Does anyone have any idea how to categorize movie soundtracks?

Certainly, by its very nature, prog is cinematic, often eerily so.  But what about actual sound tracks?  Do soundtrack composers–aside from Trevor Rabin–think of themselves as classical artists?  Rock?  Or, are soundtracks their own strange genre?

Why do I ask, you ask.

Since BATMAN BEGINS first came out in the theaters, I’ve regarded it as one of my two or three all-time favorite movies.  It didn’t beat out my favorite, Hitchcock’s ROPE, but it came really close.  In fact, I liked it so much, that I never quite made it through THE DARK KNIGHT, as I felt that second movie undermined everything the first accomplished.

Let me just state, now that I’ve finally watched all three of the Nolan movies in succession, I was dead wrong about DARK KNIGHT.  It’s still the weakest of the three movies, to my mind, but it’s excellent.  I’d allowed my expectations to blind my understanding.  Anyway, I’ve since learned.

Oh, sheesh, was I wrong!  So wonderfully wrong.

Regardless. . . one of things that grabbed my attention and enlivened my imagination in each was the soundtrack, written by Hans Zimmer.

When I’ve not been listening to prog (properly understood), I’ve been listening to Zimmer.  Almost non-stop now. . . for about 3 months.

Any suggestions on where to go from here?

And, if you’ve not had the chance to listen to Zimmer’s three soundtracks, do so now.  As in right now.  You won’t be disappointed.

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Knight-Hans-Zimmer/dp/B0017I1FP8/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1490141755&sr=1-8&keywords=hans+zimmer