Dole

I just discovered that there's a National Medal of Arts which is supposedly the highest honor that the USA can bestow on an artist (like the Congressional Medal of Honor or the Presidential Medal of Freedom). Anyway...it seems a sin that conductors like James Levine, Erich Kunzel, and Leonard Slatkin have been given the honor, while Williams has not. I'm not losing sleep over it or anything, but I think Williams absolutely deserves it. No [mainly] film composer has ever won as far as I can tell. Here's the list I found on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Natio...Arts_recipients

Gullwingdoors, I agree with the people who recommended older film scores. Your list looks like it contains mostly scores from the 1970's to the present. There are some really great scores by Korngold, Goldsmith, Rozsa, Steiner, and others out there. I'd recommend for starters off the top of my head: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Korngold) Ben-Hur (Rozsa) King of Kings (Rozsa) Gone with the Wind (Steiner) Bride of Frankenstein (Waxman) Sunset Boulevard (Waxman) Patton (Goldsmith) The Sea Hawk (Korngold) King Kong (Steiner) and you could try some of the older Disney scores like Snow White, Bambi, Dumbo, Pinocchio, etc if you're interested in those.

In another wonderful example of how little the Oscars have to do with talent, Menken won in 1989 over more qualified scores (including Batman and Glory which weren't even nominated) and then lost in 1996 for his best effort The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Did Menken rob Goldsmith in 1992? Sure. Is Menken the Gustavo Santaclaus of the 1990's? No. C'mon! At least Menken has some talent!

I'd forgotten about that one. Truly brilliant suite!

1. The Empire Strikes Back 2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 4. Born on the Fourth of July 5. Star Wars

Just read in Time magazine that Star Wars sound designer (and Williams arch-enemy) Ben Burtt is going to be "electronically" voicing the main characters in the film and that the movie's plot is actually based on City Lights, a Charlie Chaplin silent film. Interesting...

:cool: That pretty much sums it up! I've been trying to find a phrase to describe Murphy's work for years. Thanks.

i think that is the one i like most too. Its the one from the 84 olimpics right? No. It's the one for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Olympics. It's the last track on the Summon the Heroes album.

Didn't Williams record the piece a couple of weeks before the Olympics with the LSO during the AOTC recording sessions? What ever happened to that version? I've never heard anything more about it.

...and Henry V, Glory, Field of Dreams, and more!

And that would be when Anakin is taking his little test or whatever. right?

OK, I first stumbled upon JWfan.net in 2000 just before The Patriot was released so forgive me if this was discussed before when it first came out, but I was listening to TPM OT the other day and wondered... 1. What exactly is the reference in the title "Augie's Great Municipal Band"? (i.e. Why is that track titled that?) 2. Where is that electronic bridge between the "Droid Invasion" and "The Appearance of Darth Maul" from? Was it just inserted into the album to make the transition between cues smoother or is it from some unrealeased part of the score? Thanks.

The Anthology has an alternate of "Leia's News" that's not on the SE (with a quote of "Parade of the Ewoks") and it has some alternate takes (such as the "Shuttle Tydirium" cue), but you have to listen for those differences. And of course the "Lapti Nek" and "Yub Nub" cues are on the Anthology but not the SEs.

Personally, as much as I love JW, I prefer the short 4-letter words that Jerry Goldsmith used in interviews. Williams is my favorite film composer, but Goldsmith gave much more interesting interviews. Dole- who dreams of hearing an expletive-laden JW interview about the Star Wars prequels.

Debatable? Yes. I wouldn't put him at #2, but he did do what is widely considered to be the first substantially original film music score of the "talkies"...King Kong. And that has to count for something. And of course Gone with the Wind , The Informer, and Now, Voyager are lovely.

How is that re-recording? I bought the 2-disc King of Kings a couple of months ago. I'd forgotten how much I liked that score as a kid.

"Go Ninja, go ninja, go! Go! Go! Go! Go!"

Are you serious!?!?!

I think A.I. is Williams' best score of the 21st century and I would trade it for nothing!

I'm a bit miffed at this statement. He shrugs Williams off, then quotes his music! That shows a bit of musical misguidedness. ~Conor Yes but Beck is kind of an idiot. A lot of the things that come out of his mouth are not well-thought-through and end up being just plain stupid.

AHA! That clears it up. Here's the part of the transcript that pertains to Williams: (from http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0704/02/gb.01.html) ----- BECK: I am -- I am such a huge fan, and I found out today, I have -- my wife and I have -- we try to play a game. If we watch a movie, we hear the first few notes, is it Elfman or not? And you can tell your music immediately. I believe there are only two really great music composers, you and Bernard Hermann, who wrote all of the scores for Hitchcock. ELFMAN: Really? BECK: I found out today you`re a fan of his, as well. ELFMAN: Bernard Hermann was my inspiration. He`s the reason I became a film composer. BECK: I said -- you know, I said that yesterday when I found out you were going to be on the show. And everybody looked at me and said, "What about John Williams?" I said, "John Williams? It`s these two." Movies... ELFMAN: No, no, no. John Williams is a legend. He`s -- you know, he almost single-handedly is responsible for bringing back orchestral film music, really, to be what it is. BECK: Come on. ------ F*** Glenn Beck! Good for Elfman!

Goldsmith's love themes don't do much for me. My top ten favorite love themes (in no particular order) would be: 1. Out of Africa 2. Han Solo and the Princess (ESB) 3. Vertigo 4. Unchained 5. Across the Stars (AOTC) 6. A Time for Us (Romeo and Juliet) 7. Spartacus 8. Can You Read My Mind (Superman) 9. Cathy's Theme (Wuthering Heights) 10. Now, Voyager As much as I love Williams and Goldsmith, I don't think either of them can come close to writing a love theme like Steiner's Now, Voyager. Maybe it's just my fondness for old movies...

That's not a love theme. So says Lucas and Williams.

You're not the only one! When are these coming out if they haven't been released? I think they officially come out in late May.

I'll probably buy a sheet to keep. I just wonder how many fanboy collectors out there are going to commit a felony by trying to steal the R2-D2 coverings that the USPS is putting on blue mailboxes across the country (they do look pretty cool).