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Black Hawk Down
(2001)
Album Cover Art
Co-Composed and Co-Produced by:

Co-Composed by:
Rachid Taha
Denez Prigent
Michael Brook
Craig Eastman
Hector Pereira
Martin Tillman
Mel Wesson

Vocals by:
Baaba Maal
Joe Strummer
Lisa Gerrard
Rachid Taha
Denez Prigent

Co-Produced by:
Pietro Scalia
Bob Badami
Labels Icon
LABEL & RELEASE DATE
Decca/Universal
(January 15th, 2002)
Availability Icon
ALBUM AVAILABILITY
Regular U.S. release.
Awards
AWARDS
None.
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ALSO SEE





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   Availability | Viewer Ratings | Comments | Audio & Track Listings | Notes
Buy it... if you appreciate challenging scores that take radical chances in the area of cross-cultural conflict.

Avoid it... if the fifteen minutes of harmonious vocal and instrumental beauty on the album cannot compensate for the extremely difficult electric guitar-laden action material.
Review Icon
EDITORIAL REVIEW
FILMTRACKS TRAFFIC RANK: #53
WRITTEN 1/12/02, REVISED 1/3/09
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Zimmer
Zimmer
Black Hawk Down: (Hans Zimmer) Director Ridley Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer combined efforts to create a frighteningly realistic account of the American soldiers' fight for survival during the botched 1993 kidnapping mission in Somalia that led to the deaths of several of those soldiers. The critical acclaim surrounding the film is based on the severely true to life account of the gruesome accident and rescue that ensued during the event. That success takes a page from the harrowing realism captured in films such as Platoon and Saving Private Ryan, placing the viewer in the midst of a battle environment that's intended to extend the soldiers' adrenaline rush to the audience. The film came under harsh fire from other critics who identified Scott's inaccuracies in the depiction of the people of Somalia (who were not actually used in the creation of the film), and that same disdainful response extended to Hans Zimmer's music for the production. Spreading his wings to take flight into another unexplored method of scoring, Zimmer's score for Black Hawk Down is like nothing film music fans had heard before. Instead of attempting to portray the ethereal aspect of wartime conflict with a classical approach or allowing the sound effects to replace a score in many parts, Zimmer's work is mixed as a central piece of the film. Still riding the success of Gladiator with Scott, Zimmer's Hannibal and Pearl Harbor continued his strong popularity with mainstream film score fans in 2001. In nearly ever way possible, though, Black Hawk Down is the exact opposite of his previous score, Pearl Harbor. Rather than reprising the underplaying of a historical event with soft, thematic writing, Zimmer unleashes a wretched dose of hell in his music for Black Hawk Down. To understand the disparate tones in this work, all you have to do is realize that the film itself is not meant to be a pleasant experience. Zimmer intentionally approached the assignment with brutality on the mind, seeking to accompany the overpowering and detailed human account of the event with music that is also at war with itself. The resulting mix is competent and intermittently effective, but it's extremely incongruous on album.


Ratings Icon
VIEWER RATINGS
8,467 TOTAL VOTES
Average: 2.72 Stars
***** 1,252 5 Stars
**** 1,050 4 Stars
*** 2,062 3 Stars
** 2,343 2 Stars
* 1,760 1 Stars
  (View results for all titles)

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COMMENTS
571 TOTAL COMMENTS
Read All Start New Thread Search Comments
Black Hawk Down (Hans Zimmer)
Liam Murphy - June 22, 2015, at 8:06 a.m.
1 comment  (1330 views)
Celtic influence
AJWF - January 3, 2012, at 9:46 a.m.
1 comment  (1973 views)
The song in ending of BHD   Expand >>
Arie - October 27, 2009, at 7:55 p.m.
2 comments  (3475 views)
Newest: June 3, 2013, at 5:55 p.m. by
Michael
Song from Trailer   Expand >>
USMC2PD - December 26, 2008, at 7:37 p.m.
3 comments  (4558 views)
Newest: September 11, 2010, at 12:55 p.m. by
Kassandra
end song black hawk down   Expand >>
pino - October 1, 2008, at 3:50 p.m.
3 comments  (8473 views)
Newest: February 11, 2011, at 2:37 p.m. by
KOLT
Lyrics of Black Hawk Down
Nivia de Schueler - December 1, 2007, at 8:30 a.m.
1 comment  (4195 views)
More...


Track Listings Icon
TRACK LISTINGS AND AUDIO
Audio Samples   ▼
Total Time: 67:01
• 1. Hunger (6:35)
• 2. Barra Barra - performed by Rachid Taha (5:47)
• 3. Vale of Plenty (2:27)
• 4. Chant (2:33)
• 5. Still (4:48)
• 6. Mogadishu Blues (2:53)
• 7. Synchrotone (8:55)
• 8. Bakara (3:12)
• 9. Of the Earth (2:19)
• 10. Ashes to Ashes (4:43)
• 11. Gortoz A Ran - J'Attends - performed by Denez Prigent and Lisa Gerrard (5:51)
• 12. Tribal War (2:39)
• 13. Leave No Man Behind (6:18)
• 14. Minstrel Boy (Film Version) - performed by Joe Strummer/Mescaleros (5:42)
• 15. Still Reprise (2:12)

Notes Icon
NOTES AND QUOTES
The insert includes extensive credits and a long note from Danial Schweiger about the creative process of the score and all of its diverse elements.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Black Hawk Down are Copyright © 2002, Decca/Universal and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 1/12/02 and last updated 1/3/09.
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