Joker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Joker soundtrack album features an original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (Chernobyl, Sicario: Day of the Soldado), whose composition features the cello as the centerpiece of the score, leading string-based melodies played by a symphony orchestra of 90 musicians. It won the following accolades:

WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
ACADEMY® AWARD
GRAMMY® AWARD
GOLDEN GLOBE® AWARD
BAFTA® AWARD

To interpret the many themes explored throughout the film, director Todd Phillips very early on turned to the composer. “Hildur was writing music as far back as pre-production. I was sending her script pages and she was writing music before we even shot, and what she did for the film is so unique,” says Phillips.

Guðnadóttir remarks, “Todd asked me to write some music based on my feelings from reading the script, which I was inspired to do because it truly resonated with me.” She sent him a sample and recalls, “The film is a gritty character study, which to me translated to melodies that are very simple and monotonic, because that’s kind of the way Joaquin’s character Arthur is seeing things. Then I tried to expand within that simplicity the orchestration around Joker’s evolution not with chords or any complicated music, but with texture that I felt resonated with the melancholia of this character.”

Hoyt's Office
Defeated Clown
Following Sophie
Penny in the Hospital
Young Penny
Meeting Bruce Wayne
Hiding in the Fridge
A Bad Comedian
Arthur Comes to Sophie
Looking for Answers
Penny Taken to the Hospital
Subway
Bathroom Dance
Learning How to Act Normal
Confession
Escape from the Train
Call Me Joker