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Your Top 5 John Williams pieces expressing happiness, joy, and/or ecstasy?!


Josh500

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What are they? Your Top 5! And also tell us why!

 

For me...

 

1. Harry's Wondrous World (the Quidditch Fanfare and the winning scene) 

2. Theme from Jurassic Park 

3. Olympic Fanfare and Theme 

4. The Flying Theme (E.T.)

5. Summon the Heroes 

 

Honourable mentions:

 

Mom Returns and Finale (Home Alone)

Back to America (Angela's Ashes) 

Dry Your Tears, Afrika (Amistad)

The German Sub (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

Call of the Champions 

 

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6 hours ago, KingPin said:

I've got six in no particular order:

 

Jim's New Life (Empire of the Sun)

Exsultate Justi (Empire of the Sun)

Cadillac of the Skies (Empire of the Sun)

Flight to Neverland (Hook)

Call of the Champions

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas (Home Alone 2)

 

 

 

Good ones!

 

I completely forgot about Exultate Justi and Jim's New Life!!! Pure joy, fun, and happiness!

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Some good choices here.  The Never Feast was the first to come to mind for me.  Let me just add:

 

"Big Beautiful Ball" is a tremendously happy song

The Nimbus 2000 motif, very happy and playful

"Follow Me" from Always.

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Music from Space Camp

The Never-Feast/Cornucopia (film version)

Short Round's Theme

The Catamaran Race

Main Title (The Towering Inferno)

Those are just off the top of my head.

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1.The Less that Noble and Quite Horrific Death of  a screaming Jar Jar Binks as he is drawn and quartered, 

2. The Cowardly Hanging of Peter Pan

3. The Laughable Death of Padme Skywalker

4. Darth Vader Does the Frankenstein Dance.

5. The Big Fucking Giant gets Bullied Again

 

All of those tracks make me laugh

jarjardead.jpg

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2 hours ago, someonefun124 said:

The Throne Room/End Titles never fails to give me a feeling of happiness.

 

 

 

 

Agreed! 

 

Happiness, overwhelming pride, and ecstasy! 

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55 minutes ago, leeallen01 said:

Catamaran Race - Jaws 2.

Viktor Navorski - Terminal.

 

Agreed!

56 minutes ago, leeallen01 said:

Main Theme - Catch Me If You Can.

Tie Fighter Attack - Star Wars.

 

 

Happiness, ecstasy, and joy? 

 

Hmmm, not really.

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6 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

The Flight (Catch Me If You Can)

 

Which track is this on the OS album?

6 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

Snowy's Theme (Secret of the Unicorn)

 

Yes, this piece expresses happiness and joy (and eagerness) quite wonderfully!

 

__________

I forgot about Far and Away! The Fight themes as well as The Land Race. Pure happiness, excitement, and joy!

 

https://youtu.be/m5miK0Nz3Uw

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2 hours ago, Josh500 said:

 

It's called "The Float." ;)

Oh. Malheureusement, I don't have the track titles with me. There are scores whose track titles I don't know at all, but I know the music itself by heart. Film music track titles simply don't matter. Besides they change with every new release anyway.

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5 hours ago, MrScratch said:

“Isabel’s Horse and Buggy” from Stepmom is pretty happy.

 

Indeed! A good one, a hidden gem.

 

This always reminds me of Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas! 

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I'd like to add A NEW BEGINNING, to this list.

In just a few minutes, it ranges from regret, to sadness, to determination, to poignancy, to wistfulness, and then, as Muriel sees Macon, to hope, compassion, and then unbridled joy, as they realise that they truly are meant to be together. It's a wondrous piece, that leaves me both breathless, and in tears, every time I hear it.

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8 minutes ago, Richard said:

I'd like to add A NEW BEGINNING, to this list.

In just a few minutes, it ranges from regret, to sadness, to determination, to poignancy, to wistfulness, and then, as Muriel sees Macon, to hope, compassion, and then unbridled joy, as they realise that they truly are meant to be together. It's a wondrous piece, that leaves me both breathless, and in tears, every time I hear it.

 

I agree with what you said, though I wouldn't quite mention this piece in connection with works expressing happiness, joy, and ecstasy. 

 

In my opinion, this expresses a kind of hopeful wistfulness, thoughtful longing and sadness, and resigned contentment..... 

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16 hours ago, Richard said:

Josh, according to your profile, you are 35 years old. When you get to my age, believe me, "resigned contentment" is the best you can look forward to.

 

And how old are you?

 

Well, resigned contentment is not exactly the same as pure happiness and joy.  That's my whole point.

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  • 7 months later...

Now, I'm not asking which John Williams pieces make you (the listener) feel joyous, happy, and ecstatic! I'm asking which John Williams pieces best expresses these emotions? There's a difference. 

 

For example, the Raiders March may make you, the listener, feel joyous and happy, but this piece is mostly about expressing adventure, heroism, and fun rather than happiness and ecstasy..... Same with the Star Wars Main Title. 

 

That said, my Top 5 are:

 

1. Theme from Jurassic Park (the moment Grant and Ellie see the brachiosaurus for the first time... This one's my all-time favourite one expressing joy) 

2. Harry's Wondrous World (Quidditch fanfare and winning)

3. Flying (from E.T. - the pure happiness and ecstasy of flying on a bike when you're a kid)

4. The Land Race (from Far and Away... Winning the race, or at least almost)

5. The Reunion (from A.I., when David meets his mother again... Happiness mixed with a kind of existential melancholy)

 

What other examples can you think of?

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- The Departure from E.T. (my personal favorite)

- Throne Room and End Title from TNH

- Contact from CE3K

- Flight to Neverland (concert arrangement) from Hook

- Harry's Wondrous World from HP 1

- Arrival in New York from Home Alone 2

- Journey to the Island from Jurassic Park (fanfare at 1:21)

- and definitely what @Josh500 said: Theme from Jurassic Park (the moment Grant and Ellie see the brachiosaurus for the first time)

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4 hours ago, Maglorfin said:

- The Departure from E.T. (my personal favorite)

- Throne Room and End Title from TNH

- Contact from CE3K

- Flight to Neverland (concert arrangement) from Hook

- Harry's Wondrous World from HP 1

- Arrival in New York from Home Alone 2

- Journey to the Island from Jurassic Park (fanfare at 1:21)

- and definitely what @Josh500 said: Theme from Jurassic Park (the moment Grant and Ellie see the brachiosaurus for the first time)

 

Some very good ones!

 

I forgot about Throne Room.... My favourite version is the one found at the end of the ROTS OS album!

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24 minutes ago, Josh500 said:

I forgot about Throne Room....

 

You not only forgot about this thread's prior life just over half a year ago, but also your conversation there? Why did you feel compelled to make this thread again?

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Curiously, this is one emotion (or range of emotions) that I don't really gel with JW's modern take on, or at least when he goes big. Stuff like Anakin's Victory from TPM or The Float from CMIYC have a kind of orchestral stilted-ness to them that don't quite capture the feeling of exuberant joy or happiness that they seem to be going for. 

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There is one right answer, perhaps more right than all. It is an expression of joy in the finale of TOD. His music expresses the feeling of the parents as Indy returns their children to them. If that isnt Joy what is. 

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First things that come to mind: 

Ecstasy: Cadillac of the Skies (the concert version perhaps a tad more than the film one).

                You Are the Pan (the actual scene where Rufio hands Pan the sword).

Joy: Exsultate Justi.

         Remembering Childhood (the flying theme portion).

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9 hours ago, Incanus said:

First things that come to mind: 

Ecstasy: Cadillac of the Skies (the concert version perhaps a tad more than the film one).

                You Are the Pan (the actual scene where Rufio hands Pan the sword).

Joy: Exsultate Justi.

         Remembering Childhood (the flying theme portion).

 

Of course! 

 

Exsultate Justi! The prime example, maybe. The name itself includes the word ecstatic, almost. One of JW's all-time best.

 

10 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

There is one right answer, perhaps more right than all. It is an expression of joy in the finale of TOD. His music expresses the feeling of the parents as Indy returns their children to them. If that isnt Joy what is. 

 

You mean Raiders March mixed with Short Round's theme? What's playing there again?

 

Gotta rewatch that movie....

11 hours ago, artguy360 said:

Curiously, this is one emotion (or range of emotions) that I don't really gel with JW's modern take on, or at least when he goes big. Stuff like Anakin's Victory from TPM or The Float from CMIYC have a kind of orchestral stilted-ness to them that don't quite capture the feeling of exuberant joy or happiness that they seem to be going for. 

 

I don't agree with this.

 

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3 hours ago, Incanus said:

Back to America from Angela's Ashes is pure joy and elation.

 

Yes.

 

There are several very good, small examples from JW's "dramatic scores"....

 

"The Early Days" from BOTFOJ (Ronnie playing baseball and hitting a homerun... Pure unadulterated joy)

"Max Lives" from The Book Thief

 

Also,

 

"Mom Returns" from the original Home Alone (expressing a kind of childish, tender, heartwarming sense of happiness)

 

 

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