John Williams Appreciation Thread

Love seeing "You are the Pan" "Cadillac of the Skies" and "Theme from Angela's Ashes" getting their due on a non-film score board! "You are the Pan" in particular explores a cathartic religious sound that I want to hear in his new score for The Force Awakens.

 

John Williams has scored 30m of music that will not be in the film, but Abrams claims it will be released

 

About Star Wars Music

 

happy birthday John Williams!



he is 84 years old today!

 

LOL at Maul holding a cake I still love his music for The PT above other scores .

 

John Williams is likely the greatest composer of all time. Not just film, but everything. From Jaws to The Force Awakens, from Lost in Space's main theme to that of American Collection, the sheer volume of great themes is astonishing. And there's the fact that he scored most of my favorite films as a child. Also, so many of my favorite movie expriences involve his work. I think we've all experienced the sheer joy of being in a packed theater and the initial blast of music that starts a Star Wars film makes everyone cheer like mad. And a similar thing happened when I saw Jurassic World and the main theme was beautifully incorporated by Michael Giacchino at the beginning when we first see the park.
I don't think I can say much more than this: I have over 5 GB of John Williams on my computer. Well over 2 days worth of music. That should say a lot.

My personal favorites (non-Star Wars):
Jurassic Park, "Journey to the Island":
This is my favorite part of the score to Jurassic Park, which considering the quality of the score, that says a lot.

Jurassic Park, "Remembering Petticoat Lane":
Here's something you won't see mentioned often. This part of the score always stood out to me a kid and is the first time I can recall a bit of score outside a main, bombastic theme to do so. It just sticks with me.

Masterpiece Theater, "American Collection Theme":
This was the theme John Williams wrote for the short lived portion of Masterpiece Theater with American made series. The theme is fantastic, with cellist Yo-Yo Ma given a beautiful performance.

The Fury, "Main Titles":
This is one I bet most of you haven't heard. It's a wonderfully chilling theme (and you can actually hear it again in The BFG in the track "The Witching Hour").

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, "Flying Theme" and "Over the Moon"
While I don't personally like this film (I watched five times as a kid and I never once cared for it, no matter how hard I tried), the score is terrific.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, "Harry's Wondrous World":
I love the entire score to this film and this track covers virtually all of it. It was when this film came out that my sister really realized who John Williams was and by extension, so did I.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, "Leaving Hogwarts":
I have a story to go with this one. It was 15 July 2011. The past May, I had just graduated high school and had my 18th birthday. The next month, I was starting college. And on this particular day, I was in theaters watchin Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. While John Williams didn't do this film (Rogue One composer Alexandre Desplat did the music for the Deathly Hallows films), there was one part that did: the epilogue at King's Cross. And it used this track, the end of the first film. I actually had a flashback to 16 November 2001 and remembering being sad that the film was over, but at the same time, I said to myself, "At least there are six more films after this." 10 years and seven films later, I started to actually cry in the theater. A major part of my childhood was ending right as I myself was entering adulthood. I still tear up a little when I hear it.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, "The Spiders":
Thanks to seeing the remake of Earth vs. the Spider in December of 2001, I have arachnophobia. So when Chamber of Secrets came out a year later, you can guess that I wasn't very happy with Aragog and the rest of the acromantulas. Not helping this is this theme, which too perfectly conveys those eight legged monstrosities. Sorry Hagrid, they aren't misunderstood. At. All.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, "Fawkes the Phoenix":
One of my favorite magical creatures (within Harry Potter and outside) is the phoenix. Partially since I have a fondness for birds, but a huge part of this is due to this wonderful theme.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, "Buckbeak's Flight":
I'm running out of ways to say how wonderful the scores are to the first three Harry Potter scores.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, "A Window into the Past":
One of the best parts of Prisoner of Azkaban the film is the atmosphere. It just feels like a cold, gloomy winter (and a cold, gloomy winter day makes me happier than a bright, sunny day, not kidding). And this theme just adds to that in addition to being beautiful. Also, this is the theme associated with one of the best parts of the book, which was learning more about the past (which the film screws up the most important part of it by almost entirely removing it).

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, "Forward to Time Past":
The music here with its incessant ticking, chimes, and so on perfectly suit the climax of the film.
And that's it for Harry Potter!

Home Alone, "Somewhere in My Memory":
This is the most Christmas-y piece of music ever written. I could do without Leslie Bricusse's lyrics, though (what is a "gingerbread feeling"?).

Home Alone, "Star of Bethlehem":
Another wonderful piece of Christmas music, this one more intense than "Somewhere in My Memory".

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, "We Overslept Again | Holiday Flight":
Yeah, it's the same theme as before, but I like this rendition better.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, "Raiders March":
Yeah, it's an obvious pick, but it's Indiana Jones. Why Chariots of Fire beat this for the Best Score Oscar I'll never understand.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, "Marion's Theme | The Crate":
I have to be a bit choosy when it comes to the Indiana Jones films since I could easily just put the whole soundtrack for the films on here. "Marion's Theme" is gorgeous, very similar to "Han Solo and the Princess", which John Williams wrote the year before, but a more lush version.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, "The Basket Game":
I just love this scene and this part of the score. And there's a great call back to it in Temple of Doom.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, "Desert Chase":
It's the best action scene ever put to film and the score is just as excellent.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, "Uncovering the Ark":
The Ark's theme is perfect. There's just the sense of mystery and power. It perfectly encapsulates what Sallah says in the film: "The Ark. If it is there, at Tanis, then it is something that man was not meant to disturb."

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, "Slave Children's Crusade":
This is an epic theme. That's all that I need to say about that.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "Indy's Very First Adventure":
It's great, and I have to make this reference now:

This is something me and my sister do anyway.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra":
One of the best chase scene scores ever.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "The Penitent Man Will Pass":
Like the Ark's theme, the theme for the Grail is an important part of the score. While the Ark's theme was mysterious and implied its awesome power, the Grail's just invokes the divine and does it beautifully.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, "A Whirl Through Academe":
Sadly, the score for Crystal Skull is underwhelming compared to the previous films as well as the Star Wars prequels. For the most part, it seems like John Williams wasn't inspired at all for most of the film. Like the scene itself, this is a rare exception for Crystal Skull.

Okay, I've tired myself out looking for examples (like I said, over 2 days worth of music). There's a lot more that I haven't put on here plus the seven Star Wars scores so far.

 

Some kids playing star wars in front of John Williams' mask: http://digg.com/video/play-star-wars-for-john-williams

 

John Williams music made my childhood that much more enhanced! From Close Encounters to Star Wars, to Indiana Jones. All that music is graphed to my DNA and still influences me to this day.