Inception (soundtrack)
{{Infobox album
| name = Inception: Music from the Motion Picture
| type = Soundtrack
| artist = Hans Zimmer
| cover = Inception OST.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2010|7|13}}
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Film score
| length = 49:13
| label = Reprise
| producer = Hans Zimmer
Lorne Balfe
Christopher Nolan
Alex Gibson
| prev_title = Through the Wormhole
| prev_year = 2010
| next_title = Megamind
| next_year = 2010
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Christopher Nolan film score
| type = soundtrack
| prev_title = The Dark Knight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
| prev_year = 2008
| title = Inception (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
| year = 2010
| next_title = The Dark Knight Rises (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
| next_year = 2012
}}
}}
Inception: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 2010 film of the same name directed by Christopher Nolan, released under Reprise Records on July 13, 2010. Hans Zimmer scored the film, marking his third collaboration with Nolan following Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Production
According to Zimmer, the soundtrack for Inception is "a very electronic score".{{cite web |url=http://screenrant.com/inception-score-hans-zimmers-mikee-65200 |title=Hans Zimmer's 'Inception' Score Will Release On July 13th |work=ScreenRant.com |access-date=July 1, 2010 |date=June 18, 2010 |first=Mike |last=Eisenberg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625130549/http://screenrant.com/inception-score-hans-zimmers-mikee-65200/ |archive-date=June 25, 2010 }} Nolan asked Zimmer to compose and finish the score as he was shooting the film. The composer said, "He wanted to unleash my imagination in the best possible way".{{cite news |last=Cassidy |first=Kevin |title=Q&A: Composer Hans Zimmer |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=July 13, 2010 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/qampa-composer-hans-zimmer-25455 |access-date=July 14, 2010}} At one point, while composing the score, Zimmer incorporated a guitar sound reminiscent of Ennio Morricone and was interested in having Johnny Marr, former guitarist in the influential 80s rock band The Smiths, play these parts. Zimmer's reported inspiration was finding a synthesizer track that he had written similar to Marr's guitar style. Nolan agreed with Zimmer's suggestion, and then Zimmer approached Marr, who accepted his offer. Marr spent four 12-hour days working on the score, playing notes written by Zimmer with a 12-string guitar.{{cite news |last=Martens |first=Todd |title=Hans Zimmer and Johnny Marr talk about the sad romance of 'Inception' |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 20, 2010 |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/07/inception-christopher-nolan-the-smiths-johnny-marr-hans-zimmer-and-johnny-marr-on-the-sound-of-inception-its-about-sadness.html |access-date=July 20, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb110209hans_zimmer|title=Hans Zimmer Live at KCRW on Morning Becomes Eclectic 02.09.11|publisher=KCRW|date=2011-02-09|access-date=2011-11-01}}
For inspiration, Zimmer read Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter because it combined "the idea of playfulness in mathematics and playfulness in music". Zimmer did not assemble a temp score but "every now and then they would call and say 'we need a little something here.' But that was OK because much of the music pieces aren't that scene-specific. They fall into little categories". While writing the screenplay, Nolan wrote in Édith Piaf's "Non, je ne regrette rien" but almost took it out when he cast Marion Cotillard, who had just completed an Oscar-winning turn as Piaf in the 2007 film La Vie en rose. Zimmer convinced Nolan to keep it in the film and also integrated elements of the song into his score; in particular, the film's iconic brass instrument fanfare resembles a slowed-down version of the song's instrumentation.
The trailers for the film feature specially composed music by Zack Hemsey, which does not appear on the official soundtrack.{{cite web |url=http://collider.com/top-movie-scores-2010/67417 |title=Top Film Scores of 2010 |author=Jeff Ames |publisher=Collider.com |date=2010-12-30 |access-date=2011-01-18}} The soundtrack was nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and a BAFTA.
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/inception-mw0002009769|title=Inception - Hans Zimmer | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
| rev2 = Empire
| rev3 = Filmtracks
| rev3Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/inception.html|title = Filmtracks: Inception (Hans Zimmer)}}
| rev4 = Killerfilm
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://123moviesgo.de/movies/star-trek-the-motion-picture-1979/|title=Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Full Movie — 123Movies}}
| rev5 = ScoreNotes
| rev5Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://ibooked.no/scorenotes.html|title=Multiple resources in the form of reviews, interviews, guides and more.|website=ibooked.no}}
| rev1score =
}}
James Southall of Movie Wave awarded the score five stars, calling it "Zimmer’s finest work in a number of years",{{Cite web|url=http://www.movie-wave.net/inception|title = Inception|date = 31 December 2010}} and Jim Lochner of Film Score Click Track, who said "Inception is one thrilling and trippy [...] musical ride",{{Cite web|url=https://filmscoreclicktrack.com/cd-review-inception/|title = CD Review: Inception|date = 19 July 2010}} awarding the score four and a half stars out of five.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_music = Hans Zimmer
| headline = Inception: Music from the Motion Picture
| total_length = 49:13
| title1 = Half Remembered Dream
| length1 = 1:12
| title2 = We Built Our Own World
| length2 = 1:55
| title3 = Dream Is Collapsing
| length3 = 2:28
| title4 = Radical Notion
| length4 = 3:43
| title5 = Old Souls
| length5 = 7:44
| title6 = 528491
| length6 = 2:23
| title7 = Mombasa
| length7 = 4:54
| title8 = One Simple Idea
| length8 = 2:28
| title9 = Dream Within a Dream
| length9 = 5:04
| title10 = Waiting for a Train
| length10 = 9:30
| title11 = Paradox
| length11 = 3:25
| title12 = Time
| length12 = 4:35
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Bonus tracks
| total_length = 12:39
| title13 = Projections
| length13 = 7:04
| title14 = Don't Think About Elephants
| length14 = 5:35
}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|relyear=2010|certyear=2024|title=Inception - Ost|artist=Hans Zimmer|type=album|award=Silver|id=20201-3979-2|access-date=July 26, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | noshipments=true|nosales=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20240414144503/https://inceptionmovie.com/ Movie's Official Website]}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120616131408/http://www.inceptionscore.com/ Soundtrack's Official Website]
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/soundtrack Soundtracks for Inception] at Internet Movie Database
{{Hans Zimmer}}
{{WSA for Best Original Score of the Year}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inception (soundtrack)}}
Category:2010 soundtrack albums
Category:Science fiction film soundtracks
Category:Hans Zimmer soundtracks