It surprises me how much flak this score has gotten. It's the best work Eastwood has ever done. I haven't been a fan of his scores until now, but in the film the emotional impact of this score is tremendous, which is further compounded by its simplicity. If he had let loose some big orchestral crescendo during the raising of the flag it would have been reductive of what he was trying to do. The point being that the raising of the flag was actually quite anti-climactic, especially for those that raised it...but the the effect that the picture had was monumental.

The moment is underplayed on purpose. And honestly, I think this is one of the finest scores of the year so far. It made quite an impression on me in the film itself, and is actually quite beautfiul alone.