karelm

Thanks! Yeah, it's sort of a highlight reel. I generally don't believe most people listen to 30+ minute music they don't already know about.

Not sure if this is what you had in mind, but I hate how Lucas edited in the slow imperial march when Vader says, "Take me to my shuttle" and leaves Cloud City. It was literally the laziest needle drop in all Star Wars during one of the most intense sequences of the entire saga. To me, it makes the finest film of the entire saga, ESB, unwatchable.

Here are excerpts from my just completed seventh symphony, confusingly titled Symphony No. 6 because there is an unnumbered symphony too. It is 32 minutes long in three movements played without pause. Here are the first half of the first and second movements. The first movement is moderate tempo and moody leading to a very turbulent prestissimo second movement full of percussive tension. The last movement is generally tranquil and ultimately transformative. In the turbulent second movement, the tension builds up and eventually collapses into a false climax recalling material from the first movement. It is sort of an "eye of the storm" where after the calm, the calamity resumes but now even more intense! kes6o.mp3 KES6iiA.mp3

He's such a fantastic composer with incredible range! I've not heard anything from him that didn't impress me.

Brian Tyler for me.

Sounds great! Congratulations!

Very informative and interesting!

Why not Rogue One? Does it feel like a light weight compared to the gravitas of the others or is it because it's not JW?

Sounds like my kind of movie. I recently saw Cleopatra for the first time in its original theatrical cut and absolutely loved it! Saw it in a single sitting it was so engrossing, and it was nearly 5 hours long!!!! But wow such a film. I can probably handle 3 measly hours for this film then. Will add to my watch later list.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough. I'm not talking about the end music suite but the final minutes of the movie - the epic showdown culminations or characters in deepest peril due to finely crafted storytelling and world/character building. I think a very important point I'd like make is that at the time, A New Hope had a very satisfying ending when the rebels returned the Princess and plans back to her base. The film could have ended there and would have been very satisfying because I thought the final battle was the rebel escapes and "Here they come" battle. This could have been because I was a young kid and had never seen a film like this before, but I remember everyone talking about how exciting the ending was in that "and then the most action pact moment of a film full of action and surprises was that most epic climactic dog fight where everything was on the line!" I literally remember playground friends just being blown away by that ending on top of an already outstanding film experience. This became a bit of a staple that now you expect it. I don't know what this is called, it's not just a false ending but a tour de force ending after an already satisfying end. Another great example of that era - War Games (1983). It's not worth summarizing the ending to those who haven't seen the film but putting yourself in the place of young audiences of that time, the concepts were very original and dramatic. I don't know, the film is such a mess, I feel it wasn't saved by the ending though it was complex...perhaps the most complicated ending emotions in a SW film. But maybe the film wasn't as big a mess as I recall it was. Crap, I forgot exactly how it ends. Just remember the spectacle. I actually didn't pick that one. Remembering the film as a kid during its theatrical premiere, it was a devastating end. A real bummer. During ANH, everyone left the theater in jubilation and ecstasy. For ESB, everyone left speechless and stunned even thinging, it didn't live up to how great ANH was. Also remembering that Han was by far the favorite character. I was 9 at the time and had to wait 3 years to find out what happens!!!?! That's an eternity...a third of my life at that time. Remember, there wasn't yet VHS nor cable. We had like 5 TV channels and only had the movie theater for escapism. Of course, now we have the entire saga and see it as the pinnacle in terms of storytelling, direction, and character building (and to me at least, SW scoring as well). I thought Rogue One had the best final minutes with Solo being the worst. But maybe I'm crazy! Nostalgia aside, a very fine choice.

I've never seen the movie. How good is it?

The final moments of a movie can make or break it. An enjoyable film with a lousy ending will feel meh. A mediocre film with an outstanding ending might be elevated to fantastic. Which Star Wars movie had the best ending sequence - the last few minutes of the movie with the most impact or emotional payoff? Sometimes the ending makes an otherwise mediocre film elevated to greatness just because of how damn great the ending is. EDIT: Not talking about the end music suite but the final climactic minutes of the film...BEFORE the end music suite!

No way! Always was way worse. Just meh at all levels. Annoying characters (even actors I loved!), lousy acting, weak story. This was by far the worst film Spielberg made where you could tell he was thinking "I don't care, JW will make something amazing out of this turd". The only positive is the immortally endearing Audrey Hepburn's final role but that had nothing to do with Spielberg. This was his only film I loathed.

That's really so cool!

What are your thought of Ready Player One? At first, I thought this was a really weak film but have come to enjoy it very much. A smart villain, good story, exciting music, great nostalgia, loads of easter eggs. This is a film where I re-evaluated my initial impressions and have come to enjoy it.

Not sure I follow your point but M2 is definitely a standout amongst a great cycle. It's far better than M8 and when I was a student, this work singularly kept being referenced as the work that inspired the composer to pursue their craft. Mahler was probably the most frequently named composer and M2 the most frequently named work. It's special. For me personally, it was my first professional concert and a life changing experience but again, I've heard similar comments from other musicians. Think Star Wars 1977. Before there were sequels and Disney and all that - it was a mind-blowing experience. It's hard to explain to someone today what it was like to experience Star Wars when there was no such thing, just how impactful it was. There was nothing quite like it. I personally think of M2 as CEOTK, the pinnacle of what JW did in his golden period. The film and story have flaws and other JW scores have done better in any one of his styles but in that score - we have all the best of his style at his peak in a singular work.

Lots of great tips in this thread already, I'll just add, why not connect your son to a composition teacher who can teach him how to adapt something he might have heard musically...creating something more original through composition even if he knowingly adapted something from somewhere else. For example, the guitar riff from "Smoke on the Water" how the famous riff is Beethoven backwards.

Dude could probably kick my ass if we got into a street fight.

Our Johnny always looks suave and classy in a turtleneck.

I was an orchestrator on the game working with the original LucasArts composers Michael Land, Peter McConnell, and Clint Bajakian who scored Monkey 1 and 2 back in the early 90's.

Thanks! Yes, was writing this when he died and made this a tip of the hat to him. There were a few other hornerisms. I should have written what they were because now I forgot! Also have some overt Hornerism in my "Aurion".

A video game I worked on is available now and is the sequel to a LucasArts classic adventure game, "The Curse of Monkey Island". It is available for Nintendo Switch, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems. It is the third in the series after LucasArts' "Secret of Monkey Island" (1990) and "Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge" (1991). These are classics in video game history and it's exciting to be a part of the return of a cult classic reuniting the old team! Some of the music can be heard in this review: Return to Monkey Island | Available Now!

I thought the same - damn that's a fine list. We were spoiled.

Wow, you're so right! I don't remember a time without Johnny. My earliest memory was seeing Star Wars with my family and definitely the music blew me away along with the strange visuals and fun. My brothers got to see it before me because I was too young and my mom, now 88, wouldn't let me see such a "scary film full of monsters". But they were so excited and thrilled they convinced the whole family to see it. I sat on my mom's lap and I still remember that first experience! The B flat orchestral blast was so shocking to me! The music was what I most connected with and Jaws was played again that summer of 1977 where I heard my second JW score and was again blown way by him. I was 4 or maybe 5 years old and the score was by far the most memorable element to me. By the time I saw Close Encounters, JW's score was the drawing power. He's so special and unique in our lives. He isn't just Walt Disney. He's like Disney + the Queen + Elvis + Beatles + Michael Jackson in one person. He's a real treasure and we're lucky to realize that while he's still with us and creating new music!