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Looks VERY cool. Best trailer for this film yet. I really want Dune to succeed, not just because it's Dune, but because I want big, epic, intelligent science fiction to have a place in cinema. And even though Dune is an established franchise (or at least the start of one), it's nice to have something this big on the screen that's not Marvel or Star Wars.

The orchestration alone may be the best of his entire career, which is saying something. He wields the orchestra like Mickey Mouse conducting the sea, new colors come in from all directions, and is that 6 flutes in "Blowing Dreams?" I'm not sure he's been this intent on color for color's sake since Close Encounters. Stylistically, it's in the same wheelhouse as Hook and Harry Potter, with a dash of E.T. and the lighter parts of Star Wars, and while it has no shortage of themes compared to those scores, it is more cohesive. The themes are more subtle, and easier to "lose" in a sense, but the orchestration and complex harmony make up the difference. The score is as harmonically complex as the orchestration, and while JW has always been a sponge when it comes to the Russian masters (Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky specifically) the harmonies on this score sound more personal and "true," if that makes any sense. He doesn't seem to be writing "in a style." It just sounds like John Williams. As always, his counterpoint and polyphonic writing separate him from almost every film composer in history. He has few equals, in this regard, in the last two centuries and it is on full display in the BFG. Music critic for the New York Times, Harold C. Schonberg wrote a review of Vaughn Williams's 9th Symphony, which I will quote here, but seems to fit The BFG nicely. "the symphony is packed with strong personal melody from beginning to end ... A mellow glow suffuses the work, as it does the work of many veteran composers who seem to gaze retrospectively over their careers ... the Ninth Symphony is a masterpiece" If this is John Williams looking back, well, what a view.

Haven’t read much of the rest of this thread, but think in an ideal world free of business concerns and contractual limitations, every release should be in print and available at all times. It would be very selfish to say otherwise.

I vividly remember the first time I consciously listened to the Stones (I'm sure I'd heard them in commercials or whatever before). My older brother was never much of an influence on my music listening, but one time in the car, when I was probably 11 or 12, he said "You'll love this song" and he put on "Paint it Black." That booming relentless drum beat made such a huge impression on me.

I think almost all JW scores display a high level of craft, and in that sense they are masterful in that master composer wrote them. Defining the term "masterpiece" is an exercise in naval-gazing, but I like to think of the Voyager Golden Record. What JW scores would be in the running to go on a new golden record? Like most composers, only a handful of pieces in their output, no matter well they are made. Beethoven's 4th is a great symphony, but it isn't going on in place of the 3rd, 5th, or 9th. There's only a few JW scores I consider a 'masterpiece" at that kind of level, and the most recent are The BFG and Schindler's List. That's not saying he didn't write some amazing scores in between, they just don't get to go to Pluto.

Where did you all listen to this piece?

I mean, the remaining quarter hour + of 13th Warrior is essentially “more of the same” (just as with the unreleased music from Rudy so many people seem to want!) But when it’s a score as good as The 13th Warrior, “more of the same” isn’t really a bad thing. It’s all very solid stuff! Hope they get to it some day. But first…Medicine Man! Yavar

So that they can play it when he wins for Indiana Jones 5. https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/the-boston-symphony-orchestra/2021-08-13/film-night-with-the-pops-and-john-williams-2021

Nobuo Uematsu & Yasonori Mitsuda - Front Mission: Gun Hazard (OST) Great! Eric Serra - Goldeneye I don't care about the general consensus, I like this score! It's fun and interesting. Tan Dun - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon The latest off my pile of physical CDs I needed to listen to. I believe this was my first time ever hearing this score (I received the OST as a gift, I believe). Well, I liked it! Not only fun ethnic percussive action, but nice sweeping epic tracks too. Will be listening again!

I only listened to the BFG OST once, probably over a year ago. It felt boring then. I am relistening to it now, and every track feels great, on par with tracks in E.T., The Last Crusade, Shore's LOTR, and other such. Classy flow and orchestration that sounds refreshingly elegant compared to the "Christmas Tree" fests of Rimsky-Korsakoff and Co., and yet is as accomplished. It would sure make for some catchy orchestration textbook examples #FreeTheScores

Would be nice to hear some nods to Horner and Zimmer too. Karol

I've just heard, on the BBC. Fucking hell, this is deep. He was the beating heart of the Stones, and, possibly, the greatest - and most modest - straight ahead backbeat man. Not an inovator like Ringo, not a star like Moon, not florid like Peart, and not aggressive like Bonzo, he was the solid rock, upon which the Stones built their entire catalogue. He will be missed...very, very much.

Oh, I'm usually in the same boat and try to just keep one version of a score unless there's a good reason not to. I guess when it comes to Star Trek expansions it's particularly important for me to have the full set of Jeff Bond liner notes for all of them (he did all of the original ten films' expansions, I believe), as sort of an updated supplement to his excellent (but in need of a second edition) book, The Music of Star Trek. Yavar

I'm sad about this one. The more intimately familiar you get with the Stones' catalog, the more you realize Charlie's importance - which is otherwise less obvious from his stoic presence on stage. It was amazing to have so much of the core of the group intact for this long.

For me it may affect the timing of the purchase, especially if I know there aren't many left, but it doesn't affect the likelihood of me buying in the first place. And there are certainly releases that I didn't buy precisely because they were limited - not because their being limited made me lose interest, but because they'd already sold out by the time I became interested/aware/able to afford them.

It was years ago, so I don't remember who said it, but someone at one of the labels did mention this as a factor. That they sell more copies of releases if they announce that they're limited to X copies.

Well I heard from the start of the album through He Tasks Me this morning on the way to work. I swear it took me half my commute just to get the shrinkwrap off... What a fun ride home I'll have tonight listening to Surprise Attack to the end! Woo! The new sound quality is great. The new stereo field is wonderful. Just listen to "Spock" and hear the plucked strings in the left and sometimes in the right. Good stuff

If The Prisoner of Azkaban will ever get an expanded reissue, I want the shawm cue and "Discussing Black" to get that treatment.

Well said. I also want the second film to be shot at all.

Mate, this is a straw man. No one (at least here) "begrudges" Dune based on the format it was shot on. No one said there was something "wrong" with Dune being shot digitally. No one. The only issue is a personal preference on how the film looks. And that's inarguable. And even if someone doesn't like the way the film looks, that doesn't mean they "begrudge" it. In any event, none of us has seen enough of Dune to make any informed opinion on it, all we can do is comment on what we've seen in the trailers. People who are named Christopher Nolan and Steve Yeldin, or hold stock in Eastman Kodak or RED have a stake in this little film vs. digital thing. The rest of us just care about what we see on the screen. I think the vast majority of movies, no matter the genre, are shot on digital these days. Being against it as a format is tilting at windmills.

Aloft...To the Royal Masthead! The UKs Prince Phillip visited Boston in 1992, and who else to herald the royal arrival but John Williams with a short fanfare that some have noted shares a bit of similarity with material in Jurassic Park. It is more celebratory and brilliant than stately and reverent. I like it.

I think it's pretty clear what these two releases will be. Still super pumped though!

This is a real dang good release, even if it does use the album master! All I knew about this score and movie were the S/W piece and the basic premise, until crumbs' iso score came along and the score didn't manage to impress me that much in that strictly film C&C form. Here, on the other hand, I'm taken away completely! A great main program really fills the score out, and this kind of score lends itself to the slight chrono cheats employed by Mike. The less conspicuous thematic material weaves its way until the climax brings the big guns, the two main twinkly cues provide some break time but even the 6+ minute one changes enough to not be dull, Follow Me is such a well-earned break (and what a great little cue, so much better than the alternate! Despite its short length you really feel it went somewhere and explored its material satisfyingly), and then the alternates are all either very much or interestingly subtly different! I switched the Old Timer's Shacks and End Creditses for my main program, the one fault I feel the CD has is that the "film" End Credits reprises Dorinda Solo Flight too closely, right after Dorinda Solo Flight. But listening through as one big program, the two final tracks are a fantastic finale. Booklet's good too! Cover's great too! I'm really happy with this set.

Couldn't help myself. Here's a transcription of the soaring main theme, as it appears after the Jovian/Galaxy's-Edgesque opening. I left out some of the trumpet countermelody stuff around m. 14-16 for clarity's sake, and a few of the chordal inversions are speculative on my part, given the low audio quality at present. Really classic 1980s-sounding Williams, not-so-distant cousin of "The Mission" and a few other occasional pieces. Some of the harmonies and progressions are particularly characteristic -- oddly enough, most similar to the music when Willie is lifted from the lava pit in TOD!

In other words, "am I a selfish asshole" vs. "do I want art to be presented properly and accessibly". LLL should get on the digital train after Varese and Intrada, and convince JW too, including the booklets digitally too, THEN limited physical releases would be acceptable. I was insanely lucky to find this site just when all I wanted (or was about to find out I wanted) was about to come out or still available.

Ban him!!!! The Incredibles One of Gia's best score. Pixar is really the studio where his works reach tops War of the Worlds (Intrada) Even though it's Williams' wickest score from 2005 it is still an absolut masterpiece. The Intersection Scene being the best track IMO

Yes Do That CHINATOWN is, by a country mile, the greater of the two. THE RUSSIA HOUSE on the other hand is so damned sexy!

There was 14 years before the first expansion in 1996 20 years before the longer expansion in 2002 35 years before the complete expansion in 2017

It might be hard to believe. But we used to live in caves and hunt in tribes too. Doesn't mean we haven't made progress.

Oh shit. What good is it to have Keith Richards living forever when the rest of them can die? It was the Stones who slowly re-introduced me to rock music a few years after Williams had turned me orchestral music exclusively. I was fortunate to catch them last two times they came to Austria, in 2014 and 2017. My father was a big Stones fan and used to put on their concert DVDs late at night at the end of family gatherings. Once the neighbours asked him the next day if he had been him playing them last night. When he apologised, they told him not to apologise but turn it up more next time.

As recent as the Garfield series is, Raimi has gone on record on how unhappy he was with Spider-Man 3. If Far From Home generates more demand for Tobey (and Raimi feels energized after Doctor Strange 2), I can see Sony luring Raimi and Maguire back for a fourth movie -- with creative control intact. I would personally see a fourth Maguire movie than a third Andrew Garfield movie myself.

My favorite of the Excalibur recordings and one of of Rózsa's most interesting scores

I'm curious as to whether this (or the other Intrada conducted re-recordings already re-released) are worth the upgrade as they do sound pretty great already. Either way, think I'd wait for the digital version and keep the CD.

The climax of the score is everything in between 6M54 Sophie's Future (heard in its entirety in OST track 12 Sophie's Future) and 6M58 Finale (heard in its entirety in OST track 18 Finale) So that's: 6M55 Giants and Bad Dreams, which we got in OST track 17 Giants Netted from 0:00-0:52 6M56 Giants Netted, which isn't on the OST album at all (despite track 17's name), and only 21 seconds of which was heard in the film, the rest replaced by tracked music from 3M22 (unreleased), 4M39 (OST track The Queen's Dream), and 3M25 (OST track Dream Country) 6M57 A Place Where No One Goes, which we got in OST track 17 Giants Netted from 0:52-end (with edits). The film didn't use it, instead using: 6M57 Rev A Place Where No One Goes, heavily edited in the final cut

Got this yesterday too. I'd say the sonic upgrade is pretty comparable to the one we got with Superman going from the FSM to the LLL set. In both cases, the FSM was very good, definitely better than what we had before and yet the LLL versions are warmer. I think this may say just as much about Mike Matessino's current mastering preferences as it does about the improved source elements. Still, the finished result sounds great and the added compression let's me hear more detail while listening the car, etc. Very glad to finally and legitimately own the narration-free Epilogue. Now I just have to sell the FSM version.

I've read the word Jihad is also used in the film. The book did use both "crusade" and "jihad", although the latter was more frequent

On this release the score is starting so much softer and subtler. Makes me really appreciate it for the first time. The OST had this typical on-the-nose entry with "Among the Clouds" and "Follow Me". I'm also staggered about the fact, how different "Follow Me (alternate)" sounds. I'd even argue that it integrates better into the rest of the score than the original version. I'll probably have them in my main program playing back to back. Oh, and some of the cues give me Last Crusade vibes. Has something to do with the flutes, I think.

I think there’s more to this film. I refuse to believe that Dr Strange would just mess with time to do a favour for a mate.

It's time for another "What Goldsmith do you want expanded next by Varese"-thread. But only after the next batch.

Goldsmith is more popular than that!

Nah he said work starts soon and it's coming early next year.

Maybe I will, but if I do, it's because I actually came around, and not because 99% of the masses think so. That's how the biggest problems of the world always starts... blindly following the masses... That said, I don't have that strong an opinion on this topic anyway (like, "I need them to be limited!"). I think I'd just as be content if these editions weren't limited at all - I'd get them, either way, of course, most of us would. I just wanted to kick off an interesting discussion is all.

What? You think we have a God-given right to own something like music, books, cars etc.? Nobody does. It's just a question of supply and demand. Basic economics. If a limited edition of a car is sold out, would I claim I have the right to own it and go stealing it somewhere? It's an extreme example, but it proves the same point.

As far as I'm concerned, this album is a must have.

"We've loved these people since the day we've arrived" I've noticed that movies where the superheroes are from another world usually revolve around the hero-aliens having a big soft spot for humans and feeling the imperative to protect humanity. I mean, are the beings in the worlds these guys come from really so bad that humanity looks that good by comparison? Because frankly I'm not seeing the appeal.

"That which John Williams does well, and what many others attempt to do."

Lol "callous disregard" GTFO

I can appreciate both approaches to a story but this is one moment where I hope Paul is painted in darker shades of grey. It's one of my favorite things about the novel Dune and I would be disappointed if they simplified Paul into being a hero or tragic hero. I don't think he is an anti-hero either. Paul is a unique take. It would get into spoiler territory to explain properly.