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God, the beginning is really awful! The guitarist (?) can't follow the tempo at all!

I agree. A lot of the times, tracked music works really well within the films themselves. And I fully support that directors should have the freedom to use the music the way they see fit. The fact that music itself is an art form that can work without a film doesn't change the fact that film music is supposed to serve the film the way the director wants, and not the other way around.

Which could also happen in this film.

They did go to real locations for KotCS. They just didn't go outside of the US.

It is taken from the concert recording, just not the same take used in the album.

Star Wars was spotted in early January 77... recorded in early March 77. Empire was spotted in early November 79... recorded in late December 79/early January 80. Jedi was spotted in November 82 ... Recorded in January /February 83. Phantom Menace was spotted October 98 ... recorded February 99 Attack of the Clones was spotted October 01.... recorded January 02 Revenge of the Sith was spotted October 04.... recorded February 05 Clearly, the first two scores were composed in a shorter time period, just under two months. It's also fun to notice that there were things that hadn't been shot yet when Williams started recording the music, and therefore needed some editing. I think using the London Symphony was both an asset and a problem though, since the recording sessions had to be conducted way too early (which mostly affected the prequels, but the OT also suffered a bit) I think you're wrong about the copyists though.... I assume copyists could start working while Williams was still composing the later cues. I don't think he finishes composing until right before recording sessions begin. Consider that recording sessions are spread over a couple of weeks, so I guess the cues that were composed right before the first session are recorded towards the end, giving enough time to the copyists.

So, is John Williams surrounded by yes-men?

Exactly. As music fans, it may be hard for us to accept it, but that's the truth. Filmmakers want (and, in a way, need) to have freedom to edit/change/replace the music as they see fit, same as they edit the performances (which doesn't mean they don't respect the actors!). That's totally out of context. It's a normal reaction from filmmakers to a screening of a rough cut. It's a work in progress. And they've probably watched each scene a hundred times already - they aren't going to be self-congratulating, they're going to be critical about what they've done and analyzing what they need to improve. That's how artists work. When Lucas first showed Star Wars to his filmmaker friends back in 1977 the reaction was... not good. And we all know how that turned out...

The thing that baffles me is that there is a whole section of the fight, before "The Great Dual", which in the movie is scored with more Duel of the Fates (including the section that was replaced in the final edit of the official "Duel of the Fates" track), but, as far as I know, Williams didn't write any music for the scene, right?

Not true. Durmstrang isn't in Bulgaria. But whatever.

There are multiple problems with the Fantastic Beast franchise, but the most important of all, is that there doesn't seem to be any real need for its existence. It's a typical product of studios/producers/authors not knowing when to end something, and wanting to milk the cow as much as possible. But the fanbase is to blame as well: fans always want more, more sequels, more spin-offs. As Dumbledore says in one of the books, humans tend to want things that are worst for them. I always defend an artist when he/she decides that it's time for a series to end. And I'm really glad that Rowling never decided to write an 8th Harry Potter book at least!

You're missing the thrid map cue of Raiders: Indy on the submarine.

Luthor's Luau. Over and over again.

Jurassic Park theme has a really long intro.

No and no. And I've never been able to understand why people tend to make such a distinction between source music and underscore. Anything goes is not just used as an opening song (which includes an intro, which would technically count as part of the score, not part of the song). It's later used during the action music as well. And the Temple of Doom music is used again in the climax between Indy and Mola Ram.