One of the most anticipated films of 2001, Tim Burton's own version of The Planet of the Apes, comes with an equally anticipated score by long time collaborator Danny Elfman. There are a couple of words that pretty well describe the kind of score Elfman has delivered: primitive, percussive and aggressive. And complex. Listening to this score is no walk in the park. It takes concentration. And tolerant neighbours or a pair of headphones, because with The Planet of the Apes Elfman gives the listener some kick ass, adrenaline pumping action music that will rock your house.
There are no big themes. If that's what you're looking for - just forget about it. Instead, Elfman weaves the score together with several motifs, such as the rising percussive little rythm heard for the first time in the opening cue, "Main Titles". These little motifs can be hard to spot the first time one listens to the score, but with repeated listenings they become easier to notice. Because, like so many of Danny's action scores, The Planet of the Apes is a score that grows on you, and gets better for every listen. The first time it might just seem to be dissonant, atonal and annoying. But after some time the score gets more interesting. It's still mostly dissonant and atonal, of course, because that is how Elfman wrote it. The Planet of the Apes has got to be one of the more complex scores by the composer out there, when it comes to developing musical ideas and orchestrations.
The percussion and brass take up the majority of the stage, supported by lots of synths and samples, with the strings staying in the background most of the time. The percussive roster is actually quite impressive. Elfman seems to make use of pretty much everything but the kitchen sink, and the extensive use of percussion gives the score a very primitive, dark and tribal sound, which really suits the film it was composed for. The already mentioned "Main Titles", and the action packed "The Hunt" are perfect examples.
The more quiet parts are easy to remember, because they are very rare. A slow, melodic theme is presented in the second track, "Ape Suite #1", and it shows up later on in the score, but that's it really. This is an action score, and action is exactly what you'll get. Chances is that if you like the composers' score for Sleepy Hollow, the music for The Planet of the Apes might just be something up your alley. Just don't expect a big theme.