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Composed and Produced by:
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Graeme Revell
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Orchestrated and Conducted by:
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Tim Simonec
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Female Vocals by:
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Bobbi Page
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Release Date:
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March 4th, 2003
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release. A song compilation was released at about the same time.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are a Daredevil completist and enjoy any variation on
the superhero film music formula.
Avoid it... if you prefer your superhero scores to have a superior
theme and interesting, sustained action cues.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Daredevil: (Graeme Revell) The public's desire for
supernatural heros has once again reached full steam. After Batman,
The Shadow, and The Phantom breezed through theaters in the
previous decade, the comic-to-screen stars of the early 21st Century have
included a resurgent Spider-Man, the X-Men, and now
Daredevil, a hero with the twist of having a disability in his real
life guise. The Daredevil film did reasonably well in the theatres,
but has not gained the illustrious following of the kind that
Spider-Man, the X-Men have both experienced, thus causing a
Daredevil franchise to be less of an certainty. The score composers
for these comic book superheroes have ranged between many of the top names
in the industry, often producing at least average, if not enjoyable scores
for these films. Graeme Revell is perhaps the most widely seasoned composer
to tackle this genre recently, having composed for action and adventure
films in a wide range of instrumental and electric sounds. He is an
unpredictable composer, sometimes on the verge of brilliance and sometimes
performing a balancing act between the strange and the unlistenable. Like
all the others that came before it, Daredevil would fit a certain
formula that composers typically try to adhere to, and Revell followed those
lines to an extent. The difficulty with superhero scores is to follow that
formula without making a score into a series of cliches that could damage
the film.
In the end, Revell, managed to avoid producing a cliche of
a score. On the other hand, he didn't much follow the superhero formula to
its fullest. He attempts to infuse the score with a dynamically ranging
title theme, moving in two-note strides that could almost represent the
leaps from one tall building to another. Unfortunately, the theme is too
long and drawn out in its construction to be able to use readily in action
cues throughout the score, causing only three prominent performances of that
theme (at the start, the "becoming Daredevil" cue, and partially in the
finale). You won't be able to hum this action hero theme after the score is
over. The fight sequences are scored with orchestral blasts, often in
disjointed key, and never last long enough to built into a listenable
experience on album. The "Kingpin" cue stretches the instrumentation into
the percussively bizarre, making the villain and his thugs neither scary nor
sophisticated. Ironically, for an action film, the highlight of Revell's
work for Daredevil is the reflective underscore. For the Matt
character, this entails haunting female vocal solos in a deep male chorus
background and subtle, sensitive guitar and piano work for the Elektra
character. The more mystical sequences feature this solid music, and can,
for fans of the Daredevil concept, save the album. Absent,
however, is the kick-butt action music that you need to hear in scores such
as this. Revell employs a large ensemble for the project, as well as the
voices and an electric guitar for effect, but that large group never
unleashes much harmonic or, for that matter, coordinated force. For Revell
fans, this work is certainly better than his Tomb Raider debacle, but
resides at the less interesting end of the superhero film music scale. **
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Daredevil Theme (4:40)
• 2. Young Matt's Father (1:58)
• 3. Hell's Kitchen (2:13)
• 4. Matt Becomes Daredevil (1:38)
• 5. The Kingpin (3:52)
• 6. The Darkest Hour (2:44)
• 7. Bullseye (2:45)
• 8. Elektra (4:15)
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• 9. Mistaken Identity (2:52)
• 10. Nachio's Assassination (1:12)
• 11. Elektra vs. Bullseye (2:56)
• 12. Blind Justice (2:10)
• 13. Church Battle (2:23)
• 14. Falling Rose (1:12)
• 15. The Necklace (3:19)
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The insert includes a list of performers, but no other information about the score or film.
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