SUPPORT FILMTRACKS! WE EARN A
COMMISSION ON WHAT YOU BUY:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
eBay
Amazon.ca
Glisten Effect
Editorial Reviews
Scoreboard Forum
Viewer Ratings
Composers
Awards
   NEWEST MAJOR REVIEWS:
     1. Superman (2025)
    2. Jurassic World Rebirth
   3. F1
  4. M3GAN 2.0
 5. Elio
6. How to Train Your Dragon (2025)


   CURRENT BEST-SELLING SCORES:
       1. Top Gun (2-CD)
      2. Avatar: The Way of Water
     3. The Wild Robot
    4. Gladiator (3-CD)
   5. Young Woman and the Sea
  6. Spider-Man 2 (3-CD)
 7. Cutthroat Island (2-CD)
8. Willow (2-CD)
   CURRENT MOST POPULAR REVIEWS:
         1. Spider-Man
        2. Alice in Wonderland
       3. The Matrix
      4. Gladiator
     5. Wicked
    6. Batman (1989)
   7. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  8. The Wild Robot
 9. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
10. Doctor Strange: Multiverse
Home Page
Widows
(2018)
Album Cover Art
Composed and Co-Produced by:

Conducted by:
Robert Ziegler

Orchestrated by:
Shane Rutherfoord-Jones

Additional Music and Co-Produced by:
Steve Mazzaro
Labels Icon
LABEL & RELEASE DATE
Milan Records
(November 23rd, 2018)
Availability Icon
ALBUM AVAILABILITY
Regular international release, a CD option primarily available from Europe but a vinyl option more widely available.
Awards
AWARDS
None.
Also See Icon
ALSO SEE





Decorative Nonsense
PRINTER FRIENDLY VIEW
(inverts site colors)




   Availability | Viewer Ratings | Comments | Track Listings | Notes
Buy it... if you have bought into Hans Zimmer's notion that consciously underplaying the impact of his music somehow enhances the narrative weight of the films he scores.

Avoid it... if basic emotional depth is a requirement in your film music, Zimmer failing to generate more than the most minimal level of ambient drama and obnoxious rhythmic action.
Review Icon
EDITORIAL REVIEW
FILMTRACKS TRAFFIC RANK: #2,205
WRITTEN 9/27/21
Shopping Icon
BUY IT


Zimmer
Zimmer
Widows: (Hans Zimmer/Steve Mazzaro) The relatively young career of writer and director Steve McQueen has proven that he is not afraid to tackle challenging topics relating to racism, sexism, interracial marriage, and police brutality, and 2018's Widows managed to fold all of those explorations into the context of a revenge heist story. The supposed widows of a gang of thieves killed in a botched robbery involving politicians and crime bosses in Chicago team up to finish the job, inevitably encountering crosses and double crosses as they seek to steal $5 million from the lead politician to pay off the ruthless crime boss. Marital infidelity is also a key driver of the story, the women ultimately proving victorious even if only in their combined resolve. The film's noteworthy ensemble cast is among its highlights, Robert Duvall in his late 80's given the opportunity to unleash some expletives prior to being blown away. Critical response to the film was widely positive, in part because it combined the typical violence of a heist flick with the deeper cultural influences without making any attempt to soften either. Audiences largely agreed, but the film didn't perform particularly well worldwide, perhaps proving McQueen's handling of the topic required too much thought of viewers. While the soundtrack for Widows is often absent or reliant upon songs, the director returned to his 12 Years a Slave collaborator, Hans Zimmer, to provide the minimal original score required for the movie. McQueen definitely subscribes to the "less is more" philosophy when it comes to his film scores, opting to leave the entire first act of Widows without any music at all. With songs occupying several scenes and the end credits, Zimmer was tasked with providing less than half an hour of music for the movie, though when taking into account alternate versions of the same cues, the score really only amounts to about 23 minutes in length. The composer sought to minimize his contribution in guiding the narrative of the movie, opting instead for a largely subdued and rhythmic accompaniment. "The picture itself was the melody, and my job was to do a little bit of orchestration," Zimmer explains. "The moviemaking and the performances are so strong, you don't want to clutter it up uselessly with music." As such, his score achieves only the most basic purpose of filling aural space and underplaying the characters' emotional journey. Not surprisingly, the work has become the target of considerable and humorous scorn from the film music community.


Ratings Icon
VIEWER RATINGS
175 TOTAL VOTES
Average: 1.72 Stars
***** 7 5 Stars
**** 8 4 Stars
*** 16 3 Stars
** 42 2 Stars
* 102 1 Stars
  (View results for all titles)

Comments Icon
COMMENTS
1 TOTAL COMMENTS
Read All Start New Thread Search Comments
Why does this crap get a review?
Dill - February 14, 2022, at 1:27 p.m.
1 comment  (573 views)
More...


Track Listings Icon
TRACK LISTINGS
Total Time: 36:45
• 1. Marcus (3:24)
• 2. We Have a Job to Do (2:33)
• 3. Money (2:34)
• 4. Perimeter Check (3:09)
• 5. The Calm Before the Storm (1:39)
• 6. The Job (4:58)
• 7. Race Against Time (1:23)
• 8. My Son (2:33)
• 9. Wild is the Wind - performed by Nina Simone (7:00)
• 10. Dice Game - performed by The Cool Kids (3:11)
• 11. The Big Unknown - performed by Sade (4:21)
(Score time: 22:13)

Notes Icon
NOTES AND QUOTES
The insert includes a note from the director about the songs and score.
Copyright © 2021-2025, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Widows are Copyright © 2018, Milan Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 9/27/21 (and not updated significantly since).
Reviews Preload Scoreboard decoration Ratings Preload Composers Preload Awards Preload Home Preload Search Preload