Hans Zimmer Great Film Music

Hans Zimmer delivers a bright and impeccable score on The Power of One, drawing from traditional hymnals and incorporating the Bulawayo church choir against lush orchestral drumming backdrops. The film, directed by John Avildsen (Rocky and The Karate Kid) centers around the director's favorite theme of one young man who defeats great odds to become a hero. The Power of One, which was no box office hit like Avildsen's previous films, is a more ambitious film. It is more ambitious not because it was filmed in Zimbabwe, but because it deals with the events surrounding World War II, neo-Nazis, and apartheid. Lebo M, who worked with Zimmer on The Lion King soundtrack, wrote the lyrics, of which none are in English. Listening to the power of this music reminds us that there was a lot more to the soundtrack of The Lion King than Elton John and Tim Rice's pop songs…

The Genius of Film Music: Hollywood Blockbusters 1980s to 2000s is the second compilation of film music on the LPO label. It joins LPO0086, which took music from films of the 1960s to 1980s. The two releases form a great set of some of the best film scores of the last 60 years, including well loved classics such as The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Psycho but also an opportunity to discover some less well known scores.