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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/03/17 in all areas
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Pursuit of the Falcon
Taikomochi and 3 others reacted to Gurkensalat for a topic
I don´t understand the aversion in this thread. Tintin is a brilliant score which showcases the orchestration palette and intrinsic motiv construction of John Williams at his best. The main titles track alone with its combination of element of totally disparate musical styles is genius. The only thing missing is a knockout longdrawn theme, but nothing is perfect and it would probably not fit the style of the film. Tintin is one of the few Soundtracks i can listen over and over and never get tired of it; always discovering new small interesting details.4 points -
John Williams to Score Kobe Bryant short film "Dear Basketball"
crumbs and 3 others reacted to The Psycho Pianist for a topic
4 points -
John Williams to Score Kobe Bryant short film "Dear Basketball"
Once and 3 others reacted to Not Mr. Big for a topic
John Williams4 points -
This is probably the first time in many years Williams has composed a score for a movie with a near-final edit while scoring.3 points
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Have we ever seen new Williams sheet music snapped in almost real time before? I like how Williams adds the personal touch of "for Kobe Bryant." This piece could be special.3 points
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John Williams to Score Kobe Bryant short film "Dear Basketball"
Taikomochi and 2 others reacted to Will for a topic
Mid-April is going to be awesome guys. This and Last Jedi trailer!! I love Williams fanfares so I am absolutely hyped for this. So glad to be finally 100% certain that it hasn't been cancelled.3 points -
John Williams Highschool Yearbook Picture 1950
Will and 2 others reacted to Luke Skywalker for a topic
it's fun to see famous people young photos. TV programs do it all the time to embarrass their guests...for example. These are all public photos i think..it is not as if someone just got into Williams house and stole a box of old photos....3 points -
100% confirmed: Rey and Poe Dameron are in the film.2 points
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Angels in America by Thomas Newman: Contains all that is good in the composer with a killer main title theme, which sadly isn't used throughout the score apart from one track.2 points
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More: Nice that Kobe doesn't follow the Disney method of treating recording sessions like National Security Council briefings.2 points
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He conducted this piece once at a Tanglewood concert I attended too. I love that piece and completely agree that is underrated.2 points
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John Williams to Score Kobe Bryant short film "Dear Basketball"
Cerebral Cortex and one other reacted to Not Mr. Big for a topic
2 points -
I don't see it that way, necessarily. Like, I wish he could get that Moctezuma film going more than anything, but I don't see this as the thing that's replacing or delaying that or any of his more ambitious projects on the horizon. We all know Spielberg could do a grand epic and still easily crank out stuff like this in 6 month intervals. To me, at least with these dramas he's been seeking out world-class writers like Tony Kushner and the Coen Brothers and digging in with fine actors he's never worked with before like Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Mark Rylance, now Meryl Streep (yeah I know she was in A.I. but that doesn't really count.) It's not like he's bringing David Koepp in on these too. If cinematically they lack the kind of vinegar that we know Spielberg is capable of, at least the craftsmanship is never lacking and the core material -- while sometimes lacking in bite, depth, or ambiguity in its drama -- is generally stronger than the genre stuff he's been picking IMO, at least since Minority Report. I mean, if anything, Lincoln and Bridge of Spies felt like movies he's never really tried to make before? Yeah, they get stuck in a kinda dull rhythm as they approach 150 minutes, but after overly blowing his load with the expected Spielbergian melodrama on War Horse I think it's been interesting to see him try out this muted side of his classical craftsmanship, it's quite elegant at times. I think he could be going somewhere with that if he can just figure out how to engage his newfound understatement a little more into an accelerated pace, and some more interesting staging than a few too many shots of Honest Abe sitting down monologuing with the camera slowly pushing in. But the silent opening of Bridge of Spies following Rylance around New York for example is masterful Hitchcockian suspense, except reminding me more of the reserved momentum that influenced the French New Wave rather than the kinetic genre techniques that Spielberg always made his mark with. It was kinda like his version of the chase in Le Samourai, awesome! So I'm open to seeing if he can pull off something compelling with this and Edgardo Mortara. That said I obviously love his big, exciting, emotional audiovisual feasts and desperately want to see him truly succeed with something like that again. But it does seem like the stuff he's been actively pursuing with that kind of potential (or that he's able to get made right now) fall a little too close to his previous movies to feel like he's doing anything but essentially retracing his career highlights. You get these isolated great moments like the first 30-40 minutes of War of the Worlds, the Falcon chase in Tintin, or the Dream Country in BFG but the movies themselves don't really have enough else going for them. Ready Player One could be really neat, I guess we'll see. At this point, though, once again I'm expecting one or two absolutely cracking sequences in an otherwise just moderately entertaining movie. Indy 5, about as promising. And even still, there's something to be said for how something like BFG could have been done with a much more novel approach throughout and yet it's still pretty hit-and-miss. Personally I would have liked to see him take a more modest approach with it, a purer fantasy vision that felt very loving and handmade, stylishly atmospheric. You do get some really lovely passages, but it's kinda marred by pretty garish designs owing to his insistence since JP on pushing the CG envelope....that lead to some splendid results in the early 2000s but lately feels to me like a misguided attempt to be cutting edge? Also his sense of humor which has always been kinda campy and has rarely consistently worked to his advantage. For every Raiders there's 1941, and likewise in BFG for every scene like the surprisingly funny Queen's banquet, there's cringey shit like this: Anyway, honestly, more than anything, as a JWFan I appreciate Spielberg's working process and how he's able to suddenly announce these smaller things and squeeze them into his schedule, since it's always a new opportunity for a Williams score. I still thoroughly enjoy his recent drama scores so the more the merrier for me. We'll probably get a solid end credits piece out of it.2 points
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The MCU - Marvel Cinematic Universe
Pieter Boelen and one other reacted to Disco Stu for a topic
This picture has made the entire MCU worth it.2 points -
John Williams Highschool Yearbook Picture 1950
Will reacted to Marian Schedenig for a topic
That french horn stunt was just a diversion.1 point -
Clearly you need to watch more animated stuff than just the usual Disney fare!1 point
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Star Trek Discovery
Gruesome Son of a Bitch reacted to nightscape94 for a topic
Star Wars inspired people to become actors?1 point -
I doubt there would be a straight "soundtrack" release, but its Williams. He will create a concert version of the piece, perform it likely this summer, and we will have that version.1 point
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John Williams to Score Kobe Bryant short film "Dear Basketball"
Smeltington reacted to Bilbo for a topic
As long as we get it before Robin Hood it'll be grand1 point -
Probably won't be before 2050, though.1 point
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Two more stills1 point
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Yes, especially with the transitions to Vader's shuttle on Bespin. Seamless.1 point
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The Accidental Tourist1 point
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In believe the guy behind Serena on the second photo is director Glen Keane.1 point
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John Williams Highschool Yearbook Picture 1950
Will reacted to Mr. Breathmask for a topic
This thread is creepy.1 point -
1 point
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Has John Williams ever conducted music written by a Japanese composer?
Will reacted to Dixon Hill for a topic
Indeed. Takemitsu brought the language of Debussy, Ravel, Milhaud, Koechlin, and even the already contemporary Messiaen and Dutilleux fully into the present day. He, along with Schuller, was among the first to really exploit the potential that lush idiom had for a subtle melding with jazz stylings - as opposed to the more overt, delineated attempts at injecting jazz into concert music by some other composers like Stravinsky and Gershwin, and the aforementioned Ravel and Milhaud. As Schuller was the one to coin the whole "Third Stream" idea, it isn't surprising to find him as one of the first to really achieve it, but Takemitsu, in my opinion at least, was even more successful with it. Alex North had taken it quite a distance as well, and he obviously was a presence for the young Williams, along with Mancini who also did this. But Takemitsu's earthy, mystical, nature-infused aesthetic must have really seized on Johnny's sensibilities. Look no further than the early flute concerto - that could easily be mistaken for a piece of Toru's. I know when Williams' "influences" are talked about, the favorite candidates are always Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Wagner... but I think those are mostly rather facile guesses. Takemitsu is where it's at.1 point -
TESB has great third act action/dramatic music, an AMAZING finale cue, and a GREAT end credits medley AOTC has some really great third act music (Love Pledge and The Arena are both stellar, and the Dooku chase and Dooku battle music is fun too), a PHENOMINAL finale cue, and such a cool breakdown to Across The Stars AND Anakin's Theme AND The Imperial March for its end credits. I might not love it as much as TESB or TFA's end credits, but I'm impressed by it every time. TFA has a mixed bag of third act music, primarily due to the chopped up nature of it in the film, incomplete nature of it on the OST, and the fact we don't have an expanded release to really get everything Williams was trying to do. Then the finale cue is one of the best and most haunting film score cues of all time, and the end credits medley is just astonishingly amazing, so impressed that in this modern age he spent the time to arrange all that, and the results speak for themselves. Best end credits music of the 21st century!1 point
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Absolutely not, and don't let naysayers convince you of otherwise. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. As long as the information is publically available in some form, we owe it to history to assemble as much information as we can on one of the greatest artists of the last 100 years. That includes both professional works and some degree of personal life, and especially where the two intersect. I do the draw line at some point (in fact, I possess several pieces of information on Williams that I would need to consider carefully before I published it), but since there is practically nothing at this point, all we can do is collect the threads ourselves. Photos like the ones you posted are VERY welcome, and I hope both you and I and others can continue to share them for years to come.1 point
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It's more apparent in his concert works. Listen to Takemitsu's Viola Concerto (A String Around Autumn) here:1 point
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Has John Williams ever conducted music written by a Japanese composer?
karelm reacted to Dixon Hill for a topic
I know of no more instances than those listed here, but as far as influence, Jay, Takemitsu is a huge presence in Williams' music.1 point -
John Williams to Score Kobe Bryant short film "Dear Basketball"
Cerebral Cortex reacted to Muad'Dib for a topic
Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant Collab ‘Dear Basketball’ To Premiere At Tribeca1 point -
Hagrid / agreed (Yes, I do know the pronunciation is not the same... Anyway I was trying to make a joke aaaaaand it failed )1 point
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John Williams Highschool Yearbook Picture 1950
Miguel Andrade reacted to Thor for a topic
OK, so NOT written in jest, then. By 'we', I mean anyone interested in and/or chronicling the work AND life of any major artists throughout history. Who do you mean with 'nobody'?1 point -
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The Official Varese Sarabande Thread
Pieter Boelen reacted to filmmusic for a topic
Yeap. Unfortunately I have gained weight!1 point -
The Official Varese Sarabande Thread
Incanus reacted to Pieter Boelen for a topic
100% confirmed: Stefancos likes "100% confirmed" posts!1 point -
To its credit, the pre-credits cue in AOTC is fantastic, mostly. I love the force theme rendition as Dooku travels to Palpatine and the solo voice that sings during their conversation and the ominous build up during Yoda's monologue leading to a great rendition of the Imperial March which transitions into a full blown, sweeping Across the Stars. That whole musical sequence is beautiful. But iirc there are some inserts or some weird editing along the way that chop it up a bit.1 point
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If you want my honest opinion, to me it's a bunch of trademark Williams noise until it becomes faintly thematic in the Last 90 seconds.1 point
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Victory Celebration is a significant improvement on Yub Nub, IMO. It was kind of fitting that the original saga (I-VI) was bookended by diegetic celebratory music, though.1 point
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Listening through the Score again and really underestimated 'Scrambling the Rebel Fleet.' A great piece. He does interesting stuff with all instrument groups. I really like what he does with Williams material too, like the Rebel Fanfare and especially what he puts behind it, with the woodwind and string accompaniment from 0:17 - 0:32. And I love the brass flourishes behind Jyn's theme at 0:53 - 0:56. It really drives the theme. And one of his best uses of Williams at 1:02 - 1:12 of the Force theme and the Main Title.1 point
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Apologies for quoting myself, but the live recording of this concert will be available to buy digitally from Silva Screen Records later this month. http://www.silvascreen.com/debbie-wiseman-in-concert/1 point
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Yes. There's nothing in that latest trailer that's remotely original. It's way too slick, and the actors look like...actors. And act like bratty millennials. Nothing about this seems lived in. The whole thing just feels off. And worst of all, the Alien is no longer a mysterious, malevolent terror. It's an action figure...a comic book villain. That scene with the Alien trying to bust into the ship windshield was cringe worthy....a genuine jump the shark moment. Cool and fanboyish, to be sure, but so far removed from its source material as to be unrecognizable. Ridley Scott is being derivative of himself, and remaking his own movies. If Ridley Scott were a band, he'd be covering his own songs. It feels fake, it feels forced. It is derivative. And unnecessary. Nothing I've seen in either of those trailers or that awful promo comes across as the least bit genuine. When I saw the eggs, and the facehugger, I didn't think "Cool!", I thought...."again"? Why? Is there anyone among us who can't say with a reasonably high degree of certainty exactly how this film is going to play out? There are no more ways to tell this story, I'm convinced of that now. I didn't need to know and see the origins of the Aliens any more than I needed to see the Clone Wars. Somethings are better left alone, and to the imagination.1 point
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So I was pronouncing both right then. Cause I'm clever like that. Karol1 point
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John Williams to Score Kobe Bryant short film "Dear Basketball"
Bilbo reacted to Cerebral Cortex for a topic
Great find, Maclaine! That being said, I think it's worth noting that the bromance goes both ways, with Williams himself having a picture of Kobe in his office as well.1 point