charlesk

Morn, you can disable the licensing crap (it IS crap, really. Another idea that didn't work, remember the "Internet Explorer Channels"?). In fact, the setting now comes disabled by default (Tools-Options-Copy Music Tab). I do like better some of the winamp visualizations and the plugin to prevent the gap between track (which I need to listen continuously my wmas of the 2CD set of Episode 1, among others).

In sitcoms I did love 3rd Rock from the Sun. Next was Newsradio. Somehow I never cared much for Friends, Seinfeld or Frasier. In animation, these are theoretically SITuation COMedieS that I love: South Park, Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons. From the oldies: I love Lucy, Bewitched, Taxi, Dick Van Dicke. Lost in Space was maybe a sitcom thanks to Dr. Smith and the Robot LOL (man, I loved their fights) These are plain comedy shows that I always have in my digital recorder: Whose line is it anyway, SNL, Mistery Science Theater 3000, and every rerun of Robin Williams in "Inside the Actor's Studio" <- another genius 'Williams'.

I find that the wma format from Windows Media Player is much better than mp3, especially for orchestral music. In pop or jazz the difference is less noticeable. But with classical or film music, the strings and silences produce more distortion in mp3 than in wma (at same compression rates). I also listen my wma in a small and rather scratched Compaq PA-1 personal player, which I use at the gym (yes, film soundtrack heroic music and action cues are perfect for training). I don't use the PA-1 for riding the bycicle since I fell rather dangerously while I was riding at a high speed, emotionally fueled by the powerful "Ladder Fight" from Arnold's "The Musketeer". I'm just happy I wasn't listening "Duel of Fates"... I wouldn't be alive to tell.

I saw The Omen and the Exorcist closer to the times there were released (Yeah, I'm more than 30). At that time at least, the issues of the Anti-christ and the 666, as well as demonic possesions where REALLY scary. Funny? Well, today people is scared about witches and ghosts of a little girl coming out a TV set, and crop circles. I'm just scared of George W. Bush being re-elected for second run. I suppose Gone with the Wind did impacted some at the time it was released. I never appretiated Casablanca until we analyzed it in a scriptwritting seminar. Or Citizen Kane, until I rented the DVD and saw it with the commentaries. It's a matter of tastes and circumpstances when you saw the movie. I never liked "Dances with Wolves" for instance. Or "Titanic". Or "Gladiator". I guess I'll settle with "Titanic", which I still don't understand how can it appear No.1 in imdb.com top grossing movies of all time.

I found SW soundtrack mysteriosly listed as punk, in Amazon, appearing No. 38 click here? or here http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/brows...1547813-4701552? Anybody explain this!!!

I would suggest to the Admin to disable 'guest' postings in these forums. i suspect some members are using the anonymity to post ugly remarks. Charlesk - who suspects who is the one that's always psychoanalyzing others.

From encarta.msn.com Arrogance contemptuous pride: a strong feeling of proud self-importance that is expressed by treating other people with contempt or disregard Humble respectful: feeling or showing respect and deference toward other people From what I've seen, John Williams is humble.

Do you know me AI? Do you know how important is music for me? Please, refrain from refuting what you can't possibly know. That post was completely unnecessary, and I feel sorry to have to respond with this one.

Ted, I was moved by your emotional post. Never feel diminished by not having musical education. Scholars and critics may deconstruct music, analyze it ad nauseum and put fancy names to every new original technique. So they say "this is classical, this is baroque, this is dodecaphonic, this is neo classical, this is modernist" and bla bla bla. Artists just use their skills and talent to compose from their hearts, to other people's hearts. If you have a sensitive heart, that's all it takes. Studying music is just useful for a more intellectual and deeper understanding of it, but the emotional understanding is still a matter of the heart. If you like music and it is so important for you, I recommend you to continue exploring it, listening, reading about the composers and their works, there is SO much music out there... a lifetime of wonders to discover. CharlesK - who also own his love for music to Williams.

Yes, it did came crappy. And I also posted it as guest. D^MN!

That decision was appropriate(i hope I don't have to explain why).Changing the word "terrorist" to "hippie" was just overt political correctness. K.M. I don't agree with the PC crap in ET. He removed the word "terrorist" but when the children heard from Elliot that "something was in the back yard" all these kids in puberty took KNIVES from the kitchen in front of the mother who didn't do a thing. Today that's also politically incorrect. And the whole issue of a kid hidding an unknown creature in his closet and not telling his mother. And a creature that "controls" a kid's mind and makes him sick, and drinks beer and is messy as hell that throws food in the floor and destroys appliances, and makes the kids steal and destroy government property... the whole movie is politically incorrect in the ridiculously absurd "politically correct" times we are living in. What not just ban the movie? E.T. is a masterpiece that marked an era, it's a historical document that has to be viewed under the perspective of the times in which was created, and not with the sick obtuse parameters of current day paranoia. If we keep in this path, one day political correctness will be so strong that all movies will look like a chapter of Barney, the purple dinosaur.

I voted for Duel of Fates, because it was something unpredictable and new for Williams style by using choral music in an action sequence, and so efectively

Well, I'm not saying that all movies have to have deep character development. In Indiana Jones movies there is little change in the character (that's what they're trying to improve in the hypothetical Indy4), as well as James Bond. In these cases, it's convenient to have a charismatic actor, so the character does not look so dull. That's the case with Harrison Ford and from the Bonds, Sean Connery. I don't think Daniel Radcliffe is charismatic, and I don't think Haley would do any difference either (Haley should do a bad kid to "purge" himself for the little victim's image he's got). I haven't read the book, but it seems to me that the movie resolves in Harry internally, by overcoming his own fears and acknowleging the love for his parents. In this case, in order for a person who haven't read the book to understand the significance of this quamtum leap, we should have been shown more of this internal drama. Then when he overcame his enemy by this internal change, we would say: "wow, he really did a great effort". In my case, I didn't feel that overcoming the enemy was difficult at all for Harry. That's what I didn't like about the movie, and maybe this is why people say that it had no "personality", because it didn't touch you "personally", unless you knew the story. Of course, I expect strong disagreements, but this is just my opinion and what I felt.

I'm not very fond of Mehta. Maybe it was my luck, but he spoiled several works, like playing Tchaikoksky's Romeo and Julia Overture too fast and bombastic, same with Beethoven's Ninth. After I heard other versions, I just could listen to Mehta's anymore. I do like from him the concert he did with the Israel orchestra and four famous violinists of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. As for Bernstein, I avoid him since I bought Mahler's 8th Symphony (DG). The guy spoils the recording by kicking the wooden podium in all the strong parts of the work. I hate when the conductor's ego disrespect the composer. I do like his Mahler's 5th (either he didn't kick the podium or it was make of rubber ) There is an old Stokowski version, which is the first version I heard. Leopold does some changes in rythm and even instrumentation at the end of Mars. Interesting, but same comment as Berstein's. I currently settled with Karajan's, which is one of the very few ones in which you can actually hear there is an organ ascending arpeggio by the end of Neptune. I failed to notice it in other versions. I corroborated its existence in the written score. However, Mehta's offer is very attractive. For a person who wants to enter the world of classical music, coming from film music, I can find no better approach than the Planets and Zarathustra. Actually, that was exactly my introduction to classical, from Star Wars, to Holst, to Zarathustra (R.Strauss), then Stravinsky....an the rest of them.

So good that kids grow and Haley is too old for Potter. And he would have a hard time finding castles in America, unless he filmed in Disney World. If he did say that, he should have been smoking something really strong. I do understand by his choice of Haley that he wanted to make some more deep character development for Potter, which is absent in the first movie with the current actor.

I missed that. Waht Spielberg wanted to do with Potter 3?

Hehe . "Loyalty" is also kind of utilitarian, people is loyal to somebody else as long as the ethics, morals and purpose is common to both. If they diverge (means that the loyalty serves them no purpose or goes against their purpose), then loyalty vanishes. If the president gives a speech tomorrow, suggesting to kill all poor children, nobody will remain "loyal" to him, as much as we value loyalty. But this is WAY out of topic... sorry!

I clearly remember only that the temp track for the last battle was indeed Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", which is very similar to the music Williams did (this is the least melodic track). But Williams version is less "acid" that Stravinsky's I heard nothing about the rest.

I didn't initiate this thread, but what do you mean "what do you want?" If you have midi's of the real Williams scores, I WANT THEM ALL! I enjoy so much studying his orchestrations, muting some instruments and playing them along in my keyboard, like I was musician in his orchestra, learning, absorbing, assimilating... Please tell us how can we get them.

That's exactly how I felt. Like I was receiving a subliminar message that I didn't catch. A day after, I remembered something that Joe said: "They only love you because of what you do for them, when they find someone that does that better they'll substitute you" or something like that. I felt desolated, because in most cases that is exactly what we call "love": if the other person stops giving us what we like, or begins doing stuff we don't like, we 'stop loving' and we divorce or separate. It make me review what "love" really is. Many other insights came in the following days. Very few movies did that to me. People should not take this movie lightly.

I always feel bad for Goldsmith. He had some moments of absolute genius. I love The Omen I , II and Final Conflict. The Hunt music in Final Conflict is in my top ten favorite film music tracks. But for reasons I don't know (maybe a lot of deceptions), his talents come and go, from very good to very bad. Now to the subject of the thread: Bladerunner vs. Minority... I don't see similarities except that both find their source in Phillip K. Dick's stories, and the main character is a cop with "problems". Bladerunner is one of the very few films in which you can see a Harrison Ford that is not "likeable", and actually, you like more the bad guy, the clone that only wants to be able to live more. In Minority the character was more likeable, but I personally have difficulties with Cruise, I find him cold and distant in all his characters. I saw Vanilla Sky, Eyes Wide Shut, MI, Interview with the Vampire, The Firm, Born on the 4th July, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, etc. and I always liked better the character (and actor) opposite to him. I'll check this with my psychotherapist. As for the score, it worked well with the movie, but please, do not compare Vangelis' atmospheric new age with Williams' Herrmannesque music.

I don't know how much this could help, but I think that one of the first refereces of the bells (celesta) being associated with magic, as well as the flute, is in Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute". The celesta was a novelty then, was used to represent a magic music box used by Papageno to enchant his enemies. Also, it could help to listen to Host's "Neptune, the wizard" from his "Planet's" symphony and check the xylophone, woodwinds and flute. Check the "Sorcerer's apprentice" by Paul Dukas for more references. As for children's music, check "Pete and the Wolf" from Prokofiev. All these are clear sources of inspiration for Williams HP.

On the A.I. issue. It's my opinion that A.I. is a story with a great premise, but very difficult to show in a movie. A.I. would be great as a novel, because 99% of the conflict is in the mind of the characters. Can you imagine how great it would be to read what was going on in the mind of the mother and her feelings about the mecha boy? Or in the love-programmed mind of the mecha boy in which love was programmed as a sort of irrational obsesion and infatuation for someone, no matter how much she hurt you? And all the symbology in the movie, like pursuing a symbol of happiness, like the Blue Fairy and getting symbology when you're just feet from reaching the target (isn't life like that?). And after a thousand years, you can finally approach the symbol of happiness and when you touch it, is hollow, and breaks up in a million pieces? And the descriptions about this hypothetical future world in terms of technology and the sociological conflict of humans being replaced by mechas, mechas being destroyed by humans, etc? These are elements that can be better used in a written novel. As a movie, you can only see the tip of the iceberg. About the score, it's perfect. Scary as hell when it needs to be, mechanical and frivolous when it needs to be, and tender and emotional when it needs to be. And the song, the sung version with lyrics is not in the movie, just the CD. And in terms of beauty and originality, I prefer this one instead of the infamous "Titanic" song.

I tend to disagree, Morn. I've read scores from Shostakovitch, Wagner, Bruckner, Mozart, Beethoven, Ravel, Hosts, Stravinsky, and none of them have the rich instrumentation, complexity and wide use and fusion of all styles, like Williams does. If not 'inventing' something new, which few composers really do, Williams makes use of all techniques at the same time, and has evolved the use of the orchestra to a higher level, never seen before in works of the aforementioned composers. He could just have copied Tchaikosky or Wagner, but he didn't, he pushed it to a higher level, hence he 'added' something. For instance, Mozart did not create anything new, in terms of musical style. The 'classical' styles were already defined and common at that time. All musical forms used by Mozart responded to this classical technique for doing concerts, symphonies, sonatas, operas, etc. What he did is evolving this style so high that nobody else could do it better, both in terms of beauty and virtuosity. Should we not listen to Mozart because he didn't invented any new revolutionary techniques? I'm just glad that thanks to Williams, some of us have discovered Humankind's legacy of music.

Absolute power corrupts. The George Lucas of the first trilogy, with budget limitations, that had to work with producers, directors, scriptwriters, and have overall less control on the filmmaking, created, in my opinion, a more balanced work in which all characters had more appeal, dialogs were smarter, wittier, unpredictable and funnier. George Lucas is absolutely great in story. The SW story is amazing. If you think about it, it's about the bad guy: a smart-ass kid and adolescent that is tempted by evil, kills millions and at the last minute saves his son and dies. How could somebody pull such a popular story from such a dark character? But (and here they come the defenders against me...) George Lucas is pretty average as a director, and below average as a screenwriter. The ever favorite Empire was directed and written by someone else, on a story by Lucas. That's the formula that worked also in the Indy trilogy: Lucas the story, somebody else writes, somebody else directs. If there is no limitation there is no art. Art is about creating a world in a canvas, creating an image with sound, and emotion with words. EP1 and 2 are good movies, but those who knew the "limited" Lucas and were moved firsthand with the first trilogies, know what these movies could have been. But the almighty Lucas, with unlimited power delivered unappealing characters, cliche dialogs, messy direction and overcut editing. The original trilogy moved and marked a generation or two. The prequels passed: kids don't care much and old fans are dissapointed. That's a fact, as much as I still love the story...