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the fact that Hans Zimmer conveys "we are running out of time" in every part of this movie is incredible. probably one of the most incredible movie scores of all time.

I really don't understand how this soundtrack didn't win an academy award, it's a masterpiece!

“No Time For Caution” is one of the most fantastic musical creations ever. It by itself is amazing, but then layered into a movie like interstellar makes it incredible.

Nolan asked Zimmer to write a story about a father's love for his daughter - Zimmer didn't see the script until later. And I think that is really clear in the music. Those three chords are eternal, steady, consistent - the Father. Around it, Zimmer builds complexity and adds changes, with fast inquisitive notes - the daughter. And he brings them together to make both better than before, and so much greater than the sum of its parts. This movie and score do something to me, like no other ever has.

To say Hans Zimmer does all this without ever having had any formal training is really something. Every score he makes he puts a piece of his soul in. Emotions are what drive them and all so different from one another

Actually, he is well known for making extremely catchy and emotional themes using as few notes as possible. That’s his brilliance

the tempo of it also aligns perfectly with the ticking of the second hand on a clock. the way he incorporated time in the score was nothing short of genius.

Hans Zimmer and Chris Nolan both love Shepherd Tones and the chord progressions here can kind of create that feeling of constant rising. The 4th chord in the progression is the 2nd chord but it still often feels like it's rising.

I absolutely love the choice of the pipe organ as an instrument for this movie. It's such an underused instrument in film scores and it fits so perfectly here because of the absolutely massive sound that it generates. It reflects the absolute vastness of space. At the same time the harmony being so simple reflects the emptiness of space for me. It's easy to just use an orchestra for every film score, but that's not what Hans Zimmer does, he finds the perfect instrumentation and sounds for each individual movie

I remember watching Interstellar on a big screen while I was going through a major depressive episode during which I had honestly thought nothing could make me feel alive again, but that movie, along with its otherworldly soundtrack brought out so much emotion within me back then that I still can’t listen to it without shedding a tear or two. This movie will always stay one of the sheer masterpieces of the cinematography for me ❤️

Charles, your analysis of Hans Zimmer's composition for Interstellar moved me to tears. The level of detail and insight you brought to the table truly shows your passion and dedication to music. It's people like you that make the world a more beautiful place, thank you for sharing your gift with us. Keep doing what you're doing! Your work is truly inspiring.

5:04 to 6:08 and 10:59 to 11:22 are yet more proof that this soundtrack can make any situation look and sound suspenseful and epic, little by little. It felt like Charles was explaining the musical aspects as if it was a life and death situation to save the world.

For me “No Time For Caution” is one of the all time great pieces of movie music. The Interstellar soundtrack is probably the main reason Hans Zimmer was my no.1 artist on Spotify last year.

10:55 i could literally feel my eyes widening without even think about it. it's just such a cool way to use different sounds. this guy could literally grab a tea pot, an orchestra, and melodica soloist and still make us cry.

Zimmer creates sound worlds with his scores. A lot of times they barely feel like a score, but they blend in with the environment of the movie, so instead of the visuals and the score being two separate things, they feel like they are one in the same

Great piano playing, an amazing feat for someone who we can clearly see has lost all his fingertips in a horrific piano keyboard onscreen overlay placement incident. And he's such a cheerful, animated guy. Hats off 2U mate, total respect! ;-)

Best soundtrack ever, best movie ever.

It’s so damn haunting. It really conveys the feeling of “I’m never going to be able to make it back” and the vastness of space

It's not harmonically complex, but it is instrumentally complex. The layers of texture and unusual sound design really take that amazingly simple chord progression and make it epic. Also, I think just using a minor key adds a lot to the creation of feelings of tension and nostalgia and bittersweet hope.

One of my favorite thing about Zimmer is that he does buildup and layering so well even if it’s just simple chords. He does it so effectively. People think it’s easy to layer, but layering also takes crafting. If you layer, you gotta make sure it does’t get clogged up and messy. You layer smartly that still retain its theme and character. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to mix and master later on. Especially if you have instruments and sounds clashing against each other.

This has to be one of the greatest songs of all time, everytime you listen to it you get that "eargasm" feeling and all the goosebumps. It's just another level of being amazing.

I've always been extremely connected to music, ever since my first memory, but movie soundtracks had always been something I overlooked.... until Interstellar. It was literally then and there that I completely understood the power and importance of a well made soundtrack. I love astronomy and astrophysics so I have an immense appreciation for the subjects and the visuals of this movie. I remember that my girlfriend at the time, who was watching with me, was mesmerized by the movie as a whole, just like me, but I was literally at the edge of my seat, holding back tears, and repeatedly saying throughout the movie "This soundtrack is unbelievable".. and then came the goddamn docking scene where "No Time For Caution" started playing. The tears I was holding back just refused to stay in and I could do nothing but smile and think/say "This is one the most beautiful things I have ever experienced". Interstellar is, to me, the one thing I wish I could forget and experience for the first time again.

Hans Zimmer is an absolutely brilliant song writer!

Seen Hans and his orchestra in concert twice, (2017 & 2022) and have my ticket for June 2023 at the O2 in London - I can honestly say that if you love film music, you will not see a better concert. Interstellar is one of my favourite films and score, and it is one of the few soundtracks where if I listen to it at home in the dark, or on headphones with my eyes closed - I am immediately transported back to each scene in the film - and it's magical.

YES! I’m so happy you covered Interstellar, it’s my favourite film ever, it actually made me even more interested in physics and astronomy, it was amazing to watch and I listen to the soundtrack on repeat on Spotify at least once a week. Thank you so much for making this video! 💚

What I love about the theme-*that* theme-is that tick-tick of the high E. In Nolan’s work, the enemy is the clock, and never more so than this movie. That high E ringing out, regular, relentless, inescapable, every tick a nail in Cooper’s flesh for both the big stakes and the personal stakes… It’s such a genius choice.

The iconic thing about that whole 2 note motif is that it really does convey a sense of ticking, it's literally playing out "Tick, Tock" as a heartbeat, always a measured pulse that really just pushes the idea of time. Whether it be a ticking clock or the heartbeat, the ticking is very much on display in every piece

This film and OST reduce me to a blubbering mess every damn time. It literally feels like it physically moves you with how powerful it is. Easily one of the greatest films of all time.

To think that Interstellar was released over eight years ago...in a lot of senses, it feels a lot better than modern movies. The visuals, the score... I swear, every time it pops up in my Spotify playlist, I'm thinking to myself 'how is this so simple, yet so good?' Hans Zimmer truly is the current master of film scores Edit: From memory, Christopher Nolan didn't actually give him a brief of what Hans was supposed to score when he was trying to come up with a melody. Chris just said something along the lines of 'the relationship between a father and their child'. The two know each other well enough that Chris has figured out how to get exactly the sort of music he's after out of Hans

I absolutely adore this soundtrack. Always gives me gives goosebumps. The movie is great without it, but that soundtrack just makes it an absolute masterpiece for me. That 3 chord sequence might seem like a cliché, but the way it's being used and built upon to create those huge layers of sound just makes this a unique, almost life-changing experience. I remember I had tears in my eyes watching this in theatre, because it was just awe inspiring, beautiful, and terrifying at the same time.

I saw interstelllar in IMAX and I can remember one moment so distinctly. It was the scene where the ship is spiralling out of control crashing towards the planet, everyone is screaming inside the ship, the ship itself is screaming, the music is hectic and the camera is thrashing around and spinning as the inside of this ship goes to hell… and it cuts suddenly to outside the ship and it’s just dead silent. In that moment I swear not a single person in the theatre was breathing. Not one single sound out of anyone, and for a moment, no exaggeration, I unironically felt like I was floating. The scene then “crashes” back into the chaos of the ship and I had to grab my chair because it felt like I had just suddenly been peaking on mushrooms for about 5 seconds lol. That scene I guess had less to do with the score, but the score did capture that feeling all throughout, there wasn’t a scene that didn’t feel like it had the weight of the cosmos on it

This song hits so many sensitive nerves in all its complex simplicity it’s absolutely such a beautifully perfect piece of art.

Literally, Charles, my friend and I had the same reaction coming out of the theatre. 70mm IMAX in NYC. We got back to our dorm, sat in silence, and said... "I think Chris Nolan won. There can't be any more movies. He just won movies."

The fact that the dude only had 1 week of piano lessons and can make something this beautiful is crazy. It is really inspiring as well showing that you don’t need to have a formal education to make breath taking scores.

I love that “sports event” enthusiasm over the building music, because that’s EXACTLY what I want to do whenever I hear music like this! This is why the artistic expression with which music is played can make such a difference in how the same piece feels, taking a triumphant mood to a devastated one just by adjusting rhythm, dynamics, and instrumentation/layering.

He should have won an Oscar for this score. It’s one of my favorites to listen to, and more importantly, perform. I love the low low contrabassoon notes best.

the opening theme with the C dominant and the underlying organ chord that slowly gets loud in the end. it's not talked about enough. it comes back in the black hole scene and when seeing old murph. that's probably the most genius part of the soundtrack. oh and the somber piano piece where they're drifting next to saturn 😢

Zimmer is fantastic at identifying what the key is to creating atmosphere. In Interstellar it was all the motion and layering, Dunkirk was this superb mixture of uneven timing and rhythm, Dune was the addition of the human voice and the unique instrumentation… And consistent throughout is a memorable leading melody, sometimes pretty simple, but orchestrated in a way that pulls attention and even emotion. Love the man. Beautiful stuff.

I really love Charles’ enthusiasm and passion. I’ve always loved the Interstellar soundtrack but now I’ll appreciate it that much more

Zimmer is amazing. Interstellar, Thin Red Line, Man of Steel, Inception... just magical.

Never seen the film but I love how Zimmer can almost 'brute-force' the tension in this score even without harmonics

It neatly fits the theme of the movie as well, given that the score builds all its tension around the harmonic ‘home’ of the I chord, and the movie is all about finding humanity’s new home. It’s such a new way to view space stories, instead of the typically ‘strange’ or ‘unknown’ sounds usually associated with them

I absolutely love this movie - I'm 48 and still cry every time - and so much of my love is thanks to Zimmer. It just hits so perfectly, raw emotion released for the viewer. So great.

Interstellar is one of those movies where insane talent from multiple fields came together to create a masterpiece. There was a book written by Kip Thorne where he discusses in great detail what went into making his dream become a reality - that dream being a movie with a focus on realistic physics. Christopher Nolan ended up being the second director to take the project over after Stephen Spielberg dropped the project (two legendary directors on one movie). Having Mathew McConaughey also benefited the movie as the guy would spend hours with Kip learning more about physics to better play his role in the movie. Anne Hathaway was another titan in the industry that played her role emasculately and the two lead actors meshed well together. Having Hans Zimmer compose the entire soundtrack was such overkill for the movie as his scores encapsulated the exact emotions Nolan was going for. Every aspect of the movie was given such great care that what resulted was legendary. I seriously can't recommend this movie enough to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

One of the most amazing and epic soundtracks ever composed. Thank you for covering it, Charles ❤

Love zimmer, his scores are always so atmospheric

Hans Zimmer is genius！He always uses a theme melody, repeat it and add more layers to make it incredibly beautiful. Same as Inception.

I love how that refrain is hidden within layers of complexity throughout the score, signifying that cooper was always there crying out into the universe, wanting to go back to his daughter and it’s only when S.T.A.Y. comes along that we here it at its clearest but by then it’s too late. Stunning.

This soundtrack is my favorite of all time (and that’s saying something). Seeing this live was one of the most amazing moments in my life. Front row at Coachella 2017

Interstellar soundtrack is so epic! Another good Hans Zimmer soundtrack (and another Christopher Nolan movie) is Inception you could take a look at that one as well if you wanted.

Han Zimmer never fails to amaze. Every time when i see a game, a movie which inspired by his music, i know it's going to be a masterpiece.

Songs like this are why I started studying piano. I've played guitar, bass and mandolin for many years, but keyboards have been a mystery to me. Interstellar is so amazing.

This is exactly why Hans Zimmer is one of my favorite Film composers period. Love his work.

Would love to see an analysis of Koyaanisqatsi with the score work from Philip Glass. The Interstellar soundtrack has some of the same vibes but more emphasis on repetition. Both Interstellar and Koyaanisqatsi are definitely stellar works!!

The score is insanely powerful, lonely, sad, hopeful, and stressful all at once. By the way, there's some fantastic behind the scenes videos on YT showing the organist that Hans got to play on the score and the massive church organ So glad I got to see the film when it was originally in theaters and hear the score at it's best.

'Stay' in its organ variation is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard

During the docking scene, with "No time for caution" blazing, I actually stood up in the cinema for a second. Totally forgetting where I was.... This I feel, speaks volumes (pun intended) for Zimmers masterpiece.

so interesting, that the song seems to be moving so much without really moving much at all, and when travelling through space, you can go on forever and the vastness of space still makes it seems like you've gone nowhere. beautiful imagery.

The 12 beat phrasing along with the cycling middle voice patterns and heavy use of orchestral dynamics immediately brings Carmina Burana / O Fortuna (after the first 15 sec) to mind.

when you mentioned that the resolution is used as a repetition over and over, in order to create tension, this hit me so hard almost had to cry. It is exactly this movie’s plot! The resolution and all the answers have always been there. This goes to show how Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack is beyond genius.

I'm usually referring to this as the "triple combo" :D 3 chords covering the distance of a maj 3rd. This is basically the easiest and most powerful progression there is, the relation between the minor tonic (a) & the lydian scale step (F) is already enough to have a deep impact and thats why countless songs are using this. It's also one reason why the legendary solo of "Stairway to Heaven" is so great & iconic!

Roger Sayer is the organist teaching Zimmer how the pipe organ works and doing the performance. He should be credited in your video as well. He’s an absolute master.

Using the pipe organ in the film was indeed brilliant. It opens up future possibilities for the organ. As a pipe organ enthusiast, I appreciate what he has done.

I love every soundtrack of Interstellar. But Cornfield chase and No Time for caution are my favorite of all time.😍😍

Thanks for conveying the beauty of this soundtrack in this manner. This movie is incredibly emotional, in many ways, but the soundtrack drives you through this movie like a roller coaster. The scene with MMc trying to communicate with his daughter…..😢😢😢😢😢

I been going to bed with this soundtrack every day for the past 2 years. Brilliance at the highest level.

The simplicity and repetition here is what actually gives us the chills-which undoubtably is a more accurate depiction of the dark, cold, vast universe, and the formidable and mysterious black hole and time dilation. Like a lot of the New Age music that I love- simplicity and repetitive. A depiction of the nature. Some also suggested that some of Hans Zimmer’s works are homages to Philip Glass.

Ive seen this movie like 20 times and actually never noticed that the endurance is designed like a clock until I looked at the soundtrack cover in this video

The Interstellar score absolutely speaks to my soul, as does one other (sadly terribly underappreciated) space movie: Sunshine. Interestingly, the music from Sunshine has started to make its way into trailers and soundtracks for other movies over the years and it always has incredible impact. I hate knowing people will hear it without knowing where it came from though.

Interstellar was a great experience in the theater, I remember being absolutely floored by the soundtrack. Probably my favorite of Hans Zimmer's works.

There is no better soundtrack than Interstellar. Period. Simply legendary.

Probably the most complete cinema experience I have ever had. Absolute masterpiece where script, acting, visuals and music complement and strengthen eachother in an unmatched way.

I knew the only man who would talk about this masterpice of a soundrack alike i do with me friends would be you Haha. Great vid happy new year

I really love the music in Interstellar! As simple as it is, it still evokes a strangely low-key sense of chilling tension. Lovely!

The music alone is enough to make me cry, and im not sure what emotion im crying to.

The electro theme from Spider-Man amazing as well. Zimmer defines the person and evolution through music perfectly.

Its so enriching to watch your videos, I play the piano and I consider I have an average knowledge on music theory but to watch your breakdowns I need to have a chords chart open to not get fully lost and understand the discussion. Great video as always

finally!! the interstellar video!!! i’ve been waiting for what feels like SO long after being teased by hints of the masterpiece in videos like the dune one (also great). mr. zimmer is my most beloved composer for french horn because of these extravagant melodies - that really aren’t terribly complicated - so when i tell you that i am ecstatic at the sight of this… what a wonderful soundtrack and a wonderful video!! 📯📯

No wonder I feel uneasy during the WHOLE movie. It’s so epic. I love it.

To your point about the pipe organ being used in that context: I watched a thing about the interstellar soundtrack in which it said Hans Zimmer had been tasked with the writing of this score without knowing that it was a space and time travel related movie. Not at first anyway. He was told to write what he would write for his own son

it's also consistent with the whole actual movie because Murph is Cooper's constant as the theme is the constant of the movie, the whole thing revolves around this constant thing, like physics have constants, it's the whole movie's theme. The whole movie is incredibly beautiful, at least in my opinion.

I love this soundtrack I play the album just to relax sometimes

The build up on the signature track with the ticking clock and the immense sound on the first organ chord that breaks from the build up instantly takes me back to the birth of my first child. It's incredible.

There is power and genius in simplicity. Both the film and the soundtrack are brilliant and together form a whole that is hard to beat.

Antonino Buschiazzo did a gorgeous version of some pieces from the soundtrack, but he plays it ALL on pipe organ, from memory. My favorite part was when he (gently) jammed a pencil over a key to hold it. If you haven't heard it, it's here on KZfaq, and I highly recommend it.

Could you do a deep dive into "The heart asks pleasure first" from The Piano? Just a heart-breakingly beautiful piece of music :)

One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever!! 😁 Hans and John Williams are musical geniuses!! 😁

I remember going to theatres to watch this movie and it was one of the best experiences of my life. And the crowd as well was so good. All the people started bowing down after the movie ended and everyone had that smile of satisfaction on their face. So good.

Hands down one my absolute favorite scores EVER. Thank you for breaking it down and explaining

You should really react to GRIS's soundtrack. It's an indie game with an excellent atmospheric soundtrack. I rarely listen to soundtracks, but that one just has something. It's pretty similar to this in the sense that it uses a few elements and melodies but uses dynamics to change the mood

One movie with amazing music that doesn't get talked about enough imo is Cloud Atlas. The score was composed in part by the director of the movie and the leitmotifs for each character as their iterations show up across time is so well done

i feel like we should talk more about the song "Detach" Hans just captured the power of a black hole and straight up insert it into a song

These soundtracks simply ARE space and universe when I think of it now. Crazy that that wasn't even what Hans Zimmer had in mind when composing them.

Man, thank you for breaking things like this down for us. I walked away from this video feeling so much more motivated for the ending idea I have for a song I have been sitting on for years. Thank you!

You can tell Zimmer hit the mark by how many times this sounds has been imitated in Sci-Fi ever since.

I appreciate the soundtrack so much more now, it’s amazing how you pull apart the pieces that make it up, your level of understanding of the music and just how it is connecting to our emotions, like what the music is “doing for our ears” I’ve just never heard it explained like this- wow. Incredible. God bless

I haven't watched the whole video yet. But I really think Hans Zimmer really took a page out of Philip Glass' minimalist approach to this soundtrack, the constant repetitive figures that make your mind go into a trance. In a way, I listen to this soundtrack as if Zimmer was channelling him a lot. To me, this is one of the most memorable touching soundtracks he has ever written. Also, Clint Mansell uses this approach a lot in his soundtrack compositions. Look at Moon for example - that is very similar to the Interstellar soundtrack also.

The track “Mountains” gives me goosebumps every hit

To me it really is one of the most beautiful soundtracks in history. The way he manages to layer so many notes without it turning into a complete mess. The way, as with many of his pieces, he starts with something simple and keep building up to a by every meaning of the word Grand Finale.