Cumulonimbus

Yes one of my favorite contrapunctive cues! Also highly contrapunctive (yet not by definition a fugue):

What classical music is he into? Back, Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, ...? Piano, chamber music, orchestral music, ...? I think The Book Thief is quite classical too.

So not favorite score, not favorite cue, just the melody! I think we can safely say that John Williams is one of the most creative minds of the 20th century (debatably topped by for instance Rachmaninoff) in composing melodies and definitely is the most creative of the 21st century up until now. For me, it would be Fawkes the phoenix.

Yes excellent. Imo this one can certainly be considered one of the most complex in terms of orchestration. Considering the title, I think the OP asks about the complexity of the orchestration. To me that seems to be about which instrument plays what and when, and how many instruments play at the same time etc, the colouring of the music. We can add this as well: Mine cart chase from ToD.

Battle of Yavin climax. Incredible.

Does Where dreams are born counts? Or do you consider it to be the same as answering For Always? Anyway, I vote Where dreams are born.

Yes, either TFA, TESB or Jurassic Park.

You mention seamlessly. I find that the March of the Resistance comes in too sudden, not a big fan of that transition. The rest is, as you mention, indeed dazzlingly good.

All time favorite will be E.T. and then of course Adventures on Earth: in my opinion the best cue JW ever wrote, feels like a last movement of a brilliant symphony. Personal favorite: Far and Away, the Land Race.

Can we take a moment here to just appreciate the sheer brilliance of this cue. All the themes which are woven together, even a new theme for the falcon, snowy's theme, Tintin's theme. The change in metrum when Haddock falls through some laundry, the flute when the falcon flies through the building, the climatic version of Tintin's theme at the end. I cannot recall a cue by another film score composer that has this level of complexity!

'I don't have plans to slow down,' he says. 'I think slowing down happens to us anyway, whether we plan to or not. So why plan it?' Very nice quote, if everyone would think this way...

The Lost World is unavailable for me, anyone else has this problem as well?

Wow this one is great, could have been much longer for me.

This melody in the clarinet, you never hear it again in the soundtrack, but it is so beautiful. Only a few notes before it transforms into one of the main themes.

This. Though I find TFA to have a little bit more variation, Tintin is more similar throughout the score. Which can be seen as both a good and a bad thing I guess. TFA has a larger emotional spectrum imo.

Just an addition to the Garrison Family Theme - thread down below. The Ballroom scene from the Witches of Eastwick: it's hidden on the album and non-existent in the movie. But absolutely gorgeous. From 2:50 (video starts from there).

5:18 - 5:40

Thanks for your post :). Apparently it is not worthy to note, and not that uncommon. But anyway, the first 9 seconds of the following link is the exact motif. Sorry for bringing this up anyway.

Ah, so this is such a forum as well... Thanks for pointing that out. Friendly forums are getting rarer and rarer.

Hi, anyone ever noticed this? It is really similar to the Gondor motif from Howard Shore. John Williams didnt really developed it here, and I think Howard Shore heard this and thought Ah, I can use this! 0:47 in the video, embedded link will start from there. I think you here the motif twice. FYI the first three notes of the love theme from Far and Away are the same as the first three of the Shire theme, but that's a little bit out there I know. (Love theme from The Terminal has the same notes as well). Cheers

Yes I indeed ment to discuss the accessible cues, plowing is beautiful and Jurassic park theme actually worked for my girlfriend (who is not into film or classical music). Maybe Prologue from Hook also, which may be one of his best under 2 min piece. Or Buckbeaks flight, just thought of it!

I saw it more as if the person who you want to persuade does not know any film music, he just likes the movies where the name Hans Zimmer pops up (because that name pops up alot nowadays). Though if he does know some John Williams already, then yes, these kind of musical parts are a nice choice.

So there is someone interested in your musical preferences for a very short moment, you have your mp3 player/phone closeby and this is your single moment to show them why you love John Williams. Maybe he just mentioned something like 'I dont know I think Hans Zimmer is wayyy better' and that gets you frustrated... Which piece do you pick to let the person listen to to make your point that John Williams is superior? For me it is Rey's Theme since this winter, before that it was Where Dreams are Born from A.I. Let me know!

Yes! Someone should do that. And I think the same can be said for the BFG.

... and you are allowed one CD. Assuming you choose a JW soundtrack, which one, and why? (You cannot mix your own CD).