Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | May 24, 2019 | |||
Recorded | 2018–2019 | |||
Studio | Air Studios, Dean Street Studios, Heaven Recording Studio (Hong Kong) | |||
Genre | Film score | |||
Label | WaterTower Music | |||
Producer | Joe Augustine, Bear McCreary, Michael Dougherty (exec.), Peter Afterman (exec.), Margaret Yen (exec.) [1] | |||
Bear McCreary chronology | ||||
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MonsterVerse chronology | ||||
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Godzilla soundtrack chronology | ||||
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Singles from Godzilla:King of the Monsters | ||||
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The Action Elite | |
Sci-Fi Bulletin | |
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Filmtracks |
Godzilla:King of the Monsters (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2019 American monster film Godzilla:King of the Monsters . [a] A sequel to Godzilla (2014),it is the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise,the third film in Legendary's MonsterVerse,and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. [b] Directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty,the film's musical score is composed by Bear McCreary,the third film composer to work on the MonsterVerse franchise. [c] His involvement in the film was confirmed in July 2018,and recording of the musical score began later that year in Hong Kong. Several themes from Akira Ifukube's musical score for Godzilla (1954),were incorporated and sampled in the score. [9] The album and score influenced a mix of electronic,trance and orchestral music with Japanese music for few of the themes. The soundtrack was released by WaterTower Music on May 24,2019, [10] a week before the film's theatrical release date. A limited edition triple LP soundtrack was released by Waxwork Records on July 5. [11]
On July 21,2018,Dougherty revealed that Bear McCreary would compose the film's score,incorporating themes from Akira Ifukube's previous Godzilla scores. [10] Regarding his involvement,McCreary stated,"I am thrilled to be the composer for Godzilla:King of the Monsters,and honored beyond words to have the opportunity to contribute to one of cinema's longest-running musical legacies." [12] McCreary further expanded on his plans and involvement,stating;
"I've known Michael Dougherty for a long time, as we both run in the same film-nerd circles. I have always appreciated his love of film music, chatting with him for hours on end over the years about the scores we both love. I was thrilled for him when he landed the gig to direct Godzilla, because I knew what it meant to him. When he later asked me to join the project, I was overwhelmed with excitement, and awe, grateful for the chance to join him in contributing to the legacy of our favorite monster. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to incorporate classic [Akira] Ifukube themes, and yet I think fans will be excited to hear how they have evolved. There are some fun surprises in store. Fitting the material and Michael's visionary film, this score is the most massive I have ever written, and I can't wait for fans to experience it!" [13]
In November 2018, a sample of McCreary's Godzilla theme was leaked online after it was used during a panel at Tokyo Comic Con. [14] In April 2019, WaterTower Music released two tracks from the soundtrack, "Old Rivals", composed by McCreary, and a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla" by Serj Tankian. Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan, and other members of Dethklok contributed to the Tankian cover. [2] McCreary called the cover "the most audacious piece of music" he had produced in his career, citing the orchestra, choir, taiko chanting, taiko drumming, heavy metal rhythm section, Hoglan's double-kick drums, and Tankian's vocals used to produce the track. McCreary stated "For [the character] Godzilla, I chose to incorporate and adapt the legendary Akira Ifukube's iconic theme, and for Mothra, Yūji Koseki's immortal 'Mothra's Song'." [15] [16]
He further reworked into traditional Japanese music to reinforce Godzilla's character, saying that he was "drawing from Japanese sounds, and wanted to give the theme a distinctly Japanese flavor" for which he across the chants of Japanese Buddhist monks. [17] He further recalled "It’s hypnotic and beautiful and surreal and calm, and I don’t know why, but I thought, ‘That’s Ghidorah’s theme. That’s the antagonist.’ I can’t even explain it. If I tried to put it into words, it would sound like a mistake. But I set those calming hypnotic voices against this gigantic three-headed dragon, as it rises up from a frozen tomb, and it worked [...] It is only through experimentation and discovery, and that sort of indescribable act of inspiration, that an idea like that can form. So the research is super fun, and it’s really what I love the most about writing to film." [17] Apart from incorporating into Ifukube's theme, McCreary further took few samples from the score of its predecessor, which was composed by Alexandre Desplat. [17] The introductory theme for "Rodan" was released as a single on May 23. [18]
On May 31, Waxwork Records announced a triple LP soundtrack release on July, with pre-orders beginning on the same date. [11] [19]
The official track list of Godzilla: King of the Monsters was unveiled by WaterTower Music on April 26, 2019, with a press release announcing that the soundtrack will be released digitally on May 24. [20]
All tracks are written by Bear McCreary, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Godzilla (feat. Serj Tankian)" (written by Donald Roeser) | 3:10 |
2. | "Godzilla Main Theme" (written by Akira Ifukube) | 2:34 |
3. | "Memories of San Francisco" | 2:11 |
4. | "The Larva" | 4:23 |
5. | "Welcome to Monarch" | 2:54 |
6. | "Outpost 32" | 7:03 |
7. | "Ice Breaker" | 2:33 |
8. | "Rise of Ghidorah" | 2:59 |
9. | "Old Rivals" | 3:49 |
10. | "The First Gods" | 5:18 |
11. | "Rodan" | 5:23 |
12. | "A Mass Awakening" | 5:32 |
13. | "The One Who is Many" | 5:37 |
14. | "Queen of the Monsters" | 3:35 |
15. | "For Andrew" | 1:18 |
16. | "Stealing the Orca" | 3:04 |
17. | "The Hollow Earth" | 5:26 |
18. | "The Key to Coexistence" | 2:18 |
19. | "Goodbye Old Friend" | 2:54 |
20. | "Rebirth" | 2:03 |
21. | "Fog Over Fenway" | 2:53 |
22. | "Battle in Boston" | 7:51 |
23. | "Redemption" | 4:11 |
24. | "King of the Monsters" | 3:34 |
25. | "Ghidorah Theme" | 2:41 |
26. | "Mothra's Song" (written by Yūji Koseki) | 2:10 |
Total length: | 1:37:21 |
The first trailer featured a rearrangement of Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune by Michael Afanasyev for Imagine Music. [21] The Beautiful TV spot and final trailer featured two different renditions of "Over the Rainbow". [22] [23] An alternate mix of Nessun dorma was featured in the extended IMAX preview. [24] LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" was featured in the Exclusive Final Look trailer. [25] Both the scores were not featured in the film and its score soundtrack.
The Japanese band Alexandros contributed the single "Pray" for the film's Japanese release. On this decision, Dougherty commented, "we feel incredibly fortunate to have had [Alexandros] contribute such an anthemic song that captures not only the gravitas of the film, but also perfectly complements its dramatic conclusion." [26] The single was released on May 13, 2019. [27]
Despite the film’s mixed reception, the soundtrack was received positively by critics. The review from Zanobard Reviews says "as monster scores go, Bear McCreary’s score to Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is mind-blowingly good. The fact that each of the featured monsters has their own theme is a great compositional choice, and the various reprises of their classic themes just makes the experience even better. The album is also breathtakingly well-orchestrated throughout, being as dramatic as it is terrifying, and featuring many a welcome action cue." [28] Critic Jonathan Broxton called the score as McCreary's "best score of his career to date" and saying that "It’s not just the fact that he respected the musical heritage of the franchise; it’s not just that the new kaiju themes are all unique and memorable; it’s not just that the score has an intelligent internal architecture that applies thematic ideas leitmotivically; it’s not just the brilliant use of so many different vocal styles; it’s not just the creative instrumentation; and it’s not just the intensity of the action material or the number of different percussion patterns he uses throughout the score. It’s the combination of all these things together that makes Godzilla: King of the Monsters so impressive." [29]
Paul Taylor of LemonWire wrote "The soundtrack successfully honors its predecessors while also managing to add some great original material of its own. The only downside with this soundtrack is that it can feel a bit repetitive at times. Lots of blaring horns. Lots of swelling strings. And lots of epic, clashing ensembles. These are offset slightly with tracks like “Goodbye Old Friend” and “Queen of the Monsters”. While McCreary’s soundtrack pairs well within the film, it’s not one I can imagine listening to on its own. While some scores can be nice to use as background music while writing or studying, this one in particular seems a bit too bombastic overall for that purpose. It’s a score that’s meant to captures your attention, not fade into the background." [30]
Godzilla vs. Biollante is a 1989 Japanese kaiju film directed and written by Kazuki Ōmori, with special effects by Kōichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 17th film in the Godzilla franchise, the second film in the franchise's Heisei period, and a sequel to 1984's The Return of Godzilla. The film stars Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Masanobu Takashima, Megumi Odaka, Toru Minegishi, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Yoshiko Kuga, Ryunosuke Kaneda and Kōji Takahashi. This was Odaka's first appearance in the Godzilla franchise as Miki Saegusa, and would reprise the role in every film for the remainder of the Heisei series.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is a 1991 Japanese kaiju film written and directed by Kazuki Ōmori and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 18th film in the Godzilla franchise, and is the third film in the franchise's Heisei period. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla and King Ghidorah, and stars Kōsuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Katsuhiko Sasaki, Akiji Kobayashi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, and Robert Scott Field. The plot revolves around time-travelers from the future who convince Japan to travel back in time to prevent Godzilla's mutation, only to reveal their true motives by unleashing King Ghidorah onto the nation.
Godzilla is a 1954 Japanese epic kaiju film directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata, and Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla. In the film, Japan's authorities deal with the sudden appearance of a giant monster, whose attacks trigger fears of nuclear holocaust in post-war Japan.
The Return of Godzilla is a 1984 Japanese kaiju film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 16th film in the Godzilla franchise, the last film produced in the Shōwa era, and the first film in the Heisei series. In Japan, the film was followed by Godzilla vs. Biollante in 1989.
Godzilla vs. Gigan, is a 1972 Japanese kaiju film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects-based subsidiary Toho-Eizo, it is the 12th film in the Godzilla franchise, and features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, Gigan, Anguirus, and King Ghidorah. The film stars Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi, Tomoko Umeda, and Minoru Takashima, alongside Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla, Kenpachiro Satsuma as Gigan, Koetsu Omiya as Anguirus, and Kanta Ina as Ghidorah. It is the last film in which Godzilla was portrayed by Nakajima after playing the character since the original 1954 film; he subsequently retired from suit acting.
Mothra vs. Godzilla is a 1964 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fourth film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, and Emi and Yumi Itō, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla. In the film, humans beseech the aid of the divine moth Mothra to stop Godzilla from destroying Japan.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is a 1995 Japanese kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara, with special effects by Kōichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 22nd installment in the Godzilla franchise, and is the seventh and final film in the franchise's Heisei period. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, Godzilla Junior and Destoroyah, and stars Takuro Tatsumi, Yōko Ishino, Yasufumi Hayashi, Sayaka Osawa, Megumi Odaka, Masahiro Takashima, Momoko Kōchi and Akira Nakao, with Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla, Hurricane Ryu as Godzilla Junior, and Ryo Hariya as Destoroyah.
Bear McCreary is an American composer of film, television, and video game scores. His work includes the scores of the television series Battlestar Galactica (2004), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Sails, Outlander, The Walking Dead, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Serpent Queen, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Halo, the video games Call of Duty: Vanguard, God of War and God of War Ragnarök, and the film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon is a Japanese animated fantasy adventure film, the 6th feature produced by Toei Animation, released in Japan on March 24, 1963. English-dubbed versions have been released under several titles, including The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon, Prince in Wonderland and Rainbow Bridge.
Godzilla is a Japanese monster, or kaiju, franchise centering on the titular character, a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. The films series are recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "longest continuously running film series", having been in ongoing production since 1954, with several hiatuses of varying lengths. There are 38 Godzilla films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., and five American films; one by TriStar Pictures and four films by Legendary Pictures.
"Godzilla " is a musical theme written by Akira Ifukube for the 1954 film Godzilla. Originally intended to be associated with the Japanese Self Defense Forces featured in the film, it became the thematic leitmotif for the monster character Godzilla and the entire franchise. Despite the track being titled as "Main Title" on the Godzilla soundtrack, fans and Toho executives know the track as the Main Godzilla Theme or the Godzilla song. The theme first appeared on the original Godzilla film and in later sequels was replaced by a new theme titled the Godzilla March. The Godzilla was re-used for the first time in Terror of Mechagodzilla, the final Godzilla film featuring the Showa era's continuity within the franchise.
Godzilla vs. Kong is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a sequel to Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and is the fourth film in the Monsterverse. It is also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by an American film studio. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kyle Chandler, and Demián Bichir. Brown and Chandler reprise their roles from the previous Godzilla film. In the film, Kong clashes with Godzilla after humans move the ape from Skull Island to the Hollow Earth, homeworld of the monsters known as "Titans", to retrieve a power source for a secret weapon intended to stop Godzilla's mysterious attacks.
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Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is a 2017 Japanese computer-animated kaiju film directed by Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita. Produced by Toho Animation and Polygon Pictures, in association with Netflix, it is the 32nd film in the Godzilla franchise, the 30th Godzilla film produced by Toho, the first animated film in the franchise, and the second film in the franchise's Reiwa era.
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Godzilla vs. Kong is the soundtrack to the 2021 American monster film Godzilla vs. Kong. A sequel to Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), it is the fourth film in Legendary's MonsterVerse, the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. Directed by Adam Wingard, the film features musical score written and composed by Tom Holkenborg, the fourth film composer to work on the MonsterVerse franchise. He was announced as a part of the film in June 2020, before a planned meeting with Wingard, two years, expressing his interest on working on the score due to his personal love for the Godzilla film series during his teen years. The recording of the score took place for nearly two years, and was bundled into a soundtrack album, released by WaterTower Music in digital and physical formats on March 31, 2021, coinciding with the film's United States theatrical release.
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