MOVIE MUSIC UK

THROWBACK THIRTY

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an animated feature film released in 1993 and is part of the DC Animated Universe. Directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, the film serves as a spin-off of the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, and was released between seasons one and two of the show. The story revolves around Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy who doubles as the vigilante Batman. A mysterious figure known as the Phantasm begins targeting Gotham City’s crime bosses, leading to speculation that Batman is responsible. As Batman investigates, he discovers that the Phantasm has a personal connection to his past, which leads him to explore his early years and the choices that led him to become the Dark Knight. Mask of the Phantasm is notable for being the first full-length animated theatrical Batman film, and was celebrated at the time for its sophisticated narrative, atmospheric animation, nuanced portrayal of Batman, and exceptional voice acting from Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Dana Delany. It faced challenges at the box office at the time it was released, possibly due to its marketing and the misconception that it was solely a children’s movie, but in the intervening years it has gained a cult following and is now considered one of the standout Batman films.

The score for Mask of the Phantasm is also notable as it was composed by the late great Shirley Walker. In the 1980s Walker was well known as an outstanding conductor and orchestrator, and was especially responsible for helping both Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer in the early part of their careers – notably, Walker conducted and orchestrated and (if rumors are correct) wrote additional music for Elfman’s 1989 Batman. In addition, Walker was one of the first female composers to earn a solo score credit on a major Hollywood motion picture when she scored John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man in 1992, and these two projects led in part to her being hired to score season one of Batman: The Animated Series. This, of course, meant she was the natural choice to also score Mask of the Phantasm, and the resulting work is considered by many to be her greatest.

Unlike the main animated series, Mask of the Phantasm does not re-use Elfman’s main title theme from the 1989 Batman movie, but instead introduces a new “Main Title” theme of Walker’s own design, dramatic and darkly elegant and swimming in brooding poignancy. Interestingly, the chanted ‘Latin’ lyrics used in the main title theme are actually the names of orchestrators Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion, and Peter Tomaschek read backwards, a fun easter egg for fans of the entire franchise. This main theme is heard throughout the score in numerous guises, including in a dramatic variation in “The Promise,” and then underpinning the action in the flashback action sequence “Ski Mask Vigilante”. This cue introduces Walker’s excellent action stylistics, which are full of frantic string runs and heraldic, almost jazzy brass textures.

“Phantasm’s Graveyard Murder” introduces the eerie string-and-synth based theme for the Phantasm character, heard here during a scene where the masked murderer kills mob boss Buzz Bronsky in cold blood while he is visiting the grave of another recently-deceased crime lord, Chuckie Sol; the Phantasm also murdered Sol, but manipulated events to implicate Batman. Walker’s synths for the Phantasm have tonal similarities to a theremin, and are woven intricately into the dark and sinister orchestral textures that accompany Bronsky’s murder; interestingly, the synths in this cue (and others) were performed by none other than Hans Zimmer, possibly repaying the favor that Walker paid him when she helped him write the scores for Chicago Joe and the Showgirl and Pacific Heights.

“First Love” is the love theme for Bruce Wayne and Andrea Beaumont, to whom Wayne was engaged many years previously, before she dumped him with a ‘dear john’ letter and left Gotham with her father. In this cue, Wayne unexpectedly observes Andrea having dinner in a restaurant with a local politician, and remembers their happier times together; Walker scores these memories with a piece of lush romance, accented with warm and light Christmas-style orchestrations to acknowledge the seasonal setting of Bruce’s memory. “The Big Chase” opens with a fuller and richer version of the love theme as Bruce and Andrea meet for the first time in years, and try to reconcile the end of their relationship, but this quickly segues into a tremendously exciting sequence that places both the Main Theme and the Phantasm theme into the middle of another superb piece of action writing, some of which features moments of soaring choral intensity.

The interplay between the two themes, and the rampaging and percussive drive of the action in general, is excellent, and I also want to especially call out the density and complexity of the orchestrations, which are just superb. You can hear a lot of influence from Danny Elfman’s Batman score in the way all this action music is constructed, especially in how the percussion is layered against the rest of the orchestra, and in some of the frantic phrasing of the brass and the woodwinds; this suggests that Walker had a significant influence on Elfman’s early action music sound.

“A Plea For Help” is another lovely statement of Bruce and Andrea’s love theme, where this time the strings are augmented by tolling bells for added drama. “The Birth of Batman” is an extended cue that underscores several flashback scenes to Batman’s early days as a crimefighter, and the happiest parts of his relationship with Andrea, before climaxing with Bruce’s shocking realization that Andrea is actually the Phantasm, seeking vengeance for the mobsters who directly and indirectly caused her father’s death. Walker’s music here is an intricate tapestry of the main theme, the Latin chorus, the Phantasm theme, and Bruce and Andrea’s love theme, and it moves between them expertly as each new flashback enters Bruce’s mind. It’s also a fascinating exploration of Bruce’s identity as Batman and the events that led to him donning the mask and cowl; Walker really tries to explore the emotional drivers of the character, and then at the end of the cue when he has his revelation about Andrea/Phantasm, the music is wonderfully dramatic.

“Phantasm and Joker Fight” underscores the action scene where Andrea, as Phantasm, confronts the final mob boss she deems responsible for her father’s death – Jack Napier, who in the intervening years has turned into the supervillain Joker. Andrea tracks down the Joker to his hideout in Gotham’s abandoned World’s Fair, and they fight; Walker’s music for the scene is a slightly chaotic and dissonant action cue that initially pits the eerie Phantasm theme against some twisted circus/calliope sounds to represent the Joker, but then becomes more traditionally orchestral when Batman enters the fray. The cue ends with an enormous surge of orchestral and choral power as Andrea/Phantasm intentionally sets off a series of booby-trapped explosives rigged by the Joker, apparently killing them both. The final cue, “Batman’s Destiny,” opens with a significantly emotional reprise of Bruce and Andrea’s love theme as Bruce mourns her seeming death, and then signs off with a massive final statement of the main theme, full orchestra and full choir, as Bruce makes the final decision to fully adopt the Batman persona and rid Gotham of crime for good.

The last track on the album is an original song, “I Never Even Told You,” written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard, and performed over the film’s end credits by actress Tia Carrere. Don’t listen to it. It’s awful.

The original album of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was just thirty minutes long, sans the song, and while it covered most of the thematic bases and was an enjoyable product, it woefully under-sold the depth of Walker’s score. In 2009 La-La Land records and producer Ford A. Thaxton released an expanded album of the score, with a running time of almost double the original release; highlights include several additional excellent action cues, and more music relating to the Joker in “The Joker’s Big Entrance.” The album has outstanding sound quality – it was sourced from Walker’s own personal archive of her music – and has excellent liner notes by writer and IFMCA member Randall Larson.

Shirley Walker died unexpectedly in 2006 aged just 61, but her legacy as one of the most important female film composers in history lives on; with her scores for this film, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, and subsequent works like Turbulence and Final Destination, not to mention her extensive work on television, Walker helped put cracks in the glass ceiling that prevented women from breaking into the upper echelons of the film music world. Just three years after this score came out Rachel Portman would win her Oscar for Emma, and now composers like Pinar Toprak and Laura Karpman are scoring billion-dollar super-hero blockbusters. Likely none of this would have been possible without Walker. However, even without all these issues related to gender inequality and opportunities for women composers, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm remains an outstanding score, one of the best ever written for any version of the dark knight. Whenever anyone mentions Shirley Walker, talks about how underrated she was, and how sad it was that she died as comparatively young as she did, this is the score to listen to to find out why.

Buy the Batman: Mask of the Phantasm soundtrack from the Movie Music UK Store

Track Listing:

• ORIGINAL 1993 RELEASE
• Main Title (1:35)
• The Promise (0:43)
• Ski-Mask Vigilante (3:00)
• Phantasm’s Graveyard Murder (3:35)
• First Love (1:32)
• The Big Chase (5:28)
• A Plea For Help (1:51)
• The Birth of Batman (4:15)
• Phantasm And Joker Fight (4:03)
• Batman’s Destiny (3:42)
• I Never Even Told You (written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard, performed by Tia Carrere) (3:42)

• EXPANDED LA-LA LAND 2009 RELEASE
• Main Title/Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (5:01)
• The Promise (1:25)
• Ski Mask Vigilante (4:28)
• Fancy Footwork (0:40)
• Phantasm’s Graveyard Murder (3:52)
• Bad News/Set Trap/May They Rest In Peace (1:51)
• First Love (1:59)
• City Street Drive/Sal Velestra/Good Samaritan (2:16)
• Birth of Batman (6:01)
• The Joker’s Big Entrance (3:02)
• The Big Chase (5:40)
• Nowhere To Run (2:01)
• A Plea for Help (1:01)
• A Tall Man/Arturo and His Pal/Makes You Want To Laugh/What’s So Funny? (4:04)
• Andrea Remembers/True Identity (3:18)
• Phantasm and Joker Fight (6:01)
• Batman’s Destiny (1:46)
• I Never Even Told You (written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard, performed by Tia Carrere) (4:23)
• Theme from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (2:06) BONUS
• Welcome to the Future (1:01) BONUS

Running Time: 33 minutes 26 seconds – Original
Running Time: 61 minutes 56 seconds – Expanded

Reprise Records 9 45484-2 (1993) – Original
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1089 (1993/2009) – Expanded

Music composed and conducted by Shirley Walker. Orchestrations by Harvey R. Cohen, Ian Walker, Larry Rench, Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Peter Tomaschek. Recorded and mixed by Robert Fernandez. Edited by Thomas Milano. Album produced by Shirley Walker. Expanded album produced by Ford A. Thaxton.