Sandor

This lengthy article sees Williams' The Fabelmans score as a 'potential frontrunner', but not as a frontrunner, although it adds: Note: Only films that the author has seen will be named frontrunners at this time. Perhaps the writer simply didn't see The Fabelmans yet. It also states the score has been confirmed eligible. https://www.indiewire.com/feature/2023-oscars-best-original-score-predictions-1234766585/

I would say the melody completes itself between 20 to 30 seconds, which is about the average length of a John Williams theme. Of course, this says nothing about the quality of a melody or theme. In fact; I think John Williams excels at short and long-lined themes.

I've been trying to determine the lengthiest themes Williams has written and I think I have narrowed it down to the 'Top 5'. Two notes: 1. I look at the time it takes for a theme to reach completion on the original soundtrack recording. I am not counting the 'number of notes', which would form a completely different criteria to determine 'long lined melodies'; 2. With some themes -With Malice Toward None and the Love Theme from The Patriot especially- I took some liberty in determining whether all the melodic content involved is part of a single theme. I can imagine some will state that the themes in question end earlier and that I mistakenly included a B-section. However; I find that these melodies are truly resolved at the end points I indicated below. 1. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE (LINCOLN) Theme starts: 00:00 - Theme ends: 01:46 | TOTAL TIME: 01:46 minutes 2. LOVE THEME (THE PATRIOT) Theme starts: 00:05 - Theme ends: 01:45 | TOTAL TIME: 01:40 minutes 3. HYMN TO THE FALLEN (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) Theme starts: 00:24 - Theme ends: 01:32 | TOTAL TIME: 01:08 minutes 4. THEME (JFK) Theme starts: 00:00 - Theme ends: 01:01 | TOTAL TIME: 01:01 minutes 5. GROWING UP (THE RIVER) Theme starts: 00:29 - Theme ends: 01:21 | TOTAL TIME: 00:52 seconds

I think this made a lasting impression though.

😉

And more buzz from Variety: https://variety.com/2022/artisans/awards/roger-deakins-john-williams-ruth-carter-artisans-oscars-race-2024-1235381707/amp/

I think he was generally unhappy the production of Harry Potter was so ‘Hollywoodized’ and John Williams -in his eyes the most famous and noteworthy person working on the film- being the example to get his point across. It’s actually a compliment when you think about it. 😉

So there are people (myself included) who would be happy to see Williams win another Academy Award. Who cares? There are almost 8 billion (!) people on this planet my friend, all with different ambitions, opinions, goals, viewpoints and dreams. If you're going to comment on every line of thinking that deviates from your own, you're going to find yourself a very busy man.

https://variety.com/feature/2023-oscars-best-original-score-predictions-1235381044/

I think there is not a singular final statement. Williams probably receives more acclaim now, than at any other point in his career. The concerts in Vienna, Berlin and Milan, his collaboration with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the fact that he's still scoring films at 90 (!) years of age, including an Indiana Jones film, are such wonderful moments to witness. I think Williams 'final statement' is that during the last phase of his career, he was regarded as 'a great composer', not just a 'film music composer' and his music and presence was heralded in the epicentres of classical music.

Yes, it is repetitive from a melodic viewpoint -much like Ravel's Bolero-, but the arrangement and orchestrations keep the piece interesting and fresh throughout. I find it a haunting and hypnotic composition, a definite highlight in the maestro's final years.

This was composed specifically for the film and it is in my opinion one of the best things ever written for film.

If there is one thing I've learned over the years, is that the Best Original Score winner is almost always linked to a film that has a certain momentum to it. Brokeback Mountain had a sparse and minimalistic score, but the film was much better received than Memoirs Of A Geisha. Had Memoirs fared better with critics at the time, I could have seen Williams winning the Oscar that year. The same goes for The Hateful Eight by Ennio Morricone. The amount of music he wrote for that film was very limited, especially compared to The Force Awakens. Morricone's music supporting the main title sequence was instantly memorable though -there was no way around it- and Tarantino's film was well received. Had Morricone written the same score for a less prominent film, I doubt it would even be nominated as many great scores by the Italian master were ignored in the past. With The Hateful Eight, everything fell into place. I could see this happening with The Fabelmans as well, no matter how small or insignificant the actual score is. Williams winning the award at 90 years old could be a strategic choice by the Academy. It will make positive headlines and it's exactly the kind of exposure the institute needs after the infamous 'Oscar slap' last year. Call me naive or whatever, but regardless of the quality or quantity of the score, I think The Fabelmans has a fair chance of winning for Best Original Score next year if the momentum around the films keeps strong and building.

‘And John Williams’s musical score is absolutely incredible, even if it is largely just piano themes. The piano works so well with the story as Mitzi Fabelman is a piano player, with each theme Williams composed perfectly capturing the emotion of every scene of the film.’ https://www.moviescenecanada.com/fabelmanstiffreview ‘[…] John Williams‘ gently nostalgic score.’ https://theplaylist.net/the-fabelmans-review-steven-spielberg-bares-his-soul-in-his-most-personal-film-tiff-20220911/

‘The musical score by John Williams, albeit less memorable when compared to his past iconic collaborations with Spielberg, still captivates and is a gorgeous supporting facet throughout The Fabelmans.’ https://discussingfilm.net/2022/09/12/the-fabelmans-review-an-endearing-tale-for-the-ages/