Datameister

The movie is a bizarre mixture of things that work spectacularly and things that emphatically don't. I enjoy it and I genuinely respect it not being a retread of its superior predecessor. But I wish it wasn't so flawed.
 
The score is also a big change of direction, but a more successful one. It sounds very different from Raiders but still gives that top-notch score a run for its money.

This was easily my least favourite of the trilogy when I was younger. With the falling raft, the dinner scene and Willie being my biggest problems with the film. But the score (that's the Concord and leaks) was always a close second to Last Crusade for me.
 
But several years ago I watched it in the cinema with an audience and the laughter at how over the top Willie was and the jokes during the dinner scene kind of made me give it a second chance. 
 
Something I've come to love is how different it is following Raiders, that Willie isn't just a copy of Marion, that she's her own character and arguably the only Indy girl to have a arc. Short Round has always been great and I love how much Ke Huy Quan and Harrison Ford play off each other, their chemistry is just fun to watch. Mola Ram is also a great villain, while maybe not quite as threatening as the Nazis, Amrish Puri plays him perfectly as a villain of the week. 
 
And the opening sequence, say what you will about Raiders being iconic and Crusade giving us an origin for Indy, but everything here is just perfect, the homage to musicals with Anything Goes, the tension back and forth with Lao Che, the chaos trying to get the antidote and the chase through Shanghai and the reveal Indy is on a plane owned by Lao is just a fantastic opening of a film and is definitely my favourite of the first three. 
 
These days my biggest problems are still the raft falling, had it began falling straight on to a slope instead of the big drop and then sliding down the mountain it might not have broken my suspension of disbelief. The dinner scene and how it's still culturally insensitive, there was an extra bit during the scene that was cut where Indy says to Captain Blumburtt about the choice of cuisine and how it's not normal and something is clearly wrong would certainly help make it clear that what was happening wasn't typical. And that Indy has the same arc as Raiders, someone who doesn't believe in the supernatural is convinced otherwise, with Temple being a prequel his conversation to Marcus in Raiders about superstition retroactively feels out of place.
 
TLDR didn't like it growing up but have come to love and appreciate it compared to Raiders and Crusade. 
 

I didn't really pick up on that intent for disc 3, but it makes total sense, and makes me all the more excited!

I didn't really pick up on that intent for disc 3, but it makes total sense, and makes me all the more excited!

I don't anticipate listening to the songs quite as often as the main program, but they're definitely a huge selling point for this release and I can't wait to hear them. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a truly definitive release and I'm very, very, very much looking forward to the package's arrival!

I don't anticipate listening to the songs quite as often as the main program, but they're definitely a huge selling point for this release and I can't wait to hear them. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a truly definitive release and I'm very, very, very much looking forward to the package's arrival!

I don't anticipate listening to the songs quite as often as the main program, but they're definitely a huge selling point for this release and I can't wait to hear them. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a truly definitive release and I'm very, very, very much looking forward to the package's arrival!

I don't anticipate listening to the songs quite as often as the main program, but they're definitely a huge selling point for this release and I can't wait to hear them. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a truly definitive release and I'm very, very, very much looking forward to the package's arrival!

I don't anticipate listening to the songs quite as often as the main program, but they're definitely a huge selling point for this release and I can't wait to hear them. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a truly definitive release and I'm very, very, very much looking forward to the package's arrival!

Next up: repackaging the SW Anthology set (minus the bonus disc) with the PT and ST OSTs. Every note John Williams recorded for the Skywalker Saga, obviously. 9 discs. $1199.

Lord Almighty, it's finally happening! 😍😍😍

A moment of silence for all of the "Hook will never get a proper release" jokes that we'll never be able to make again.

Next up: repackaging the SW Anthology set (minus the bonus disc) with the PT and ST OSTs. Every note John Williams recorded for the Skywalker Saga, obviously. 9 discs. $1199.

Next up: repackaging the SW Anthology set (minus the bonus disc) with the PT and ST OSTs. Every note John Williams recorded for the Skywalker Saga, obviously. 9 discs. $1199.

Next up: repackaging the SW Anthology set (minus the bonus disc) with the PT and ST OSTs. Every note John Williams recorded for the Skywalker Saga, obviously. 9 discs. $1199.

Next up: repackaging the SW Anthology set (minus the bonus disc) with the PT and ST OSTs. Every note John Williams recorded for the Skywalker Saga, obviously. 9 discs. $1199.

Next up: repackaging the SW Anthology set (minus the bonus disc) with the PT and ST OSTs. Every note John Williams recorded for the Skywalker Saga, obviously. 9 discs. $1199.

If you don't like the main theme, there's probably not much on the album for you. The final score track, "October Sky," introduces and develops a new theme, but it's definitely cut from the same cloth as the main Coalwood theme. Personally, I love both.

If you don't like the main theme, there's probably not much on the album for you. The final score track, "October Sky," introduces and develops a new theme, but it's definitely cut from the same cloth as the main Coalwood theme. Personally, I love both.

Arrived a while back, but I finally felt like I was in the right headspace to listen to the October Sky OST today. I'd only heard it in the film before. So moving.

Arrived a while back, but I finally felt like I was in the right headspace to listen to the October Sky OST today. I'd only heard it in the film before. So moving.

I wouldn't be surprised if the entirety of track 1 is demo material.
 
The first minute as a proof of concept for Helena's Theme (recorded before the full concert suite was written), the rest a demo suite for the Nazi and Archimedes themes, later repurposed for the end credits (which is why there's no traditional end credits suite that integrates both Helena's theme and the Raiders March).

That becomes more and more true with each passing trilogy. ANH and ESB introduce roughly the same number of themes … TPM has a more noticable edge over AOTC … and TFA introduces waaaaaaay more themes than TLJ.
 
On the topic of AOTC, I've never been able to understand how so many JW fans are so dismissive of the score. I love it. And the OST is the only one in the prequel trilogy that doesn't jump around in the film so wildly that it becomes a distraction.

I don't think you'll find many firm lines in this. But I would think that relevant questions include:
How much of the person's time is spent thinking about the music/composer? Are they causing financial hardship for themselves or others? How's their social life? Is there any inappropriate, creepy, or illegal behavior involved? How do they feel and behave if they are forced to focus on other things for a while? Ultimately, if you're not hurting anyone, I say go nuts. For myself, JW's work is one of a number of things I'm deeply interested in, but those interests haven't hurt me or anyone else. Sometimes I'll use the word "obsessed" to describe myself, but I think it's a healthy obsession.