[Grade Superman Returns by John Ottman]

Solid A on album - it is my favourite score of the year.

Have yet to see film.

[Who do the classical community rate...]

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

[Which composer would you have liked for Superman]

I like the score we have.

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.

[Great films you wish had better music]

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

[Is it just me or is there a dry spell of outstanding scores?]

Great film music died about 14 years ago.

That would be 1992.

Pre-SL, JP, TLW, AI, TPM etc.

[JW's score with the most rich themes...]

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.

[If you could only pick one Williams score to get a complete-]

Hook

[The Best Scores No One's Ever Heard]

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.

[Hidden themes]

Another is Princess Leia's theme appearing in a couple pieces:

1) the concert version of "Han Solo and the Princess"

2) measures 5 and 6 of the flute intro to "Luke and Leia" features a modified statement of Leia's theme that is rhythmically the same, but the notes are slightly different.

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

[Burning a CD with no gaps between the tracks?]

And use Audacity to do it - it is free, awesome and never crashes or craps up on you.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

[Re-recordings That You Just Love]

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

[How Does John Williams do it??]

Smoke and mirrors

[Preferable Williams renditions: LSO or BPO?]

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

[who pioneered that "epic" choir sound in film scor]

What does Kidfried refer to? The other cue you mean is Die Brünette Walküre.

Siegfried.

The titles are all from Wagner's ring cycle. The originals are:

Das Rheingold

Die Walküre

Siegfried

Götterdämmerung

The puns are as above.

[The Single Greatest Melody/Theme/Motif Ever]

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.

[If the studio hired James Horner to score YOUR movie...]

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

[Stargate: The Deluxe Edition]

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

[Fav. non Williams/Goldsmith main title]

Stargate - Arnold

[Favorite movement from The Planets]

Jupiter > Mars.

[Sequels]

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

[Advanced Poll Williams vs Goldsmith]

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.

[Which is better?]

Love Theme from Superman The Movie was composed by 1970's Williams.

Across The Stars by 21th Century Williams.

So obviously the Superman track is far superiour.

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

[The rising credibility of orchestral videogame music.]

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.

[William's Best Decade]

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

[Best/tightest orchestral musicianship in a JW soundtrack]

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.