Zero Dark Thirty (soundtrack)

Zero Dark Thirty (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty. Featuring an original score composed by Alexandre Desplat, the soundtrack was released through Madison Gate Records on December 25, 2012.

Development
French composer Alexandre Desplat scored music for Zero Dark Thirty, who compared the film's music to that of Akira Kurosawa-directed Japanese action film Ran (1985) where music served as a storytelling device in the film. Likewise, the film's director Kathryn Bigelow instructed him that the music should be not felt like a contemporary score but as a storytelling device that follows the action. Following an archaic and organic structure of the film's score, he opined that the film takes him back to Middle Ages. Desplat refrained from writing music in the higher range and employed musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra—12 horns, 12 trombones, 3 tubas, 12 violas, 12 celli and 12 basses. Few soloists would play electric cello, violin and duduk. Their contributions provide a "very deep and dark type of sound without being in-your-face", according to Desplat.

Critical response
Tim Grierson of Screen International described it as "one of his [Desplat's] sparest and most effective recent scores, underlying the tension in key moments without overpowering the visuals". David Edelstein of Vulture wrote "Alexandre Desplat’s chord progressions are mysterious, suffused with awe." Christy Lemire of The Florida Times-Union wrote "Alexandre Desplat's score is suitably understated". Don Groves of SBS wrote "the Middle East-influenced score by Alexandre Desplat is a subtle enhancement of the visceral imagery on screen." Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that Desplat's "Middle East-inflected score" sets the mood bare minimum. Stephanie Zacharek of MTV indicated that Desplat's score is a nod to John Barry's theme "Capsule In Space" from You Only Live Twice (1967), further describing it as "it's music that attaches a cost to experience.