The greatest Superhero theme of all time?
Though there have been many claims to the title, almost fifty years later, John Williams Magnum Opus continues to resonate all around the world as the definitive soundtrack for all things Super and heroic.
This inescapable conclusion is also obviously not wasted on current Superman Movie director James Gunn, who, even with the budget granted for any music at his disposal, still opted for adapting Williams score for his latest cinematic outing (as did Bryan Singer in 2006).
As for what actually makes The Superman March so utterly compelling, so thrilling, so enduring, the debate rightly goes on – but what is arguably more fascinating is what it means to people personally. The memories, the nostalgia, all transcend anything merely constituting ‘music from a film’.
No, just like the movie itself, the Theme From Superman is a cultural landmark, instantly recognisable and has already stood the test of time. A shame then, that the phenomenon of the Super Hero theme seems to be all but at an end. Could it be that filmakers/composers are so aligned with the views above that they have simply stopped trying? Indeed, only Danny Elfman’s score for Batman (1989) comes close in terms of both impact and resonance, while the much-missed Jerry Goldsmith’s cues for Supergirl (1984) are a fond memory (like so many of the other themes of the ’80’s)
For the millennials, however, one struggles to pinpoint a strong musical accompaniment to associate with your favourite comic-book hero. Only veteran composer Alan Silverstri (Back To The Future) with his stirring theme for the Avengers arguably manages to conjure up the kind of memorable hum-along theme tunes of old. This is only one, amazingly, in a period of over 25 years and countless Superhero pictures with no real theme or march to speak of. This includes Hans Zimmer’s meandering work for Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, which occasionally borders on brilliance with a singular theme, but like so much of his work, gets buried in indulgence.
So from what must be a bygone age, lets remind ourselves of just what a phenomenon the music from Superman The Movie was, with this small collection of 45rpm singles from all countries all over the globe – indeed, there are over 20 variations of this one single alone – and we may never see its like again…