John Crichton

I've made several DVD-ripped score CDs myself. Every one has SFX in parts, and one has dialogue echo, but I can put up with it in order to have the music. I can understand those that wouldn't, though.

The sources are earlier in this thread. Ricard posted them on the FSM board.

Yes, same here. I don't like the source music-like finales of Jedi or TPM. At least TPM has the extra creepiness factor of the kids singing the Emperor's Theme, wonderful foreshadowing there. But Jedi, especially the new SE ending, deserves a classic Williams full orchestral blowout. I doubt if it will happen though. In fact I'd be very shocked if all the rumored new scoring is not hack and track (my new "official term" for these things ) like the Battle of Geonosis. Of course my ultimate wish the last couple of years is that JW will record some proper new music for that sequence, which is also highly unlikely.

A difference? Yes. It's a different style. There is less action and more mystery/political intrigue/romance. And of course modern technology, the "evil" CG. Is it necessarily worse? No. I love seeing the backstory, how things in the OT came to be.

Speaking as a fan of the whole Star Wars Saga (a rare breed here) I LOVE this title. For a long time my first choice was Rise of the Empire, but the more I think about it the more I like this one. The Sith are the ones that control the Empire after it's formed, and on their way to power they exact their revenge on the Jedi. And it's a damn sight better than The Creeping Fear. Kudos to those on one of the other SW threads who predicted this by looking at the structure of Lucas' previous SW titles.

If it's all hacked and tracked, no. If it's new compositions, absolutely! As K.M. and others have said, we have the original complete scores thanks to Mike Matessino and the SEs and nothing can take that away from us. If JW composes new music for the OTs we should get it all.

And ditto on Blackadder. She is so good in that series. So tell us, O wise seer, who's gonna play Umbridge?

Not sure if this thread is the right place for this anymore, but for those who still care: Miranda Richardson has been cast to play Rita Skeeter in GoF. She's been in several US movies, including Sleepy Hollow (along with Michael Gambon) and The Hours. She was also a regular on the legendary British comedy Blackadder. I would normally be excited about this. Richardson is a wonderful actress, and it's good to know that Rita Skeeter will be in the film. But I'm still pretty numb about GoF right now.

That's my position. The franchise needs a nice, long rest. I wouldn't mind a DS9 film, but only if they can write a story worthy of the series, which isn't too likely right now. I'm perfectly happy with the continuation of the story in the books.

What is the source of these pics? Naboo in the celebration at the end of Jedi? Makes perfect sense to me, a tie in to the prequels. Anakin spirit change? Not big on that, but I can understand why it's being done. I don't recognize the last pic. It looks like Coruscant but I'm not sure. Obviously also from the end of Jedi celebration.

Actually, I think quite a few people would stand up and take notice to a Hedwig's Theme-less opening if it happens. It would almost be like having Star Wars without the traditional Main Title. But I agree that not many would notice any changes in the rest of the score. And if Newell mixes the music as low as it was in CoS, no one will notice any music period. As I've said before, I really don't care who ends up getting the job, as long as there is an effort to preserve musical continuity. But I am still holding out a thread of hope that all this will change, there is still plenty of time.

The early books are most influened by the movies for me. As I said before Richard Harris is my Dumbledore, and I always picture The Trio from the films too (but I add my own touch as Rupert Grint is much taller per JKR's description. ) Characters like Snape, McGonnagal, Hagrid, Fudge, and Lucious Malfoy also come from the movies. I have my own Lupin and Sirius, though. Sirius has a little Oldman, but Lupin is nothing like he is in the movie. The Weasleys: Molly, the twins, and Percy from the film, but Arthur is more my own than the film actor. For the later books, I have characters like Moody, Crouch, and Umbride so firmly entrenched in my head that I don't think the film ones will have an effect.

Actually the "Flying Theme" was meant to refer to the second theme of the Nimbus 2000 theme. It appears in Mr. Longbottom flies and in Hedwig's Theme. For example in Hedwig's Theme: - Nimbus 2000 theme from 1:35-2:46 - Flying Theme from 2:47-3:12 and 3:25-3:46 Those are A and B sections of the same theme, at least I've always thought so. And on the subject of Voldemort's Themes, they definately do have similarities. Much moreso than the main and secondary themes for Capt. Hook, for example, as they have the same purpose. They are different enough to me to call them two seperate, but related, themes.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Not much I can say that hasn't already been said. I knew he was sick, but this is a true shock. I'm stunned and very sad. Star Trek: TMP has always and probably always will be my favorite non-Williams score ever. His brilliance will live on forever. Marian, nice new avatar my friend. Let us celebrate his life as we mourn his passing. John

I saw PoA again today. Since it's been awile since it came out, my perspective was a little different. Some random thoughts: I was always a critic of Gambon as Dumbledore. But after this viewing (my 3rd) his performace really grew on me. He does have the comic/quirky side down a bit better than Harris, or at least he used it more. I'm now looking forward to seeing him in the future movies, but when I read the books Harris will always be my Dumbledore. The story omissions still bug the hell out of me. I still like Columbus' direction better than Cuaron's. The main improvement over the first two films is the performances by The Trio. They have grown into their roles and become their characters, and I think this would have happened no matter who directed the film. They are so much fun to watch! It'll be a shame if any of them leave before the series is done. I love the score, but not as much as SS (but more than CoS). The underscore is superb, but I like SS's thematic structure better. I have to admit my favorite moment of the whole score is the statement of the Flying Theme at the end. Discuss. Or ignore. Your choice. 8O

I don't insist on calling it a Slytherin theme, but I yet have to counter your argument: It's also used in the zoo sequence, and noone is flying there. I was referring to your comment about the Flying theme maybe being related to the Gryffindor theme because of its appearance in Quiddich scenes. Whereas its obvious its used in Quiddich scenes 'cause they're flying. That's all. 8O And I think few JW themes have been used so diversely as the Flying theme. He really took advatage of its adaptability. Its comic statements in Cakes for Crabbe and Goyle and Polyjuice Poition are two of my favorite uses of it. And I'm with most everyone here, I was disappointed in the lack of Harry's Theme and Volemort's Themes in PoA. But Voldemort has no role, so that makes sense. And since the story is so concerned with Harry's past and parents, the replacement of Harry's Theme with the Past Theme makes sense. I was hoping for a reappearance of Harry's Theme in GoF, and the return of Voldemort's Themes was inevitable given the story. Until a few days ago, anyway...

Some random thoughts on what I've read in here: The You-Know-Who theme appears on the CD, in The Face of Voldemort. First when Voldemort speaks through the turban (before we see his face), and again right after Quirrel's body is destroyed. It also appears in the Ollivander's cue, during his "Terrible but great" speil, and when Hagrid says that he thinks Voldemort is still out there somewhere. The use of the Flying Theme in Quiddich is 'cause they're flying, Marian. I really don't see the entry to the Greal Hall cue in SS as thematic, as a theme for Hogwarts. It's just a one-off cue. In the same way that the fanfare in PoA is just a one-off. Now here's one. Thinking about the Quiddich fanfare and the Gryffindor theme, they seem to be related to me. The first few notes in particular sound like there could be a resemblance there. But this could just be crazy talk. John- who can't talk about music theory to save his life, but LOVES a discussion of themes in JW's scores.

Superman. Does anyone have to even think about this?

No problems here. Yes, it was laid to rest but there is so much reused stuff in CoS I can't help but call it half a score. I really want to get into the thematic debate, but I have family over and just can't right now. Hopefully later. Oh, and I'm voting for the Flying Theme. A few months ago I would have voted for Harry's Theme, but the Flying Theme has really grown on me. After seeing PoA for the first time all I could think of was the awesome statement of it at the end of the film.

Nimbus 2000,Flying Theme, same thing. I was just using the name most people use for it. Yes, I know the Quiddich Fanfare appears in the concert piece. And I've always considered Harry's Theme and what people call the Friends Theme or Family Theme the same thing. Again, I was just using the name most people here use. Again the theme is most often referred to here as Hogwarts Forever, if some want to call it the Gryffindor Theme that's fine. I was referring to the choral piece. This is adressed in an above post. I think this is more of a case of reused music from SS than thematic material. I haven't heard it, but I'm not as familar with it as you are. Oops. If you want to make your own poll go for it, and Neil can delete this one.

I'm glad this is a good going away and not another "I'm bailing out" post. Have fun! And get pictures of any battle droid remains you might stumble across.

And The Phantom Meanace.

Crap, too late now. The only one of those I'd consider a real theme is The Spiders. I guess Moaning Myrtle would qualify as a recurring motif. Oh well. But I can't see either of them getting votes with all the other coices we have. If anyone wanted to vote for one of those two, just post it and either don't vote or vote for your second choice.

OK, we're all bummed out by the news that came out a few days ago. So, now is a good time to celebrate what we do have: 3 (well 2 1/2) superb John Williams scores. So tell us, What is your favorite theme from the Harry Potter scores?