Who composed the music for Christopher Nolan’s 2017 war film Dunkirk?

Hans Zimmer composed the music for Christopher Nolan’s 2017 war film Dunkirk.

The score uses sustained tension, ticking sounds, and a musical technique called a Shepard tone, which creates the impression of a continuously rising pitch. Nolan and Zimmer shaped the soundtrack around the film’s three interlocking timelines: soldiers on the beach, civilians crossing the Channel, and pilots defending the evacuation from the air.

Dunkirk depicts Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Tom Hardy.

Zimmer had previously worked with Nolan on films including The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception. Dunkirk received eight Academy Award nominations and won three, including Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.