How Led Zeppelin inspired the ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ score
Of all the dark horses for this year’s ‘Best Picture’ Oscar, the remake of the all-time war movie great All Quiet on the Western Front has one of the more unique chances. As a remake, there’s already some built-in familiarity and understanding about the film that will undoubtedly appeal to less judicious voters. It’s also been critically acclaimed, which can’t be said about every nominee on the list.
Since movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Banshees of Inisherin are currently considered the favourites, All Quiet on the Western Front likely has a better chance with the other nine awards that it’s nominated for. That includes ‘Best Score’, which composer Volker Bertelmann is nominated. In a recent conversation with Hans Zimmer, Bertelmann explained some of the inspiration behind his score.
“I remembered that I had refurbished my grandmother’s harmonium, which was used in her home in around 1900 to play music,” Bertelmann explained. “And what I liked about it was that it had a double-bass function, so you could take one register out, and it would add a lower octave to everything you played.”
“There were so many gunshots that rather than smear music under the gunfire and the explosions, I looked for [other] spots to place it,” Bertelmann added. “When we have the first sequence where the uniforms are being washed, I was reminded of old silent movies that have storytellings of machinery. That’s where I felt the need to add music to the rhythm of the machines.”
Zimmer made a connection between the aggressive nature of Bertelmann’s score and another high-impact artist: Led Zeppelin. “I thought of the symbol of the industrialisation of war, the industrialisation of these men. They were machines that were eating themselves up… and eating up other machines. And it all sounded like Led Zeppelin.”
“I got a phone call from him, and he said, ‘Hey, I’m sitting here with my family, and we’re listening to your piece, and it sounds like Led Zeppelin. It’s fantastic, and we really love it,'” Zimmer added. Bertelmann confirmed the connection, claiming that “the head-banging element of it,” was taken from Zeppelin.
While the chances of All Quiet on the Western Front taking home a major award might be slim, there are plenty of additional categories where it has a much greater chance of winning an award. Of the film’s nine nominations, ‘Best International Feature Film’ and ‘Best Visual Effects’ seem to be well within its grasp. We’ll just have to see what comes during the ceremony, but maybe there’s a strong contingent of Zeppelin fans that will push the film’s chances for ‘Best Original Score’.
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