The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with writer John Logan. The film stars Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, as well as Ken Watanabe, Shin Koyamada, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Timothy Spall and Billy Connolly. Inspired by a project by Vincent Ward, it interested Edward Zwick and Ward later served as executive producer. The film production went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward’s native New Zealand.

Cruise portrays American officer Nathan Algren, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th Century Japan. The film's plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and on the westernization of Japan by colonial powers, though this is largely attributed to the United States in the film for American audiences.

The Last Samurai was well received upon release, with a worldwide box office of $456 million. It was nominated for several awards, including the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the National Board of Review.

Plot[link]

In 1876, Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is traumatized by massacring Native Americans in the Indian Wars and has become an alcoholic to stave off the memories, relating war stories to audiences. Algren is approached by former colleague Zebulon Gant (Billy Connolly), who takes him to meet Algren's former Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn), whom Algren despises for the massacre. On behalf of businessman Mr. Omura (Masato Harada), Bagley offers Algren to train conscripts of the new Meiji government of Japan to suppress a samurai rebellion against Western influence, led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). The irony of crushing a tribal rebellion is not lost on Algren, who recalls his past but accepts solely for payment. In Japan he keeps a journal and is accompanied by British translator Simon Graham (Timothy Spall).

Despite Algren's objections, Omura has Bagley order the peasant conscripts to fight early and they are routed when engaging the samurai. Gant is killed and Algren is captured after killing leading samurai warrior Hirotaro. Katsumoto is reminded of a vision of a tiger while watching Algren fight with a tiger embroidered spear and orders his capture. Taken to the samurai village, Algren is treated by Hirotaro's widow Taka and Katsumoto's son, Nobutada (Shin Koyamada) and overcomes his trauma. He begins to converse with Katsumoto, study swordsmanship under warrior Ujio (Hiroyuki Sanada) and apologizes to Taka for Hirotaro's death which she accepts because of the honour of battle. Growing closer to her and her children, he later helps defend the village from an ambush by Omura's ninja.

In spring, Algren is taken back to Tokyo as promised. The Imperial Japanese army have become better organized with American equipment and Omura offers Algren command if he reveals information on the rebels. Algren declines, so privately Omura orders his death. Katsumoto offers his counsel to the young Emperor, but finds the Emperor's control is weak. When Katsumoto refuses to obey the new law to not display swords, he is arrested. Algren fights off Omura's men and frees Katsumoto with the assistance of Ujio, Nobutada and Graham. Nobutada is severely wounded as they escape, sacrificing himself to slow the guards. Katsumoto mourns, but receives word that a large Imperial Army group led by Omura and Bagley will engage them. Five hundred samurai are rallied as Algren references the Battle of Thermopylae. On the eve of battle, Algren is presented with a katana, kisses Taka and wears Hirotaro's red armour as a symbol of respect to her.

In battle, the samurai fall back, preventing the Imperial army from using their full firepower. As they expect, Omura orders the infantry to advance, straight into their fire trap. The samurai then unleash a rain of arrows as a wave of swordsmen, including Katsumoto and Algren, attack. A second infantry wave advance, only to be countered by Ujio's samurai cavalry, with many dead on both sides. Realizing that fresh Imperial forces are coming, the samurai resolve to fight to the death in a final charge. Algren hurls his sword at Bagley, fatally wounding his nemesis, but the samurai are finally cut down by Gatling guns. Moved by the sight of his dying countrymen, the Imperial captain stops the fire, defying Omura's orders. Katsumoto, observing Bushido, asks Algren to assist. Katsumoto dies and the Imperial soldiers kneel and bow around the fallen samurai.

Later, the American ambassador prepares to have the Emperor sign a treaty, but an injured Algren offers Katsumoto's sword. The Emperor realizes that whilst Japan must modernize, it must never forget its own history and traditions. The Emperor dismisses the American ambassador over Omura's objections, and in return confiscates Omura's fortunes to be given to the people. Graham, who was given Algren's journal to help write a book, states that Algren found peace by returning to Taka and the village.

Cast[link]

• Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren
  He is a Civil War and Indian Wars veteran haunted by the massacre of Native American civilians at the Washita River. Algren was born in the British Empire but is a naturalized American. Following a dismissal from his job, he agrees to help the new Meiji Restoration government train its first Western-style conscript army for a hefty sum. During the army's first battle he is captured by the samurai Katsumoto and taken to the village of Katsumoto's son, where he soon becomes intrigued with the way of the samurai and decides to join them in their cause. His journal entries reveal his impressions about traditional Japanese culture, which almost immediately evolve to admiration. The character is inspired by the French officer Jules Brunet.
• Ken Watanabe as samurai Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto
  He is a warrior-poet who was once Emperor Meiji's most-trusted teacher. He is displeased with Mr. Omura's bureaucratic reform policies, which leads him into organizing a revolt against the Imperial Army. Katsumoto is vaguely based on real-life samurai Saigō Takamori.
• Shin Koyamada as Nobutada
  He is the son of Katsumoto who is lord of the village that the Samurai are encamped in and befriends Algren. Katsumoto, the leader samurai, advises Nobutada to teach Algren in the Japanese way – Japanese culture and Japanese language. He is killed during Katsumoto's escape.
• Tony Goldwyn as Colonel Bagley
  He is Captain Algren's commanding officer in the 7th Cavalry Regiment, who was to train the Imperial Army and the secondary antagonist of the film. Algren despises Bagley for his role in the Washita River massacre of the Native Americans that Algren cannot get over. In a flashback, we see Bagley murdering children and women in the Indians camp. Bagley bears close resemblance to General Custer (whom Algren dubs "a murderer who fell in love with his own legend"). Bagley is killed by Algren in the final battle when Algren throws his sword into his chest.
• Masato Harada as Omura
  He is an industrialist and pro-reform politician who dislikes the old samurai and shogun related lifestyle and the primary antagonist of the film. He quickly imports westernization and modernization while making money for himself through his railroads. Coming from a merchant family that was like many repressed during the days of Samurai rule and cause for his extreme dislike for their nobility, he assumes a great deal of power during the Meiji Restoration and takes advantages of Meiji's youth to become his chief advisor (wielding power similar to those of the Shoguns). His image is designed to evoke the image of Okubo Toshimichi, a leading reformer during the Meiji Restoration. Masato Harada noted that he was deeply interested in joining the film after witnessing the construction of Emperor Meiji's conference room on sound stage 19 (where Humphrey Bogart had once acted) at Warner Brothers studios.^{[citation needed]}
• Shichinosuke Nakamura as Emperor Meiji
  He is credited with the implementation of the 1868 Meiji Restoration, the Emperor is eager to import Western ideas and practices to modernize and empower Japan to become a strong nation. His appearance bears a strong resemblance to Emperor Meiji during the 1860s rather than during the 1870s, when The Last Samurai takes place.
• Hiroyuki Sanada as Ujio
  He is one of the most dedicated, loyal and fierce samurai under Katsumoto. He teaches Algren the art of Samurai sword fighting, none too gently but eventually grows to respect him. He is one of the remaining samurai to die in the final charge in the last battle.
• Timothy Spall as Simon Graham
  He is a British interpreter for Captain Algren and his non-English speaking soldiers. Initially portrayed as a typical practical-minded Englishman, he later comes to understand the Samurai cause. This character is shown to have some resemblances also to the real-world Corfiote photographer Felice Beato.
• Seizo Fukumoto as the Silent Samurai
  He is an elderly man assigned to follow Algren (who later calls the samurai "Bob") as he travels through the village. Ultimately, the Samurai saves Algren's life (and speaking for the first and only time, "Algren-san!") by taking a fatal bullet for him. He bears a marked resemblance to Kyuzo from Seven Samurai.
• Koyuki as Taka
  She is the sister of Katsumoto and the wife of the red-masked Samurai Hirotaro, whom Nathan Algren kills earlier.
• Billy Connolly as Sergeant Zebulon Gant
  He is an ex-soldier who served with and is loyal to Algren, talked him into coming to Japan. He, along with Algren, train the imperial army before confronting the samurai. He is later killed in the opening battle by Hirotaro (Taka's husband).
• Shun Sugata as Nakao
  He is a tall jujutsu and naginata-skilled samurai, who takes part in Katsumoto's rescue, and is later killed in the final battle.
• Satoshi Nikaido as the Lieutenant
  He is one of the first soldiers trained by Algren, who manages to escape from the battle where Algren is captured. He later reappears as Omura's aide in the final confrontation; distressed at the slaughter of the remaining samurai, he defies Omura by ordering the guns to stop firing so that Katsumoto can die with honor.

Production[link]

Filming took place in New Zealand, mostly in the Taranaki region, with Japanese cast members and an American production crew. Views of Mount Fuji were superimposed using CGI of Mount Fuji as seen from Yokohama. Several of the village scenes were shot on the Warner Brothers Studios backlot in Burbank, California.

The film is based on an original screenplay entitled "The Last Samurai", from a story by John Logan. The project itself was inspired by writer and director Vincent Ward. Ward became executive producer on the film – working in development on it for nearly four years and after approaching several directors (Coppola, Weir), he interested Edward Zwick. The film production went ahead with Zwick and was shot in Ward’s native New Zealand.

The film was based on the stories of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War and Frederick Townsend Ward, an American mercenary who helped Westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army. The historical roles of the British Empire, the Netherlands and France in Japanese westernization are largely attributed to the United States in the film, for American audiences.

Soundtrack[link]

All music by Hans Zimmer. Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony, conducted by Blake Neely.

1. "A Way of Life" 8:03
2. "Spectres in the Fog" 4:07
3. "Taken" 3:36
4. "A Hard Teacher" 5:44
5. "To Know My Enemy" 4:49
6. "Idyll's End" 6:41
7. "Safe Passage" 4:57
8. "Ronin" 1:53
9. "Red Warrior" 3:56
10. "The Way of the Sword" 7:59
11. "A Small Measure of Peace" 7:59

Reception[link]

The film achieved higher box office receipts in Japan than in the USA.^[2] Critical reception in Japan was generally positive.^[3] Tomomi Katsuta of The Mainichi Shinbun thought that the film was "a vast improvement over previous American attempts to portray Japan", noting that director Edward Zwick "had researched Japanese history, cast well-known Japanese actors and consulted dialogue coaches to make sure he didn't confuse the casual and formal categories of Japanese speech." However, Katsuta still found fault with the film's idealistic, "storybook" portrayal of the samurai, stating that "Our image of samurai are that they were more corrupt." As such, he said, the noble samurai leader Katsumoto "set (his) teeth on edge."^[4] The Japanese premiere was held at Roppongi Hills multiplex in Tokyo on November 1, 2003. The entire cast was present; they signed autographs, provided interviews and appeared on stage to speak to fans. Many of the cast members expressed the desire for audiences to learn and respect the important values of the samurai, and to have a greater appreciation of Japanese culture and custom.

In America, Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying it was "beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic."^[5] Motoko Rich of The New York Times observed that the film has opened up a debate, "particularly among Asian-Americans and Japanese," about whether the film and others like it were "racist, naïve, well-intentioned, accurate – or all of the above."^[4] The film currently has a positive rating of 7.7/10 on IMDB, ^[6] and mixed rating on Metacritic of 55 out of 100.^[7] Rotten Tomatoes has a rating of 65%, with the site's consensus stating "With high production values and thrilling battle scenes, The Last Samurai is a satisfying epic."^[8]

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards; Best Supporting Actor (Ken Watanabe), Art Direction, Costume Design and Sound (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Jeff Wexler).^[9] It was also nominated for three Golden Globes (Best Supporting Actor for Watanabe, Best Actor - Drama for Tom Cruise and Best Score for Hans Zimmer). Awards won by the film include Best Director by the National Board of Review, Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects at the Visual Effects Society Awards, Outstanding Foreign Language Film at the Japan Academy Prize, four Golden Satellite Awards, and Best Fire Stunt at the Taurus World Stunt Awards.^[10]

See also[link]

	Japan portal
	United States portal
	Film portal

• Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan
• Ōmura Masujirō
• French Military Mission to Japan (1867)
• Mark Rappaport (creature effects artist)
• Engyō-ji temple - Many scenes were filmed here.
• Satsuma Rebellion
• Jules Brunet
• White Man's Burden

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Last Samurai

• Official website
• The Last Samurai at the Internet Movie Database
• The Last Samurai at AllRovi
• The Last Samurai at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Last Samurai at Box Office Mojo
• Does The Last Samurai have the saddest movie death?

The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures.^[3] Puyi's life is depicted from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese Communist authorities.

The film stars John Lone as Pu Yi, with Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Maggie Han, Ric Young, Vivian Wu, and Chen Kaige. It was the first feature film for which the producers were authorized by the Chinese government to film in the Forbidden City in Beijing.^[1] It won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.^[4]

Plot[link]

The film opens in 1950 with Pu Yi's re-entry into the just-proclaimed People's Republic of China as a political prisoner and war criminal, having been captured by the Red Army when the Soviet Union entered the Pacific War in 1945 (see Soviet invasion of Manchuria) and been in their custody for the past five years. Puyi attempts suicide, which only renders him unconscious. In a flashback, apparently triggered as a dream, Puyi relives his first entry, with his wet nurse at his side, into the Forbidden City.

The next section of the film is a series of chronological flashbacks showing Puyi's early life: from his royal upbringing, to the tumultuous period of the early Chinese Republic, to his subsequent exile, his Japanese-supported puppet reign of Manchukuo, and then his capture by the Soviet army — all of which are intermixed with flash-forwards portraying his prison life. Under the “Communist re-education program” for political prisoners, Puyi is coerced by his interrogators to formally renounce his forced collaboration with the Imperial Japanese invaders for war crimes during their occupation of China during the war. Finally, after a heated discussion with the camp commandant and upon watching a propaganda film detailing the wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese, Puyi recants his previous stance and is set free and rehabilitated by the government in 1958.

The concluding section of the film ends with a flash-forward to the mid-1960s during the Mao cult and the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. By now, Puyi has become a simple gardener who lives a peasant proletarian existence. On his way home from work, he happens upon a Red Guard parade, complete with children playing pentatonic music on accordions en masse and dancers who dance the rejection of landlordism by the Communists. His prison camp commander, his only friend during his incarceration, is forced to wear a dunce cap and a sandwich board bearing punitive slogans, and is one of the political prisoners now punished as an anti-revolutionary in the parade.

Puyi later visits the Forbidden City as an ordinary tourist. There he meets an assertive little boy wearing the red scarf of the Pioneer Movement. The young Communist orders Puyi to step away from the throne. However, Puyi proves to the boy that he is indeed the Son of Heaven, proceeding to approach the throne. There, Puyi discovers the 60 year old pet cricket he kept as a child and gives it to the child. Amazed by the gift, the boy turns to talk to Puyi, but the emperor has disappeared.

The film ends with a tour guide leading a tour in front of the throne, where the guide sums up Puyi's life in a few, brief sentences, concluding that he died in 1967.

Cast[link]

• John Lone as Puyi (adult)
• Joan Chen as Wanrong
• Peter O'Toole as Reginald Johnston
• Ying Ruocheng as Detention Centre Governor
• Victor Wong as Chen Baochen
• Dennis Dun as Big Li
• Ryuichi Sakamoto as Amakasu Masahiko
• Maggie Han as Eastern Jewel (Yoshiko Kawashima)
• Ric Young as Interrogator
• Vivian Wu (credited as Wu Jun Mei) as Wenxiu
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Chang
• Jade Go as Ar Mo
• Fumihiko Ikeda as Colonel Yoshioka
• Richard Vuu as Puyi (3 years old)
• Tijger Tsou as Puyi (8 years old)
• Wu Tao as Puyi (15 years old)
• Fan Guang as Pujie (adult), Puyi's younger brother
• Henry Kyi as Pujie (7 years old)
• Alvin Riley III as Pujie (14 years old)
• Lisa Lu as Empress Dowager Cixi
• Hideo Takamatsu as General Hishikari Takashi
• Hajime Tachibana as Japanese Translator
• Basil Pao as Zaifeng, Prince Chun, Puyi's father
• Henry O as Lord Chamberlain

Production[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

Bernardo Bertolucci proposed the film to the Chinese government as one of two possible projects - the other was an adaptation of La Condition Humaine by André Malraux. The Chinese preferred this project. During filming of the immense coronation scene in the Forbidden City, Queen Elizabeth II was in Beijing on a state visit. The production was given priority over her by the Chinese authorities and she was therefore unable to visit the Forbidden City.

Producer Jeremy Thomas managed to raise the $25 million budget for his independent production single-handedly. At one stage, he scoured the phone book for potential financiers.^[5]

Thomas later remembered his experience shooting the film:

It was a very long and difficult period to set it up, full of nightmares, it was like a dark tunnel, to shoot for six months in China, not being able to stop, but out of it came this beautiful thing, and I have totally forgotten all the nightmares. I just think about what an extraordinary experience it was to be in China at the beginning of open doors, to be allowed to make that film there, with a filmmaker like Bertolucci, with whom I have managed to continue a wonderful relationship and friendship for more than twenty years now and six movies. So that was a big point for me in my life and career.

When you make films in different places, you need to find the mercenary warriors to help you make the film, because no man is an island. The best technicians came to work on the film, like Vittorio Storaro and the designer Fernando Scarfiotti, and James Acheson the costume designer. So a group of professionals plus a tremendous amount of support from Italy, because the Italian government and the Chinese were very close. So there was a bonding between the Italians and Chinese. In fact the British Council and British Embassy were rather hands off when we arrived there, they came to claim it later but... If an Emperor can become a gardener then what better, and one day they will tell this story. And then we came and we told that story. Of an Emperor, son of Heaven, ruler of a quarter of the world, one man, and he died as a gardener. So this was an irresistible and grand epic idea. It was terrifying but it happened.

The difficult thing about the success of that film was that it was a difficult film to emulate, and I have never been to that pinnacle of a certain type of film. And I doubt if I ever would or could make a film like that again. I don’t know how one would have made those films in the independent arena today. There were no digital shots, it was before digital, and filmed with real people.^[6]

19,000 extras were needed over the course of the film. The Chinese army was drafted in to accommodate.^[6]

Soundtrack[link]

While not included on the album soundtrack, the following music was played in the movie: "Am I Blue?" (1929), "Auld Lang Syne" (uncredited), and "China Boy" (1922) (uncredited).^[7]

Release[link]

The film was originally released by Columbia Pictures, although they were initially reluctant, and producer Jeremy Thomas had to raise a large sum of the budget independently. Only after shooting was completed did the head of Columbia Pictures agree to distribute The Last Emperor in North America.^[1] Columbia later lost the rights when it reached home video through Nelson Entertainment, which released the film on VHS and Laserdisc. Years later, Artisan Entertainment acquired the rights to the film and released both the theatrical and extended versions on home video. In February 2008 The Criterion Collection (under license from now-rights-holder Jeremy Thomas) released a four disc Director-Approved edition, again containing both theatrical and extended versions.^[8] Criterion released a Blu-ray version on 6 January, 2009.^[8]

The Last Emperor had an unusual run in theatres. It did not enter the weekend box office top 10 until its twelfth week in which the film reached #7 after increasing its gross by 168% from the previous week and more than tripling its theatre count (this was the weekend before it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture). Following that week, the film lingered around the top 10 for 8 weeks before peaking at #4 in its 22nd week (the weekend after winning the Oscar) (increasing its weekend gross and theatre count by 306% and nearly doubling its theatre count) and spending 6 straight weeks in the weekend box office top 10.^[9] Were it not for this late push, The Last Emperor would have joined The English Patient, Amadeus and The Hurt Locker as the only Best Picture winners to not enter the weekend box office top 5 since these numbers were first recorded in 1982.

Awards[link]

At the 60th Academy Awards, the film won nine Oscars:^[4]

• Best Picture (Jeremy Thomas)
• Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci)
• Best Art Direction (Ferdinando Scarfiotti, Bruno Cesari and Osvaldo Desideri)
• Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro)
• Best Costume Design (James Acheson)
• Best Film Editing (Gabriella Cristiani)
• Best Original Score (Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su)
• Best Sound (Bill Rowe and Ivan Sharrock)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci)

Historical omissions[link]

In Japan, the Shochiku Fuji Company edited out a thirty-second sequence from The Last Emperor depicting the Rape of Nanjing before distributing it to Japanese theatres, without Bertolucci's consent. The Rape of Nanjing — in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were massacred by the Imperial Japanese Army — is an event disputed by the Japanese government, and a diplomatic stumbling block with China. Bertolucci was furious at Shochiku Fuji's interference with his film, calling it "revolting". The company quickly restored the scene, blaming "confusion and misunderstanding" for the edit while opining that the Rape sequence was "too sensational" for Japanese audiences.^[10]

Jeremy Thomas recalled the approval process for the screenplay with the Chinese government: "It was less difficult than working with the studio system. They made script notes and made references to change some of the names, then the stamp went on and the door opened and we came."^[6]

Alternate versions[link]

The film's theatrical release ran 160 minutes. An extended version currently available on DVD runs 218 minutes; cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and director Bernardo Bertolucci have confirmed that this version was created for television and does not represent a "director's cut".^[11] The television cut includes more footage from the stifling palace of Manchukuo. An entire character cut from the theatrical release is the drug-addled opium pusher appointed Minister of Defence by the Japanese, who becomes a sort of demon when he surfaces in Pǔyí's prison camp, whispering the awful truth to Puyi at night. In addition, the extra footage shows more detail about the way in which Pǔyí was unable to take care of his own needs without servants.^{[citation needed]}

The Criterion Collection 2008 version of 4 DVDs adds commentary by Ian Buruma, composer David Byrne, and the Director's interview with Jeremy Isaacs (ASIN: B000ZM1MIW, ISBN 978-1-60465-014-3). It includes a booklet featuring an essay by David Thomson, interviews with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti and actor Ying Ruocheng, a reminiscence by Bertolucci, and an essay and production-diary extracts from Fabien S. Gerard.

See also[link]

	China portal
	United States portal
	Film portal

• List of historical drama films of Asia

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Last Emperor at the Internet Movie Database
• The Last Emperor at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Last Emperor at AllRovi

Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer receiving his star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2010)
Background information
Birth name	Hans Florian Zimmer
Born	(1957-09-12) 12 September 1957 (age 54) Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Genres	Film score, Video game score
Occupations	Film composer, Video game composer, Music producer
Instruments	Piano, Keyboard, MIDI Master Keyboard, Synthesizer, Guitar
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Remote Control Productions
Website	hanszimmer.com

Hans Florian Zimmer, German pronunciation: [hans ˈfloːʁi̯aːn ˈtsɪmɐ]; (born 12 September 1957) is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including award winning film scores for The Lion King (1994), Crimson Tide (1995), Gladiator (2000), The Last Samurai (2003),The Dark Knight (2008), and Inception (2010).

Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is the head of the film music division at DreamWorks studios, and works with other composers through the company which he founded, Remote Control Productions.^[1]

Zimmer's works are notable for integrating electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements. He has received four Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Classical BRIT Award, and an Academy Award. He was also named on the list of Top 100 Living Geniuses, published by The Daily Telegraph.^[2]

Early life[link]

Zimmer was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. As a young child, he lived in Königstein-Falkenstein, where he played the piano at home, but had piano lessons only briefly as he disliked the discipline of formal lessons.^[3] He moved to London as a teenager, where he attended Hurtwood House school.^[4] In an interview with the German television station ZDF in 2006, he commented: "My father died when I was just a child, and I escaped somehow into the music and music has been my best friend."^[5]

Early career[link]

Zimmer began his career playing keyboards and synthesizers. He worked with The Buggles, a New Wave band formed in 1977 with Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, and Bruce Woolley. Zimmer can be seen briefly in The Buggles' music video for the 1979 song "Video Killed the Radio Star".^[6] After working with The Buggles, he started to work for the Italian group Krisma, a New Wave band formed in 1976 with Maurizio Arcieri and Christina Moser. He was a featured synthesist for Krisma’s third album, Cathode Mamma. He has also worked with the band Helden (with Warren Cann from Ultravox).^[7] Both Zimmer (on keyboards) and Cann (on drums), were invited to be part of the Spanish group Mecano for a live performance in Segovia (Spain) in 1984. Two songs from this concert were included in the "Mecano: En Concierto" album released in 1985 only in Spain. In 1980 Zimmer co-produced a single, "The History Of The World Part 1," with, and for, UK Punk band The Damned, which was also included on their 1980 LP release, "The Black Album," and carried the description of his efforts as "Over-Produced by Hans Zimmer."

While living in London, Zimmer wrote advertising jingles for Air-Edel Associates.^[7] In the 1980s, Zimmer partnered with Stanley Myers, a prolific film composer who wrote the scores for over sixty films. Zimmer and Myers co–founded the London–based Lillie Yard recording studio. Together, Myers and Zimmer worked on fusing the traditional orchestral sound with electronic instruments.^[8] Some of the films on which Zimmer and Myers worked are Moonlighting (1982), Success is the Best Revenge (1984), Insignificance (1985), and My Beautiful Launderette (1985). Zimmer's first solo score was Terminal Exposure for director Nico Mastorakis in 1987, for which he also wrote the songs. Zimmer acted as score producer for the 1987 film The Last Emperor, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Score.^[7]

One of Zimmer's most durable works from his time in the United Kingdom is the theme song for the television game show Going for Gold, which he composed with Sandy McClelland in 1987. In an interview with the BBC, Zimmer said: "Going For Gold was a lot of fun. It's the sort of stuff you do when you don't have a career yet. God, I just felt so lucky because this thing paid my rent for the longest time."^[9]

Hollywood film scoring[link]

A turning point in Zimmer's career occurred with the 1988 film Rain Man.^[8] Hollywood director Barry Levinson was looking for someone to score Rain Man, and his wife heard the soundtrack CD of the anti-Apartheid drama A World Apart, for which Zimmer had composed the music. Levinson was impressed by Zimmer's work, and hired him to score Rain Man.^[10] In the score, Zimmer uses synthesizers (mostly a Fairlight CMI) mixed with steel drums. Zimmer explained that "It was a road movie, and road movies usually have jangly guitars or a bunch of strings. I kept thinking don't be bigger than the characters. Try to keep it contained. The Raymond character doesn't actually know where he is. The world is so different to him. He might as well be on Mars. So, why don't we just invent our own world music for a world that doesn't really exist?".^[11] Zimmer’s score for Rain Man was nominated for an Academy Award in 1989, and the film won four Academy Awards including Best Picture.^[12]

A year after Rain Man, Zimmer was asked to compose the score for Bruce Beresford's Driving Miss Daisy which, like Rain Man, won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Driving Miss Daisy’s instrumentation consisted entirely of synthesizers and samplers, played by Zimmer. According to an interview with Sound On Sound magazine in 2002, the piano sounds heard within the score come from the Roland MKS–20, a rackmount synthesizer. Zimmer joked: "It didn't sound anything like a piano, but it behaved like a piano."^[13]

1991's Thelma & Louise soundtrack by Zimmer featured the trademark slide guitar performance by Pete Haycock on the "Thunderbird" theme in the film. As a teenager, Zimmer was a fan of Haycock, and their collaboration on film scores includes K2 and Drop Zone.^[14]

For the 1992 film The Power of One, Zimmer traveled to Africa in order to use African choirs and drums in the recording of the score. On the strength of this work, Disney Animation Studios approached Zimmer to compose the score for the 1994 film The Lion King. This was to be his first score for an animated film. Zimmer said that he had wanted to go to South Africa to record parts of the soundtrack, but was unable to visit the country as he had a police record there "for doing 'subversive' movies" after his work on The Power of One. Disney studio bosses expressed fears that Zimmer would be killed if he went to South Africa, so the recording of the choirs was organized during a visit by Lebo M.^[15] Zimmer won numerous awards for his work on The Lion King, including an Academy Award for Best Original Score, a Golden Globe, and two Grammys. In 1997, the score was adapted into a Broadway musical version which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1998.^[16][17] As of April 2012^[update], the musical version of The Lion King is the highest grossing Broadway show of all time, having grossed $853.8 million.^[18]

	Crimson Tide - "Roll Tide" noicon A clip from the score of the 1995 film Crimson Tide.
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Zimmer's score for Crimson Tide (1995) won a Grammy Award for the main theme, which makes heavy use of synthesizers in place of traditional orchestral instruments. For The Thin Red Line (1998), Zimmer said that the director Terrence Malick wanted the music before he started filming, so he recorded six and a half hours of music.^[11] Zimmer's next project was The Prince of Egypt (1998), which was produced by DreamWorks Animation. He introduced Ofra Haza, an Israeli Yemenite singer, to the directors, and they thought she was so beautiful that they designed one of the characters in the film to look like her.^[11]

Work: 2000–present[link]

	Gladiator - "Battle" noicon A clip from the score of the 2000 film Gladiator.
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In the 2000s, Zimmer has composed scores for Hollywood blockbuster films including Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down and Hannibal (2001), The Last Samurai (2003), The Da Vinci Code (2006) The Simpsons Movie (2007), Angels and Demons (2009) and Sherlock Holmes (2009). While writing the score for The Last Samurai, Zimmer felt that his knowledge of Japanese music was extremely limited. He began doing extensive research, but the more he studied, the less he felt he knew. Finally, Zimmer took what he had written to Japan for feedback and was shocked when he was asked how he knew so much about Japanese music.^[11]

During the scoring of The Last Samurai in early 2003, Zimmer was approached by the producer Jerry Bruckheimer, with whom he had worked previously on Crimson Tide, The Rock and Pearl Harbor. Bruckheimer had finished shooting Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, but was unhappy with the music composed for the film by Alan Silvestri and wanted a replacement score.^[19] Bruckheimer wanted Zimmer to rescore the film, but due to his commitments on The Last Samurai, the task of composing and supervising music for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was given to Klaus Badelt, one of Zimmer's colleagues at Media Ventures. Zimmer provided some themes that were used in the film, although he is not credited on screen.^[20][21] Zimmer was hired as the composer for the three subsequent films in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), collaborating with Rodrigo y Gabriela.^[22]

For the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, "The Daily Variety" reported that Zimmer purchased an out-of-tune piano for 200 dollars and used it throughout the scoring process because of its "quirkiness".^[23]

Hans Zimmer in 2008

Zimmer is also noted for his work on the scores of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), on which he collaborated with James Newton Howard.^[9] The scores for these films were disqualified from receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score due to too many composers being listed on the cue sheet.^[24] Zimmer succeeded in reversing the decision not to nominate The Dark Knight in December 2008, arguing that the process of creating a modern film score was collaborative, and that it was important to credit a range of people who had played a part in its production.^[25] Zimmer explained his approach to scoring with other musicians in an interview with Soundtrack.net in 2006:

	Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard - "Now We Are Free" noicon A clip from the score of the 2000 film Gladiator.
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"Originally I had this idea that it should be possible to create some kind of community around this kind of work, and I think by muddying the titles - not having "you are the composer, you are the arranger, you are the orchestrator" - it just sort of helped us to work more collaboratively. It wasn't that important to me that I had "score by Hans Zimmer" and took sole credit on these things. It's like Gladiator: I gave Lisa Gerrard the co-credit because, even though she didn't write the main theme, her presence and contributions were very influential. She was more than just a soloist, and this is why I have such a problem with specific credits."^[26]

Zimmer is also composing the score for The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. The film is scheduled for release in July 2012.^[27]

Zimmer works with other composers through his company Remote Control Productions, formerly known as Media Ventures. His studio in Santa Monica, California has an extensive range of computer equipment and keyboards, allowing demo versions of film scores to be created quickly.^[28] His colleagues at the studio have included Harry Gregson-Williams, James Dooley, Geoff Zanelli, Henning Lohner, Steve Jablonsky, Mark Mancina, John Van Tongeren, John Powell and Thomas J. Bergersen.

In October 2000, Zimmer performed live in concert for the first time with an orchestra and choir at the 27th Annual Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent.^[29] He has received a range of honors and awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award in film Composition from the National Board of Review, the Frederick Loewe Award in 2003 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, ASCAP’s Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement, and BMI's Richard Kirk Award for lifetime achievement in 1996. Recent work includes the Spanish language film Casi Divas,^[30] Sherlock Holmes, The Burning Plain (2009), and Inception (2010). He composed the theme for the television boxing series The Contender, and worked with Lorne Balfe on the music for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which was his first video game project.^[31] Zimmer also collaborated with composers Borislav Slavov and Tilman Sillescu to create the score for the video game Crysis 2.^[32]

In December 2010, Zimmer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He dedicated the award to his publicist and long term friend Ronni Chasen, who was shot dead in Beverly Hills the previous month.^[33]

Zimmer composed and produced the music for the 84th Academy Awards with Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes.^[34]

Zimmer lives in Los Angeles with his wife Suzanne, and has four children.^[35][36]

Discography and awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Hans Zimmer
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hans Zimmer

• Official website
• Hans Zimmer at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Hans Zimmer in Film Score Monthly
• Interview with Hans Zimmer about Sherlock Holmes from C Music TV
• Focus.De

v t e Hans Zimmer Soundtracks Angels and Demons  · Driving Miss Daisy  · Batman Begins  · Beyond Rangoon  · Black Hawk Down  · The Da Vinci Code  · The Dark Knight  · Gladiator  · Inception · Kung Fu Panda  · Kung Fu Panda 2  · The Lion King  · Madagascar  · Mission: Impossible II  · Pearl Harbor  · Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End  · Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl  · Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest  · Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides  · Pirates of the Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection · Rango  · Sherlock Holmes  · The Thin Red Line Songs "Hoist the Colours" Related articles Discography · Remote Control Productions Book:Hans Zimmer  · Category:Hans Zimmer