Expectations are certainly high for Kathryn Bigelow‘s follow-up to her Oscar-sweeping The Hurt Locker, but according to some new info — specifically a single name — they may have just skyrocketed. As we know, Zero Dark Thirty follows the hunt for Osama bin Laden with a stellar ensemble, including Joel Edgerton, Jessica Chastain, Edgar Ramirez, James Gandolfini Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau, Frank Grillo and more, but now a new interview with composer Alexandre Desplat sheds some compelling light on the secretive project.

Speaking with Collider, the Oscar-nominated talent said that even though Sony is selling it as an action film, “it’s more like a Japanese Kurosawa movie.” Just how the film correlates with an Akira Kurosawa work was not revealed, but he went on to add, “It’s the best thing that she has ever done. It’s fabulous; she’s a master director. She’s a genius, it’s a film that’s incredible.” Comparisons to the master filmmaker are few and far between in Hollywood these days, but hopefully Zero Dark Thirty even has a tinge of his ability to convey a sweeping, epic feel while connecting the audience with each character on an intimate level.

Desplat also opened up specifically about his score, saying, “It’s a war movie about two parties killing each other, so I wanted the score to be very archaic and dark. It’s never brutal because it doesn’t have to be loud.” He added, “the way I approached it was very organic and I used a very strange lineup. At Abbey Road I had twin horns, twin trombones, three tubas. I had strings, I had violins, twin celli and twin basses. It’s a very strange sound, very deep, very dark, but as I said very archaic as if the sound was coming from 2000 years ago.” We can’t wait to hear it when Zero Dark Thirty opens on December 19th.

What do you make of this comparison? Does it increase your excitement for Zero Dark Thirty?

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