Classic Elfman Score and not a Batman clone.
5
By Mattonio
Whoever wrote the Apple review is sadly mistaken. Yes it was Elfman's next big score after Batman and yes I'm sure the producers said throw in a little Batman sounding music (because it was a comic strip movie) but apart from that the soundtrack has its own identity. Oh and what a laughable error; the jazz music actually has less in common with Star Wars Cantina music then it does with Gershwin who the composer said he was trying to capture the spirit of during the score's rag-time numbers. Yet I suppose whenever this reviewer hears jazz music he thinks of Star Wars and not the decades of jazz music that happened before Williams wrote that "Cantina" number.
Not to mention all composers plagiarize themselves...especially John Williams. I'm not being critical here. I own at least two dozen Williams score and there are moments in ET (1982) where I hear a little Empire Strikes Back (1980) and in Empire Strikes Back where I here a little of the Dracula (1979) score he did. Its call building up a style; an identity as a composer. Whoever wrote this review is either an Elfman hater or knows nothing of film music.
This soundtrack use to be a hard find. Itunes for the longest time didn't even have it. Once my old copy broke I had to track down a version on EBAY. So thanks for nothing Itunes...better late then never...and btw fire the reviewer. As for the music it is just a really fun, over the top, score which captures the energy of the comic strip style world that the director, Warren Beatty, created on the silver screen.