‘Hans Zimmer: Live In Prague’ Is A Surprisingly Watchable Showcase Of True Musicianship

German born musician Hans Zimmer is one of the Big Three of movie soundtrack composers. It’s basically John Williams (the Star Wars guy), John Barry (The James Bond theme-song guy), and him, with Danny Elfman (the Tim Burton guy) close behind. He’s had a hand in pretty much every major motion picture soundtrack of the last 30 years, from Rain Man to The Dark Knight Trilogy, and his score for 1995’s The Lion King won the Oscar for Best Original Score.

Unlike elder statesmen like Williams and Barry, and similar to Elfman, Zimmer got his start in pop music. He worked with The Buggles, of “Video Killed The Radio Star” fame, and even produced seminal punk rockers The Damned. He regularly collaborates with rock and pop musicians and it was while working with Pharrell Williams and Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack that the idea came about to take his show on the road. Zimmer handpicked a 21-piece backing band to perform his most famous works and brought in local orchestras and choirs, sometimes resulting in 72 musicians on stage. The live concert film Hans Zimmer: Live In Prague captures the tour at a 2016 stop, playing in front of an appreciative crowd of 10,000 at the Czech capital’s O2 Arena, and is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

I feared the worst as the film began with the now-rote concert film footage of the band setting up, road cases emblazoned with “HANS ZIMMER” (“Fuck Yeah! Hans Zimmer! Let’s mosh!” said no one ever), and saw one of the musicians pumping his fist while carrying a clarinet, but was surprisingly engaged and entertained throughout the whole of Live In Prague.

How does Hans Zimmer like to set it off? By dropping a little number from the Driving Miss Daisy soundtrack. Is that a thing? Do people really sit around and listen the Driving Miss Daisy soundtrack? Regardless, Zimmer’s band of sultry female violin players and cellists in leather mini-skirts and awkwardly unhep bearded rock dudes command the stage, effortlessly seguing into selections from the Sherlock Holmes and Madagascar soundtracks. Hans even has a Martini glass and mixer perched on his piano. Maybe I don’t know a thing about how hard Hans fucking Zimmer likes to get down.

The Zimmer Zammer is a master of many instruments, playing piano here, banjo there, even strapping on an electric guitar when he wants to rock out with the boys in the band, which include Marr and guitarist Mike Einziger from Incubus, perhaps the only nü-metal band its OK to like (alright, it’s OK to like Deftones and System Of A Down too). As the show progresses, moving to ever more intense and intricate works, curtains reveal the Czech National Symphony & Choir, and a parade of featured musicians take center stage.

Every few songs or so, which in real time is about every 18 minutes, Zimmer gets on the mic to explain the origins of his compositions. Though a bit buttoned up, he’s as affable as you’d expect a well-educated, hugely successful, middle-aged German dude to be, and his insights are as interesting as a college professor talking about a book he really loves. “Let’s treat this like a little dinner party,” he says at one point, and though the setting and music is grand in scale, there is an intimacy conveyed in the obvious pleasure he takes presenting and performing his music live.

Zimmer’s scores go from funky grooves to atmospheric ‘80s rock to bombastic percussion pieces, obviously influenced by heavy metal and alternative rock. At times it’s like watching The Boston Pops jam with hair metal band Europe, or Nine Inch Nails as performed by The Metropolitan Opera. I know, both descriptions sound horrible, but believe me, it’s pretty cool, especially when the orchestra and choir lock in with the guitars and drums and send it over the top, especially when the cello players start flicking their hair in time with the bow strikes on their instruments.

While it seems unlikely that a 2-hour plus orchestral soundtrack performance would make for exciting viewing, Live In Prague holds your attention from beginning to end. Sure, watching 70+ musicians performing complex instrumental suites which require the utmost concentration is not the most exciting thing I’ve ever watched – even with leather-clad violinists and Johnny Marr– but it’s is a needed reminder of the importance of musical skill in this age of computer generated backing tracks and our dwindling expectations of what makes for a passable live performance (a-yo Kygo, talkin’ ‘bout you son). Hans Zimmer: Live In Prague showcases both the virtuosity of Zimmer’s band and the breadth of his compositions, showing that musicianship is alive and well.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.

Watch Hans Zimmer: Live In Prague on Netflix