the released King Arthur score? If yes, which track is it?
Very interesting, but the same type of music evokes the same response form the viewer. And besides, good music is still good music, as long as it's somewhat different.
You have done a fabulous job of finding the things
But my personal opinion is Where the Zimmer copied thrice the gladiators music and one of the rock sound track in Pirates of The Caribbean .
I actually felt that the original is not that good as it is in the pirates of Caribbean .Well i mean zimmer knows what instruments to put in to make it more epic
Wow the Most beautifully copied track is only and only pirate of Caribbean
This is a cool video. I've noticed a lot of film score similarities, but it's still cool to have them put together like this.
One notable one is in John William's scores for Harry Potter and the Sorcere's Stone and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. You can hear the same motifs towards the beginning of The Quidditch Match in Harry Potter and at the beginning of Anakin's Dark Deeds in Star Wars.
Nevertheless, these composers are original enough to entertain with every new score.
@bobtheelectricslob Even weirder than that there a similarities between both the christmas music in Harry Potter and The Home Alone theme, once again both written by John Williams.
Oh, and the "Zimmer action sequence" - that vi-IV-I-V chord progression - is ridiculously popular, and not only with Zimmer. It's frequently used for action stuff, especially by Zimmer's protegés (Badelt, Gregson-Williams, Powell, Jablonsky, Rabin...)
Definitely. I believe it's the chord progression of The Rock, Deep Blue Sea, Shrek and Narnia themes, as well as the King Arthur/AWE stuff I've shown AND one of the original PotC themes (the last one in He's a Pirate).
Goes to show that Zimmer and his pupils don't have much classical training, more got more of a rock/pop background which makes them rely on more simplistic chord progressions. I still love Media Ventures music mind you!
@JoeSnyderwalk Add City of Ember, Stardust, Sunshine, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to that list. :D It's an awesome chord progression though, so I don't mind. What really bothers me is extreme theme duplication. I'm fine if they're similar, but if it's nearly the exact same, it's bothersome. Being a composer myself, I know how easy it is to write the same thing twice, and half the time I don't even realize I did it.
Good video, although I'm going to agree with consensus and say that Horner is worse. Zimmer's rip-offs are more like "Oh, you silly man," and he usually rips off his own music. Horner's, on the other hand, are more like, "Wow, you COMPLETELY stole that from Prokofiev and you didn't even change it, you hack." I'm with @abeliever13 on that one.
Great video! I've been telling people this for years, but now I'll just send a link to your video!
For some reason, I can listen to Hans Zimmer and not get tired of the repetition, but the similarities between James Horner's scores gets to me. Regardless of all of the similarities between all of the composers, you're still likely to find either a movie score or classical music in my car and ipod.
Yeah, I'm planning on making a video in the near future about all the similarities between Horner's Avatar and other scores. There are a LOT, Horner up to his usual tricks, of course.
I'm a little busy at the moment, expect it in the next month or two...but don't kill me if it's late.
Also, Drop Zone and Backdraft have some REALLY direct precursors to Pirates. If you ever do a follow-up video, you must include those, as well as the ridiculous Bicentennial Man/A Beautiful Mind similarities you mentioned in response to leeallen01.
Regarding Backdraft, "Burn It All" contains some very direct precursors to "Barbossa Is Hungry", for instance. IIRC, there's also an instance of that same chord progression from the end of this video, and some parts that are very similar to action music from The Lion King.
I love how you covered up the original music composed and conducted by Kalus Badelt, who was the original composer of all the themes of the Pirates of the caribbean trilogy and covered it with Hans Zimmer who took the credit.
IT WAS ZIMMER who penned the PotC themes. Since Alan Silvestri was fired in the last minute, there wasn't much time to compose the score so HZ called up a bunch of his "pupils", including Badelt and Steve Jablonsky, to take the themes and turn them into a score.
Also, since HZ was composing Last Samurai at the time, he wasn't allowed to take full credit. That, and only that is why KB's name is on the front cover. In reality, HZ did just as much composing for CotBP as he did for DMC and AWE.
Okay thanks for clearing that up. I read and heard from several sources that Klaus Badelt composed the entire soundtrack to the first film and then zimmer did the second and third.
But still doesn't remove the fact that I get people constantly saying to me why do you like James Horner, he uses the same music in all his films. and I say, no it's just the same style and a few simular notes, but zimmer uses almost identical pieces in his music as is demonstrated by this video.
As for James Horner, it's more than just a few notes I'd say...Compare "The Machine Age" from Bicentennial Man with "A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics" from A Beautiful Mind. That's just as egregious a copy as anything I've put up here. Or else document the use of Robert Schumann's Rheinische Symphonie as the main theme of Willow...When I made this video, I wasn't very familiar with James Horner. Otherwise I would have added a few more of his more flagrant imitations.
James Horner has a few good scores, but it is impossible to cover all his copying in a single YouTube video. One would have to go over the 11-minute limit by about...2 hours!!!
Hans Zimmer, yes, some of his stuff is overrated (Gladiator, Dark Knight). But I love him anyway!
i was a fan of Horner before i discoverd how much he ripped off Prokofiev so many times, especially in "the land before time" (beside carl orff), can't remember which piece exactly he did ripped off. Have been very disappointed.
The thing with guys like Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman is that they aren't well practiced in classical music, they started in bands. Therefore, they don't have the techniques in classical to pull them out of corners.
Great video, but the Curse of the Black Pearl (first Pirates movie) was composed and conducted by Klaus Badelt, NOT Hans Zimmer. It even says on the cover, and it's obviously seen in this video.
Very well put together. I should mention though that Steve Jablonsky studied under Hans Zimmer so it makes sense that their stuff sounds similar.
Hans Zimmer and James Horner (in fact most movie scorers) are reuse a lot of their work.
I for one think temptation is bigger when they make a good score for a crappy film so they "remix" it for a better film... kind of like King Arthur (horrid film).
This is the world if film scoring though. Heck even video game music has issues (MGS theme).
We all have our opinions. Batman Begins may not be the most listenable score ever, but I like it a lot and it was the first time Hans Zimmer used those eighth-note ostinati that he's grown so fond of - that, btw, were used extensively in, you guessed it, Transformers.
So why don't you like it? It's true that the Dark Knight has generated a vast amount of hype, which is understandably annoying, but BB definitely has its merits, IMHO.
And don't forget about the ost of Apocalypto and Avatar. They have many common notes.
THfanfille 1 week ago
Despite all these similarities I can still tell the difference between almost all of these (for the movies I know) and accurately name which song comes from which (and for some, where in the movie). So even if they're similar, they're different enough for me. In general the quality of the music is found in the layers of the song.
About chord progressions, there's only a few that sound decent so similarities are almost always found in songs in the same key (assuming they're both orchestral)
plukerpluck 1 month ago
Hey! I'm taking a course called Film Music and my prof just showed your video in class ^___^
Gilove2dance 1 month ago
Hans Zimmer is fantastically overrated. He get's a lot of work because he works so quickly. He has a team of people dicking around on computers all day. He's basically an overpaid sound designer these days. Can't say any of his film scores inspire me.
jazz4 2 months ago 4
@jazz4 You basically just said that because his work doesn't inspire YOU, you assume that he's ONLY hired because he works quickly. He can't POSSIBLY inspire anyone else. Your opinion trumps all, right? Wrong. He is one of the most talented composers in history. He may not inspire you, but he's hired because he inspires others. Lots of others.
thatwhichisgiven 2 months ago
@jazz4 they still fit the films well.
aradioactivedonut 1 week ago
Some of tees similarities come from the scales and the keys they are played in
htmac321 4 months ago
I think the main reason for these similarities is the audiences they're aimed at. These are all fairly average hollywood action movies and their main market is not exactly gunna be educated music critics or artists. The composers compose unoriginal music because the audience they're composing for doesn't expect challenging or original music, they just want to hear cheesy chord sequences and horn solos for heroism and fast strings/percussion for action etc.
Jvenvell 4 months ago
This is stupid because most of these scores are by Hans Zimmer, so it's not copying because he's re-using things from his own music!
kathrynm37 5 months ago
Ok, there is a difference between completely copying and being inspired by something. Zimmer is allowed to use his own work as inspiration for films he did the score for, it is an artist's style so when we hear the music we know, that must be Zimmer. I'm not saying that he hasn't taken a lot of the same phrases from other composers, but when it his work in his movies, cut the guy some slack...off soapbox.
bmackenzie2012 6 months ago
Haven't there been a lot of apologists for composers in these videos lately?
RichardKleiner 6 months ago
The whole point of a music score in a movie is to set the mood and provide sound when there isn't any dialogue. So, to set a mood, you use chord progressions. It's really no shock that there are similarities, because they are trying to set the same mood. And natural chord progression sounds better than odd ones. :shrug: My own two cents.
PrincessMekka 7 months ago 7
steve and hans sound similar..maby because hans zimmer taught steve jablonsky...thats why..and so what
XOshamelessXO 7 months ago
Very interesting. I noticed from listening to The Lion King that Zimmer used a similar sounding theme to Mozarts requiem.
christinelucas 7 months ago
Im never watching another transformer movie again. And Hans Zimmer - You disgrace me!
johnnydeppzls 7 months ago
Film music is a rather insane industry when it comes to this subject matter, breaking down to more then just themes sounding alike. For one, Badelt, Jablonsky, and Zimmer are more or less 'coworkers' in a studio Zimmer founded, hence why they're so similar so often. Either way it goes well beyond them. Even the greats, like John Williams, do it. I dare you to listen to the Harry Potter theme and then follow it up with Schindler's List, Hook, and Jurassic Park.
mooglenaur 7 months ago
Most of the first ones I'd picked up on myself, but wondered if I was just hearing things! :) Hanz Zimmer's 'One Day' from POTC came on in the car, and I genuinely thought I was listening to 'All Of Them' from his King Arthur soundtrack for a minute or so!
And the Narnia/ Kingdom of Heaven one isn't even subtle! xD I mean, James Horner's more subtle than that!! (and I played a clip of his 'Glory' soundtrack to my mum and she thought it was 'Braveheart' so..)
Love this! :)
MagicPixieSprinkle 7 months ago
Because it is the signature of Hans Zimmer!
SaluteToQueen 7 months ago
@SaluteToQueen Besides, would like to know the name of the first soundtrack.
SaluteToQueen 7 months ago
Eh, so what? It's good listening!
BarrelsPolesandJack 7 months ago
hey, guys, compare Zack Hemsey - Mind Heist and Steve Jablonski It's Our Fight (transformers 3)..Jablonski is good but Hemsey is better!!!!!
felix2otter1 7 months ago
Before I watched this vid, I thought that Zimmer was at least the second best film composer of all time behind John Williams. Now I'm not so sure. All he does is write one good compilation and then recycle it over and over again in different films. It's way more than just the ones you showed, too.
klw7789 8 months ago
@klw7789 completely agree, hans zimmer just recycles the crap out of previous work. john williams changes up all the time - star wars, superman, JFK, harry potter, hook
skiman1120 7 months ago
I know, I am watching Gladiator now and I have to look up to make sure that it isn't pirates. As a band geek who has played Pirates many times, this makes me very sad.
FeebiDraven 8 months ago
Woah... Try to compare part 5:12 to the last samurai soundtrack -final charge part 3:33 and The final charge with the pearl harbor soundtrack -War
Grievous121 8 months ago
Hans Zimmer sucks.Hans Zimmer has not made an actual real original score since "Prince Of Egypt"...and before that "Lion King". Compare those 2 soundtracks to he complete shit he makes nowdays.Hes a fucking lazy ass composer now...and he rips shit off left and right.Gladiator....was a piece of shit soundtrack that rips off Gustav Holst....as if that hasnt been done a million times already.
Mathew1985AZ 8 months ago
The songs are ALL good, its just that they sound ALL the same
elliedrama46 8 months ago
Wow, lots of 13year olds here... :(
luissanchezHD 8 months ago
I rather suspect much of this "copying" is not intentional, but rather arises from repeated efforts to write similarly-styled scores.
The only copying I think must have a degree of intent is what Horner does - compare the "three chords" from Titanic and Avatar, and that brass trill from Avatar (Hometree), Braveheart, Brainstorm (Heart Attack)...
But that does not bother me either.
1RadicalOne 8 months ago
I dont think there is anything wrong with using your previous tracks to burrow certain parts or create a similar sound. Just listen to half the shit that comes out today in hip hop...its all same beat...and they take it from one another, hanz zimmer takes it from himself lol. Him, James and Steve are amazing and i for one dont give a shit if some tracks are similar....cause they are all amazing
ScSSwav 9 months ago
This was really interesting to listen at. I did not know that so many scores are so close to each other, it is quite shocking for me. But I like Hans and I think you have to accredit his ability to make somthing great out of ideas from other composers. I see it as an art in itself being able to steal but making something new out of it and apply it to a different context. I think it's a great way. And you can't really reinvent the wheel you know.
intermediate007 9 months ago
Search youtube for "A Thomas & Friends Title Sequence", and listen to the first result.
carpetthewalls 9 months ago
I completely agree that a lot of film composers copy, but we have to keep in mind that these guys have sometimes only 2 or 3 weeks to write hours of music. To be able to come up with that amount of completely original material in such a short time would be insane. Also, to be be correct no music is original anymore (except avant garde stuff), but that is beside the point. So yes, film composers do copy, but given the ridiculous time frames they have, I say they are doing an incredible job! =)
Tld823 9 months ago
This is pretty cool. I just watched Gladiator knowing that Hans Zimmer composed it in a week and borrowed a lot from Holst. But I noticed it sounded like his other movies and I couldn't help but look it up. This video really expanded my horizons. It's understandable how Klaus And Jablonsky use Zimmer's themes since they are under him but Hans copying Horner must make them rivals!
MichaelKhanTV 9 months ago
hans zimmer is WAAYY to pop
BowetBurger 9 months ago
yes hans zimmer does recycle alot, but thats cuz hes a lazy bastard. he definite has the skills to write GOOD music unlike most other composers who has no music i like
estring123 10 months ago
In 'At World's End', some parts in the string section (see Will's Death) are exactly the same as previously heard in King Arthur.
TrojanKassandra 10 months ago
I am extremely dissapointed in seeing/hearing this :( .... my dream is to be a good movie composer ....
kutibotond 10 months ago
Check out "The Rock" O.s.t ( by Hans Zimmer ) "House Jail"
and
"Armageddon" O.s.t ( By Trevor Rabin) "Ruturning Home"
At a moment we can hear the same music ;)
nemotyrannus 11 months ago
The similarities between the music in Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean actually distracts me from watching both films, and it irritates me.
highonrebellion1 11 months ago
LOL, its good music tho.
einstienear 11 months ago
hey but come on,... Hans Zimmer isnt the master of copying just that he's using his OWN themes.... THat's dumb xD
TombRaiderFreak105 1 year ago
another dumb video that thinks that just because music sounds similar, its the SAME MUSIC.
Just because something sounds the same, doesn't mean it is the same.
People forget that many directors and producers want a specific type of sound for their movies. Also, it's funny how people only criticize Zimmer for this and never people like Danny Elfman or John Williams. Why is that?
Zimmer has scored over 100 movies, check them out before deciding that "all his music is the same"
ShriekoftheVulture3 1 year ago
@ShriekoftheVulture3 elfman + Williams = original
BowetBurger 9 months ago
Nice job mate! Some of them are obviously two people having the same idea, others are the same composer running out of ideas, and then there's the plain rip off. Crazy!
TheGrandelMorro 1 year ago
"Maybe I'm wrong to dig into music, intent on finding the slighest similarities"
no, your not, this is really intresting, keep it up :D
FutureNova95 1 year ago
I found it!Listen this : watch?v=yXKXxREBLEY
- from 2:03 to 2:40 -> Troy OST
- from 2:54 to 3:07 -> Star Wars main theme but very very slow or am I wrong?
THfanfille 1 year ago
I found a similarity between Kingdom of Heaven OST and Star Wars OST too.Listen the End Title Part II of KoH complete score, from 2:26 to 2:40 it's the Star Wars main theme but a very slow version I think.
THfanfille 1 year ago
Well remember these directors hire these composers because of their sound from the music, Zimmer has this dark powerful sound but he can change the music very easily depending on the film, what the film needs, and what does the director and him wants on the film, Micheal Giacchino is like a mini John Williams, such as Steve is a mini Zimmer, its all based on their sounds and what they can give to the film.
Jedimaster20 1 year ago
I also made similar film music video.....I want your thoughts. :)
MichaelJacksonFan000 1 year ago
Begin comparing classical music, there you'll find just the same similarities. With the screenplay it doesn't really matter as long as it builds the right tension etc.. ;) And again, they make a lot of money using cliches, which are cliches for a reason. What Neil Parfitt said longer down is also a big reason why.
iatealltheLps 1 year ago
Begin comparing classical music, there you'll find just the same similarities. With the screenplay it doesn't really matter as long as it builds the right tension etc.. ;) And again, they make a lot of money using cliches, which are cliches for a reason. What Neil Parfitt said longer down is also a big reason why. I also find it quite silly when people of classical origin diss composers who doesn't fit in their classical niche of "original/old masters":)
iatealltheLps 1 year ago
Beautiful! I see I'm not alone that gets a bit irritated by these film music similarities.
(I have actually composed a pieces myself which I call "Typical Film Music", feel free to take a look!)
Mozartstavanger 1 year ago
This video is idiotic. Most of the comparisons sound nothing alike. They just have somewhat the same pattern, and who cares? If it's a formula that works, why change it? The notes sound nothing like, however, and the author of this video just knows nothing about music.
j00g0t0wnd 1 year ago
around 80% is by hans zimmer so it's not really copying it's more... reusing the old themes which I mean, there are only so many themes that go around it's not exactly a bad thing and sometimes it's just a style.
Fruitkiwi 1 year ago
I would add:
John Williams' Emperor's Theme from Star Wars vs Nicholas Hooper's "Death of Sirius"
"La Folía" chord progression vs Vangelis' "Conquest of Paradise" (I know, the melody is totally different)
You know, a composer hears a theme and it goes into his subconscious. He hardly knows he's plagiarizing. As for the plagiarizing the masters of classical music, I would take it just as a source of inspiration.
subkontrabasklarinet 1 year ago
badelt and jablonsky composed the gladiator - soundtrack !!
search for an interview with badelt
Nikeshock00391 1 year ago
The important thing you're missing here is that when directors 'temp' a score - it's usually previous films that they WANT it to sound like. And once they've worked to that temp score for months - that's what they want to hear, so the composer has to mimic what was there - if it was their own score or another composers. That why things start sounding the same. Remember when all movies started to sound like Thomas Newman after Shawshank and American Beauty? It's all about the temp music.
TheNeilParfitt 1 year ago
this is a pretty good comparison video... but i reckon its alright if a compser finds a style they can work really well - i guess its the musical version of Tim Burton or Michael Bay - if you've watched one of their films you've pretty much seen the formula for all the rest of their films, but there's no doubt they're brilliant at what they do
littlesister327 1 year ago
a lot of the pieces being compared are diferent films by th same composer so the music s going to have a similar sound becuase of said composers style and the comparison between van helsing and backdrafts same one note thing they were completely different pitches the only thing that was the same was the driving eitgh note pusling.
bstaley09 1 year ago
Often, though, Zimmer takes the piss a bit - there's a chord sequence in Avatar that is a note different from one in Troy, and a sequence from Narnia and Kingdom of Heaven that is identical.
But he kicks ass, so who cares?
job87meh 1 year ago
Ha, yep, this feeds my family's opinion that all James Horner scores sound the same. Sure, they use similar chords, rhythms, sequences, etc (I'm not very musical) but he's got his style and is sticking to it. And there's only so many things you can do with an orchestra, and only so many musical themes fitting for certain moods.
job87meh 1 year ago
Speaking of horner, just listen to his Star Trek soundtracks (Star treks 2 & 3) and then listen to Aliens (especially the Klingon theme from search for spock, then the Alien motif)
waffleownage 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Steve Jablonsky is a better composer than Hans Zimmer.
Just my opinion...
MichaelJacksonFan000 1 year ago
Why do you think so?
Hans Zimmer is a FAR more versatile composer than Jablonsky. Jablonsky only has one score that I'd really call "amazing", and that's Steamboy, which most people don't even know. Zimmer has perfected a very distinct action style that Jablonsky, though he does it well, can only copy. Plus, Zimmer has done romcoms (The Holiday), dramas (Frost/Nixon), horror (The Ring), animated (Lion King etc.)...
Jablonsky's good. Zimmer's better ;)
JoeSnyderwalk 1 year ago 13
@JoeSnyderwalk Well,apart from the genres..An opinion is an opinion but you really can't say that Jablosnky is better indeed. Zimmer defined himslef as a composer by doing exactly the same in a different style. Everyone with knowledge of filmmusic, like you, knows what i mean by that. And Jablonsky is a good one, but he's a copycat also.
ledgerdeathshit 1 year ago
Comment removed
BleedingAngelz 1 year ago
@JoeSnyderwalk It's just that Zimmer's music can be very repetitive and similar sounding to each other. Both are still good composers.
Anyways, great video. Can you have a look at my video of similar scores please?
MichaelJacksonFan000 1 year ago
@JoeSnyderwalk You're right. Hans Zimmer tracks are different, you can't recognize only hearing for the first time. Like you said, he's versatile. In my opinion, Hans Zimmer is the best composer in the world.
umagarandyorton619 1 year ago
@JoeSnyderwalk Yes, but Zimmer is not the real composer of "his own" soundtracks since 2001/2003 till now
tonytrailer 9 months ago
@JoeSnyderwalk AMzing video by the way, it is a really great job!!!!! My friends and I are always argeeing abput this stuff
tonytrailer 9 months ago
@JoeSnyderwalk While I agree that Hans Zimmer is better, I have to say that Jablonsky has several really good scores. In fact, he worked on The Curse of the Black Pearl, and has his music for Transformers is on par with many other soundtracks.
obiwankenobi2nd 7 months ago
@JoeSnyderwalk There's another hint for you!
Listen to Terminator salvation theme and Pitch Black!!!
f***g similar
mostPopularrock 3 months ago
@JoeSnyderwalk I agree. It's also good to remember that before Steve Jablonsky worked for Hans, he was writing that light music for Desperate Housewives. Now listen to him; he's totally Zimmerfied.
PhillipLober 2 months ago
@JoeSnyderwalk Not to mention Inception, one of the best film scores of all time.
thatwhichisgiven 2 months ago
@MichaelJacksonFan000 They're the same person, aren't they? Trevor Rabin too!
RotoPlasmX 1 year ago
@MichaelJacksonFan000 and its a shit opinion.
clovie101 11 months ago
3:36 what track is that??
creaturelover 1 year ago
The Battle (around 4:10, to be exact)
JoeSnyderwalk 1 year ago
At 4:29 I knew immediately that it was the kraken one that sounds exactly like it
creaturelover 1 year ago
Transformers: 2007, Batman Begins: 2005 (you confused the ripper and the ripped)
raiseer 1 year ago 2
What the animated corpse of sweet lord Jeebus -- how does Zimmer (and his ilk) earn their living nowadays?! Film producers can just download a decade old soundtrack of Zimmer's, hike up the tempo a couple of notches and maybe change the key if the audience is too alert. Arrrrrrghhhhh!!!
piedlourde 1 year ago
beh si!
Vesdrajo 1 year ago
Wow this was very interesting. I had thought that some of these were similar but hearing them all together is very interesting. Good job :)
lauragirl82888 1 year ago
Nice catches there. I had already detected the Harry Gregson-Williams one and the Gladiator/POTC one. Hans Zimmer is awesome. I think he still does a lot of good original work (Sherlock Holmes, Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Black Hawk Down), so I forgive him.
If film composers are seeking not primarily originality but synchrony and justified context, then I'm not surprised that genres often amalgamate certain motifs and rhythms. But they should still publicly acknowledge their influences.
RebellionLord 1 year ago
Wow, I'd say a lot of these are copyright infringements, right? Because the music isn't under Hans Zimmer's name... it's under the movie's production company and what not. So it is possible to steal from "himself?"
DanielCiurlizza 1 year ago
Si señor. No hay duda de que hay muchas copias y versiones en el mundo de las BSO. Hans Zimmer se autoplagia constantemente, aunque también puede entenderse como parte de un estilo. Y el hecho de que "Gladiator" esté clarísimamente inspirado en el "Marte" de Holst tiene mucha lógica, porque se trata del dios romano de la guerra. Ocurre igual con la "Marcha Imperial" de "El Imperio Contraataca" de John Williams.
pelinordeadeje 1 year ago
backdraft, i saw that movie being made
stawaz 1 year ago
Oh man! That's so cool though! Though, it's a tad shocking 0.o
zooperazip23 1 year ago
Bad idea to steal the mars rhythmic motif by Holst. Very bad idea.
ApsisApocynthion 1 year ago
Artists inspires artists, nothing new or wrong in that!
TheOpinionater 1 year ago
@TheOpinionater There's a thin line between being inspired and plagiarising.
MrZygoticmynci 1 year ago
@MrZygoticmynci True....I must admit, it does unfortunately sometimes seem like patchwork pieces that lacks originality. That's when the business side of hollywood triumphs the artistic side, which is often caused by too tight deadlines.
TheOpinionater 1 year ago
it is sad that so many copy from each other and sure somewhat pathetic that composers get lazy and rip themselves off... but nonetheless, i still love soundtrack music. althought, hans zimmer is the worst---i could listen to every piece he composed and think it was from the same film!!!!
anr730 1 year ago
Oh and what part of Gladiator is 3:40 from? I just watched it, which is why I went on YT and ended up here, and I can't place that bit...
imhuntingforwitches 1 year ago
The track called "The Battle", at about 4:10.
JoeSnyderwalk 1 year ago
This is brilliant. I'm not musical in the slightest, yet I KNEW I heard some of the same music for different films! Thanks for enlightening me on just how many there actually are though....
imhuntingforwitches 1 year ago
I don't really have too much of a problem with a composer or his prodegies reusing the same stuff, but one composer stealing from another crosses the line.
doolbro 1 year ago
you can include davinci code and angels and demons in the 'familiar chord progression.'
akhenaton1979 1 year ago
Haha I absolutely love this video.
Hans Zimmer doesn't even like his own music, or so he says in a bunch of interviews.
I guess that's why he's ok with producing stock sounds; I would be surprised if he has just composed 30 second cues and is transposing them and piecing them together when needed.
jurassicmarcmarc 1 year ago
4:05-4:11 Which track from the Pirates score was this?
Ondus2000 1 year ago
You caught me - it's from a bonus track called "Pirates, Day One, 4:56 A.M." that came on the extra CD of the Pirates soundtracks box set. I was looking for the most obvious statement of that theme, one that has a similar rhythm/pace to the Rock theme it copied, that's why I took it.
JoeSnyderwalk 1 year ago
I see....well, what about the part of King Arthur that sounds like "Hello Beastie", can that actually be found on the released King Arthur score? If yes, which track is it?
Ondus2000 1 year ago
@Ondus2000 It's the last three minutes or so of "Do You Think I'm Saxon?"
JoeSnyderwalk 1 year ago
Very interesting, but the same type of music evokes the same response form the viewer. And besides, good music is still good music, as long as it's somewhat different.
xtremespeed128 1 year ago
You have done a fabulous job of finding the things
But my personal opinion is Where the Zimmer copied thrice the gladiators music and one of the rock sound track in Pirates of The Caribbean .
I actually felt that the original is not that good as it is in the pirates of Caribbean .Well i mean zimmer knows what instruments to put in to make it more epic
Wow the Most beautifully copied track is only and only pirate of Caribbean
foodman123321 1 year ago
This is a cool video. I've noticed a lot of film score similarities, but it's still cool to have them put together like this.
One notable one is in John William's scores for Harry Potter and the Sorcere's Stone and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. You can hear the same motifs towards the beginning of The Quidditch Match in Harry Potter and at the beginning of Anakin's Dark Deeds in Star Wars.
Nevertheless, these composers are original enough to entertain with every new score.
bobtheelectricslob 2 years ago
@bobtheelectricslob Even weirder than that there a similarities between both the christmas music in Harry Potter and The Home Alone theme, once again both written by John Williams.
Merigul 2 years ago
Oh, and the "Zimmer action sequence" - that vi-IV-I-V chord progression - is ridiculously popular, and not only with Zimmer. It's frequently used for action stuff, especially by Zimmer's protegés (Badelt, Gregson-Williams, Powell, Jablonsky, Rabin...)
rief1217 2 years ago
Definitely. I believe it's the chord progression of The Rock, Deep Blue Sea, Shrek and Narnia themes, as well as the King Arthur/AWE stuff I've shown AND one of the original PotC themes (the last one in He's a Pirate).
Goes to show that Zimmer and his pupils don't have much classical training, more got more of a rock/pop background which makes them rely on more simplistic chord progressions. I still love Media Ventures music mind you!
As for Horner...Willow vs. Schumann. 'Nuff said.
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
@JoeSnyderwalk
That fu**ing chord progression is getting so obnoxious. It's so unoriginal.
jurassicmarcmarc 1 year ago
@JoeSnyderwalk Add City of Ember, Stardust, Sunshine, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to that list. :D It's an awesome chord progression though, so I don't mind. What really bothers me is extreme theme duplication. I'm fine if they're similar, but if it's nearly the exact same, it's bothersome. Being a composer myself, I know how easy it is to write the same thing twice, and half the time I don't even realize I did it.
TriJourneyStudios 1 year ago
Good video, although I'm going to agree with consensus and say that Horner is worse. Zimmer's rip-offs are more like "Oh, you silly man," and he usually rips off his own music. Horner's, on the other hand, are more like, "Wow, you COMPLETELY stole that from Prokofiev and you didn't even change it, you hack." I'm with @abeliever13 on that one.
rief1217 2 years ago
Great video! I've been telling people this for years, but now I'll just send a link to your video!
For some reason, I can listen to Hans Zimmer and not get tired of the repetition, but the similarities between James Horner's scores gets to me. Regardless of all of the similarities between all of the composers, you're still likely to find either a movie score or classical music in my car and ipod.
abeliever13 2 years ago
aaah copying, the "art of recycling"
excellent vid. Verry nice timing (and nice trick to switch each piece mono and stereo,makes the similarity more clear in a way)
Skiponline 2 years ago
LOL
or even just a note :))))
this is the best vid I've seen nowadays
SUSIEL86 2 years ago 6
Thank you!
This is the best comment I've gotten nowadays :)
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
can u make more plz. This is real neat. Im subscribing rite now so i know when u make it.
starwarsworld 2 years ago 2
Yeah, I'm planning on making a video in the near future about all the similarities between Horner's Avatar and other scores. There are a LOT, Horner up to his usual tricks, of course.
I'm a little busy at the moment, expect it in the next month or two...but don't kill me if it's late.
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
Also, Drop Zone and Backdraft have some REALLY direct precursors to Pirates. If you ever do a follow-up video, you must include those, as well as the ridiculous Bicentennial Man/A Beautiful Mind similarities you mentioned in response to leeallen01.
1taken 2 years ago
I didn't know Drop Zone when I made this video. Now I do...and it's just as obvious, if not worse, than the Gladiator and The Rock similarities :).
Backdraft, on the other hand, I didn't pick out. What tracks are the similarities between?
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
Hahaha, yup...
Regarding Backdraft, "Burn It All" contains some very direct precursors to "Barbossa Is Hungry", for instance. IIRC, there's also an instance of that same chord progression from the end of this video, and some parts that are very similar to action music from The Lion King.
1taken 2 years ago
This video is MADE of win. Thank you for posting it. =D
1taken 2 years ago
I love how you covered up the original music composed and conducted by Kalus Badelt, who was the original composer of all the themes of the Pirates of the caribbean trilogy and covered it with Hans Zimmer who took the credit.
leeallen01 2 years ago
IT WAS ZIMMER who penned the PotC themes. Since Alan Silvestri was fired in the last minute, there wasn't much time to compose the score so HZ called up a bunch of his "pupils", including Badelt and Steve Jablonsky, to take the themes and turn them into a score.
Also, since HZ was composing Last Samurai at the time, he wasn't allowed to take full credit. That, and only that is why KB's name is on the front cover. In reality, HZ did just as much composing for CotBP as he did for DMC and AWE.
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago 2
Okay thanks for clearing that up. I read and heard from several sources that Klaus Badelt composed the entire soundtrack to the first film and then zimmer did the second and third.
But still doesn't remove the fact that I get people constantly saying to me why do you like James Horner, he uses the same music in all his films. and I say, no it's just the same style and a few simular notes, but zimmer uses almost identical pieces in his music as is demonstrated by this video.
leeallen01 2 years ago
No problem.
As for James Horner, it's more than just a few notes I'd say...Compare "The Machine Age" from Bicentennial Man with "A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics" from A Beautiful Mind. That's just as egregious a copy as anything I've put up here. Or else document the use of Robert Schumann's Rheinische Symphonie as the main theme of Willow...When I made this video, I wasn't very familiar with James Horner. Otherwise I would have added a few more of his more flagrant imitations.
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
to be fair, there basically is now way to write completely original scores for the thousands and thousands of movies that are released
MugginsTecmoStars 2 years ago
You should include the themes from Speed and Godzilla.
jp3813 2 years ago
James Horner = no inspiration, self plagarism and art thief.
Hans Zimmer = one of the most overrated composer ever.
drschizo 2 years ago
James Horner has a few good scores, but it is impossible to cover all his copying in a single YouTube video. One would have to go over the 11-minute limit by about...2 hours!!!
Hans Zimmer, yes, some of his stuff is overrated (Gladiator, Dark Knight). But I love him anyway!
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
i was a fan of Horner before i discoverd how much he ripped off Prokofiev so many times, especially in "the land before time" (beside carl orff), can't remember which piece exactly he did ripped off. Have been very disappointed.
drschizo 2 years ago
The thing with guys like Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman is that they aren't well practiced in classical music, they started in bands. Therefore, they don't have the techniques in classical to pull them out of corners.
GWStreicher 2 years ago
This nothing have to do with creativity ;-)
drschizo 2 years ago
Great video, but the Curse of the Black Pearl (first Pirates movie) was composed and conducted by Klaus Badelt, NOT Hans Zimmer. It even says on the cover, and it's obviously seen in this video.
MichaelJacksonFan000 2 years ago
Zimmer wrote most of the themes. Badelt and lots of other associates filled in the rest.
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
Very well put together. I should mention though that Steve Jablonsky studied under Hans Zimmer so it makes sense that their stuff sounds similar.
Hans Zimmer and James Horner (in fact most movie scorers) are reuse a lot of their work.
I for one think temptation is bigger when they make a good score for a crappy film so they "remix" it for a better film... kind of like King Arthur (horrid film).
This is the world if film scoring though. Heck even video game music has issues (MGS theme).
TenchuXmusic 2 years ago 11
One note thing... pioneer was Alban Berg -> Look up Wozzeck the opera... lots of that stuff.
Atonal stuff was used a lot in older films like Psycho.
crimsonrose 2 years ago
ah, thanks, you also spotted the Kingdom of Heaven-Narnia one.
RichardKleiner 2 years ago
Hans Zimmer's good when he gets creative. The problem is that when everything he does sounds the same, it gets old.
RichardKleiner 2 years ago 2
Thank you for calling Batman Begins soundtrack over-hyped. SO VERY OVER-HYPED!
WannaBeComposer 2 years ago
Ah, sorry buddy.
I was calling the Transformers soundtrack overhyped. Batman Begins is epic.
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
Epic-ly unimpressive?
WannaBeComposer 2 years ago
Touché :)
We all have our opinions. Batman Begins may not be the most listenable score ever, but I like it a lot and it was the first time Hans Zimmer used those eighth-note ostinati that he's grown so fond of - that, btw, were used extensively in, you guessed it, Transformers.
So why don't you like it? It's true that the Dark Knight has generated a vast amount of hype, which is understandably annoying, but BB definitely has its merits, IMHO.
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago
great vid!!! zimmer does have a knack for recycling a LOT. still, it's his sound and he is an amazing composer.
btw the gladiator/potc no.3 has a better example (from potc) which is frankly hilarious!!!!
cjbrett22 2 years ago
Really? Between which tracks?
JoeSnyderwalk 2 years ago