# Infinity War & Alan Silvestri



## NoamL (May 23, 2018)

Now that the film's been out for a month, maybe it's time for a discussion of the soundtrack.

The Marvel movies have famously had hit & miss soundtracks due to a changing lineup of composers who constantly reinvent the main themes (a phenomenon similar to the _Harry Potter_ movies a decade earlier). However there's still been a lot of great scoring in these films. Your mileage may vary but I especially like Henry Jackman's _Civil War_, Brian Tyler's _Iron Man 3_ and _Thor 2 _(the best character themes in the MCU, I reckon), Craig Armstrong's surprisingly wonderful _Incredible Hulk_, Ludwig Goransson's _Black Panther, _and of course the original _Avengers_ by Silvestri.

Out of all the scores, Silvestri's Avengers theme seems to have emerged as the main musical idea behind the cinematic universe. Danny Elfman even adopted & extended it for _Age of Ultron. _Silvestri also wrote themes in the original _Avengers_ for Thor, Black Widow, and the Tesseract - all of which see reuse in _Infinity War_. The Tesseract theme is repurposed as a theme for all six Infinity Stones, in probably the neatest bit of musical foreshadowing these movies have been able to accomplish.

One of the things I found most interesting about _Infinity War_ was that it managed to sound "big enough" for its movie despite being almost a purely orchestral score. That definitely wasn't the case for Danny Elfman's _Justice League _which at times felt like a TV score to me! In _Infinity War_, the scoring uses ENORMOUS brass and string unisons, probably including an outsized low brass section, to convey the mayhem and menace of Thanos. There is also some way over the top scoring - "Wagnerian" would be an understatement! - during some pivotal scenes where key characters die, show up unexpectedly, etc. The score is super on-board with the idea that this is an _event movie_ that will forever change the cinematic universe everyone's known for 10 years. It's the kind of score meant to be heard above gasps and cheers, and it works.

The other interesting thing about this score is a theme, associated with Thanos's selfless but insane quest, that uses just about the smallest set of instruments possible - it sounded like a string quartet or quintet. Really interesting creative choice and it absolutely works, especially in the amazing final scene of the film when everybody is processing the fallout of WTF just happened.

What did you all think of the score?


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## CT (May 23, 2018)

I was also struck by the solo strings at the very end. Really interesting choice! I liked this one, although other than Silvestri's entries, the only music I've taken away from these films was Doyle's for the first Thor film. I wish some of that material had been reused by others.


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## fretti (May 24, 2018)

First of all: I think Silvestri did an amazing job!
Combining something out of so many characters and movies existing was probably just a nightmare when he started scoring. Loved the brass sound and also actually quite happy that they didn't choose to go with a more hybrid style music as it would have (imho) ruined it (mostly because it already is ~90% CGI). It was just something that really helped (me) to feel the characters and emotion going on. The Quintet (though not really sure as it's just amazingly mixed and processed) just fitted the style and expression of the movie perfectly, really left me in thoughts after the ending, as it just underlined what had to be taken in from all the disappearing characters and what Thanos did(most people have seen it now, but still not naming anyone).
Now really interesting where and how they pick up in Ant-Man and the Wasp (also: Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy and Dr. Strange seem to have an approved spot after Avengers 4, so late 2019-2020; the others seem to be sadly completed after their third movie...)


I agree that the Iron Man 3 theme was incredible, but I think they made a huge mistake in not letting Brian Tyler do more in that movie...Thor 2 was just great from him.
Haven't seen (and probably not going to) Justice League but I think the biggest part there was that Elfman replaced JXL so short before release...but DC films often feel like unfinished (even Wonder Woman wich was actually great in the beginning and middle; really dropped during the last fight scene...)


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## J-M (May 24, 2018)

I really liked the score. The movie had so many great scenes and the music was perfect in those. I was also surprised that it was almost purely orchestral, but it worked really well, me thinks.


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## lux (May 24, 2018)

Alan Silvestri is the man. He always gave me the impression that he's not cheating or just placing "current" sounds all over to please the studios. Melodies and chords, baby. His thematic material always hits your emotional side and adds a new dimension to the movie. Talent.

And, as NoamL said, it works marvels with a classic formula sound-wise. At the end its all in the foods you use.


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## Manaberry (May 25, 2018)

I enjoyed it so much.. There is this very specific mood from all the brass section that make the "Silvestri's thing"; which is btw the Avengers thing to me haha.
There is this authenticity from the orchestra sections. It brings a touch of credibility to the whole movie. There is no "too much instruments", it's smooth.

I remember Alan's Instagram pictures. You can see him composing music on a piece of paper in the early morning with a cup of coffee, or having a drink at the end of a tough day. Simple things.

Purely orchestral, like @NoamL said, makes this OST perfect to me.
I'm pleased to listen again to the Avenger's (2012) composer. 

Well done Alan!


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## Kejero (Jun 20, 2018)

miket said:


> I was also struck by the solo strings at the very end. Really interesting choice! I liked this one, although other than Silvestri's entries, the only music I've taken away from these films was Doyle's for the first Thor film. I wish some of that material had been reused by others.


It has, in Thor Ragnarok. In "Where To" at 1m20s for instance (). Possibly on more occasions, but don't quote me on that.


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## NoamL (Jun 29, 2018)

lux said:


> Alan Silvestri is the man. He always gave me the impression that he's not cheating or just placing "current" sounds all over to please the studios. Melodies and chords, baby. His thematic material always hits your emotional side and adds a new dimension to the movie. Talent.



Yes, he always sounds "like himself" and isn't just writing whatever is current.

When relistening to The Avengers recently I stumbled across this self-borrowing:




vs the cue starting at 1:05 here



There's even a darker version of this same idea in Infinity War:

(1:16)


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## lux (Jun 30, 2018)

This has been said a lot of James Horner, but in all honesty I believe all composers have their own musical signature which includes also reusing harmonies and small themes at parts. Even I, being nobody, have my musical world and pick parts at occurrence. In all honesty I loved every bit of music James Horner made, and always found his work so emotionally attached to the movie like a few others in the business so far. I think it's not a coincidence that he's been loved by so many composers and musicians. He added a new dimension to all the movies he scored. I can't think of movies like "A beautiful mind" without the outstanding amount of themes and musical developements it has.

I can smell Silvestri usually in 2-3 minutes in a movie, mostly getting hints from his usage of mid/low strings harmonies and chords leading (something I still get crazy at listening to) and his scalar approach to incidental passages. Probably Alan's music is something I would take with me on a desert island.


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## Divico (Jun 30, 2018)

Not a big fan of the movie and avengers in general. Wasnt bad though.
Sitting in the cinema I was positively suprised to hear a really colorful and orchestral soudtrack and nothing more hybrid and epic. Although the themes didnt dig too deep into my brain it was pleasing to hear something more in the style of older superhero movies.


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## Thor (Jul 2, 2018)

I love Thanos’ theme and the stream of modulations. Really kept me on my toes, and my neck kept craning up to one side throughout it.


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