Hans Zimmer's 40 year career to be celebrated with new BBC documentary

Hans Zimmer
(Image credit: BBC)

The life and work of German film score composer and music producer Hans Zimmer is to be celebrated in a new documentary that will air on BBC Two this month.

Hans Zimmer – Hollywood Rebel is a 60 minute film that looks back at Zimmer's glittering forty-year career as well as seeking to reveal the musical secrets of the composer's craft, which airs on Sunday October 16 at 9pm.

“I’m honoured to be sharing this insight into my career and life with the BBC audience," comments the composer. "My hope is that this documentary inspires and emboldens you to unapologetically pursue your passions and find a deeper understanding for my scores and above all, music."

Zimmer has written scores for some of the most internationally recognised blockbusters, romcoms and animations, including The Lion King, Rain Man, Pirates of The Caribbean, Gladiator, No Time To Die, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, 12 Years A Slave, The Thin Red Line, The Da Vinci Code and Dune. Zimmer has also created the soundtrack to ground-breaking, iconic BBC Studios Natural History films, including Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II (on which he worked with Radiohead) and Frozen Planet II

Hans Zimmer – Hollywood Rebel will feature interviews with the largely A-list film directors Zimmer has worked with during his career including Ron Howard, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Barry Levinson, James L Brooks, Gore Verbinski,  Steve McQueen, Stephen Frears and Tim Bevan.

Francis Hanly, the director of Hans Zimmer – Hollywood Rebel added: “The sheer number of standout movies Hans Zimmer has scored over the past 40 years is incredible. It was a dream job to sit and film him at the keyboard in his studio as he gave us an intimate and exclusive demonstration of the techniques and sounds he's created and the ideas that lie behind some of his most famous scores.”

Jerry Ewing

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.