‘Thirteen Lives’ Composer Benjamin Wallfisch Drops Ron Howard Film’s Main Theme – Listen to the Exclusive Track

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Aug 5, 2022

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has an exclusive piece of Benjamin Wallfishthe score of Ron Howardsurvival drama Thirteen Livesslated for release on all major digital platforms via Milan Records tomorrow, as the film becomes available to stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.

The characteristic of MGM, Bron Creative, Imagine Entertainment, Storyteller, and Magnolia Mae tell the incredible true story of the massive global effort to rescue a Thai soccer team that became trapped in the Tham Luang cave system during a snowstorm. unexpected rain in 2018. Faced with insurmountable odds, a team of the world’s most skilled and experienced divers – uniquely able to navigate the maze of narrow, flooded cave tunnels – join forces with Thai forces and more than 10 000 volunteers to attempt a harrowing rescue of the twelve boys and their trainer. With the stakes impossibly high and the whole world watching, the band embark on their toughest dive yet, showcasing the limitlessness of the human spirit in the process.

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Courtesy of Sven Doornkaat

Wallfisch spent three months working on Thirteen Lives‘, bringing in some of Thailand’s finest classical and folk musicians, as well as cello and piano soloists from the UK, as a way to bring two musical cultures together in the spirit of international collaboration that was so essential to rescue effort. The score is very experimental at times, manipulating instruments to make them sound as if they were being distorted underwater, and with the percussion of the ticking clock being made from samples of scratching, tapping and of air escaping from oxygen canisters, alongside many other unusual scoring concepts.

Howard said, “Music has always played a vital role in my films, often serving as the character itself. It was important to us that the music in Thirteen Lives helped us embody Thai culture more and create that key element of suspense. My vision for the score was that it set a chilling tone, while being subtle and distinctive. Ben delivers on all of these elements, and his score for the film is outstanding. I’m thrilled that audiences are enjoying the experience of listening to it.

Wallfish added: “The responsibility of finding a musical analogue for this story of unimaginable heroism, without dramatizing or trivializing the true events, and of course incorporating the complex and rich musical heritage of the region, was a unique challenge, and one that I could not not have done without Ron’s incredible collaborative spirit. An honor of a lifetime.

Wallfisch is a Golden Globe, BAFTA, 2x Grammy, Emmy and 5x World Soundtrack Award nominated composer who has so far worked on over 80 feature films, collaborating with other notable directors such as Ted Melfi, Andy Muschietti, Christopher Nolan, David F. Sandberg, Leigh Whannell, Gore Verbinski and Denis Villeneuve. The next film for the artist is Andy Muschietti’s DC film the flash for Warner Bros. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, mentored by Dario Marianelli and Hans Zimmer, Wallfisch’s notable past projects include This and It Chapter Two, Blade Runner 2049 (with Zimmer), Shazam!, The invisible Man, mortal combat, Hellboy, A cure of well-being, Annabelle: Creation, king of thievesHidden figures (with Pharrell Williams and Zimmer), and music based on Elgar’s Variations of puzzles for Dunkirk.

Thirteen Lives was released in select theaters on July 29. The film’s cast includes Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, Paul Gleeson, Pattrakorn Tungsupakul, Tui Thiraphat Sajakul, James Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Sahajak Boonthanakit and Weir Sukollawat Kanaros Howard directed from a screenplay by William Nicholson, based on a story by Nicholson and Don Macpherson. The film was produced by PJ van Sandwijk, Gabrielle Tana, Karen Lunder, William M. Connor, Brian Grazer and Howard, with Jon Kuyper, Carolyn Marks Blackwood, Marie Savare, Michael Lesslie, Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth as EPs.

Listen to Wallfisch’s main theme for the film, also titled “Thirteen Lives”, by clicking above.

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