Which snippet of his music best defines John Williams?

[Quintus 6,494]

I'm not talking cues, or entire scores. I'm just referring to an undefined few seconds or a minute of a particular cue or theme which for you stands out as being utterly representative of John Williams' career in film music.

For me it has to be a personal favourite moment of even JW himself: the beautifully serene passage towards the end of CE3K's The Visitors/Bye/End Titles, which climaxes with John's ethereal rendition of When You Wish Upon a Star.

It's such a warm, joyous celebration of music and, I think, life. I know to some I might sound like a cretin, but bear with me. The heavenly orchestration and heart yearningly tender tempo of the build up before the nod to Pinocchio is, for me, what I might imagine to hear after death; before entering the afterlife. That the moment climaxes with When You Wish Upon a Star is to me evidence that John did indeed intend to capture the essence of the cross-over from this world to the next; it was by his design that the music should represent the 'release' of death - the leaving of everything that came before, behind.

And crucially - that everything was going to be okay.

Whether or not John is a man of faith (I'm not myself) may well play a part in his approach, but to dwell too much on that angle is to miss the point.

Because John Williams is the quintessential optimist. Positivity comes natural to him. I believe the joy of life is very dear to him, to the point where his own appreciation of the goodness to be found in the world inevitably drips, leaks and pours into his music. As I see it, John Williams detests cynicism, he has very little time for negativity in all its forms and that is absolutely reflected in ALL of his work, heck - even his music for evil and darkness is often alive with harmony and soul.

The sweet little moment I've offered from CE3K is, I'd argue, the most anti-cynical minute of music in John Williams' whole career, which is really something special when I consider all of the light he's imbued into a great deal of his work.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,383]

Any BOOM TZZZZ....

[Quintus 6,494]

Thanks for your input, Steef.

[gkgyver 1,647]

He beat me to it.

Orange bastard.

[Quintus 6,494]

An example with hearty explanation would be good. A bit of effort. You know - like we used to.

Jeeeeez...

Ricard, maybe you could chime in

[MSM 194]

Mine would be:

1) Journey to the Island at 1:20 (where the helicopter reaches the island)

2) Platform 9 3.4 and the Journey to Hogwarts from 1:40 (where they reach the castle; also heard in Flying Car).

3) Arrival of Tink and Flight to Neverland from 5:06 (when they fly off)

Those moments catch all the excitement, wonder and magic of the entire films, with lavishly orchestrated trademark JW themes blown into your face. IMO, JW's best moments are those where he is able to musically express scenes of flight or levitation.

Another cue is the ostinato intro motif from Superman, when he is rushing in and changing his clothes. Still gives me chills everytime I hear it.

[Naïve Old Fart 13,020]

Qiuntessential? The first 10 seconds of the main title of "Star Wars". It says everything you need to know about JW: it's blod, brash, and extremely self-confident. In addition, the playing by the LSO is brilliant. This is less of a piece of music, and more of a manifesto. It says "hey,world, I'm here, and I'm alive!". It is supreme, in every sense of the word.

[King Mark 3,975]

The AMBLIN logo music.It's almost JW signing his name in music

[Romão 2,473]

I'm not sure if Quint was refering specifically to this particular moment, but this has always struck me as one of the great examples of JW's honesty and ingenuity that I think comes across quite beautifuly in his music. Track The Visitors/Bye/End Titles: The Special Edition, from the Close Encounters expanded edition, starting at the at thr 4:16 mark. That's the kind of music to die to

[Rachael Foley 10,162]

All of close encounters is brilliant, even the atonal stuff (though that is brilliant in a different way.

[King Mark 3,975]

Well if your talking about passages, when Yoda lifts the X-Wing from the swamp you get JW power to it's full effect

[Jonesy 55]

, it's one of my favourite moments from ESB.

My choice is Star Wars Main Title at 0:25 to 0:48, it sounds like a love theme or something.

[Melange 448]

from this world to the next

Is this Gladiator or what?

CEO3K is full of little gems.

The Mountain (0:29 - 1:14)

it's almost orgasmic, the crescendo after all that stress and tension that they'd experienced till then.

And then the mellow 'afterglow' which follows. Suddenly it's all clear,confusion is over,wonder begins.

Another from CEO3K has long been one of my favourite 'snippet' moments.

The Escape (1:44 - 1:59) .

It begins at the moment Lacombe sees the three flee the helicopter, through the window.

And at 1:50 you get a shot of the three running across the grass towards Devil's Tower.

It's the thrill of them taking that gamble, the childlike glee of running from containment.

I really could go on and on with snippets, as it is often snippets in JW's work that are my favourites rather than whole works.

[Romão 2,473]

Nice to see so much apreciation for Close Encounters

[Luke Skywalker 2,383]

He beat me to it.

Orange bastard.

and me too.

Because Stefan was faster.

Enough explanation, quint?

[BLUMENKOHL 1,110]

Nothing quite captures John Williams range in the span of a few seconds like:

4:20-4:53 of Imperial Attack in Star Wars.

That is what men die to, Quint.

But seriously, those 33 seconds of music are excited, cautious, tinged with sadness, hopeful, heroic, and evil. What captures John Williams better than virtually everything he has made us feel all packed into 33 wonderful seconds?

To me it is music you could find yourself being born to and dying to...remember, we live in a universe where entire suns died violently so that you and I may live today. You need a little bombast. Wondrous bombast, that can capture the dichotomy of a universe that is so wondrous and so terrifying.

[Romão 2,473]

Great example, Blume. My favorite section from the first movie

[publicist 4,650]

SEA ATTACK at roughly 03:20

or BOTF at 02:24 for his more contemporary drama stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxzqYpn5fic

[indy4 160]

His style has evolved too much for me to choose one moment that represents his career in its entirety. Also, there are too many facets of his style to be displayed in one piece of music. But one of my favorite pieces of music he's written is "The Map Room: Dawn."

[Ricard 2,670]

All of close encounters is brilliant, even the atonal stuff (though that is brilliant in a different way.

CEO3K is full of little gems.

Nice to see so much apreciation for Close Encounters

4:20-4:53 of Imperial Attack in Star Wars.

You beat me to it!!! I've been loving this particular snippet for over three decades

Also, from 2:50 and especially from 4:17:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggFWbJ7Q0Mg

From 1:50 you have plenty to choose from:

And of course, the whole track but especially from 2:23 is pure magic!!!

Again, the whole track (and score ), but particularly the climax:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdD8lrwTJBM

Not to mention this one (5:02-end):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpkYGt4WiNc

Sorry I can not pick just one!

And this! (from 2:56):

Mmm apparently there's a limit for the number of embedded videos?

Also, E.T's "Adventures on Earth" from 4:16...

etc etc etc!

Ricard, maybe you could chime in

You asked for it!

[ComposerEthan 24]

I recently rediscovered this: (7:28-8:25) It's intensity, served Williams style!

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fA-aWZ2RKSE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

that and the Basket Game. It has action and playfulness, which I love in Johnny's scores:

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vKKv9XXxEmU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[hornist 1,261]

4:20-4:53 of Imperial Attack in Star Wars.

You beat me to it!!! I've been loving this particular snippet for over three decades

Also, from 2:50 and especially from 4:17:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggFWbJ7Q0Mg

From 1:50 you have plenty to choose from:

And of course, the whole track but especially from 2:23 is pure magic!!!

Again, the whole track (and score ), but particularly the climax:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdD8lrwTJBM

Not to mention this one (5:02-end):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpkYGt4WiNc

Great compilation of highlights there! I have been admiring same spots for years, funny thing is before listening each clip, I knew exactly whats coming...

[Quintus 6,494]

Ricard, maybe you could chime in

You asked for it!

And by god you came through!

Some seriously good examples here. A couple of unlikely ones as well. I'll have to dust off The Witches of Eastwick and Born on the 4th July.

[lostinspace 8]

Superman ostinato, Indiana Jones march ostinato, Beginning of Jaws, Imperial march ostinato.

But what I like most about JW work is the more quieter pieces, eg, Acciental Tourist, Munich, catch me if you can, terminal, saving private ryan, jaws . I like it when he exercises restraint.

The brass heavy stuff is great to open and close the movie, but it is tiring on the ears. I really like it when JW uses brass in different ways with mutes, - anything to get away from that traditional 1930's golden era sound that (although its nice) seems to irk most people thesedays.

On a sidenote - I noticed when I was watching Tintin that it was almost wall to wall music - it would have been more effective with less. Spielberg is definitely wrong here.

[Naïve Old Fart 13,020]

Nice to see so much apreciation for Close Encounters

You're damn right!!!

[Thor 9,362]

Any time he uses those 'religious'-sounding, psalm-like chord progressions. My favourite Williams sound and the whole reason for him being my favourite in the first place.

[Xander Harris 9,672]

The opening of the Today show.

[Rachael Foley 10,162]

Anything militaristic with percussion.

[hornist 1,261]

I know this thread easily turns from "which snippet best defines his music" to the highlights... but this is something:

from a movie that is probably the worst in history, brilliant snippet of music:

from 5:19 to 6:10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncssihpjgVc

I just re-watched this just for the music but didn't find it there, vomited 7 times though.

[Quintus 6,494]

Yes. YESSSSSSSS!

[Ricard 2,670]

Always is definitely one of Williams' most underrated scores.

[Jilal 681]

The Star Wars Main Title.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 12,383]

Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters and The Journey to Hogwarts

2:15 to about 2:30