MrScratch

It would have to be American Graffiti 3, there was already a sequel titled MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

Williams clearly loves what he does. He is also in the position to do whatever he wants. All those movies you mentioned that he did in the past decade were all he projects that he chose to do. He has been in a position this whole time to pick and choose his films. He has no financial worries, so if he wanted to he could just conduct, or just write for the concert hall. Lucky for us, he does ALL THREE! I think that Williams would be disappointed if he weren't busy. Jeff, who can't wait to be in Philly on 7/15!!!

I kind of agree, if you don't like something (or claim not to like it) then don't support it. Star Wars is such a unique situation though. Personally, Star Wars equals my childhood. I spent hours and hours dashing through my backyard with my friends with Xwings and TIE Fighters in our hands, putting my Han Solo figure in the freezer and pretending flashlights were light sabers. 'Wars' is also responsible for my lifelong love of cinema and film music. Its not that easy to dismiss for me. That being sad, when Phantom Menace opened in 99, I was in no way looking to 'relive the past' or 'feel like a kid again'... I'm a practical man and I KNOW that that just wasn't possible, even if 'Menace' were a decent flick. At the same time, however, how many of us used to hang on to old man Bens every last word when he spoke to Luke of the past. How did the good man who was Anakin become evil??? I'm definitely curious, but I'm not expecting a great movie. I think one thing that most of us are in agreement on though... John Williams tells the story of Star Wars better than George Lucas. I dislike The Phantom Menace movie, but I rather enjoy the score. Williams' music tells the story so well that one can imagine 'Phantom Menace' to be an exciting film.... Until you watch it. The same thing is true of AOTC, but to a lesser degree. Clones is, in my opinion, watchable and at times highly entertaining... but the Love Theme is better when Hayden and Natalie aren't around and its just Williams and the LSO. So, if anything, I'm looking forward to the Episode III score, the finale to Williams' masterpiece. If you watch interviews with Lucas, he is still under the impression that Star Wars is relevant, that it is embraced by society like it was in the 70s and 80s. He thinks "throwing us a bone" like having Yoda fight, or giving Chewie or Boba a cameo will please all. I wish he would have just written and directed the best damn story that he could. I'm so happy that 'Clones' didn't finish number 1 at the box office like all other 'Wars' movies. Hopefully, it will serve as a much needed kick in the pants to Lucas that he needs to write good stories and direct good movies. So quite simply, am I looking forward to EpIII... definitely. Do I think it will be a good movie... I hope so, but I doubt it. Do I want it to be a good movie... Of course. Will I be surprised if it sucks.... No. Do I have faith in Lucas... not at all. Will Episode 1, 2, or 3 stop me from liking the original trilogy or even the entire saga... never. Lucas killed the franchise by making Anakin a cute little kid and inserting Jar Jar and fart jokes. Nothing will change that. I just won't watch Episode 1. Or, perhaps, I'll just watch the trailer... the teaser trailer is still quite exciting. Actually I've become quite fond of 'Phantom Menace' in recent months, in a Mystery Science Theater kind of way. It's a great movie to hate and make fun of. Its amazing how bad it is. Its kind of a shame, because there are some good moments mixed in with all of the garbage. But its only a movie...

Its fantastic, it sounds like a film score. I highly recommend it.

With all due respect, but Williams is not the only composer that can come up with THE theme for a certain movie. Danny Elfman gave a very recognized theme to Batman (although the wasted the opportunity with Spiderman :spiny:), Goldsmith did it several times for Star Trek, Hermann for Psycho, etc. The fact that kids don't play with action figures of Norman Bates and hum Herrmann's music doesn't mean the theme is not THE theme. Don't get me wrong, I'm huge fans of Elfman, Goldsmith and lots of other film composers. But honestly though... Batman was 14 years ago. I think Elfman has done all he can with the superhero genre. I'd love for him to prove me wrong with The Hulk, but I just doubt that he will. Spiderman was a forgetable score in my opinion, and does not have a strong heroic theme. And Goldsmith has seen better days, the scores you mentioned are all fantastic and do stand up to Williams best works, but they are from Goldsmiths prime (over two decades ago), and he has not written those caliber scores in years. As for Herrmann, I love his music as much as if not more than JWs, so if he were alive (or EWK, or Steiner, or Waxman etc.), I think he'd write a terrific score for any franchise. But unfortunately, he was not an option for HP or any other franchise. And thats sad because Herrmann would have been a great choice to write a coherent film score spanning several films. But like I said, he wasn't an option... Seriously, if you were a studio and were basing your decision TODAY on who should write the score of your latest superhero movie epic, who would you put your money on... JW, Elfman, or Goldsmith. In their primes, any of the three could do it and make it look easy. But, in my opinion, JW is the one that still has it and can still churn out the magic. Again, this is just my opinion, but its based on what Elfman and Goldsmith have been doing for the past decade or so... By the way... I do have a Macfarlane Anthony Perkins PSYCHO action figure.

OK, seriously... Reinhold Glieres 2nd Symphony (2nd mvmt) --> Han & Leia's Theme from ESB

Bernard Herrmanns Opera "Wuthering Heights" --> Bernard Herrmanns "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" Erich W. Korngolds "Sursum Corda" --> Erich W Korngolds "Adventures of Robin Hood"

Herrmann and Williams (career wise) are nothing alike. Herrmann was always considered an outsider (coming to Hollywood along with Orson Welles) and was not accepted by the studios. He did film music for income, his true aspiration was to be a classical conductor. If it weren't for Hitchcock and Welles, Herrmann wouldn't have had much work. At the same time he was scoring Hitch's best movies he was scoring B-movies and low budget fare, because pretty much only Hitch wanted him. And when Hitch and Herrmann split, Herrmanns career was in the toilet... Thank goodness for Scorsese and De Palma who, because they loved Herrmann and Hitch, got Benny to do their early films. Williams is totally different, he worked his way up the ladder. And workd UNDER many esteemed composers. Finally, after scoring back-to-back-to-back-back blockbusters (from Poseidon Adventure all the way through Temple of Doom) he is revered in the industry and well known to the general public. Herrmann sadly was neither. Williams is easily the most in-demand composer and the most expensive. I'm positive that when Williams is in talks with a studio/director to score a film one of the big clauses right from the beginning is that his score DOES NOT get rejected, no matter what. Quite simply, he is probably the only (or one of the only) composers to have this kind of power, because he has "powerful friends", because his soundtracks always sell and because Williams receives an Oscar Nomination EVERY YEAR. So, when you get Williams you get a soundtrack that is sure to make money and a good chance at an Oscar nomination. Those are things the studio heads like to bank on. I was rereading my post... I make it seem as if Williams were the Godfather of film composers. I'm sure the opposite is true, directors and studio heads respect the man and his music and his willingness to work with directors. And, listening to any of his CDs from Star Wars to Stanley & Iris, its easy to hear what Williams brings to any movie. JW is obviously a master of his craft. WB/Colombus new when they got JW to do Harry Potter that Williams would write THE HP Theme that all kids on the planet will know and hum as they play with their HP action figures and such. As much as I like Danny Elfman or James Newton Howard, I'm not sure they could have come up with something like that.

Herrmann and Williams (career wise) are nothing alike. Herrmann was always considered an outsider (coming to Hollywood along with Orson Welles) and was not accepted by the studios. He did film music for income, his true aspiration was to be a classical conductor. If it weren't for Hitchcock and Welles, Herrmann wouldn't have had much work. At the same time he was scoring Hitch's best movies he was scoring B-movies and low budget fare, because pretty much only Hitch wanted him. And when Hitch and Herrmann split, Herrmanns career was in the toilet... Thank goodness for Scorsese and De Palma who, because they loved Herrmann and Hitch, got Benny to do their early films. Williams is totally different, he worked his way up the ladder. And workd UNDER many esteemed composers. Finally, after scoring back-to-back-to-back-back blockbusters (from Poseidon Adventure all the way through Temple of Doom) he is revered in the industry and well known to the general public. Herrmann sadly was neither. Williams is easily the most in-demand composer and the most expensive. I'm positive that when Williams is in talks with a studio/director to score a film one of the big clauses right from the beginning is that his score DOES NOT get rejected, no matter what. Quite simply, he is probably the only (or one of the only) composers to have this kind of power, because he has "powerful friends", because his soundtracks always sell and because Williams receives an Oscar Nomination EVERY YEAR. So, when you get Williams you get a soundtrack that is sure to make money and a good chance at an Oscar nomination. Those are things the studio heads like to bank on.

CL is unlike any other JW score, its a "contemporary" 70s score, quite funky. With a couple songs co-written with Paul (Rainbow Connection) Williams. I'm quite surprised he got an oscar nomination for this score.

Williams and Mark Rydell did four films together, not counting THE LONG GOODBYE in which Rydell only starred. I think their collaboration was a fruitful one. Also, perhaps, their collaboration (directly or indirectly) is responsible for Williams having met Spielberg (who claimed to be a big fan of Williams' work, citing his work on REIVERS and COWBOYS). Its too bad Rydell's output diminished after THE RIVER. Anyone know why they didn't work together after THE RIVER or why Williams didn't score ON GOLDEN POND? I know it came out the same time as ESB and RAIDERS, but hell, he had time to score HEARTBEEPS in the midst of all those blockbusters! I chose THE REIVERS, its the best score and best movie of the four in my opinion. Although, I've never seen THE RIVER (just parts of it), but I don't think its score is anywhere as good as REIVERS. But I have seen THE COWBOYS and CINDERELLA LIBERTY.

Has anyone here seen the original version ("A Guy Named Joe"), I taped it off of AMC (before they started putting commercials in their movies) years ago but have still not watched it yet... perhaps one day.

Its superior, but not far superior. The score is amazingly effective, and probably the scariest thing about the film. Also a plus, the child in the Japanese Ring doesn't have any psychic powers. The creepy kid in the American version was an obvious rip-off of Sixth Sense. What is it with creepy kids in movies these days? Every horror movie has to have a creepy kid with abnormal powers!

Lets not forget Vertigo (the Original Recording cover, not the rerecording) and pretty much anything else by Saul Bass (Anatomy of a Murder!)

Chinatown has GREAT cover art. Jeff - Who is not a big fan of the Matthew Peak paintings.

Trek V is a terrible movie... its better than Phantom Menace but not better than Attack of the Clones. I vote for Clones!

Far too many to narrow it down to one... Citizen Kane Vertigo Poltergeist Lord of the Rings (FOTR & TTT)

I voted for the Ark theme... I like the Grail theme a lot, but Williams used the Ark theme way more in Raiders than he used the Grail theme in Last Crusade and the Ark theme has more mystique and wrath to it (especially in the end!). The music seems to be trying to warn the characters to stay away from the Ark, wonderful effect by Williams.

I have a copy of Schifrins version of the JAWS theme. Its not for me...

I think its obvious that the voters are no experts or fans of film/classical music. If they were many of the winners, especially the more recent winners (like the past 30 or so years), would be different. In my honest opinion I think that Close Encounters should have won over Star Wars. But, since both are monumental and amazing works that they were composed by the same man only months apart, you can't complain. Chariots of Fire and Butch Cassidy both won because they had "hit songs." The Chariots of Fire theme isn't bad but its so repetetive it just gets so tiresome and the rest of the score is sleep inducing. Butch and Sundance, while enjoyable, is definitely not an Oscar worthy score. I can't understand why the Academy wouldn't award Williams with the 6 or 7 Oscars he deserved from 75-83 but they did award Alan Menken with 8 Oscars in as many years (90-97).

I just got my tix for the Phillie concert. ORCH A LEFT, I can't wait. This will be my third time seeing him and the first concert I've seen him where its all JWs own music. Does anyone know what the program will be like... all they say on the website is Harry Potter and Star Wars. I presume Raiders, Superman and E.T. will be played as well...??

One thing any true film score enthusiast has to understand is that there are good films with bad scores and bad films with good scores. If you choose not to accept this, you're going to be missing a lot of great music.

First of all, I think you greatly underestimate the power of media such as radio, albums, and MP3s, which are only music-based and have a much greater reach than film or TV. Secondly, I think you (not you specifically, but in general) are being a little ethnocentric. Even though American musicians are heard around the world, it doesn't mean that people in other countries necessarily like them as we do. The same applies vice versa. Your point on TV and Film as a distribution media is good, but a little off. Classical composers simply didn't have the distribution networks we have today. That is why it took so long for some to really get recognized because the distribution chain simply didn't exist. Today's composers have that much easier. But TV and Film are not the entire answer themselves. I just think it's a little hasty to say JW is the most heard living composer today. It MAY be true, but I always try to look for facts first. There are a lot of good, well known composers out there today. I'm also a pessimist Of all forms of American entertainment, movies are by far the biggest. This has been proven. Other countries clamor for American films. And since Williams has scored a lot of the biggest movies of all time (Star Wars, E.T., Jurassic Park) I think this gives him an edge. Just look at the Academy Awards if you need proof... how many countries is this televised in? Its a worldwide event. Not the same for the Grammies or Tonies. Your two arguments seem to contradict each other... first you said I underestimate the power of media such as mp3s, albums, radio. But then in your second argument you say just because our American music is out there doesn't mean that anyone likes it. The point I was trying to make was that everyone watches movies. Thats why I think Williams reaches such a bigger audience. You don't have to be a fan of John Williams to hear his music. In fact, you don't even have to know who JW is to know his music. But with mp3s, albums and radio the listeners have to go out and choose to listen to these. You have to select and download an mp3, you have buy an album and you have to turn on the radio and select a station. I don't understand you're point about classical composers and distribution. That was exactly the point I was trying to make. Technology wasn't around back then to distribute works by Mozart and Beethoven. Thats why I said that Williams is probably the most heard "in his own lifetime". Today artists are recognized during their life... sadly, most of the great classical composers were not. I don't think anyone disputes this. I'm not trying to come to any conclusions, we're all just speculating for fun. But of all the musicians ever I think Williams is definitely a contender for "most heard musician of all time" and for legitimate reasons. This is for his work with the BPO, his classical compositions but mainly his work in film, and the massive success of those films. We will never know because there is no way to survey or prove this. Its just fun to speculate.

Which John Williams movie franchise (for which he has scored more than one picture) is your favorite?

Film composers in general are the most heard musicians. Everygoes goes the movies right? Or watches them on TV... I don't know anyone that doesn't. I think it is safe to say that Williams is the most heard musician in his own life time. The classical composers had to wait decades before their music reached around the globe and even then it wasn't always accepted. But I think its safe to say that there is a copy of the movie Star Wars in probably every single country in the world right now.