Quintus

Don't know if this has been done before (probably), but I thought it would be nice to have a gallery of the man himself. Share your images of the legend with everyone. Don't get too used to that thick head of hair. The musical school student who probably seemed like an ass licker. Doesn't he look handsome... Mwahaha! I'm going to be the musical overlord of Hollywood! Distinguished. Best get used to it. Er...

I know very little about musical theory, but am I correct in thinking that pieces like Scherzo For Motorcycle and Orchestra and The Shark Cage Fugue are impossibly catchy for something so seemingly complex? The Raiders March is another theme which seems so unusual, yet so obvious...?! The mans a genius. Williams on the Raiders March: "A piece like that is deceptively simple to try to find the few right notes that will make a right leitmotivic identification for a character like Indiana Jones. I remember working on that thing for days and days, changing notes, changing this, inverting that, trying to get something that seemed to me to be just right. I can't speak for my colleagues but for me things which appear to be very simple are not at all, they're only simple after the fact. The manufacture of these things which seem inevitable is a process that can be laborious and difficult" I don't think he knows how he does it. He just does. Its God given.

Admittedly I only have the original ost, but I Limewired the tracks you mentioned Yes, they are very good bonus cues. Horner has a particular gift for writing for percussion. Btw, has anyone noticed what sounds like the banging of a cooking pan during "Ripley's Rescue"?

The original Star Wars trilogy.

Ha ha, not a single LOTR cue. I guess they couldn't afford the rights. :roll: And don't say its coz it doesn't deserve to be on there.

Funny, I was thinking only yesterday how Superman features some of his most consistent work, in a catchy and suitable sense. Each individual melody (there are six full themes off the top of my head) is instantly memorable and just perfect for their respective subject matter. Genius.

Aside from the their tempo issues, the pitch is often waaaaaay off. The word "warble" springs to mind. The brass generally shrills like a school brass band. The percussion leaves much to be desired too. But like I said, there is nothing wrong with the strings. Think John Barry.

1. ET Escape/Chase/Saying Farewell 2. Prelude/Main Title - Superman 3. Journey to the island - Jurassic Park 4. The Throne Room/End titles - Star Wars 5. The Asteroid Field - Film version

Perhaps, but I'm thinking along different lines. I'm talking about a musical style which sounds like soldiers in action. Music for a military campaign. The Great Escape is a romantic score.

Back in the day when Horner was a huge growing talent of reasonable originality, he was brilliantly chosen by James Cameron to score his sequel to Ridley's Alien, with the LSO no less. Horner went on to write a tremendous sci-fi score that is absolutely gripping, exciting and very memorable. Aside from the superbly brooding and genuinely frightening atmosphere setting cues, he composed some quite fantastic action music. Like all the good JW action cues, Horner's pounding Aliens stuff goes hand in hand with the visuals, especially to us film music fans. When I used to watch this as a child, the music heard during moments like the "Futile Escape" sequence easily played as bigger part (to me at at least) as the tense action on-screen. Other excellent action cues can be heard in "Ripley's Rescue", "Going after Newt" (amazing and truly epic LSO fanfares here) and of course "Bishops Countdown". The last of my examples even features a last second escape (from the nuke-like explosion) orchestration that easily matches, if not eclipses the JW Death Star explosion escape, just for sheer exhilarating energy. But the thing that sticks out the most in all this action music, is the percussion. Its the LSO's and its in a league of its own during the Aliens score. It creates form, tone and a consistent tempo throughout the film, sounding powerful, distinct and showing dominance over every other section of the orchestra. I love this score. Its a mans score, a score with real brawn! So can you think of a better military style score? Predator is a contender, but its no real match for one of Horner's finest works.

For a minute there I thought we had our first official suicide thread.

The City of Prague Orchestra is one of the worst orchestras in the world. Their brass is absolute shite, especially on their Williams stuff. Their strings are quite nice though.

To be fair, the three people of whom you speak don't really concern me. Let them think what they want

Me too. I've read that report before. But I could never find the plaintiff's piece, online at least.

Damn I keep reading about this ET case yet I find no internet sign of it. Please tell me the ET theme is original to Williams! Or at least provide an audio link so I can see for myself

The crash of percussion after the first statement of the fanfare was just so feeble compared to the Williams version. And numerous others

I can't find it, please help! EDIT: I'm blind. I've found it D'oh.

I assume they're mainly referring to The Battle Ballet? What a load of bullshit. Sure, there exists some nods to Mars, but thats about it. Its a single repeated note for christs sake, it keeps the tempo. This will go in Zimmers favour. TGE - Who thinks the Gladiator score is outstanding.

Yeah, I picked up the 25th anniversary dvd in Liverpool city center HMV today. Special features galore this time around! Going to watch the Williams recording sessions tonight, can't wait. The isolated score is a nice touch too. About time!

Outstanding.

I thought he was gonna launch himself from the stage at one point. Methinks the guy loves that theme as much as us lot do A decent enough performance by the orchestra though. Anyway thanks for the link. That is actually the first full video I've ever seen of a Williams performance, any more in existence? Check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emt5G8PFLZs...john%20williams Its crap, but listen out for the Cantina Band as they film their surroundings, its quite sureal. Imagine hearing the echos of that tune playing out one morning. Everywhere they went, people could hear it, but where was it coming from?.... Williams had begun his conquest for worldwide brainwashed domination!

With windows media player you just have to add each track individually and edit out/segue in any silences in the music. Thats the easier answer. If you want it to sound fairly pro you have to take your time getting it just right.

I think its during the very end of the first season that Faure's 'Pavane' plays, but with a very catchy modern beat. Does anyone know if this particular remix is available? I tried google but quickly drawn a blank. I'd love to get hold of this if it is at all possible.

Take a chance and watch the movie again. Regardless of Arnie (I love him in this btw), Total Recall is a solid sci-fi flick. Actually its more than a mere good film - its an excellent piece of escapism. Goldsmith did the movie proud and Verhoeven repaid the favour gladly. Or should that be the other way around?... The score/images are seriously cinematic in places.