Ghidorah 39;s Theme
Maren Ruminski
I began two months of sketching and musical experiments to see which old themes, if any, might work in this new film. I also wrote my own original themes for all four monsters. As I sketched and presented ideas to Michael, we trusted our instincts and weighed fan expectation against the needs of the narrative.
I love the classic Rodan and Ghidorah themes, but I composed my own compelling thematic ideas for them that were too effective to ignore. After months of thematic experimentation, director Michael Dougherty and I decided to represent two of the monsters, Godzilla and Mothra, with their classic musical themes, and the rest with my newly composed themes.
Through Doctor, we reached out to Hiromitsu Nishikawa to coordinate one of the most exciting recording sessions of my career. Through Skype, I watched twenty-five taiko performers, fully-costumed in traditional attire, assemble in a recording studio in Tokyo.
As an homage to his striking biology, I composed the Ghidorah Theme as a prayer to the number three. Set in the meter of 9/8, the theme is built around groups of three notes, which repeat in patterns of three, then those patterns repeat three times in larger phrases. This fractal pattern underlining the number three begins with the Ghidorah Ostinato.
The minor and diminished modes here give the theme its evil quality. I typically set this tune in the trombones or French horns, giving it a massive weight. For more mysterious passages (for example when characters discuss Ghidorah in their base) I present it in a duet of Chinese erhu and zhonghu, both performed by Wan Pin Chu.
Our recording session in Los Angeles was a transcendent experience. There are many Buddhist sects in Japan, each with their own sutra, however our quartet chanted Hannya Shingyo, The Heart Sutra, a text which is universal to all the sects. I took the recordings into my studio, where I digitally edited, manipulated, and layered them to craft patterns that fit my 9/8 structure.
Playing a French horn that high and loud wears down the embouchure of the mouth for even the most experienced instrumentalist, and regardless of how good a player is, there exists a limit to how many times in a day this technique can be performed. To my great surprise, the horns in London absolutely nailed it, with all eight players in the section hitting the top notes every time.
Many of primary human characters are associated with Monarch, a massive paramilitary group that specializes in studying and tracking the titans. With the four monster themes bombarding the ears in chants, vocals, choirs, screaming brass, and massive percussion, I felt the Monarch Theme could be differentiated by featuring more traditionally cinematic orchestral sounds.
I knew my text would be distracting if it were sung in English, or indeed, in any language an international audience might understand. Furthermore, I wanted the text to truly feel ancient and authentic, so my team tracked down a scholar who could work with us to translate my words into the oldest language possible. We were fortunate to find and collaborate with Dr. Martin Worthington, Senior Lecturer in Assyriology from the University of Cambridge. Worthington encouraged us to employ Babylonian as our language of choice, as it is among the oldest languages for which we have any basic understanding of pronunciation.
Completing the score to Godzilla: King of the Monsters was a momentous endeavor, a task I could not have accomplished without the support of those around me. I would especially like to thank director Michael Dougherty for his creative leadership, and for entrusting me with composing the music for his epic story. Thanks are also due to Mary Parent, Alex Garcia and everyone at Legendary Pictures, as well as everyone at Toho Co., and everyone at Warner Bros, in particular Paul Broucek and the entire music department. This score, especially with its incorporation of iconic thematic material from the past, could never have been completed without the tireless efforts of Peter Afterman, Margaret Yen, and Alison Litton, at Inaudible Productions.
Growing up, I had always dreamed that one day I would attend the star-studded world premiere of a big blockbuster studio film showcasing my music. Godzilla premiered at the world-renowned Chinese Theater in Los Angeles where taiko drummers performed on the red carpet. With their kakegoe calls piercing the relentless percussion, they gave the audience a visceral preview of the sounds awaiting them in my soundtrack. As I watched them, I wished I could build a time machine to go back and tell my childhood self about this gala experience. But even if I could, that kid would never have believed that one of my personal guests that night would be Danny Elfman. Life has a way of being surprisingly surreal and poetic.
I loved the experience of sitting next to Danny at my first summer tentpole film premiere and took the opportunity to download a little wisdom from his years of experience in blockbuster cinema. I recounted some of the experiences, even painful lessons I had learned while working on the biggest film of my career to date, and was reassured to hear from him I was, indeed, learning the ropes for blockbuster cinema.
Looking skyward, I also began to assess what an incredible work of art this giant Godzilla head installation actually was! At least 150 feet high, it pierced the sky with an aqua-blue tinted searchlight replicating atomic breath. I noticed two men standing next to us, who were also staring at the gargantuan Godzilla with the same mix of awe, even solemn appreciation. We started chatting, and they introduced themselves as two of the team that had conceived of and built the massive installation atop the Cinerama Dome. We exchanged stories of our experiences working on Godzilla. They showed me cell phone footage of a crane lifting the massive rigging above Sunset Boulevard. I showed them footage of my taiko ensemble chanting their signature kakegoe during recording sessions.
They had come to pay their last respects to Godzilla, as their creation would be torn down the following day. Their work, staggering as it was, was about to be dismantled and shoved into storage, piece by piece, to live on only in social media images that could not possibly do it justice. We all stared at Godzilla towering over the Cinerama Dome for the last time, as if offering own prayers to the First Gods.
I'm fine with the classic look as long as his necks and tails are extremely powerful. Each one being like a giant Python. I'd be fine with seeing a scene like in the 90's version. Hell, Ghidorah could even throw big G with them.
Earth Monster? Ok cool.
Space Monster? Whatever makes the fans happy.
Honestly tho, I'm more worried about KG's screen time and his build up. I want KG to be a memorable villain, I wan't him to be ruthless and finally I wan't KG to have a villainous music that plays whatever his on screen(Similar to Vulture where his theme plays whatever his on screen).
TrapZilla,
King Ghidorah has thrown Godzilla with all three of his heads before--In Godzilla vs. Gigan. I still think the wing walker image looks dumb. If King Ghidorah uses appendages more than his heads to do... well... anything with, then it's a severe misuse of an otherwise iconic design.
TherizinoRex,
King Ghidorah has always had powerful theme music. Ifukube's booming theme played whenever King Ghidorah appeared in the first five films (not TV show) he showed up in. I hope he gets a solid theme in the new movie as well, but given the MonsterVerse's track record for forgettable music so far, I highly doubt it will be anything as powerful or memorable as Ifukube's theme.
Desplat's main theme for Godzilla '14 was okay, but nothing special. The motif for the MUTOs and Monarch is hardly recognizable. Not that it matters since he isn't likely to return and as a result the next movie will get all new themes.
Freaky multi-headed organism comes from space on an asteroid that ends the Permian era, ends up frozen in the Antarctic. Might've woken up to tussle with Godzilla, only to end up frozen again somehow.
You know, I wonder how King Ghidorah will look frozen, and how AMAZING his emergence from the ice will be in the final film. I'm not sure which would be more likely, though. A popsicle kind of deal where he looks like he's gone through rigor mortis, or a solid clear chunk of ice.
TherizinoRex,
I think they're both hinting at something. Saying one does hint at something and the other does not by giving a poorly thought "ehhh" as your reasoning is pretty lacking. Such a thought process completely ignores the fact that Antarctica has already been confirmed as King Ghidorah's location. It also ignores the fact that asteroids come from space and that the other tweet you mentioned has ties to outer space. And, yet again, it ignores the fact that King Ghidorah has traveled via asteroids before. If anything, this is a perfect set up for the character. If not, why else would the director post it and then tag Monarch Sciences to it? Your (lack of) reasoning is baffling.
In regards to the music of the MonsterVerse, I've personally found Jackman's main motif for Kong: Skull Island (which is heard most prominently in the track "Project Monarch" from the opening title sequence and "The Island" from the scene where they finally pierce through the storm cell) to be pretty memorable. I think the score as a whole works very well for the film, but I wouldn't call the rest of it particularly memorable.
Seeing as we are on the subject of music and King Ghidorah it might be worthwhile to look back on prior King Ghidorah themes and ask ourselves what we want out of it. Honestly, I'm not expecting anything as good as what we got in the past:
c80f0f1006