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Fifty Shades of Grey (score)

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Fifty Shades Of Grey (Original Motion Picture Score)
Film score by
Danny Elfman
ReleasedFebruary 17, 2015
Studio
GenreFilm score
Length39:57
LabelRepublic
Producer
Fifty Shades soundtrack chronology
Fifty Shades of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2015) 		Fifty Shades Of Grey (Original Motion Picture Score)
(2015) 		Fifty Shades of Grey Remixed
(2015)
Danny Elfman chronology
Big Eyes
(2014) 		Fifty Shades of Grey
(2015) 		Avengers: Age of Ultron
(2015)

Fifty Shades of Grey to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. It is based on E. L. James' 2011 novel of the same name and serves as the first installment in the Fifty Shades film series. The score, composed by Danny Elfman, was released through Republic Records on February 17, 2015.

Background

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Danny Elfman composed the music for Fifty Shades of Grey.[1][2] He initially accepted the offer after his meeting with Taylor-Johnson, whom he had an affinity for her photographs. Calling it as " just kind of out of the blue", Elfman added the challenge that the genre has no musical guide, referencing Tim Burton's fantasy films which he could not temp for; he also admitted on the BDSM-centered romance genre was almost being non-existent in Hollywood terms, while the novel was popular.[1]

Elfman came up with the blend of romance and spy film elements in music, that provided a way of Anastasia's perspective after she explores the world of Christian Grey. His instrumentation referenced Ana's inner thoughts, in the absence of narration that happened in the book.[3] Elfman also composed for the sequels, which he described as "real fun, stressless scores" and having enjoyed a lot.[1]

Critcial reception

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Filmtracks wrote "like The Unknown Known, this stuff is pure Elfman, and the light rock highlights of Fifty Shades of Grey are just as comfortable in his career. You have to admire what he managed to achieve with this score, the plot really not meriting more than a phone-in score. Even so, half of the score passes without much notice, leaving the twenty minutes of cool, skittish highlights to carry it to a fourth star."[4] Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK wrote "It’s almost a shame that Elfman’s generally excellent music accompanies this film, because he actually seems to have understood what the film wanted to be, and has written music to accompany that best case scenario, rather than the tame and turgid melodrama the film actually is; as such, his contribution is likely to be tarred with a similar brush or – dare I say it – whipped with the same flogger. If you can put the fact that this is music for Fifty Shades to the back of your mind, there is a great deal of worthwhile music to be experienced here; better yet, if you do that, you won’t have to visit a red room of pain to punish yourself for buying it."[5]

Lindsey Weber of Vulture called it a "goofy" score.[6] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "When it’s not insistently bland and overused, Danny Elfman’s score hits the right notes of heart-thumping dread/excitement, accentuating Anastasia’s point of view."[7] Mia Pidlaoan of Screen Rant while reviewing Elfman's best works listed the trilogy, including this film, calling it as an "inquisitive" score and "gives the movies more depth than what meets the eye."[8]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Shades Of Grey"2:07
2."Ana's Theme"1:23
3."The Red Room"3:26
4."Then Don't!"2:32
5."A Spanking"2:32
6."Going For Coffee"1:32
7."Where Am I?"1:35
8."Ana and Christian"3:24
9."Clean You Up"2:43
10."The Contract"3:27
11."The Art Of War"3:32
12."Did That Hurt?"2:54
13."Bliss"2:29
14."Show Me"3:02
15."Counting To Six"3:21
16."Variations On A Shade"6:22
Total length:46:21

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes:[9]

  • Music composer and producer – Danny Elfman
  • Soundtrack producer – Dana Sano
  • Additional music – David Buckley
  • Programming – Camel Audio, Judd Miller, Jörg Hüttner, Peter Bateman
  • Recording and mixing – Noah Snyder
  • Score recordist – Adam Michalak
  • Recording assistance – Ryan Hopkins
  • Mixing assistance – Greg Hayes
  • Mastering – Patricia Sullivan
  • Music editor – Bill Abbott
  • Assistant music editor – Denise Okimoto
  • Score editor – David Channing
  • MIDI supervision and preparation – Marc Mann
  • Auricle control systems – Richard Grant
  • Studio technical engineer – Greg Maloney
  • Musical assistance – Melissa Karaban
  • Music coordinator – Melisa McGregor
  • Copyist – Rob Skinnell, Ron Vermillion, Tim Rodier
  • Art direction and package design – Jessica Kelly, Sandy Brummels
Orchestra
  • Orchestration – Dave Slonaker, Edgardo Simone, Steve Bartek
  • Conductor – Pete Anthony
  • Orchestra contractor – Gina Zimmitti
  • Concertmaster – Bruce Dukov
  • Stage crew – David Marquette, Greg Dennen, Greg Loskorn
Instruments
  • Bass – Bruce Morgenthaler, Chris Kollgaard, Drew Dembowski, Ed Meares, Mike Valerio, Nico Abondolo, Oscar Hidalgo
  • Bass guitar – Chris Chaney
  • Bassoon – Rose Corrigan
  • Cello – Armen Ksajikian, Cecilia Tsan, Tina Soule, Dennis Karmazyn, Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, Kim Scholes, Giovanna Clayton, Steve Erdody, Tim Landauer, Tim Loo, Trevor Handy, Vanessa Freebairn-Smith
  • Clarinet – Stuart Clark
  • Classical piano – TJ Lindgren
  • Drums – Josh Freese
  • Flute – Heather Clark, Jennifer Olson
  • Guitar – Bryce Jacobs, David Levita, George Doering, Mark Tschanz
  • Harp – Katie Kirkpatrick
  • Piano – TJ Lindgren
  • Synth – Judd Miller, Kevin Warren, TJ Lindgren
  • Synthesizer – Michael Tuller, Patrick Warren
  • Viola – Alma Fernandez, Andrew Duckles, Brian Dembow, Carolyn Riley, Darrin McCann, David Walther, Matt Funes, Rob Brophy, Shawn Mann, Thomas Diener, Vicky Miskolczy
  • Violin – Alyssa Park, Ana Landauer, Ben Powell, Bruce Dukov, Carol Pool, Darius Campo, Eun-Mee Ahn, Grace Oh, Irina Voloshina, Jackie Brand, Josefina Vergara, Julie Gigante, Julie Rogers, Katia Popov, Kevin Kumar, Lily Ho Chen, Lucia Micarelli, Maia Jasper, Marc Sazer, Natalie Leggett, Neel Hammond, Nina Evtuhov, Richard Altenbach, Roger Wilkie, Sandy Cameron, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Serena McKinney, Songa Lee, Tammy Hatwan
Choir
  • Vocal contractor – Bobbi Page
  • Alto – Alice Kirwan-Murray, Amy Fogerson, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Fletcher Sheridan
  • Baritone – Aaron Page, Bill Cantos, Gregg Geiger, Guy Maeda, Tim Davis
  • Bass – Alvin Chea, Bob Joyce, Mark Beasom, Michael Geiger, Reid Bruton, Will Goldman
  • Soprano – Diane Freiman, Elissa Johnston, Karen Whipple Schnurr, Susie Stevens-Logan, Suzanne Waters, Teri Koide, Aleta Braxton-O'Brien, Bobbi Page, Christine Guter, Leanna Brand, Samela Beasom
  • Tenor – Arnold Livingston Geis, Dorian Holley, Michael Lichtenauer, Walt Harrah
Management
  • Executive in charge of music for Universal Pictures – Mike Knobloch
  • Music business affairs for Universal Pictures – Philip M. Cohen
  • Music supervision for Universal Pictures – Rachel Levy
  • Legal advisor for Republic Records – Christine Calip, Michael Seltzer
  • A&R coordinator for Republic Records – Andre Marsh
  • A&R for Republic Records – Tom Mackay

Chart performance

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Chart (2015) Peak
position
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[10] 13
US Top Soundtracks (Billboard)[11] 15

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kis, Eva (February 9, 2018). "Wait, Danny Elfman wrote the music for 50 Shades of Grey?". Metro. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  2. ^ Rodriguez, Cain (January 21, 2014). "Carter Burwell Scoring Todd Haynes' 'Carol' & Danny Elfman Bound To 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  3. ^ Thompson, Eliza (February 13, 2015). "Watch the "Fifty Shades" Composer Explain His Inspiration for the Movie's Score". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  4. ^ "Fifty Shades of Grey (Danny Elfman)". Filmtracks. March 8, 2015. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  5. ^ Broxton, Jonathan (February 17, 2015). "FIFTY SHADES OF GREY – Danny Elfman". Movie Music UK. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  6. ^ Weber, Lindsey (February 13, 2015). "5 Reasons Why Fifty Shades of Grey the Movie Is Better Than the Book". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  7. ^ Linden, Sheri (February 11, 2015). "'Fifty Shades of Grey': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  8. ^ Pidlaoan, Mia (May 27, 2022). "10 Iconic Danny Elfman Film Tracks". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 5, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  9. ^ Elfman, Danny (February 17, 2015). Fifty Shades Of Grey (Original Motion Picture Score) (Media notes). Republic Records.
  10. ^ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50 - 22 to 28 February". Official Charts Company. February 22, 2015. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  11. ^ "Soundtracks: Week of March 7, 2015". Billboard. March 7, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
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