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Folks, I present to you my latest interview with Album Producer and Editor NEIL S. BULK being spotlighted at www. JerryGoldsmithonline.com website: THE MAKING OF TOTAL RECALL & BASIC INSTINCT: NEIL S. BULK RECALL’S FILM MUSIC WHOLE SALE! http://jerrygoldsmithonline.com/spotlight_neilsbulk_interview.htm (This was supposed to run early few months back but got delayed due to some external factors. However, www.JerryGoldsmithonline.com has graciously hosted this as a special spotlight feature ) Hope you Enjoy! best, Amer

I think hearing it with the film improves the score a lot. I was underwhelmed by it as a standalone listen, then went and saw the film where it obviously made more sense, and on another listen I found myself enjoying it more, remembering how he captured the tone, highlighting character moments and visual flourishes. Similar to what happened with TFA, I think my expectations and my familiarity with Williams' musical language kinda screwed me over on this one. Easy illustration, I know what a great musical buildup finishing with a rousing climax from John Williams sounds like: And the musical high point of the Dream Country sequence? It sort of feels like a fake-out coming from John Williams, essentially asking us to enjoy the buildup for its own sake....the musical equivalent of blueballs. The score has a handful of moments like this, never quite fully blossoming but instead turning its attention to something else at the last second or just deflating. There have always been smaller emotional swells and little incidental melodies in some of Williams' richest scores that I've thought could pretty well serve as climaxes and main themes to another entire score. I guess BFG is what that score sounds like. There's something to what Karol said about this feeling like a B-side. I've felt like JW's gradually been mellowing out a bit, paring things down, minimizing the big set pieces and the like, but it's easiest to make those comparisons here when the similarities to his previous work are so obvious. It was also the biggest initial criticism of TFA, that compared to the other six he seemed to favor more emotional restraint and that the underscore felt like it was more of a slave to the picture than instantly enjoyable on its own. It seemed like most of us didn't start "getting" it until we saw the film then came back for another listen. I guess one could say it's a film thing. Rey's Theme and Sophie's Theme share a similarity in that they don't hit their highest peak until the end credits, which tells me that he still enjoys indulging in an extended thematic statement, if only he felt like the movie called for it. Certainly Spielberg's not as unhinged as he used to be, but I did feel like there were a few opportunities to go bigger or more thematic, or give the music (and by extension the film) a little extra forward momentum or a rhythmic pulse where it wasn't happening. I do miss the set pieces, it's not just an opportunity for cool music but Williams always had a knack for redefining structure with those. The "Snorting and Sniffing" sequence could have used more than the mickey-mousing it received IMO, something to give all that chaos more shape and thrust. At the same time, I liked most of the score's dramatic choices in context. I appreciate this music for its finer qualities and I enjoy Williams in this style of writing more than most, but as a listening experience this is definitely one of Williams' most "incidental" and film-dependent scores for me.

Rey's Theme >>>> Sophie's Theme

My copy of this Blu-Ray came in today, and it is stellar. I never considered myself a massive Horner fan, aside from a few favorites—and I've had my share of fun at his expense for musical recycling—but holy cow, is there ever a ton of great music on this disc. The camera work is also great, very up close and personal; you almost feel acquainted with certain instrumentalists by the end, and they repeatedly cut to Horner in the audience, which is touching and effective. But back to the music! I haven't found any arranging credits in the liner notes, but many of the pieces are not soundtrack arrangements, which is a huge plus in my book. If I want to hear top-notch musicians play the stock arrangements, I'll spin the OSTs. Here are thoughts on a few highlights. (The program starts with an "On to Other Worlds" section that isn't focused on Horner but contains some excellent cuts as a bonus.) "Hollywood in Vienna" Fanfare (Bruce Broughton) Why must Broughton make do with gigs like this? Still, he overachieves, write an energetic kickstarter piece that ingeniously interpolates Max Steiner's Gone With the Wind Tara theme (this being the site of the Max Steiner Award presentation, after all). Space Mountain (Bramson) I'd never heard this before as far as I know, and it didn't knock my socks off, but it's suitably wondrous and stately given the retro sci-fi theme of Disneyland Paris's Space Mountain. It's surprising how slow it is for a roller coaster soundtrack... Gattaca (Michael Nyman) Never heard this before, but it's sad and lovely. Independence Day (Arnold) YES! Seeing this on the tracklist is part of what sealed the deal on my purchase, and it's everything you'd hope. The choir really shines when they come in on this one, and while it's not a straight-up reading of the incredible end titles, it does eventually come around to that incomparable fanfare. Star Trek Medley (Courage, Goldsmith, Rosenman, Eidelman, Giacchino) This is absolutely stellar (sorry :)) and again really credits the choir. I never fully appreciated Goldsmith's Voyager music until now. The Motion Picture/Next Generation fanfare sounds great in a seemingly new arrangement, and Giacchino's contribution has never sounded more at home among its peers. Where Dreams Are Born (The Maestro) Awesome to see this performed live. The concert's wordless vocalist disappointed me later on the Titanic medley, but she does great work here; this is one of JW's most gorgeous melodies, and it's hard to screw it up. Now on to some of the Horner pieces... Universal Theme I'm so into the Goldsmith fanfare (especially Brian Tyler's arrangement of it) that I'd forgotten about this melody until this performance started, but it took me right back to various '90s movies of my childhood. Legends of the Fall What a gorgeous melody. I've never seen the movie, but I fell in love with "The Ludlows" on first listen. Horner Medley A 1986-2001 highlight reel that covers some great ground, if a bit too quickly. I was sorry not to hear "Kaleidoscope of Mathematics" representing A Beautiful Mind; they went with the slower (love?) theme, but I've always liked "Kaleidoscope" as the apotheosis of Horner's long flirtation with kinetic science music. Mask of Zorro sounded great, and I wish they'd played a full piece from that masterful score. (They probably couldn't find any castanets in Vienna...) Braveheart They skipped the love theme! As a result, this was forgettable for me, as I've never been much into the rest of this score. But thanks to my curiosity and my smartphone, I now know the difference between bagpipes and Uilleann pipes AVATAR Wha...where has this score been?! I avoided it out of anti-Horner pique and general contrarianism back when the movie was breaking records. This medley blew me away, though, especially the battle music at the end. It was truly breathtaking, and as a result I've been Spotifying the soundtrack as I write this. Great stuff. Titanic This medley was LONG, but I was riveted. The vocalist left a bit to be desired (she didn't have the youthful purity of whoever sings on the OST), but the choir and instrumental soloists owned this piece. "Southampton" has literally never sounded this good, with actual talented Homo sapiens replacing that obnoxious synth choir that's been bugging me for two decades. I could imagine Horner in the audience thinking, "Holy cow, that's what it was supposed to sound like!" And every Irish instrument I can't name sounded like a million euros (or are they back to pounds now? ). It's great to see Horner grin when the crowd starts applauding after the last big chord, but before the final strings have their say. (The conductor, David Newman, actually holds up his hand to stop the early applause.) "Somewhere Out There" and "If We Hold On Together" Both of Horner's sappy 1980s animation masterpieces are sung with gusto by vocalists I've never heard of. (The guy also plays piano on "Somewhere Out There," looks hilariously similar to Vin Diesel, and pretty much materializes in a puff of smoke to join in the finale of "If We Hold On.") These sound great, especially the harmony in their climaxes. The Amazing Spider-Man OK, this wasn't technically on the program, but I thought it was hilarious that it played as a triumphant fanfare while Horner took the stage to receive the award. He spoke a couple of halting sentences in German and then gave an brief, humble, and funny acceptance speech in English. Maybe it's just sentimentality talking, but he really came across as the real deal. What a loss. Honestly, I think this disc has more value packed into it than the similar Williams/Dudamel Blu-Ray. (Heresy, I know, but there's too much Schindler and Fiddler on there.) I haven't even scratched the surface of what is apparently a 75-minute interview with Horner. Some angles have a bit of grain in the picture, but the vast majority of the shots are pristine. The concert is technically on YouTube, but buy the Blu-Ray so we'll get more releases like this! It's not terribly expensive for the quality of the product, and it's great to see it on a TV screen. Highly, highly recommended.

Fantastic idea for a thread. There are actually many Williams moments that make me outright uncomfortable in their capturing of "angst." Must think about this. But one that comes to mind instantly is the music while Palpatine is electrocuting Luke, just before the statement of the Force theme. Incredibly disturbing and unsettling.

Don't get me wrong. Compositionally it is excellent. The orchestrations are better than anybody else's in this business. From that perspective, the score is a confirmation of John Williams' skill and impeccable craft. But, at this point, I bet even his farts are impressive in their wonderful harmonic complexity. It's not even that I need to have big hummable themes (not there are any in The BFG), it's a sense of purpose I'm looking for. And The BFG is aimless, weightless and, frankly, quite boring. It probably doesn't help that I dislike great portions of Home Alone, Hook and his Harry Potter scores (with the exception of Azkaban). You know, all the cutesy and breezy underscore in between good bits. I like my fantasy music bit weightier, perhaps bit edgier and better defined. And this score largely consists of fluffy underscore that could drive me into diabetes. I'm not saying that this particular one should be "edgier" but, surely, there must have been a way to make it a bit more interesting. I am heartbroken. Karol

No love for Arlington, from JFK?

Karol

Yeah, "The Emperor" is one of the best. How about "Leo Crow...The Confrontation" from Minority Report! It's a suspenseful eerie buildup to a massive explosion of orchestral angst.

Absolutely. ROTJ is a score rich in this kind of heightened, almost expressionistic writing. The Vader/Force theme interplay in Faking the Code comes to mind, as well.

Angela's Ashes Nixon JFK Born on the Fourth of July Karol

Well, I think rather than be discouraged, one should find inspiration in this sort of extreme mastery and virtuosity. It is a craft, and can be mastered through very hard work, of course. But to be fair, in the field of contemporary orchestral film music, Williams IS without peer in terms of pure craftsmanship. There's much more to his game than just technique; there's an artistry -a power of spirit and mind, and a playful panache- that feels far removed from other film musical fare. What I so admire is Williams' willingness to always invest so much effort into details and layers of complexity most audiences -and even experienced listeners- won't ever notice or catch. And it's done solely in the service of art, wich I find humbling and very beautiful: At 84, he still wants to prove his worth as a composer, and go whatever extra mile a project seems to offer in order to do so. He is still discovering, still pushing himself... It reminds me of something Haydn reportedly said very late in life, reflecting on a long and illustrious career, and the fact that his time was running out: "And to think that only now am I beginning to understand how to write for woodwinds"... Williams elevates and ennobles anything he scores. Not simply because he is one of the greatest composers of our time, but because he puts so much effort, expertise, and, frankly, love and care into everything he crafts. He is still in relentless pursuit of excellence. I am more than impressed. I am deeply grateful.

The whole movie is pretty lightweight, but the score captures it nicely, and has some beautiful moments. There are no big dramatic moments in the film, only some that are more aesthetically beautiful than others, and again, the score captures those individual moments very well. It's the best score I've heard this year. It just doesn't have those heart wrenching moments that the film was lacking, that every post-2010 Wiliams score (other than Tin tin) has had. It's a consistently pleasant listen, and some of the track Dream Country has my favorite Wiliams' trope with the flighty lilting high strings. Someone earlier in this thread (I believe) compared this score to James Horner's Casper, and I think that's a very fair comparison. The more lightweight stuff here sounds at home with the more playful music from Casper, or even Land Before Time. And if it was anyone other than Williams had written a score that sounded like this in 2016, everyone would be in complete awe of them.

And it's similar to the second "half" of the opening theme, isn't it? Am I the only one that thinks that?

I love the magical theme in "To Giant Country" (0:54), quite potter-ish! The end of Overture reminds me of E.T.s Halloween (concert version), Williams at its best! The Finale is wonderful. It has a very strong "Lincoln feeling" I think. BTW, the Main Theme from the BFG is quite similar to 'With Malice Toward None' from Lincoln imo (the first 5 notes or so), but has a total different feeling. BFG has some very nice highlights (Giants Netted, Dream Jars, Building Trust, Sophie's Future, Snoring and Sniffing). I have to say I love it already and I'm sure it will grow on me in the next couple of weeks.

First time I've seen positivity towards this film here, and it's made me want to watch it, which is exactly what I'm going to do.

Just listened to it and let me tell you... It's fantastic. Thank you most kindly for your hard work and for sharing it! I hope it gets the praise and appreciation it deserves among JW-fans - new and old a like.

Good evening Mr. Amer. Everything is going extremely well.

Nice work fellas!

Excellent. Thank you Amer.

I admired this film, actually. Aside from a few poorly conceived and executed sequences (mostly involving the nasty giant crew), it's effectively quiet and sensitive, it doesn't condescend, and it comes from a largely forgotten school of fantasy filmmaking where imagery matters. Mark Rylance also really blew me away in this and I didn't realize just how much I was empathizing with this character until he nearly made me cry toward the end, which rarely happens with me. It's not great but I often felt like it had the right idea. I agree with Jay that the main problem is that it has zero forward momentum or dramatic tension. This is totally painful when you're dealing with the baddies in any capacity -- especially the annoying "Frolic" sequence that culminates in a slow-motion nutshot, a hundred times more embarrassing from Spielberg than the fart gags -- but I found the non-pacing more of a pleasure when the movie was simply indulging itself in Roald Dahl's (or Melissa Mathison's Dahl-esque) language and dreamy visions. In a word, yes, the film is slow but it reminded me of a leisurely reading pace, which seemed like that's what Spielberg was going after as opposed to the constant thrust of a big cinematic adventure. Anyway, it made me smile a lot.

There is a Lord of Light theme?!!!

The first minute of 'The Decision to turn around'!!!

I was wondering if anyone (other than me) was going to mention it. Though I guess most of the bigger cues are more on the physical side. The angst stuff is mostly in the tenser, mysterious underscore (like Gillian touching the staircase at night) and the actual main theme itself.

I did see the film yesterday, but unfortunately I had a pretty bad headache afterward (possibly from the 3D) so I had to just rest. This evening I will give the full OST a first listen and then post what things I can remember about the music in the film. Well, for starters, I noticed during the end credits that there was no credit for orchestration (assuming I didn't miss it). So it seems that Williams did all the orchestrations himself.

You can't do this with them:

That was last year, when he canceled all of his concert appearances. Stéphane Denève lead a small tribute to Williams with the TMC orchestra, as was already scheduled before Williams cancellation. This segment included the second performance of "Just down west street... on the left", which was premiered a few weeks earlier with the TMC Orchestra opening concert under Stephan Asbury. The segment originally expected to be conducted by Williams, with the Boston Pops Orchestra, was conducted by BSO's music director Andris Nelsons, performing Throne Room and Finale. Also, when the program is posted at the BSO site, I don't think they ever say which conductor is doing which piece. But I think is reasonable to assume the Williams will do his own music. What I found curious is the absence of both the BSO and Pops music directors this year. While I can understand his whish to do so, it's kind of annoying, I agree.

The "crowd pleaser suite edits" are actually the biggest downside of the Hollywood in Vienna franchise as they regularly opt for unmusical cuts and barely representative medleys over the fully developed original pieces, probably because the whole thing has become (perhaps out of financial necessity, but you still see this sort of thing done more faithfully in other countries) more of a Hollywood fan event than a concert for people who actually know and appreciate the music. Horrible edits that come to mind are the Wrath of Khan titles, where they simply edited out the B theme part so the whole thing is nothing more than an endless repetition of the A theme, with an awkward cut in the middle, and (from earlier concerts) an extended (and apparently fiendishly difficult, hence played with a few mistakes) harp solo right at the climax of Adventures on Earth and a cut smack in the middle of Harry's Wondrous World in an extended Potter suite. I can tell you that Horner's Universal Fanfare was arranged, by ear, by Bernard Eder (who is very proud of getting Horner's autograph on his arranged score).

The Violin Concerto. I often have panick attack (and sometimes when I listen to some sort of music... hey, music is like hypnosis), it's a piece that I really don't like, it's too emotionally charged. I hear attack music, I feel attacked. I hear sad music, I feel sad. Music have a direct connection to my emotions. I have to be carefull as I get older. It took me several years to understand that I don't have to hear music I don't want to hear. I'm a collector and passionate of several artists... that's hard, because sometimes we have to hear everything... the worst and the best. But now, all my life is dedicated to trying to find the right music to listen at the right moment and at the right place. Wrong choices can lead to panick attacks. Now I know and I stop the music when it occurs. I don't have to listen to music of aliens destroying a town when I'm on the bus. If I watch the movie, it's okay... But in the bus, that's not ok. I'm already prisonner of a moving box with people I don't know, I don't need to feel insecure and attacked by aliens in that particular moment! So yes, it means when listening to a score or a classical piece, to skip the angst or too heavy passages when I'm not in the mood for listening them. That's life. Of course, Images, that's a score I can't bare. This week I listened to Lost in Space scores... after one album and a half, I felt totally depressed and weary of my life... that dissonant sixties sci-fi atmosphere... it drained all my energy. I didn't like it at all.

John Williams also scored (sort of, since he probably only wrote one track) a film with her, namely THE SCREAMING WOMAN (second time within minutes I'm mentioning that obscure film today).

"Remembering Carolyn', and " Barbara's Confession " always do it for me. "Presumed Innocent" is soaked in angst.

"Sierra Leone, 1839 And The Capture Of Cinque" from Amistad

I miss the days when movies could be glacially-paced!

2.1?!

All top scores, but Nixon might be my favorite

Heartbeep

Kudos though for trying!

I'm leaving now to see the film. Haven't listened to the OST (other than samples) so I don't know how much score analysis I'll be able to do.

WTF! It doesnt come out here till the 20th?

Karol, you shouldn't feel you have to apologize for liking or not liking something. Own your opinions.

I really like the mysterious witch-like theme from Witching Hour, and To Giant Country and Frolic are great material, but apart from that I couldn't get too much into this score. Spielberg talked a lot about how the book was very much in the vein of old-school Disney (Pinocchio, Snow White and so on) so I was expecting a score in that vein. Very whimsy but at the same time quite dark, but there isn't much of the latter. The orchestrations are bloody fantastic though, and the orchestra sounds so fucking good, which compensates for a lot in my ears, but the more cutesy parts -which is most of the score- don't interest me at least right now. Wasn't there supposed to be a trio with flute, tuba and something else? A really particular trio piece. Maybe I missed it.

Really really really hate to say this but... This score is not my cup of tea. It's the first time ever that I'm left completely unimpressed by a John Williams score. Like, ever. Never thought this day would come. How depressing. I can always find stuff to appreciate/enjoy in virtually any previous score of his. A theme, single pieces, concept itself... Nothing at all stands out in The BFG. I've been struggling to even finish the album. It's like a B side of material (wisely) unused in other fantasy films. Sad day indeed. And it's also a third successive Spielberg film I won't be watching. Karol

It's one of his last unabashed 'old school' themes (even 'War Horse' is more subdued) and i always suspected a communication fuck up between him and Annaud being responsible for this wonderful indulgence (the score proper hardly figures in the final film).

What is it with Ricks?

Seconded. And also thirded. Actually, I don't care who directs or produces, just give me that film already!!! Spielberg's Tintin film was a far better adventure movie than Indiana Jones 4. In fact, it is probably one of the most fun and adventurous movies I have ever seen in my life. And quite imaginative as well. That John Williams wrote a massively entertaining score for it too is further icing on the cake. A win all around!

Do you prefer the goatee over the "expanded/complete version" also in this case? After all John Williams intended us to enjoy his beard in both ways. And he has always been an excellent beard producer.

Oh you are so young that you care what other people think... I have like zero interrst for this movie but would love to experience it with surely wonderful music written for the images.

Best scores ever made, man!

Do we have possible photo evidence or better yet film footage of John Williams growing his beard?

I think it might be among his top 10 in my opinion. I find myself thinking about it quite a lot while walking on the street.