Interview with Danny Elfman, originally published at Vulture/NY Mag on July 6, 2015. Photo: Fox, Twentieth Century Fox, Pee Wee Pictures, Touchstone Pictures
“The theme Elfman composed for Batman and Batman Returns is certainly memorable, so much so that it was even used for the ensuing animated series. The overall score evokes a path paved in tragedy for the hero and villains of Gotham. Batman’s world functions within a maze of moral gray zones, but your sympathies might never baffle you more than when the Penguin dies. He’s unquestionably sadistic and homicidal, but his death is painful and pathetic, and the weighty, funereal music takes us to a place where we can actually feel mercy for the merciless man.”
OLIVIA COLLETTE 