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Continuing this exploration of the sequel trilogy, here's a pair of Last Jedi covers I started back in January and only just got around to finishing. Special thanks to @Holko and @Chewy for design suggestions.

Some unreleased Jóhannsson tracks have been put out as "rarities", including the one below from Arrival. I'm guessing this was the original opening piece that Villeneuve replaced with the Richter. He should have kept it.

Yes, welcome to the thread. Hang on, since he changed his tune, shouldn't it now be called Star Wars Reenchantment?

Good grief, is this discussion still happening? Williams did not know what the plan was, who Rey's parents were, what the Emperor's role was. None of it. Gosh, I have a recording of him saying at a Boston Pops concert following TFA that he had no clue whatsoever who Rey's parents were. And he even reieterated as much again, that he was surprised at the film's reveals, at a smaller-scale Q&A event at Tanglewood just last year, after the majority of TROS scoring had happened. If there were some deep, pre-planned connection intended between Rey, Kylo, and the Emperor's theme, don't you think Williams would have musically developed any of them in such a way to suggest those latent relationships, particularly in TROS? Instead, they're left mostly to their own devices. Heck, Williams even seems to supress the similarities when the moment would be obvious or opportune. Note, for example, the way the tail end of the Emperor's theme simply dissolves at 4:07 of Track 1 "Fanfare and Prologue" when that would have been the perfect place to tie his and Kylo Ren's motifs together. The motivic similarities are happy coincidences -- not exactly trivial from a music structural or stylistic standpoint, but definitively, demonstrably not evidence of any sort of long-range plan. Williams I Dunno.mp3

Bryce Dallas Howard will for sure play the role of @Kasey Kockroach!

Powell live now!

Jaws (1975) in 4K UHD HDR. Rewatched just to check out how the 4K master looks. And it looks great for a film of its age. The HDR is tastefully, and lightly done. The lighting problems in the Orca cabin during the Indiapolis scene are sorted out. But something occured to me watching this time that somehow escaped me the thousand times I've seen this film before (or maybe I did notice it before, but forgot). What happened to Ben Gardner's boat & bloated head? Why didn't Chiefy & Mr. Hooper show Gardner's severed head and chewed up boat as proof they still have a shark problem to the Mayor instead of going on and on about a shot glass sized tooth they don't even have? Spielberg's a hack.

Random question but is there a reason LLL only stock LLL titles, while Intrada stock items from LLL, Varese, etc.? Is Intrada a music label and a general music retail outlet or something?

And not least, who will score it?

Hi everyone one. I figured my first post should be something of substance. This is my fan-made concept album inspired by the Colin Trevorrow's rejected script for Star Wars Episode 9 entitled "Duel of the Fates". The bulk of the score utilizes John Williams' work for Rise of Skywalker only edited and arranged differently to better suit the plot of Trevorrow's story. (I know it’s blasphemous to chop up & rearrange Williams work. Especially after it was butchered in the final edit of RoS. Just consider this a sonic "fan edit" and an experiment to see if a different story could be told with the same music) Additionally, I also incorporated themes and moments from the prior two sequel scores and a sprinkling of the prequels as the script called for. I attempted to make the quotes from other films as seamless and organic as possible without getting too “fan-service-y”. But you may think otherwise. But come on. This was supposed to be the culmination of the entire saga for crying out loud;) Some edits aren’t perfect. But it gets the idea across. I should note there’s about 3 or so tracks that weren’t edited at all because the fit the scene so perfectly (in my mind at least) I’ve uploaded the first 10 tracks (out of 26 total) and will have more up shortly. It just takes a bit to export and upload these videos (The videos are kinda lame btw. Just focus on the music. But the concept art is nice at least). Side note: I attempted to just upload it all to SoundCloud but it kept flagging it for copyright. If anyone knows a workaround for that I’d give it another shot. I have it unlisted here on YouTube. Let me know if it’s not showing up/working. I’ll also go back at some point and add track summary/explanations in the description section. In reading the script it’s interesting how many beats were lifted and used in RoS yet (IMHO) they didn’t quite work as well. The script can be easily found with a simple online search. I recommend reading it or one of the many online summaries of it before listening as it's 1) a fantastic continuation of the stories episodes 7 and 8 set up and 2) helpful in understanding the editing choices I made and envisioning this untold story via John William's amazing scores. If you don't consider this a colossal waste of time and energy, I hope you enjoy it!

So @Mattris when actors and filmmakers provide statements alleging that there were other directions they could've taken the characters, that's dubious and unbelievable, but you can conveniently pluck any old quote out of your arse to support your wild claims without the same scrutiny?

Hi everyone! Today is "bring your wrongly convicted quasi-son to work day" for the Weasleys and HP. Enjoy Cue No. 8: The Ministry of Magic!

What a coincidence!, 'cause after reading this thread, like Short Round, I just took someone's razor!

One of his most famous pieces, Oblivion, was also written for a movie, I think. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vkQvfIsLQmY It is really music worth exploring. The piece in 12 Monkeys and the way it is used in the opening is really brillant.

And mstrox as himself

You're not alone.

Last and First Men is a fantastic film. I was surprised at its cinematic potency, though I suspect it won't be JWFan's taste. The original Arrival epilogue (which was also replaced with Richter in the film):

Again and again and again...

Ban him!

Well I've been told I'm the spitting image of Pilou Asbæk. And equally inclined to villiany.

That's a factually-false statement. You may only acknowledge the first six episodes. But that just indicates that you don't understand the principal narrative and themes Star Wars Saga. Trust me, you've missed so much that matters, which has caused a mental block. The fact is, nine episodes have been released. It's safe to say, being in denial of reality is not mentally healthy. (Though, I realize these are just films, at least in your mind.) I must ask, why continue to engage with me on this topic? (I'll remind you that you have repeatedly said you were done with this thread.) If you truly want to learn, I hope you are reading my latest posts carefully. I also advise reading the (most-illuminating) film novelizations. Feel free to let me know if you ever come around. Rest assured, I won't be rude if you do. We can then discuss the intricacies of these stories. I understand that it might take further convincing from Lucasfilm. But I'm sure Lucas and Co. will desire to take credit for their initially-misunderstood work, so many decades in the making. I also realize that it might be quite the struggle to put aside your pride in order to admit you were wrong about Star Wars, but that is the conundrum of the dark side. When the time comes, many like you will also be tested to confront reality. But the choice on how to proceed will be yours alone.

Probably someone like Basil Poledouris, only in the sense I wouldn't place him in the top echelon next to composers like Williams, Goldsmith, Hermann, Waxman, etc. I would consider him to be second tier, instead of second rate, which to my ear has a more negative connotation

I highly doubt the filmmakers considered even half the connections you're drawing Mattriss. The filmmaking process involved with the ST was shone through a prism not a funnel that pooped out a singular cohesive film. Lines from Revenge of Sith are so innocuous and so far removed from the making of the ST that they are nothing more than coincidental when they support certain characters' actions or motivations in later films. The thing is, I don't have a problem with you connecting the dots to rationalize the various differences in the screenwriting across the saga. You have half a puzzle set and you're filling the rest in with a collection of mismatching pieces. Yet you can't draw the conclusion from that alone, because we know that despite having a rough plan from the beginning, the trilogy was formed much more haphazardly than you make it out to be. Also, I'm unsure if Williams knew who Rey was all along, I doubt anyone involved like Abrams and Co. knew until they wrote episode 9. Then we had this:

I ordered a shelf.

I've been to see the NSO at the Kennedy Center several times over the last 10 years and it's a great group of musicians. William Gerlach, the principal trumpet, in particular is one of the best in the country and he handled that JFK solo without breaking a sweat!

I don't have any of the HA2 releases, so don't know the fanfare you're referring to, but neither of the first two arrangements in Three Holiday Songs (Somewhere in.. and Star of...) corresponds with any of the tracks on the HA OST, so possibly the same goes for MC, MC. That said, the 8-bar intro in the sheet music does look quite, erm, fanfare-y. Poor quality photo attached...

In an interview around the time of TFA, with our boy Tim Greiving, Williams mentioned that it was of prime importance of him to keep the score "Star Warsian", and specifically elaborated to mean things such as harmonies and intervals.

Right, so you don't notice that mess or numerous other unmusical edits but you abandon AI's incredible journey after a few tracks because you can totally immediately tell it's a bad musical work. Gotcha.

We'll attribute it to a momentary lapse of reason (great Pink Floyd album too, btw)! Because outside that, you're one of the few levelheaded people who seem able to debate this rationally without making it personal. I'm not really interested in countering personal attacks, psycho-analyses and what-have-you. I wanted to address your individual examples from earlier. My replies will not be very suprising, but it goes to tell how different we experience these things. I've very, very rarely experienced that an expansion warrants a valid listening experience, and certainly not compared to the OST (if there is an OST). In the cases of E.T. and JAWS, the OSTs are on a whole other level, conceptually and structurally, than their subsequent expanded versions. So overall, these C&C versions hold little value to me as an album. However, I made use of the 20th anniversary edition of E.T. in an archival fashion: I analyzed the E.T. score in my university thesis, and included a CD with reference tracks. Since some of the cues I analyzed weren't on the MCA, but only on the 20th disc (which I got in the lavish E.T. gift box set from 2002), I included them on the reference CD. Expanded versions will always have this useful archival or archeological value for film and film score-in-context analyses. I will agree with you on the point of pop songs, and partly sound quality -- although that is very rarely an issue for me. It will have to be really bad, like Michael Small's MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON or the first release of RAIN MAN from Perseverance. In these cases, there is obviously room for improvement. Sequencing or length-wise, however, I disagree. I haven't heard the expanded version of THE SHADOW, but the OST works great as is. I tried sampling the expanded A.I., but quickly had to stop and delete it as it basically ruined my appreciation of the score as a 'musical work'. In terms of 'architecture', there is only one type that is relevant to me, and that is how it is REBUILT for album purposes. Filmic context is of no relevance to me in soundtrack listening. In both THE LOST WORLD and DRACULA, there is a beautiful structure on the OSTs that is sonata-like in nature (home-away-home again), for example by opening and closing the albums with concert-like pieces, and portioning out the romantic with the action-oriented evenly throughout the running time. Williams always does this well. In the case of TESB, I sorta agree with you; it's rich enough to warrant a little bit of extra music. I prefer the Arista box version over the OST (even if the OST is great as it is). For THE PHANTOM MENACE, the OST gets it. HOOK is rich, but already generously presented on the Epic CD. In fact, some of the action material kinda drags (like "The Ultimate War"). So I would actually have preferred an even more succinct release of some 60 minutes here. There have been times where I've heard a previously unreleased track, like "The Big Rescue" on SUPERMAN, and thought "hmmm, that was nice". But it's not something I've longed for or even want to have included. In that particular case, it could probably have been included on the OST without ruining its listening flow too much, but I live perfectly fine without it too (I sold my 2CD SUPERMAN set from Rhino years ago). I think SPHERE is fine. What 'other factors' do you have in mind? Re-use fees? A lot of people find things like re-use fees or physical space limitations drawbacks. They can be, but they don't have to. In some cases, the alloted time (let's say two 20-minute blocks) forces the composer-producer to really focus their presentation; whittle it down and turn it into a 'symphony' of sorts. This, of course, is my 'default mode' in 95% of the cases. I've never really been fond of the 'interactive' approach that many fans have to soundtracks. It would be a bit like getting the sketch of a painting from an artist, and then a box of colour pencils to fill it out yourself. Or an unedited film that you're asked to edit yourself. The act of composing music for film is an artform, but so is the act of producing a listenable soundtrack album out of that score - which now becomes raw material. Adaptation is an artform; heck it's even a category at the Oscars. So I'd rather not do it myself, I'll leave it to the artist. But there are 'emergency situations' where no OST exists, and the album is too long. I then have to whittle it down and make a playlist myself. Rarely for something longer, though, but shorter. Kilar's DRACULA works fine in its OST; it's a very 'intense', chromatic and at times minimalistic score that only barely sustains its existing time, but the intense material has again been portioned out carefully, and doesn't wear out its welcome. THE THIN RED LINE is pretty much perfection, as far as I'm concerned. I've never felt any need to add anything myself. Alternates, demos, bonus tracks etc. have no value for me as part of the listening experience. They can occasionally be fun and illuminating - in their archival, curiousity value, but that's about it. Occasionally, however, I've found some source cues that have their own innate musical quality and can be added to the listening experience, like Williams' GOODBYE MR. CHIPS. I like the 3CD BLADE RUNNER set because it's so clearly organized as musical journeys - the OST, then unreleased tracks organized into its own thing, then the inspired by-tracks, again organized into its own thing. It was never just a question of transferring music from the audio track on the film and onto an album. ---- So in short, I'm obviously more extreme than you are. I'll never say 'it depends', which is the case for your examples above. My experience is more 9 times out 10, an expansion doesn't work as an album. I think this very much relates to my different and rather unique path into soundtracks, through other musical genres like prog rock and electronic music. Most people got interested in soundtracks through the films, and so they will always use the film - and the music therein - as their reference point. To me, that isn't really interesting. I'm only interested in how what I have works a musical ride. There is one question I haven't received so far, which is kinda surprising. That is: If you have so little interest in how the music appears in the film, then why do you listen to soundtracks at all?

That sounds fantastic! Jóhannsson would've been so perfect for Dune.

Wow great work @TheUlyssesian, this is awesome! I love this website!

What are you talking about? Beethoven's entire output has been available on record for decades!

I picked him up on this on the last round of this neverending debate here: https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18489-the-official-varese-sarabande-thread/&do=findComment&comment=1704251 In a nutshell - he not only dislikes expanded releases, but actively wishes they wouldn't happen, and that the rest of us weren't able to buy additional music. Yet when I pick him up on this unheard-of selfishness, I'm apparently attacking his ability to have 'preferences'. Mehhhh.

Just watched the JFK suite too, that was really good! Almost ruined by super loud audience noise over the quiet parts though. I like this conductor guy, he's great! I also really like the camera work and just entire presentation of this concert, everything is well lit and the camera catches all the soloists in a very nice way. Why can't we have John Williams concerts shot this well?

I like your setup, it's almost like mine! Each time I pick a CD, it's like playing this game :

My history of exclusive specialty label purchases: 2009 - Mars Attacks! Bad idea, but I was young 2015 - AI 2018 - Dracula 2020- CE3K War of the Worlds

Thanks for sharing this! I didn't get a chance to listen until just now, but I really liked it! The People's House is so amazing every time. Some of the parts here had an oddly sped up tempo, but that didn't mar the overall feel of it just being great. Getting Out The Vote is always fun too, I love it. And then With Malice Towards None was OK in this version, but I always seem to like the OST version the best

It came! I will be listening to the score, reading the liner notes with a nice cup of ginger tea later this evening.

Digital projection saved the cinema for me! No more scratched to hell prints.

Lorne Balfe, of course. He'll claim to use a 100-piece orchestra, but in the end it'll sound like everything was synth.