Synopsis: Another night falls over Gotham City and with the darkness out crawls the crime and villainy from the shadows. The days of The Batman and other noble super heroes are but faded memories; violence and despair are now the harbingers of our time. But one event will set a change into motion: when Harvey "Two-Face" Dent shuns a former rehabilitated life for a descent into corruption, an aged and weathered Bruce Wayne dons the mark and cape once more. With a stellar voice cast headed by Peter Weller, Ariel Winter and David Shelby, this gritty DC Comics legend comes to life with unforgettable battles, thrilling chases and the promise of a better tomorrow for humanity, because there is nowhere for criminals to hide when the Dark Knight returns. Music by Christopher Drake.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Deluxe Edition – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Music By Christopher Drake
1. Gotham City, 1986
2. Slice & Dice / Never Again
3. Both Sides Match
4. Mark Of Zorro / The Time Has Come
5. The Dark Knight Returns
6. These Men Are Mine
7. Sightings
8. The Signal
9. Harvey
10. Liquor Store Shootout
11. I Believe You / Robin's Run
12. I'm Your Worst Nightmare
13. Eyes Sideways!
14. The General
15. Mutants...Surrender Now, Or Be Destroyed
16. Carrie Kelly...Robbin
17. You're Never Finished With Me
18. Robin's Legacy
19. Mayor For Dinner
20. I'm Counting On You Jim...One Last Time
21. It's An Operating Table, And I'm The Surgeon
22. The Dark Knight Triumphant / End Titles
23. A Ruckus I'd Like You To Straighten Out
24. Bruno
25. Corto Maltese
26. Hunt The Dark Knight I
27. Hunt The Dark Knight II
28. I'm Going To Kill Everyone In This Room / Ace The Cloak
29. God Is On Our Side, Or The Next Best Thing
30. Selena
31. Good Soldier
32. See You...In Hell
33. Hunt The Dark Knight III
34. 20 Million Die By Fire...If I Am Weak
35. Nuclear Resurrection
36. EMP
37. Tonight, I Am The Law
38. Community Spirit
39. One Hour
40. I Want You To Remember The One Man Who Beat You
41. Requiem
42. A Good Life...Good Enough / End Titles

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Deluxe Edition Soundtrack Review
By James Harvey

The score that Christopher Drake produces here not only amazing work, but it will likely go down as the best DC Universe Animated Original Movie soundtrack ever. He embraces the synth music stylings of the 1980s and creates, basically, a pretty much flawless 1980s-inspired Batman soundtrack. When I hear this score I'm reminded of Aliens, The Terminator (especially this one), Big Trouble in Little China and, yes, even Blade Runner. Drake perfectly nails the era of this story in every regard and, as a result, comes up with one of the best, freshest Batman soundtracks to date. And honestly, as good as the DC Universe Animated Original Movie scores have been, this one is in a whole different stratosphere.

If you're looking for a breathe of fresh air among all of the Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman movie scores being churned out, you can't get much further away than this. Sure, there may be a few tracks that sound a little "Zimmer"-like, but by no means is this soundtrack remotely influenced by his work on The Dark Knight Trilogy. Instead, what we get is something seeped in the 180s, influenced by the sounds and music of that era. Drake embraces it all and, as a result, creates his best work to date. No question, no debate, no doubt - this is his best work to date. Everything he's done before pales to the incredible work he's put in this score. What's so amazing about his work here is how he absolutely nails it. Close your eyes, ignore the track listing, just ignore everything but the music itself and, I promise, you'd have a near impossible time distinguishing it from movie scores dating back nearly 30 years.

Clocking in at nearly two hours, this score acts as one massive, epic opus to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the movie yes, but especially the source material. This score matches up perfectly with the actual comic. In fact, this album works so much better in one sitting then broken up. Yes, there are some great stand-out tracks, but overall, this album deserves to be experienced in as little sitting as possible. Don't break it up if you can, but just take it all in, as much as possible. His score has fully realized Frank Miller's classic and it's pretty amazing.

Now, while I enjoy Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, I don't consider it the Batman story (that would be Batman: Year One, which I hope eventually sees a score release to some day), but there's no doubt its importance. Drake gets that here, but he never lets it control the score. Instead, he lets the story itself direct his path and, frankly, he's not led astray for a single moment. There's not a single beat here that feels forced, wrong, or out of place. Usually, the biggest problem with scores for the DC Universe Animated Original Movie titles is the fact that budget restrictions hold them back. But here, that actually works to Drake's advantage. Embracing the synth sound of the 1980s, and actually using nothing but era-appropriate instruments, he creates an electronic score that takes off on all fronts. He nails the sound, era, and genre so well here.

While both "parts" of this score are fantastic, I find the second half a bit stronger, likely due to the events of said book. All of the book's plotlines come to a head here, culminating in an epic showdown with Superman, and the score notches up the intensity. The two-part "Hunt the Dark Knight" track is particularly invigorating (as is its third-part follow-up a few tracks later), and "I Want You to Remember the One Man Who Beat You" is just as epic as you image it would be. Jumping back to the first part of the two-disc soundtrack collection, "You're Never Finished With Me" is a particularly effective track, ditto with "Mutants… Surrender Now, Or Be Destroyed" and the especially twisted, warped sounding "Mark of Zorro / The Time Has Come." Like I said, the whole soundtrack deserves to be listened to in as little fractions as possible, but there are some notable tracks for those who like to pick and choose, or what to sample some of the best this title has to offer.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is an absolutely pitch-perfect score by Christopher Drake, one that deserves to stand side-by-side with other great Batman movie scores. Seriously, this work belongs alongside Elfman's work on Batman and Zimmer's The Dark Knight. It captures the mood so perfectly, and provides a great overall listening experience, perfectly recreating the source material's original era. Seriously, you've never heard anything like this before as a Batman score. It really shows Drake's strength and ingenuity, and proves just how on the mark his instinct are. Pick up this soundtrack now, especially those who adore the source material. I absolutely guarantee you won't be disappointed by Drake's work, which is not only his best, but easily head and shoulders above anything else that's come out of the DC Universe Animated Original Movie line to date. It blows all that other stuff away. This soundtrack needs to be in the collection of Batman and movie score fans everywhere. Must Own!