Red 75 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 1) Hook2) Empire Strikes Back3) A.I.: Artificial Intelligence4) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade5) Angela's Ashes6) Return of the Jedi7) E.T.8) Jaws9) Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind10) Born on the Fourth of JulyThat was hard. I'm not a big fan of lists like this, honestly. But I did it anyway so there ya go.EDIT: Revised my list a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 more lists please, there are many strong members who haven't posted.Bloodboil has several posts here but no list, please fix that.all members old and new please post, or maybe represent is a better word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I never said it wasn't it. It's obviously all a matter of personal taste.Can you really be surprised at KM's leitmotif-heavy score-heavy list, when he basically dismisses all of Williams' pre-Jaws and 1960s work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 75 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 more lists please, there are many strong members who haven't posted.Bloodboil has several posts here but no list, please fix that.all members old and new please post, or maybe represent is a better word.What's the rule on changing your list? Can you do it? How many times? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,973 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I think you can alter it as many times as you want before the deadline (which is January).Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 more lists please, there are many strong members who haven't posted.Bloodboil has several posts here but no list, please fix that.all members old and new please post, or maybe represent is a better word.What's the rule on changing your list? Can you do it? How many times?I'm going to start compiling lists after January 20, 2013, and release the results just before the Maestros 81st birthday.Everyone here can feel free to alter their original lists. I wanted to wait until the 10th anniversary of our first list and to allow people to famiiarize themselves with Lincoln, give it a chance to make its mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eitam 364 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Mine is a rather conservative list:1) Schindler's List2) Empire Strikes Back3) Return of the Jedi4) Star Wars (A New Hope)5) Hook6) The Last Crusade7) Revenge of the Sith8) Raiders of the Lost Ark9) Superman10) Prisoner of AzkabanI strongly hope I'll have to change this list once Lincoln is released! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodBoal 7,538 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eitam 364 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Thanks BB! Sometimes I admit I get tired of the Gustavo Santaolalla Fan Network and I come lurking around here. But be careful, what if Joey notices that you are commenting on this thread while you STILL haven’t posted your top 10 list…... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 iTam! I thought you had left us! Good to see you back.Who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eitam 364 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 iTam! I thought you had left us! Good to see you back.Who?Indeed. Who's this iTam guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 How do you'll deal with these "in no particular order" and "in casual order" lists, Joey? There are quite many of those.I understood you need the ranking for your final counting. Are you counting those in order written or do want them to try rethink the scores in order 1 to 10?. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 I think he'll have no choice but to weigh them based on the order they're typed in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIFan 16 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hi all,I'm new as an official member, but have been a lurker for a while. I've been around long enough to get an appreciation of the characters here and look forward to hopefully contribute something useful...we'll see. I guess one of the first steps is to perhaps contribute a list of favorite scores? If so, here they are, but I can't guarantee that this is any kind of static list...-The Empire Strikes Back: probably all-time favorite of the Maestro, it seems like the stars were perfectly aligned for this score. Williams was at his peak of creative energy, to the level of Wagnerian opera almost. In fact, the new leitmotifs introduced and interpolated here, along with the rearrangement of themes from the original 1977 classic, do form a kind of high opera that combines with Kershner's excellent direction, Lucas' (then at his creative height as well) storytelling, a screenplay that made people forget this was supposed to be nothing more than an homage to Saturday morning sci-fi cartoons, and indelible images that imprinted the collective cultural mind when the movie was released. There is no wasted music to be found in any corner of the film; each note, from the moment of the trumpet fanfare to the closing shot of the medical cruiser, has its place. The highlights are too numerous to mention, but I'm willing to wager that nearly everybody remembers where they were when they heard The Imperial March for the first time.-A.I.: Artificial Intelligence: whether a direct reference to 20th Century post-modern film scoring in parts or an attempt to merge the mechanical ostinato undertones with the vain efforts of David's attempt at becoming an organic boy, one could say that at least the score succeeded in telling that story where the movie itself may have failed. Personally, I'm a big fan of the movie as well, mainly because it strived for so much and was filled with such startling imagery that it at least demanded attention. Spielberg, as usual, inspired the best that Williams could provide and he delivered a score that was both pulse-poundingly rhythmic (e.g., The Mecha World) and heart-breakingly organic (e.g., Monica's Theme) that it remains one of my favorites and very nearly bridges some of the movie's perceived faults.-Hook: if The Empire Strikes Back was the ultimate space opera, then this one was the ultimate fantasy musical, and it fortunately featured a score that nearly painted over the flaws clearly inherent in both the storyline and the script itself. While one could consider the film itself to be ambitious, it nearly fell all over itself on the way to its own introduction and didn't really recover after that. Though there are moments of brilliance in the film (the final swordfight, the interplay between Peter, his wife, and Granny Wendy), some scenery chewing by the unrecognizable Dustin Hoffman, beautiful storybook sets filmed with a kind of gauzy mist of childhood memory, the narrative is mostly a bloated pastiche, wandering from setpiece to setpiece in search of coherence. The score, however, is a modern Peter and the Wolf, showing its roots in the original ideas related to the film itself (the kernal of which was to create a musical, which had always been a desire of Spielberg's). While not as much of a debacle as 1941, the film could hardly be called a smashing success, but the score deserves to be remembered as one of Williams' best works.-Return of the Jedi: originally I tried to stay away from selecting two films from one film series for which the Maestro had composed, but the pull was just too great to ignore this one. While purists might question why the original was not mentioned, those themes are well-represented in the sequel scores and more thoroughly-explored to boot. The third film in the series (or is it the sixth?) features so many new themes and ideas (e.g., Luke and Leia, Parade of the Ewoks, Jabba's Palace, etc.) that, even standing alone it would present a daunting challenge to any other composers' pallette. On top of that, it almost outdoes its predecessor in the action music it presents, marking some of Williams' greatest work and makes one wistful that the more modern and chaotic-sounding action music he currently employs were as thematic as this, to the degree that it can almost be translated effortlessly into suites (Sail Barge Rescue, Forest Battle, Infrastructure Chase, etc.). As operatic as Empire was, this one was just plain fun.-E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial: it's been said that this is probably Spielberg's most personal film, and to some degree it may be Williams' most personal score (even though he's said to favor Close Encounters of the Third Kind). The score conveys the relationships between the characters perfectly, from the villainous early "Keys" theme (repeated later whenever government officials appear, usually anonymously) to the multiple variations of E.T. and Elliot (most memorably on harp, as I recall, when E.T. spies Elliot's mother and sister reading at the house), to the soaring Flying theme, and, finally, the triumphant fanfare at the end. Being chock-full of highlights in-between (including a wink-and-nod reference to Yoda's Theme in E.T.'s Halloween), the score is an incredible mixture of childhood innocence, alien curiosity, and ultimately the triumph of pure belief in a world of doubt.-Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: trying desparately to keep to the self-imposed rule of not having more than one selection from the same film series, the Temple of Doom score will be the representative of the Indiana Jones trilogy. Admittedly, one of the reasons behind it is because it is simply the one that, like the film itself, teeters on the edge of complete abandon and physical exhaustrion, but also because of the mystique of the score itself, having been so inadequeately represented on the original Polydor release at the time of the film's 1985 debut. Intense from beginning to end (even in the humorous parts like Escape from Club Obi Wan and Nocturnal Activities), the roller coaster (literally, in the case of Mine Car Chase) never stops in this wall-to-wall scoring extravaganza. While intentionally dialing down the Raiders March (as was even further diminished in The Last Crusade), Williams allows for powerful new themes that, much like Return of the Jedi, could stand entirely on their own as far beyond the reach of other composers. Each track, it seems, is a gem of its own, and this is one of the unique scores in which I always discover more details every time I hear it, perhaps because the bulk of the score was not truly released until recently. The music at the end of the film specifically was a treat to hear on the Concorde Records release, and still represents a treasure of new music to be discovered. Another excellent score at a range of time where the Maestro was at a peak of his powers!-Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: representing the Harry Potter trilogy of films scored by Williams, I decided that this one offers the most unique take on the Harry Potter series, but certainly the most intriguing. I embrace it for its originality as well as its brave departure from the approach taken on the first two films, which I also believe are classics unto themselves (and, frankly, are more likely to score higher amongst more casual fans of the series). Williams, not too much known for taking risks, ventured into interesting territory in this score, prompted, I would guess, by director Alfonso Cuaron, whose lone entry into the series was equally as unique. The Maestro's use of Medieval era instruments to convey a more authentic British feel to certain parts of the film was part experimental, part whimsy, but entirely consistent with the set design and other aspects of the film However, it is not just the diversity of the instruments but the diversity of the score itself that recommends it. While perhaps not as hummable as the classic themes of the Chris Columbus entries, the score offers brilliant contract between Aunt Marge's Waltz, The Knight Bus, Quidditch Year Three, Buckbeak's Flight, and practically every other track on the album (including the delightful Whomping Willow and The Snowball Fight). One wonders what other tricks may have infiltrated later Potter scores had Williams had stayed with the franchise (at the behest of later directors, perhaps?).-Home Alone: it is to Williams's great credit that he created a score that is now essentially identified with Christmas in so many minds around the world, thanks to the wild success of Chris Columbu' holiday romp. While the commercial success of the film itself took many by surprise, perhaps even more so was the memorable imprints that the two central themes that Williams contributed, which now are truly part of the holiday lexicon. As such, that automatically ranks high as a cultural factor and gives it high consideration on this list. Somewhere In My Memory and Star of Bethleham contain the hymnal quality that I must only dare play during the Holy Season so as not to wear out their own unique place in my mind. Not only does the beauty and simplicity of those pieces ring true for so many, but the action-related pieces (Preparing the Traps, Man of the House, etc.), and the themes for Kevin and the Thieves (a truly bumbling bass delight) combine to make it into my top ten as a great and humble gift to all of us at Christmas, when we can use it most.-Superman: I can't imagine the type of pressure visited upon Maestro Williams when he received this assignment from Warner and Richard Donner, but it was probably similar to the burden Donner himself felt when realizing the pedigree that had been entrusted to him for producing and directing this film. Rarely, however, are expectations exceeded to the degree that both were able to do here, when both were arguably at the zenith of their creativity. How does one redefine an American icon and end up doing so in such a spectacular fashion? Williams created a score that resonated with heroic fanfare (Opening Credits), majestic simplicity (The Planet Krypton, Fortress of Solitude), wistful Americana (Growing Up, Leaving Home), lush themes (Can You Read My Mind?), and action music (Lois' Rescue, Superfeats, etc.) that the entirety of the score can only be described as larger-than life, like the character so perfectly inhabiited by the late Christopher Reeve.-Jaws 2: okay, so I had to choose one that would be a kind of guilty pleasure. While it was tempting to select one of the somber Oscar winning, and deserving movie scores for which the Maestro is known so well (I'm thinking Schindler's List or the original Jaws, perhaps), the jaunty score to the otherwise forgettable first sequel to the Peter Benchley classic is the one score on this list that contains the most obvious gap in quality between the score itself and the film it accompanies. Nonetheless, it is such an infectious score, and functions, at least in my mind anyway, as a stand-alone masterpiece nearly dedicated to the sea, that the only drawback I can think of is that it is a true shame that it has not seen a higher-quality release (currently a 45-minute release from Varese Sarabande only). From The Catamaran Race to the End Cast and End Titles to The Menu (a shanty that unbelievably surpasses the original Jaws' Promenade), it is a minor masterpiece that takes the track that so many of Jerry Goldsmith's best works did: it showed that true craftsmen are dedicated to the task of creating their best art regardless of circumstance or quality of what the score is to be joined to. A true class act!AIFan Hlao-roo and Once 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 AI...?*GULP!* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Let's wait and see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicebrallice 134 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 should I be afraid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Not as long as you have people around to shield you from the danger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 should I be afraid?Just don't go uploading an avatar of yourself in your knickers and you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicebrallice 134 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 aw man! that was indeed my next move. shame... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Lee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ren 75 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Lol I've got some nice shots of alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 You know you can PM those to me right? I won't tell anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Lol I've got some nice shots of alice So have I. In my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Savour those Lee, i'll doubt you'll ever get more....Believe me, I've tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicebrallice 134 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Lol I've got some nice shots of aliceah yes, the zimmer pic for instance... keep it secret, keep it safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hmm....I love Zimmer...tell me more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicebrallice 134 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 so do I, which is quite clear in that pic. 'nuff said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Tease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShowUStheHOOK 8 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 SW: Empire Strikes BackSW Return of the JediSW Phantom Menace HookHome Alone Jurassic Park The Patriot The Terminal Raiders of the Lost ArkLast Crusade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,249 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 AIFan, thank you for that great writeup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 could we please have a few more list and a whole lot less aimless posting?Hornist, if people don't have the capacity to give me a top 10 list in order then I take the order they are given. So whatever is listed first is #1.How hard is it to give a list of 10 films that are expected to be given weight and say they are in no particular order. My initial post is very clear. The top film, which would be the first film listed will be given a score of 10, the second film listed, will get 9.yes thanks AIFAN for your excellent listing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieC 13 Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 On BBC Radio 4 just now , in a discussion about music and how it imprints on our minds, one of the interviewees referenced the music for Jaws and CE3K which was nice to hear.JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF1_freeze 131 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 AIfan, i enjoyed reading your comments on each of your favorite scores. Great post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleo 63 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 1 INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE2 JURASSIC PARK3 THE PHANTOM MENACE4 REVENGE OF THE SITH5 INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM6 RETURN OF THE JEDI7 HARRY POTTER PRISONER OF AZKABAN8 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK9 FAR AND AWAY10 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AIFan 16 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Hey agan,In the interest of responding to Joey's request, here is the (current) ranking of the scores I provided earlier (with #1 being the highest rank):10. Jaws 29. Home Alone8. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial7. Superman6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban4. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence3. Return of the Jedi2. Hook1. The Empire Strikes BackThere you go!AIFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Wow, great list, seven matches with me. I had also seven with KM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrJosh 892 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I'm excited to see all this data compiled together.... to be extra nerdy I created a top 5 per decade lists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hlao-roo 389 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Hey agan,In the interest of responding to Joey's request, here is the (current) ranking of the scores I provided earlier (with #1 being the highest rank):10. Jaws 29. Home Alone8. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial7. Superman6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban4. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence3. Return of the Jedi2. Hook1. The Empire Strikes BackThere you go!AIFanI think you're a dickhead for posting this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Ooo, isn't it a little early for initiations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,249 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 AIFan don't take Hlao-roo seriously, he's referencing a long running JWFan in joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 So far there are 44 lists.Thanks for everyone who has given a list. Just a cursory glance at the list reveals a wide range of tastes. ExcellentThere are several prominent members who've posted comments in the thread but have failed to provide a list. There is plenty of time until January but my goal is to surpass the 129 responses I had last time and I'm not even close to the half way mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hlao-roo 389 Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 There is plenty of time until January but my goal is to surpass the 129 responses I had last time and I'm not even close to the half way mark.Sadly it would appear that a once thriving fan base is now in marked decline. You really should have gone with Michael Giacchino this go around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 There is plenty of time until January but my goal is to surpass the 129 responses I had last time and I'm not even close to the half way mark.Sadly it would appear that a once thriving fan base is now in marked decline. You really should have gone with Michael Giacchino this go around.who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hlao-roo 389 Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Perhaps what we have here is a more sophisticated fan base than we had ten years ago. Today's JWFANs know that music appreciation is a subtle, complex enterprise that doesn't lend itself to neat categories and arbitrary ratings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Sight & Sound won't be very happy with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hlao-roo 389 Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Or everyone is just procrastinating. If, in the end, there isn't much further movement on this project, though, I'd be genuinely curious about why there's such a stark disparity between 2002 and 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Well, I think it's rather obvious: the maestro's fandom is in decline. Williams was still surfing the wave of the prequels then (even as the fans began to sense the creeping death of the movies themselves), he was still at the forefront of scoring and a book by the name of Potter was doing the rounds. Times have changed and the fans have too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,249 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I betcha there are more posts per day now than there was then, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2,453 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 But the increase in post frequency could offset the decrease in regular members and those who join but don't stay by technology. Ten years ago, people were mostly limited to posting by computer at work or school or home. Now smartphones allow a small number to post all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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