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John Williams scores - by Film Studio


Jay

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Yea. Universal really needs to open their vaults more! Some good gems owned by WB too - Hopefully, Empire of the Sun is a sign that more Williams / Warner Brothers titles can happen.

Fox seems to be wiped clean apart from scores there's missing elements for.

I unfortunately don't think the scores left at Sony, MGM, and Paramount are high on any label's priority list.

I'm not sure how the Dreamworks owned properties work now that the company's changed ownership and many films where co-distributed with other studios anyway.

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Nice list. Will Episode VII be considered a Disney score or would that still be Lucasfilm?

Both I guess. I dunno. I guess in many ways it's his first score for a Disney picture (unless you count War Horse, which was a Dreamworks picture distributed by Disney)

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Never thought that Williams first "real" Disney score would be Star Wars. I guess it would be both Lucasfilm and Disney, but Disney will probably release the score when the time comes.

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Oh yea, I'm sure the OST will be on Disney's own record label.

I really hope they are interested in producing new 2CD sets of all six original Star Wars films next year. Hopefully their Disney Legacy collection has shown there's a market for catalog titles like that.

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Great work Jason! As always!

Oh yea, I'm sure the OST will be on Disney's own record label.

I really hope their record label also makes new 2CD sets of all six original Star Wars films next year. Hopefully their Disney Legacy collection has shown there's a market for catalog titles on their own label.

The next SW film would be a perfect excuse indeed to release all 6 previous SW scores again in full form! Let us keep up this "fool's hope"! I vote Mike Matessino to produce these! :)

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What do you mean when you say that the 2008 expanded releases of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom have pitch issues? I have the 2008 expanded editions of both in addition to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on iTunes, and I find nothing wrong with them when compared to the film.

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You're wrong. The music was transferred incorrectly on several tracks (for Raiders and TOD), and the pitch is off.

http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16688

Last Crusade is fine, pitch-wise.

Which makes you wish for the truly complete and final Indy Box to end all Indy releases!

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Oh yea. That would be awesome. Hopefully if Disney IS working on SW expansions for next year, they follow it up with Indy expansions.

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Doesn't Sony own the rights to the Star Wars scores until 2019? It's not likely Sony will do anything special or new with the scores. I'd prefer LLL or Intrada to directly handle the releases instead of Disney. Not sure of the likelihood of that happening, though.

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Doesn't Sony own the rights to the Star Wars scores until 2019? It's not likely Sony will do anything special or new with the scores. I'd prefer LLL or Intrada to directly handle the releases instead of Disney. Not sure of the likelihood of that happening, though.

I believe Sony owns them through 2017, but now I can't remember why I thought that. 2019 makes more sense, since that would be 20 years since they bought them for the Phantom Menace OST in 1999.

Regardless, I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of new box set or individual releases can come out with Lucasfilm/Disney overseeing the project, but Sony being the actual label it comes out on. Then in 2019 when their contract ends, new identical version on the Disney label could be released (kind of like how the 1997 RCA expansions eventually got re-issued by Sony)

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I'm not a big fan of Disney's releases, especially for their animated films. They are starting to redeem themselves with the Legacy Collection. I just think Intrada or LLL would produce a better release of the Star Wars scores - a release to end all releases. For me, some of Disney's releases leave a lot room for improvement.

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Mike Matessino produced re-issues of the Star Wars and Indy scores would be amazing. Wouldn't matter which specialty label put it out, he's the man to do the job right. Though with LLL, we'd get Jim Titus artwork :)

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I'd prefer LLL or Intrada to directly handle the releases instead of Disney. Not sure of the likelihood of that happening, though.

Why not? Intrada has a deal with Disney.

Because it's Star Wars. Intrada gets the leftover stuff no one cares about.

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ike Matessino produced re-issues of the Star Wars and Indy scores would be amazing. Wouldn't matter which specialty label put it out, he's the man to do the job right. Though with LLL, we'd get Jim Titus artwork :)

Agreed. I've been very impressed with Matessino produced releases and I believe he would produce a real "ultimate edition" of the Star Wars and Indy scores. Fingers crossed.

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Ah, thanks!

Hmmm, I can't figure out which major studio would own the rights to that one now...

EDIT: I found a VHS for it released by Sony on Amazon, so we'll go with that.

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No Disney backed pictures in any way shape or form. Not even Buena Vista.

That's really interesting. Has Disney/Buena Vista [studio, not distributor] avoided requesting Williams? I'm sure they could get him if they really wanted.

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I've often wondered about that. Even Jerry got to score some Disney flicks

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Just checked again and you need to add "I Passed for White" (1960).

The production credits according to imdb:

Production Companies

  • Fred M. Wilcox Enterprises Inc.

Distributors

  • Allied Artists Pictures (all media)
  • Kit Parker Films (2007) (World-wide) (all media)
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Wow, that's an obscure one. I would estimate the chances of that ever getting a release at about 0% :(

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I don't care about expansions this way or that way, but thanks for the list. I have no idea about this 'label' stuff.

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  • 9 months later...

Looking through the list in the main post again, its depressing how many big JW scores still haven't received definitive treatment....

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Says you!

It's more disconcerting to me how there's a complete standstill as far as the completely unreleased scores are concerned. Which soundtrack label is more likely to ally with what film company to remedy such things? That's the big question to ask.

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Most of the remaining completely unreleased Williams score are Universal, and none of the labels have had much luck releasing Unversal scores lately, for whatever reason. Maybe Universal simply doesn't care about their catalog film soundtrack department. Though Intrada releasing Jaws: The Revenge brings us hope.

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Most of the remaining completely unreleased Williams score are Universal, and none of the labels have had much luck releasing Unversal scores lately, for whatever reason. Maybe Universal simply doesn't care about their catalog film soundtrack department. Though Intrada releasing Jaws: The Revenge brings us hope.

I've personally worked with Universal, well the France part, and... they don't care.

Sorry that's not true, they care about one thing : $$$.

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I believe it!

 

Fox is the easiest studio for the labels to work with. Why haven't any of the labels tackled Valley of the Dolls yet, or made definitive versions of The Paper Chase, Conrack, and The Towering Inferno like LLL did with The Poseidon Adventure? The deal with SpaceCamp is that Intrada tried to expand it but the rights holders weren't interested, so they just re-issued the OST.

FSM, Kritzerland, Music Box and Quartet have all had luck digging through the MGM vaults. Why have none of them tackled Fiddler on the Roof, Tom Sawyer, or Stanley and Iris yet?

Paramount was a tough nut to crack by the labels for decades until La-La Land broke through with Airplane, and them the floodgates opened for FSM, Intrada, and other labels to work with them and we've had amazing Paramount expansions and premieres in the past 6 years. So why has nobody tackled Sabrina or Angela's Ashes yet?

La-La Land was able to expand Hook through Sony. Why not follow up with Close Encounters, Seven Years in Tibet, or Stepmom?

La-La Land has also been releasing a ton of stuff from Warner Brothers for their entire history - including Empire of the Sun and Rosewood by Williams. Why not add on Presumed Innocent, JFK, or Sleepers? Hopefully, Perseverance's The Witches of Eastwick will go OOP soon, allowing LLL to expand that. Varese has perpetuity rights to The Cowboys, unfortunately.

And that brings us to Universal. Varese had a long history of working with them - they tackeld Family Plot, Midway, and Heartbeeps, and also have sold the only CD versions of Earthquake, The Eiger Sanction, Jaws 2, and Dracula. I think we know why we haven't seen any Varese/Universal Williams titles in a while - the label has shifted from releasing 4-5 batches of catalog titles per year to only doing one batch at the end of the year. I really, REALLY hope they re-issue (even if they are not expanded!) Earthquake, Eiger Sanction, Jaws 2, and Dracula - I want those on my shelf!

Beyond Varese, La-La Land tackled 1941, and made an amazing, definitive presentation. I am surprised they haven't followed up that Universal collaboration by doing E.T., The River, Born on the Fourth of July, Always, or Far and Away. Maybe LLL just got lucky? 1941 was a co-production of Universal and Sony, after all. Maybe another label could tackle those scores I just mentioned? I assume Universal won't let anyone but themselves handle Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

Which leaves all the pre-Earthquake Universal scores - Secret Ways, Killers, Rare Breed, The Plainsman, Sergeant Ryker, Storia di una donna, The Screaming Woman, and Pet 'n' Tillie (and The Sugarland Express, which Williams supposedly doesn't want released). A label NEEDS to tackle these! Anyone - please!

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Which leaves all the pre-Earthquake Universal scores - Secret Ways, Killers, Rare Breed, The Plainsman, Sergeant Ryker, Storia di una donna, The Screaming Woman, and Pet 'n' Tillie (and The Sugarland Express, which Williams supposedly doesn't want released). A label NEEDS to tackle these! Anyone - please!

Agreed on this last point. And while we wait for those from Universal, how about the sole unreleased score from Allied Artists -- I PASSED FOR WHITE -- as well as the unreleased Sony ones? At least do the research to check for availability?

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Yes, it'd be nice if a label tackles Daddy-O, Because They're Young, or Gidget Goes To Rome by Sony. Surely FSM would have if they hadn't closed shop. Maybe Music Box or Quartet can come to the rescue?

I have no clue how anyone would go about licensing I Passed For White, or if the recording sessions would even be vaulted anywhere....

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If I remember well, Valley of the Dolls was a title Lukas Kendall was planning to release, but it seems tapes are nowhere to be found.

Both Varèse and Intrada release several Universal titles in the last 5-6 years, so I think it's more a matter of finding usable materials and licensing stuff.

I think every soundtrack niche label would release any Williams title, if circumstances permit. And I'm sure many labels are probably working on some of them. But we have to take into account that some titles are more difficult than others to release for a variety of reasons. As much as we'd love to see all of them released, they don't come in a finger snap.

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MV has posted that Varese has the rights to Stanley and Iris, and "probably" Presumed Innocent", in perpetuity, so I updated the main post to reflect that.

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  • 3 weeks later...

OK, I previously had A.I. Artificial Intelligence listed in the "Dreamworks" section, but since the new LLL version has the "Expanded Archival Collection" banner on top I guess WB is the ultimate owner, so I moved it to the WB section and crossed it off the list.

Here's hoping I can cross two Universals off soon!

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Sure, but there's plenty of post-Jaws Williams scores worth expanding as well!

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  • 2 months later...
Just updated the main post


-Added The BFG (John's second ever Disney film!)

-Added [Fox] and [Paramount] tags to all the old Lucasfilm entries

-Updated The Witches of Eastwick's listing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Today I realized The Reivers isn't on this list!

Is that controller by Paramount, now?

It seems Paramount/Viacom controls the film rights only for US region, as the movie came out on several different labels in European markets (curiously enough, the Italian DVD credits on the back cover say "Music by Lalo Schifrin"!)

As for the soundtrack release, the LP was released by CBS in 1969, then reprinted on CD with a limited run by Varèse/Masters Film Music in the late 80s and finally released by Sony in 1994 (with an unreleased track).

I seem to remember Lukas Kendall once said on the FSM board that there are issues that prevent a new release, but I don't remember the specifics. I'd love a good remastering for this title. The OST is already fairly complete, there isn't much music missing actually.

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