Range of JW emotions within a single score

[karelm 2,913]

Which JW score has the greatest range of emotion within a single film?

[Tom 4,654]

ESB, while less serious, covers the whole gamut musically.  I might add Warhorse to the mix as well.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Revenge of the Sith

[Bespin 8,480]

For me it's a Star Wars (A New Hope), every scene, every track is a tableau with his own colour and style.

[publicist 4,643]

CEOTK

[artguy360 1,843]

Different take: greatest emotional range within a single track or cue. Of his recent work, Torn Apart off the TFA OST demonstrates both great range and great nuance as JW scores the conversation and confrontation between Han and Kylo Ren. You can actually hear hesitancy, hope, violence, tragedy, and shock in about 2 minutes of music all beautifully woven together. 

[Josh500 1,615]

Jurassic Park.

 

Wonder, excitement, fear, chase music, fanfares, jungle drums, lullaby, cartoon music, etc.

[Cumulonimbus 22]

Yes, either TFA, TESB or Jurassic Park. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,516]

E.T. 

From fear, to sadness, to despair, to joy, to exhilaration, to agony, to gratitude... and that's just ADVENTURES ON EARTH, surely JW's musical apotheosis.

[Loert 2,511]

Close Encounters. Starts off all Penderecki-like, then you end up with frickin' "When You Wish Upon A Star" in the credits. How can you top that?  

[nightscape94 965]

4 hours ago, Richard said:

E.T. 

From fear, to sadness, to despair, to joy, to exhilaration, to agony, to gratitude... and that's just ADVENTURES ON EARTH, surely JW's musical apotheosis.

 

Was about to post the exact same thing.  That cue alone has one of the most expansive emotional ranges in his output.

[Josh500 1,615]

I added to my previous post.

 

It's gotta be Jurassic Park!

 

Music expressing wonder, awe, and excitement, fearful music, chase music, blasting fanfares, jungle drums, shakuhachi, conspiratorial music, piano music, lullaby, cartoon music, choir, etc.

[Thor 7,495]

Difficult question. Almost every single score out there runs through a gamut of emotions and moods, pr. the film's ebb and flow.

 

I think HARRY POTTER 3 is spectacularly diverse and eclectic. Also agree with JURASSIC PARK. Scores like JFK and BOT4OJ have spectacular emotional range from the lofty, reverent Americana to the harshly dissonant and creepy.

 

If you count the television shows, I would argue that the highest degree of stylistic and emotional versatility and range can be found in shows like KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATRE and ALCOA PREMIERE THEATRE.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

Scores like E.T. have always a tone of awe and joy in it.

A.I.  is constantly cold-hearted, even the more optimistic parts of it seem to be weirdly soulless (which is the reason why i consider it one of his best scores).

 

But the widest RANGE of emotion is Jurassic Park, for the moments of awe have nothing threatening in it, whereas the dangerous parts ring highly agressive and sharp.

 

That's my impression.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

A.I. is far from soulless in its optimistic moments.  I believe it's the most earnest, spiritually optimistic music Williams has ever written.  The whole score encompasses eerie and bleak futurism, sighing grief, tense strangeness, dark strangeness, beautiful strangeness, rage, confusion, a bit of lightheartedness, excitement and adventure, and throughout its entirety is supported by a current of shatteringly honest and bittersweet musical commentary on love, loss, the fundamental human condition, a current which begins to flow in full force by the final scenes.  

 

It is an immense emotional, psychological, spiritual experience.  I don't know if it has the greatest range of emotions on paper of a JW score, but the range that it does have is, for me, the most powerful and satisfying.

[KK 3,307]

In terms of emotional and musical range, it's between A.I. and CEotTK.

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

CE3K naturally.

[karelm 2,913]

What about Superman?  From the gorgeous Americana of smallville (leaving home), the avant-garde (destruction of Krypton), bumbling fool villains, mystery (The Fortress of Solitude), spacey (second half of the Fortress of Solitude when Jor-El's hologram gives Clark his backstory), bombastic marches.

 

Don't forget this type of music is in there which reminds me of War of the Worlds:

 

[Jay 37,352]

Interesting, and difficult question!

 

My mind first goes to AI Artificial Intelligence.  The first act of that score is very different from the second is very different from the third.

 

But yea, CE3K and ET feature a pretty big diversity of emotions too, heck all the ones in the poll option do.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I agree with Superman. A lot of different things going on in that score.