John Takis

“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios, in a news release. “It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven.” One source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-announces-fifth-indiana-jones-875794 Discuss!

My impression is that the "Parade of the Ewoks" footage is from a concert rehearsal (with the Boston Pops?) rather than the JEDI sessions seen a little later in the video.

Album Track 10 ("Finn's Confession") is a little more complicated than it appears in the current incarnation of your spreadsheet. From 1:17-end actually corresponds to the FYC Track 10 ("You Got A Name?") from 0:45-end.

Including the interstitial bits surrounding the songs, there are around 20 minutes of underscore in Tom Sawyer, most of it previously unreleased. From my new interview with Richard Sherman, Williams was given a very free hand with the material. They would discuss when to use music, the overall sound, and where certain themes might be appropriate, but by and large he had carte blanche. What may be a revelation to first-time listeners is the darker material on the second disc -- score cues like "Injun Joe," "The Killing of Doc Robinson," "Sworn in Blood" and "McDougal's Cave" -- which is vintage Williams adventure/suspense material. (As I mention in the liners, "Sworn in Blood" even prefigures Hook!) Even in mono form, it's a real treat to hear. And, of course, the album program sounds better than ever in its expanded and corrected form. Overall, this new set is a real treat for both Sherman Brothers fans and Williams devotees! I highly recommend it.

I can't find it discussed on the board anywhere, but I have an old MP3 on my hard-drive that was ripped from the "Making of Jaws" documentary -- just a few seconds of music, but not heard in the film and not present on any previous release. The clips on the Intrada webpage reveal that this is from "Shark Tows Orca." Apologies if this was already known, but, at least for me, it's nice to have an old mystery solved!

Yep. Though funnily enough, My Neighbour Totoro is devoid of that, from what I remember. Not wholly devoid. They don't CLIMB up to those treetops! (And while the Catbus can be more like an elevated train than a plane, it hits some of the same exhilarating notes.)

One of many reasons I wish I could strike that piece from the internet! Teenagers do not the best researchers make...

That's off-putting. I'm afraid that was my reaction. It's the most violent of the JP films by far, but it didn't really engage or thrill me. Actually, it left a somewhat nasty aftertaste at times. I never got that from the previous series entries, which I all enjoyed to varying degrees.

Apologies if this news has already been posted, but Quartet has just announced a reissue of their OOP release of THE LONG GOODBYE, due to hit June 19:

Just wanted to put in that I wouldn't call JAWS an early "sign" of greatness. JAWS is greatness, full stop.

JANE EYRE compared to HEIDI is, I think, the stronger overall dramatic score -- though for me, HEIDI's "The Miracle" is the strongest individual cue between the two scores. That said, I'm not trying to say that HEIDI is objectively the "first sign of true greatness" (how the heck do you quantify "greatness," anyway?) only that it's a viable candidate and absolutely deserves to be part of the conversation. You're welcome! I strongly recommend listening to the Quartet release, if you're able. If you must listen to the Label X, I recommend following the Quartet program order as best you can (you'll have to ignore the Label X track titles and go by timings -- and even that will be off, because they left in some annoying post-production looping).

Perhaps my opinion is colored by the time I spent working on the most recent release of this score for Quartet Records (now sadly out of print), but if we're talking about the earliest "first sign of true greatness," I think 1968's HEIDI -- one of the first scores to bear the "John Williams" screen credit, as opposed to "Johnny Williams" -- absolutely has to be part of the conversation. One can certainly point to excellent scores in the years prior to HEIDI, both comic (FITZWILLY) and dramatic (THE RARE BREED). But HEIDI distinguishes itself for several reasons. To begin, the rich literary source material provided Williams with what was, at that point in his career, perhaps his broadest canvas yet. We have the poignant figure of the bereaved grandfather, solitary and meditative, but we also have joyous scenes of the young heroine at play among the hills. We experience a tender family drama, tinged with heartache and a touch of romance, but this plays out against the vast magnificence of the Alpine setting. One of the things that distinguishes Williams as a composer is his ability to unite the epic and the intimate, seemingly without effort, and that is very much a key feature of HEIDI. The range of the picture also means that we get a satisfyingly broad selection of characteristic "Williams-isms" -- his soaring French horn lines, his rich harmonic writing, his playful and intricate scherzos. We even get a gorgeous main theme set to lyrics. But Marian is correct: what puts the score over the top -- what really points to the "true greatness" to come -- is the aptly titled track "The Miracle," which provides a breathtaking glimpse of Williams in full religioso mode. It is a stunning cue in any context, and coming as it does at the climax of an already superb dramatic score, it reinforces HEIDI in my mind as an important milestone of Williams' early career. Not for nothing did this score earn Williams his first Emmy. (This was, in fact, his first major industry award; though he had been honored with several high-profile nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for his work with Andre Previn on 1967's VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, HEIDI was his first big win.) Listen here and see if you disagree: https://youtu.be/qaGRKU2HB80?t=11m38s

Edelman's score for CITIZEN X is well worth checking out. (And the excellent HBO film for which it was written is freshly relevant, with CHILD 44 hitting theaters soon.)

Back in the day, some retailers would occasionally sell off a very limited number of promos to help offset manufacturing and production costs. There are a few posts about it if one digs through the FSM or Intrada archives.

Yes, the movie is a turkey. But don't let that put you off! Much like Courage on SUPERMAN IV, Small turned in an excellent score, and did a fine job of interpolating Williams material. Well worth picking up!

Thanks! I did get to work on the two Goldsmith TREK expansions for GNP with Jeff Bond. But you could call this my first SOLO Goldsmith job. It's a fantastic score, and it was a lot of fun to do!

Correct about it not making any sense. What was the Penguin's initial plan? It seemed like he was just making it all up as he went along. His initial plan was to kidnap the firstborn sons of Gotham's elite. That would have been his grand revenge. The whole searching for his parents thing was a cover -- an excuse to be able to go through the city records without attracting undue suspicion. (Bruce Wayne suspects, of course: "I think he knows who his parents are.") He gets sidetracked by Shreck's plan to make him mayor -- the seduction of power and adulation. But when the public turns on him, it's back to Plan A. And when THAT scheme fails, he decides to just blow up the whole city.

For those who are interested, I just did an interview about the new BATMAN release with James Harvey for WORLD'S FINEST: http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/batman/btas/backstage/interviews/takis.php

The complete track list and art spread is up at The World's Finest: http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/2014/10/complete-tracklist-for-batman-the-animated-series-original-soundtrack-from-the-warner-bros-television-series-volume-three/ Enjoy!

Not quite. There are two discs' worth of material still unreleased from the original production run. If a Vol. 4 happens someday, it would likely complete that original run. I can't promise that it WILL happen at this point, but I've done the math. It's not completely helpful to talk of seasons, since there were gaps and overlaps in how the show's episodes were sequenced and aired. I prefer to speak of production runs. The initial BATMAN order was for 65 episodes. Fox was so impressed, and the show performed so well, that they ordered a second production run of 20 additional episodes, many of which aired under the revised title THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN (the network wanted more visibility for Robin for marketing and merchandizing reasons, which the showrunners handled gracefully). La-La Land has only released scores from the original 65 so far, although the later 20 are on the long-term agenda. Closer to thirty players, on average, although the exact number fluctuated.

To give credit where credit is due, the co-producer, with Neil S. Bulk. But many thanks! It's been a fantastic experience.

A reply: http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2014/08/07/did-gandalf-really-mean-to-use-the-eagles-to-destroy-the-one-ring/ And an earlier article by the same author, referenced in the above: http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2012/10/11/is-there-an-in-story-explanation-for-why-the-eagles-rarely-participate-in-great-events/

If you've been waiting to snag this and want a version that includes the second disc with all the wonderful alternates, don't wait too much longer: http://www.intrada.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6295

Boy howdy, is that ever an understatement! As much as that piece gets cited around here, I was pretty green when I wrote it. There's much in it that could stand revision, updating and outright correction. (I'd just as soon it not be online at all, in its current form -- but the internet will have its way!) Perhaps someday...

Well, you can thank "Cvalda" for posting it on the FSM forum.