# Hacksaw Ridge - Rupert Gregson-Williams



## tc9000 (Dec 29, 2022)

Amazing soundtrack from RGW. 6 years old now, but I still love the writing.


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## Tusker (Dec 29, 2022)

Thank you for this! I’ve had The Martian on continuous rotation for months and enjoying his subtle touch. Been looking for another RGW soundtrack to dive into. 👌


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## tc9000 (Dec 29, 2022)

Tusker said:


> Thank you for this! I’ve had The Martian on continuous rotation for months and enjoying his subtle touch. Been looking for another RGW soundtrack to dive into. 👌


Thanks - I will check out The Martian. Oh - I found a bunch of RGW scores here:



https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP8G9AEVnpVx0cV8Wp_gVVw


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## tc9000 (Dec 29, 2022)

Oh and here's a bunch of Harry Gregson-Williams' scores:



https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSVamMPTtDjREdR7ZbA2rAw/playlists


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## MarkKouznetsov (Dec 30, 2022)

There was a chinese score that basically copied HR. They just removed the upper melodic line and left all the harmony and orchestration the same. Same tempo, same length. It was some kind of typical communist war propaganda movie.

Not the first time the did that.


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## Tusker (Dec 30, 2022)

You are kind not to point out that I confused RGW with HGW. 🤦‍♂️ Looking forward to digesting Hacksaw Ridge. “I could have killed him” has the kind of modal movement which speaks to me. For me, it creates an emotional space similar to Thomas Newman’s American Beauty. Lovely.


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## babylonwaves (Dec 30, 2022)

Tusker said:


> Thank you for this! I’ve had The Martian on continuous rotation for months and enjoying his subtle touch. Been looking for another RGW soundtrack to dive into. 👌


You might like the OST for "The Meg" if you like the Martian.


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## JohnG (Dec 30, 2022)

It's an excellent score, especially considering that the movie drifts all over the place tonally. One minute it's "aw shucks Americana" and the next it's absolute savagery,_ a la _Saving Private Ryan. Such large leaps I think are very demanding on the composer. That's even more so because it's not a movie that glorifies war, and yet the battle sequences demand excitement from the score that, inevitably, makes violence more entertaining.

I think he did a fantastic job on a challenging assignment.

It's also beautifully recorded and mixed, for what it's worth.


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## tc9000 (Dec 30, 2022)

JohnG said:


> I think he did a fantastic job on a challenging assignment.


Yeah the first eight tracks are _lovely noble american low brass, strings _+ _choir _but then (at track 9 _Hacksaw Ridge_) it flips to _UTTERLY TERRIFYING SOUND DESIGN_ + _TAIKO _territory. When scores get "choppy" like that, I remind myself that they are written to match the picture... RGW's _Tarzan _score is similar - haunting melodic work, counterpointed with full-on sound design + percussion ensemble, horror / adrenaline pieces. RGW seems to be a master of both - drawing on obvious classical composition and orchestration skills for the former, and psycho-acoustics / primal energy / sound design chops for the latter.


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## tc9000 (Dec 30, 2022)

Tusker said:


> You are kind not to point out that I confused RGW with HGW. 🤦‍♂️ Looking forward to digesting Hacksaw Ridge. “I could have killed him” has the kind of modal movement which speaks to me. For me, it creates an emotional space similar to Thomas Newman’s American Beauty. Lovely.


I too got confused about this TBH - to add to the confusion they sometimes collaborate hahah. Outrageous of them not to be bitter rivals! It must be funny at Xmas... I wonder if they pitch for the same gigs???

It's funny you mention Thomas Newman because it was similarities his score for _Road to Perdition _that lead me to RGW's work in general. I think RGW's music has an emotional connection that the music of TN also has in spades.


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