batmanand

Solid A on album - it is my favourite score of the year. Have yet to see film.

Here in the UK, Gerald Finsay and (probably more than anyone) Karl Jenkins get a lot of classical airtime.

Agreed. Me too. The hypotheticals are all very well, but Ottman's score is outstanding. I am happy to say it is the second best of the series.

POTC. There are certain points in the film where I physically cringe, unable to watch the film as the music is so offensive.

That would be 1992. Pre-SL, JP, TLW, AI, TPM etc.

Whilst AI is, indeed, wonderfully rich and beautiful, it is not the most thematically complex score of JW's career. That honour falls, depending on how one defines a "theme" to either one of the Star Wars films (maybe ROTJ), one of the Harry Potters or Hook.

Hook

If we are including video games, all the Myst games (Mysts I and II for their synthesised creepiness, Mysts III, IV and V for their outstanding orchestral cues) are definitely worth a listen. I would go so far as to say that Gehn's theme (Myst II) and the End Credits from Myst III are among the best game music ever.

Also, Princess Leia's theme (or is it just notes that sound like her theme?) in The Battle of Hoth.

And use Audacity to do it - it is free, awesome and never crashes or craps up on you. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

The Rhino Superman: the Superman Theme, IMO, is actually better than the original.

Smoke and mirrors

The LSO is the best orchestra in the world, and that includes when playing Williams.

Siegfried. The titles are all from Wagner's ring cycle. The originals are: Das Rheingold Die Walküre Siegfried Götterdämmerung The puns are as above.

If we are talking ever, probably something like Beethoven's Fifth takes it. In terms of film music, I would go for the Force Theme.

I would make it a condition of my contract that JW scored the film. Simple as that.

Is this CD out yet? Or is it coming out? If so, when?

Stargate - Arnold

Jupiter > Mars.

Jaws, definitely. The definitive film scoring assignment of all time. Raiders, obviously. Star Wars, obviously (although Star Trek is good, Star Wars is better) Harry Potter, if only for Hedwig's theme and Harry's Wondrous World JP CEot3K

Williams, by a moderate margin. Williams has defined film music, pretty much constantly, for 30 years. I can think of only a very few years (1995 comes to mind, as does 1997) when he has not been THE Hollywood composer. The fact is that, ask a randomer on the street to hum a theme from a film, I can guarentee the following six are the most likely to be heard: 1. James Bond (at least in the UK, where I live) 2. Star Wars 3. Jaws 4. ET 5. Jurassic Park 6. Indiana Jones I make that 5/6 for Williams. Goldsmith gets a big, fat zero. Now, don't get me wrong: Jerry was immensely talented. But, with the exception of ST:TMP, he never really defined a film with its score in the way that at least a dozen Williams scores do. And Star Trek is simply less good than ANH (and much worse than ESB). Goldsmith's talent was in providing new and innovative sounds to all his films, and in his immense versitility. Williams' genius is to make a score that is so central to the film that no-one cannot be affected by it. Williams is also just awesome at making a) the big moments sounds amazing and B) writing themes that stay with you for a long time. Overall, in terms of music talent, I would say Williams just edges it (his unique neo-Romantic sound, heard perfectly in Hook, for example, is a remarkable chapter in modern music). In terms of who is better, I would say Williams. As a film scorer, he provides music that is more memorable, more accessible and almost always of a remarkably high standard, for the casual listener and the film score fanboys alike.

By that logic, the March from 1941 is vastly better than, say, the Trade Federation March.

The music for the Myst games has now got to an excellent level. Myst III and IV both have some really good cues in them. I particualrly like the ending music to Myst III.

JW's best output has been '74-'84, and '89-'93.

The LSO are, as always, awesome. In concert, they played the Superman march perfectly in time. It was the second time that day they had played it, having rehearsed it literally once.