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Which are your Top 10 John Williams chase music?


Josh500

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Easy question. "Chase music" in the broadest sense, but it has to be music written for a scene or scenes that have some kind of chase (or race) in them! 

 

My list, off the top of my head:

 

1. Adventures on Earth

2. Desert Chase

3. The Asteroid Field

4. Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra 

5. Mine Cart Chase 

6. Hungry Raptor 

7. The Hunt

8. Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant 

9. The Jungle Chase 

10. Anderton's Great Escape 

 

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Indy's Very First Adventure 

Escape from Venice 

Pursuit of the Falcon

The Land Race

The Quidditch Match

Quidditch, Third Year

The Basket Case

Everybody Runs! 

 

 

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The Asteroid Field

Desert Chase

Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra 

Into The Trap

The Hunt

Everybody Runs!

The Quidditch Match

To Scarborough

Mine Cart Chase

Follow Me (Both :P)

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10 minutes ago, Damien F said:

Does Incident at Islar Nublar score a chase scene? I thought it scores the opening raptor scene and then when Ellie and Muldoon search around the T-Rex paddock before the actual T-Rex chase scene. 

 

Yes, you're right. Good catch.

 

I changed it to "Hungry Raptor"! 

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7 minutes ago, Will said:

I Can Fly Anything!

 

Was just watching that scene again a few days ago and was reminded how Williams' incredible cue transforms a normal ho-hum action scene into an absolutely marvelous piece of rhythmic excitement. 

 

Good one! And Scherzo for X-Wings is awesome too!

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2 hours ago, MrScratch said:

Some more great ones:

 

Abandoned and Pursued

Flight From Peru

One Barrel Chase

T-Rex Rescue and Finale

Chasing Rockets

 

Indeed! 

2 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

You like weird Hungry Raptor more than T-Rex Chase?!

 

They're both fantastic!

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So, does "the hunt" refer to LW (which I am guessing) or the Horn Concerto movement? If the former, then I add the latter to the discussion.  A genuinely original contribution to the world of concert-hall music.  

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Ugh, so many amazing "chase/battle" scenes. It the way he works the orchestra using every available tonality, rhythm and orchestration. Its one of the things that to makes him the master of the orchestra.

 

The Whomping Willow (HP 3)

The Werewolf Scene (HP 3)

The Chess Game (HP 1)

In the Devil's Snare / The Flying Keys (HP 1)

Peter's Rescue (SY in T)

Hungry Raptor (JP)

T Rex Rescue and Finale (JP)

The Hunt (LW)

The Basket Game (IJ 1)

Desert Chase (IJ 1)

Slalom on Mt. Humol (IJ 2)

Fast Streets of Shanghai (IJ 2)

The Mine Car Chase (IJ 2)

Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra (IJ 3)

Belly of the Beast (IJ 3)

A Whirl Through the Academe (IJ 4)

Ants! (IJ 4)

Temple Ruins and the Secret Revealed (IJ 4)

Abandoned and Pursued (ET)

Adventures on Earth (ET)

Anderson's Great Escape (MR)

Holiday Flight (HA)

The Barrel Chase (Jaws)

Shark Attack (Jaws)

The Ferry Scene (WotW)

The Attack on the Car (WotW)

The Desertion (WH) 

The Droid Battle (SW Ep 1)

Panaka and the Queen's Protectors (SW Ep 1)

Duel of the Fates (SW Ep 1)

Chase Through Corruscant (SW Ep 2) "without stupid guitar"

Jango's Escape (SW Ep 2)

Grievous and the Droids (SW Ep 3)

The Asteroid Field (SW Ep 5)

The Battle of Endor (SW Ep 6)

Follow Me/The Falcon (SW Ep 7)

To Thornfield (JE)

Escape from Karaboudjan (TinTin)

 

 

Not a chase but The Adventure Continues from TinTin is great fun fast piece for orchestra

 

 

Oh, you said top 10... heh

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Tom said:

So, does "the hunt" refer to LW (which I am guessing) or the Horn Concerto movement? If the former, then I add the latter to the discussion.  A genuinely original contribution to the world of concert-hall music.  

 

Never heard this concert piece before? Where can I do so?

 

2 hours ago, Stefancos said:

 

I love the guitar!

 

Same here. JW writing for the electric guitar! What's not to love, and it fits here as well!

 

6 hours ago, ocelot said:

Oh, you said top 10... heh

 

Exactly! The hard part is not listing all the JW chase music you can think of, the hard part is finding your personal Top 10!

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Hearing a lot of Quidditch/Dueling the Dragon in this Dracula cue.

 

Top 10, eh?

1) Bar Fight/Streets of Shanghai/Slalom on Mt. Humol (I know, a bit of a cheat, but they are pretty much one piece in the movie) 

2) The Asteroid Chase

3) Escape/Teh Bike Chase

4) The MIne Cart Chase

5) Tie Fighter Attack

6) Desert Chase

7) Quidditch, Second Year

8) The Flying Car

9) Indy's Very First Adventure

10) Escape on the Ice (Home Alone)

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Hard to top The Asteroid Field and The Mine Car Chase but dang I just love The Chase Through Coruscant.

 

To The Plaza, Presto! is a relatively new favorite of mine as well

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37 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said:

I actually think Quidditch from HP1 qualifies too since it is just a long 8 minute chase for the Snitch.

 

Of course that counts as well! It's one of my honourable mentions!

____________

 

This is pretty good... You gotta feel sorry for the xylophone player! 😂 

 

 

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3 hours ago, DolceMecha said:

No love for Visitor In San Diego? Those final two minutes are incredible.

 

Great one! 

 

But the number one chase music from TLW is, arguably, The Hunt!

2 hours ago, Kostov said:

"Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant", a great great piece.

 

I agree. Some brilliant moments there.

 

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Circus Train Chase

The Lost Boys Chase

Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra

Anderton’s Great Escape

Adventures on Earth

The Basket Chase

The Mine Car Chase

Flight from Peru

Introducing The Thompsons/Snowy’s Chase

Escape from Venice

 

 

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1 hour ago, Josh500 said:

 

Certainly an underrated cue! 

 

But then, there are tons or other great chase cues in the entire Indiana Jones series.

6. Hungry Raptor is also a very strong piece.

 

1 hour ago, Josh500 said:

 

Certainly an underrated cue! 

 

But then, there are tons or other great chase cues in the entire Indiana Jones series.

O, o, o, sorry my bad, I was thinking about The Raptors Appear from The Lost World. I don't like Hungry Raptor(Previously Unreleased) from the Jurassic Park 20th Anniversary (Soundtrack).

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I love Zam the Assassin but I with we had a shorter version of the cue, more condensed. If only JW would write a concert suite out of it like he did with the Asteroid Field. I think it could benefit the piece tremendously

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Yes, my bad :)

This is one of my favorites and one of the best actions cues in JW's career, in my view:

 

 

 

It's an incredibly tense and exciting cue and at the same is probably one of the "quietest" (or less lound) actions cue in JW's oeuvre

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Played in 'Hyper-Space Mountain' is just amazing. Made me a kid riding my bike down the bike path through townhouse complexes, over big rocks and through alleys all over again.

 

 

"We're not going on the boat?" Just perfect!

 

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On 11/22/2017 at 10:19 AM, Josh500 said:

__________

 

Nobody mentioned A Whirl through Academe!

I did, but then again, what did I not mention, lol

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