rough cut

Ordered!
 
Superman 4K Steelbook Box Set
 

I just saw this shared on social media. Very cool! Williams and Jones already performed the GUNN theme live in a Mancini tribute concert some 4-5 years ago, but gotta dig the line-up of this recording session for an actual new Mancinin tribute album. Just wish the videos of the recording session itself lasted longer.
 
 
 
 

The older John Williams gets, the more obsessed I get with seeing him go back and play the piano.  This video that came up in another thread a few months ago was a huge factor in that.
 
 
Maybe this experience will send him back to re-explore his jazz roots for some upcoming work!

Fun article from Variety.
 
 

Across the Stars was a terrific album and I really wish they succeed to do a second one. Here's my 17 tracks dream list
Helena's Theme A Window to the Past Superman Love Theme Dartmoor, 1912 Scherzo for Violin and Orchestra The Asteroid Field Where Dreams are Born from A.I. Resolution and End Title from Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Rise of Skywalker Fun with Finn and Rose The Basket Game from Raiders of the Lost Ark Anakin's Betrayal Main Title from The Reivers Somewhere in my Memomy Presenting the Hook Among the Clouds Flying

I didn't tell the full story here, which I think would be suitable now that the thread has been ressurected. In 2005-2006, I was in a television show here in Norway. One of the other members of said television show was an autograph hunter. One day, we had an 'assignment' in a small Norwegian town, and said autograph hunter said he had a colleague there who wanted to give me something. He worked in a grocery store. We went to the grocery store, and after the obligatory greetings, said clerk handed me the picture of a signed Williams photo. I asked if I should pay something, but he said no. We were huge at the time (but completely forgotten now), and that probably explains why he was so willing, but I'm guessing he regrets it now. Either way, that's how it ended up with me, despite me not being an autograph hound of any kind. I'm sure there are easier ways.

Ol’ John is really going all in on creating as many new arrangements as possible for a wide as possible selection of his compositions… as a collector and (let’s face it) super-geek-for-all-things-JW it’s a bit exhausting.
 
I mean, “Helena’s Theme” isn’t even released yet and already there’s an alternative arrangement!

Ol’ John is really going all in on creating as many new arrangements as possible for a wide as possible selection of his compositions… as a collector and (let’s face it) super-geek-for-all-things-JW it’s a bit exhausting.
 
I mean, “Helena’s Theme” isn’t even released yet and already there’s an alternative arrangement!

A COUPLE OF GOOD OLE' FASHIONED STYLED RADIO PROGRAMS FEATURING WILLIAMS TV MUSIC

THE ARCHIVE WITH JASON DRURY: JOHN WILLIAMS TV MUSIC – PART 1
http://www.cinematicsound.net/the-archive-with-jason-drury-john-williams-tv-music-part-1/
 
Your host Jason Drury starts with selections from the first episode of AMAZING STORIES called GHOST TRAIN (Intrada Records). Jason then delves into the world of Irwin Allen, first with a suite of music from LOST IN SPACE (La La Land Records) and then from the pilot episode of THE TIME TUNNEL(La La Land Records),
 
Jason continues part one of his tribute with music from the failed pilot for the series THE GHOSTBREAKER (FSM Records), before concluding part one with “The Olympic Spirit” composed for NBC’s coverage of the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics (Sony Classical).
 
THE ARCHIVE WITH JASON DRURY: JOHN WILLIAMS TV MUSIC – PART 2
http://www.cinematicsound.net/the-archive-with-jason-drury-john-williams-tv-music-part-2/
 
Part two begins with THE MISSION THEME FOR THE NBC NIGHTLY NEWS. Jason then plays selections from the episode “The Bronze Locust” from the 1963 TV series, THE ELEVENTH HOUR (FSM RECORDS). You’ll then hear a suite from the pilot episode of the classic Irwin Allen science-fiction TV series, LAND OF THE GIANTS called ‘The Crash’ (La La Land Records).
 
The show continues with music from the 1968 TV film, HEIDI (Quartet Records). The episode concludes with music from the Steven Spielberg-directed episode of AMAZING STORIES called ‘The Mission’ (Intrada Records).
 
Enjoy!
 
-Erik-

It was on CapedWonder’s Instagram around December last year, when the news about a Superman 4K box set broke.
 
The info was up for about 5 min, and not in any flashy way, just in the text under a general “Superman 4K” image. Then it disappeared.
 
Jim Bowers who runs CapedWonder appears to have a good relationship with WB, so I guess they told it to him in confidence but maybe weren’t clear about the rules of engagement regarding this particular piece of news. So I guess they contacted him and asked him to take it down which he promptly did.
 
Guess they don’t want to dilute the news about the original films being collected in 4K, which I can understand.
 
There was also more info about the transfers on the original films and that they were being done by “top men” at WB but that seems to be gone as well.

Coming April 18, 2023.
 

 
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman II: Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Coming April 18, 2023.
 

 
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman II: Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Coming April 18, 2023.
 

 
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman II: Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Coming April 18, 2023.
 

 
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman II: Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Coming April 18, 2023.
 

 
Superman: The Movie
Superman II
Superman II: Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

The whole thing was a no fun fare.

The whole thing was a no fun fare.

Is Return Of The Jedi really that frowned upon? So many strong and memorable new themes and great arrangements of old ones.
 
I think it’s all ”Lapti Nek’s” fault.

No new compositions I don't think, so this isn't a news thread. Just wanted to gush my excitement about seeing this wonderful catalogue of themes and concertos live. A once in a lifetime opportunity!
 
Included is the set list for the evening taken very poorly by me. I am not a photographer.
 

 
 

This pic could go in a lot of different threads, but here it is.
 

I have no problem with people being aware of the dangers of smoking… or, on the topic of things that can kill you, also drinking or eating unhealthy. I try to do each in moderation and would even dare to say that I am in better shape than most. 
 
But connecting cigars and lung cancer by default is just… wrong. But I do understand the logic which is “cigars = cigarettes = lung cancer”. But cigarettes are full of shit and addictive in a way that cigars aren’t.
 
You’re unlikely to get lung cancer from smoking a cigar every now and then. It’s like saying you’ll become an alcoholic by drinking a glass of wine on Fridays.
 
Of course lung cancer and alcoholism are serious diseases we should be aware of, but thank God we still live in a society where a man can enjoy a drink and a cigar. Or a cheeseburger every once in a while for that matter.
 
JWfaners can look forward to many more pics of me enjoying future John Williams releases with a cigar in the future!

I read a book in my youth about English grammar and punctuation. It was called Eats, shoots and leaves. This was the “synopsis”:
 
A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
 

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
 
"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."
 

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
 

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots & leaves."
 

The stereo tracks should be as any proper CD. That is, 16-bit with sample rate of 44.1kHz, which is the standard lossless audio format.
 
I will always argue that that is as much as you need.
 
As long as the content is in high quality - and as I understand this CD is newly and properly remastered - you will have a hard time discerning any difference between a CD and “hi res” (which is usually defined as 24bit/96kHz or 24bit/192kHz).

Of course, SACD sometimes come with other benefits such as multichannel content which might improve the listening experience - this particular CD has a “quadrophonic” mix (which is a 4.0 channel mix that was popular during the 70’s, instead of the standard 5.1 mix that gained popularity during the 90’s).

"20 years later"....that's funny.
 
Last night, before I fell asleep and in a delightfully inebriated state, I started thinking about my top 10 favourite film composers, and if my list has changed in recent years. I came to the conclusion that it has, a bit. So I thought I could share some of the thoughts here (I can't remember if I ever shared my top 10 list here, or in another similar thread), just for my own therapeutic value.
 
1. JOHN WILLIAMS
 
This spot has been cemented in stone for the 30+ years I've been a film music fan, and it will not change for as long as I live.
 

 
2. Hans Zimmer
 
Previously about 5th place, but now moved up to second. Not so much because of his work in recent years, but a newfound love and appreciation of his glorious work in the 80s and 90s (up to the mid 2000s, roughly), which was so important in my formative years. Post-THE LAST SAMURAI, there is really only a handful of scores that I like, that are on the same level.
 

 
3. Vangelis
 
I debated with myself if he counts, since he really was an electronic artist that only occasionally did film music, but came to the conclusion that his body of film work is so considerable that he qualified. A podcast episode I did just a year and a half prior to his death reignited my old Vangelis passion, and his tragic passing just boosted it further.
 
4. James Horner
 
He's always been in my top 5, but once again his death fuelled my passion for his music and I've found myself listening to his music in recent years almost as much as I did in the 90s.
 

 
5. Zbigniew Preisner
 
I've always loved Preisner, but my "old age", combined with my new preference for the ethereal, moody and calm has reignited my passion for his work. When all is said and done, he really is the greatest living European film composer after the passings of Vangelis and Morricone (Zimmer is more American than European these days anyway).
 

 
6. Danny Elfman
 
Previously my second favourite. He's fallen a bit because I've not really liked, or found any interest in his blockbuster/mainstream scores in the last 15 years or so. Some good things in the indie stuff, or the concert music, but not enough to retain the podium spot. However, I'm still an Elfman completist (once you are one, it's hard to stop) and need to get about 16 titles in physical format to be up-to-date. He still deserves this high spot, though, due to my indelible connection to his work in the past.
 

 
7. Elliot Goldenthal
 
Somewhat similar to Elfman. My previous number 3, and I'm also a completist. Interesting that I'm NOT a completist of Zimmer, Vangelis and Horner, but am of Elfman and Goldenthal further down the list. That's just how circumstances work. But his absence on the general "film scene" in the last two decades or so (partly due to his head injury, partly due to a conscious decision to tone down his film work outside Julie Taymour) has made him more distant from my general awareness. But again -- still deserves the high spot for the past connections.
 

 
8. James Newton Howard
 
Also a bit frustrating to place. He's one of the most important film composers in my life, and WATERWORLD remains one of my top 10 scores of all time. However, he's been very on and off in the last two decades. A HIDDEN LIFE, however, showed he still has the chops if properly inspired, the best score of that whole year.
 

 
9. Alan Silvestri
 
Similar to JNH. One of the cornerstone composers of my life, and THE ABYSS remains a top 10 score. But extremely uneven in the last two decades. Like JNH, he surfs on into the top 10 based on previous accomplishments.
 

 
10. Georges Delerue
 
This spot, the last spot, was a massive battle between titans Georges Delerue, Jerry Goldsmith and Ennio Morricone. I've had an explosive interest in Morricone after his passing, but it wasn't quite enough to nudge my old favourite Delerue off of the list. So often in my life, I need a little bit of bittersweet, melancholic music, and Delerue is the go-to man for that. Similarly, I haven't really played a lot of Goldsmith in recent years, even if I have about 70 of his scores and he's always been a favourite. I've veered more towards the calmer and reflective, and Goldsmith is usually more 'busy' than that, even when he did low-key dramas. He doesn't have a lot of ANGELA'S ASHESes or STANLEY & IRISes or THE ACCIDENTAL TOURISTes and the like in his resume. But by all means, when you have 70 albums of someone, he's definitely a close contender.
 
----
 
With that said, these are some composers that stand immediately outside the door, very close to being let into the Company of 10: Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone, A.R. Rahman, Alan Menken, Angelo Badalamenti, Basil Poledouris, David Arnold, Franz Waxman, Giorgio Moroder, Max Richter, Michael Kamen, Patrick Doyle, Stefan Nilsson, Tangerine Dream and Thomas Newman. Maybe some day they will get in.
 
Thanks for indulging me this unsympathetically self-absorbed post.

I also thought it was atrocious.
 
I will be skipping Ant-Man Quantmania until it comes to streaming, I have no high hopes.
 
I am looking forward to Secret Invasion though, I hope it’s good.