Omen II

Mark Snow, ‘X-Files,’ ‘Ghost Whisperer,’ ‘Blue Bloods’ Composer, Dies at 78
 
Ill be playing X-Files: Fight The Future. Which is a terrific 90's score.

RIP
 
https://variety.com/2025/music/news/lalo-schifrin-dead-mission-impossible-film-composer-1236442000/

In last month's Empire Magazine (I'm a bit behind on reading) there was a large feature about Jaws' 50th anniversary. They highlight different parts of the production while interviewing different people. They alsp added a small piece on the score, where Hans Zimmer gives some of his thoughts.
 
Thought I might share, should any of you want to read, it's quite nice I think.
 

It wasn't a rant, it was a call to arms!  For Norwich City fans, it must have been like listening to Henry V's St. Crispin's Day speech.
 

The program for this concert! There was a time when the Maestro would’ve been the one conducting this. But still, should be a wonderful celebration!
 

One of the highlights of the annual BBC Proms season is often the concert given by the young musicians of the National Youth Orchestra.  This year they are playing a suite from John Williams's Star Wars, alongside Gustav Holst's monumental The Planets.  I believe that this concert will also be screened on BBC television.  Dalia Stasevska conducts.
 
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2025/the-planets-and-star-wars
 
Tickets go on sale on Saturday 17th May.  There is also what looks like a smashing concert of Bernard Herrmann's music later in the season, in what is the fiftieth anniversary of his passing.

One of the highlights of the annual BBC Proms season is often the concert given by the young musicians of the National Youth Orchestra.  This year they are playing a suite from John Williams's Star Wars, alongside Gustav Holst's monumental The Planets.  I believe that this concert will also be screened on BBC television.  Dalia Stasevska conducts.
 
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2025/the-planets-and-star-wars
 
Tickets go on sale on Saturday 17th May.  There is also what looks like a smashing concert of Bernard Herrmann's music later in the season, in what is the fiftieth anniversary of his passing.

One of the highlights of the annual BBC Proms season is often the concert given by the young musicians of the National Youth Orchestra.  This year they are playing a suite from John Williams's Star Wars, alongside Gustav Holst's monumental The Planets.  I believe that this concert will also be screened on BBC television.  Dalia Stasevska conducts.
 
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2025/the-planets-and-star-wars
 
Tickets go on sale on Saturday 17th May.  There is also what looks like a smashing concert of Bernard Herrmann's music later in the season, in what is the fiftieth anniversary of his passing.

One of the highlights of the annual BBC Proms season is often the concert given by the young musicians of the National Youth Orchestra.  This year they are playing a suite from John Williams's Star Wars, alongside Gustav Holst's monumental The Planets.  I believe that this concert will also be screened on BBC television.  Dalia Stasevska conducts.
 
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2025/the-planets-and-star-wars
 
Tickets go on sale on Saturday 17th May.  There is also what looks like a smashing concert of Bernard Herrmann's music later in the season, in what is the fiftieth anniversary of his passing.

One of the highlights of the annual BBC Proms season is often the concert given by the young musicians of the National Youth Orchestra.  This year they are playing a suite from John Williams's Star Wars, alongside Gustav Holst's monumental The Planets.  I believe that this concert will also be screened on BBC television.  Dalia Stasevska conducts.
 
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2025/the-planets-and-star-wars
 
Tickets go on sale on Saturday 17th May.  There is also what looks like a smashing concert of Bernard Herrmann's music later in the season, in what is the fiftieth anniversary of his passing.

The London Symphony Orchestra announced its 2025/26 season today.  They will give two concerts of Golden Age film music across two nights in December, Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th at the Barbican.  Although the programme is yet to be announced, it sounds like it should be swell!  I saw an LSO concert last year which included the suite from David Raksin's The Bad and the Beautiful which was fantastic, so I am hoping for more of the same.
 
https://www.lso.co.uk/whats-on/the-golden-age-of-hollywood-17-dec/
 
There is also another LSO film music concert in June 2026 which will include music by John Williams and others.

The London Symphony Orchestra announced its 2025/26 season today.  They will give two concerts of Golden Age film music across two nights in December, Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th at the Barbican.  Although the programme is yet to be announced, it sounds like it should be swell!  I saw an LSO concert last year which included the suite from David Raksin's The Bad and the Beautiful which was fantastic, so I am hoping for more of the same.
 
https://www.lso.co.uk/whats-on/the-golden-age-of-hollywood-17-dec/
 
There is also another LSO film music concert in June 2026 which will include music by John Williams and others.

https://lalalandrecords.com/reivers-the-remastered-expanded-limited-edition-2cd-set/
 

 
REIVERS, THE: REMASTERED & EXPANDED LIMITED EDITION (2CD Set)
$31.98
LLLCD 1659
Music Composed and Conducted by John Williams
Limited edition of 2000 units
 
La-La Land Records, Sony Music and Columbia Masterworks proudly present a remastered and expanded 2-CD release of renowned composer John Williams’ original motion picture score to the 1969 feature film period drama THE REIVERS, based upon the novel by William Faulkner and starring Steve McQueen, Mitch Vogel and Sharon Farrell, and directed by Mark Rydell.
 
The treasured collaborative relationship between Maestro John Williams (JAWS, E.T., SCHINDLER’S LIST) and filmmaker Steven Spielberg had its roots in the director’s admiration for Williams’ brilliant score to this nostalgic 1969 drama, in which Faulkner chronicles the arrival of the automobile in the American south at the dawn of the 20th century. This new remastered and expanded 2-CD reissue, featuring the full score presentation for the first time, is an Americana wonder – beautiful, dramatic, heartfelt – an ideal match for Faulkner’s blend of playful humor and vividly drawn prose, conjuring the warm glow of an “endless summer” as experienced by a child on the cusp of adolescence. Williams expertly augments orchestra with guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, mouth harp and honky-tonk piano, and his traditional orchestral cues are interwoven with passages rooted in old-time music and early jazz.
 
Produced, edited and mastered by Grammy nominee Mike Matessino, this deluxe, expanded 2-CD presentation was remixed and remastered from Sony Music’s original 3-track elements and approved by the composer. Disc 1 showcases the score presentation and additional music, including a medley of Stephen Foster tack player piano tunes and several alternates, (some of which have only survived as mono recordings provided by the CBS Archives at UCLA), while Disc 2 presents the original soundtrack assembly, with its unique performances and edits. Williams’ concert suite for THE REIVERS, as recorded for the 1994 Boston Pops album “Music for Stage and Screen,” concludes the presentation. Here the composer revisits and expands upon his 1969 score, which features the film’s original narrator, Burgess Meredith.
 
The exclusive, in-depth liner are by writer John Takis and the sharp art direction is by Jim Titus.
 
This CD Release is limited to 2000 units.
 
TRACK LISTING:
 
DISC 1 • SCORE PRESENTATION • 52:55
1. Logo And Main Title (The Reivers) 3:53
2. The Winton Flyer 1:46
3. First Instruction 1:21
4. Ned Tries It Out 1:54
5. Family Funeral / Lucius’ First Drive (Film Version) 2:39
6. A Tall Tale / To Memphis / That Ole Mud Hole 1:48
7. The Road To Memphis (Film Version) 1:44
8. Memphis (Film Version) 1:32
9. Corrie’s Entrance / The Picture (Extended Version) 2:56
10. Lucius And Corrie 1:37
11. The Bad News :35
12. Ned’s Trade (Extended Version) 2:49
13. The Sheriff Departs 2:34
14. Ned’s Secret / The People Protest 2:08
15. Prayers At Bedtime (Extended Version) 2:42
16. Lucius Runs To Corrie 2:11
17. The Prize 1:33
18. Moment Of Glory 1:35
19. Back Home 1:35
20. Boss’s Collar 1:15
21. Camptown Races And End Credits† 1:14
Total Score Time: 41:51
 
ADDITIONAL MUSIC
22. Stephen Foster Medley‡ 4:06
23. The Winton Flyer (Film Version) 1:47
24. Family Funeral 1:04
25. The Road To Memphis (Alternate) 1:38
26. Boss’s Collar (Alternate) 1:04
27. Camptown Races And End Credits (Alternate) † 1:14
Total Additional Music: 11:10
 
DISC 2 • 49:07
REMASTERED ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
1. Main Title / First Instruction / The Winton Flyer 5:11
2. Family Funeral / Lucius’ First Drive 2:31
3. The Road To Memphis 1:44
4. Corrie’s Entrance / The Picture 2:12
5. The Sheriff Departs / The Bad News / Ned’s Secret 3:34
6. Memphis 1:23
7. Ned’s Trade 2:05
8. The People Protest 1:07
9. Prayers At Bedtime 2:28
10. Lucius Runs To Corrie / Back Home 3:33
11. Finale† 4:12
Total Soundtrack Album Time: 30:20
 
ADDITIONAL MUSIC
12. The Reivers (Concert Suite) 18:43
 
† Includes “Camptown Races” composed by Stephen Foster (P.D.)
‡ Contains “Oh! Susanna,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” “Massa’s In De Cold Ground” (P.D.)
 
This is a CD format release
 

Really! Wow!
I love Gene Hackman movies. He was such a gifted actor...

Breaking news: Gene Hackman and his wife have both been found dead at their house:
 
https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-and-wife-betsy-found-dead-in-new-mexico-home-police/
 
Yes, I know he was old, but that sounds absolutely terrible, like an accident or something, even though the police rules out any foul play. Both at the same time? His wife was only 63.

Here's my CD, bought in the late 90s, I believe. I could have removed the sticker, but I always found the John Barry error rather amusing, so I kept it on!
 
 

Wow, many great conductors mentioned here. I saw Stéphane Denève conduct a Williams concert a year or two ago and he was fantastic. 
 
However, I'm afraid none can top the great C-3P0. 
 
 
 

I don’t know if it was recorded.  All I have is a couple of photos, so you’ll probably just have to take my word for it.
 

You can try to check out this fine recording with Ben conducting:
https://www.amazon.es/-/pt/dp/B07WLBQQGK/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.h6ivnWH5ayw1n9A6WHdienCJPdAMmy49kpzpz0rWBkI.KTDnYuEAD9zt67Yh7piUsVa9C0Gt2jq2KOXTuR3m9OM&dib_tag=se&qid=1739827684&refinements=p_32%3ADeutsche+Philharmonie+Merck&s=music&sr=1-1

For once I'm going to defend the OP. I have a certain pedantry towards cues vs tracks as well, but I think in this case it's pretty clear what's meant - the stretch of music covering a given scene or section of the film, and the usual pedantry with terminology really isn't adding anything to the actual discussion.
 
The Quidditch Match has always been my firm favourite for classic JW complex action pieces. Although complex isn't always better... the overall impact of the cue/track (whatever...) is more important than how difficult it is to play.

I'm sure this has already been posted somewhere, but Williams' son Mark has an Instagram account where he keeps posting old pictures. There are also some of John, both at work and in private.
 
https://www.instagram.com/marktownerwilliams/
 
My favorite is this one, hahaha, what a perfect representation of family life:
Scotland 1970
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lyricist Paul Williams, Director Mark Rydel and Dad listening to Toots Thielemans playing jazz guitar and whistling. The picture was Cinderella Liberty
 
John and Esther, Dad and Babs, Melville and Lurene, Jen and MT. My guess is 1960.
 
1932, 1958 and 1990.
 
I was just thinking about mom and dad. My father's the sweetest person I’ve ever met. Hopefully, I get some of that from him. My mother was a kind and compassionate woman. She had a way with people that was, how shall I say it? Charismatic and magical! She could break the ice with anyone. Hopefully, I get some of that from her.
 
1961. Joey was always a little trouble maker.
 
1958
 
Dad at Amblin 1989.
 
Uncle Don
 
92nd birthday celebration
 

Tempest in a teacup, guys. And it's a little much to create a new thread demanding that someone defend their opinion.