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To be a John Williams fan ...


Trumpeteer

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... would be similar to the dry spell we face now. I wonder what all of you would have been like if you realized that after the fun and brilliance and boldness of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," you were stuck with two calendar years without a Williams score.

But then, the next two scores would turn out to be "Empire of the Sun" and "The Witches of Eastwick" in 1987. The first is good, not great. The second knocks my socks off every time.

So, after the brilliance and boldness of "Munich" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," we are, after 20 years, in another dry spell. We made it through 2006 OK, save the stupidness that is Santaolalla's repeat Oscar thievery. We're almost at the halfway point of 2007, and all we're going to get is "Hedwig's Theme."

Will we make it to summer 2008? Or will we revolt, as I'm sure JW fans of 1985 and 1986 certainly did?

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I'm doing the same thing I did 20 years ago, listening to all of my other great scores and not worrying about Williams possibly going into semi-retirement.

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Definitely a great couple years, and kind of a turning point for Williams' sound.

Ray Barnsbury - who knows that's not the point of the thread, but still...

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the fun and brilliance and boldness of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"

the brilliance and boldness of "Munich" and "Memoirs of a Geisha"

"The Witches of Eastwick" knocks my socks off every time.

"Empire of the Sun" : good, not great.

Your comment of Empire of the Sun should've read: Serious, weighty and celestial. Yes, less "fun" and entertaining than any of the above but ultimately more important.

Alex

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If you don't think Empire of the Sun is great, you need to listen to it more.....I feel......

SpaceCamp? I'm in the "OK movie, good score" camp.....

Boldness and brilliance of Memoirs of a Geisha? I must have missed that few seconds!

Greg - who knows that Indiana Jones 4 will not be too long now....

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The Munich theme (in Remembering Munich,Avner and Daphina) is very good.Prayer for Peace is more run of the mill "serious" Williams but still good beeing all orchestral

K.M.

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No there isn't. It's run of the mill serious Williams scoring.

Only Williams scores that I'd call run-of-the-mill are Home Alone 2 and The Patriot.

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Well, I wouldn't concider any of them run of the mill, they all have a special something, a certain soul to them.

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Yes, but you're you. You're the kind of guy who loves The Black Dahlia. Who knows what kind of twisted outlook you have on the world.

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He probably loved it before he went in

Yes, but you're you. You're the kind of guy who loves The Black Dahlia. Who knows what kind of twisted outlook you have on the world.

He has to love it, it's Brian De Palma, Neil's favorite director. He probably already was in love with it before he went in the theater.

Alex

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I knew about "Spacecamp," but it came and went so fast in 1986 that it was registered as a blip until it came out on video.

Given the little time John Williams had to score "Munich" (about six weeks, I read), he did some pretty amazing things.

And I'd pick "Munich" over "Home Alone 2" even with a gun to my head.

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Wouldn't go so far as to say I "love" The Black Dahlia. I haven't even seen it on video. I haven't rented it or bought it.

I do think it was better than most movies last year though.

But that doesn't change that I find Home Alone 2 a far more interesting listen than Munich.

Neil

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And I'd pick "Munich" over "Home Alone 2" even with a gun to my head.

No, no, no, Home Alone 2 was a very expensive CD so it has to be better than Munich. It's simple logic.

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munich is senile music from senile JW. its an irrelevant score, not worthy of discussion, and the film is one of SS's worst in recent memory.

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Guest macrea

It's all a matter of perspective. As I recall, in 1985-86 I heard Williams' music every night on a network news broadcast and every Sunday night on a TV series, plus there was a spectacular run of Evening at Pops broadcasts around that time. There was also a lot of hoopla over the Liberty Centennial. To me "Spacecamp" is a terrific score and with all the other stuff going on it didn't seem like a dry spell at all. Nothing at all like the present in my mind.

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Yes agreed and at least back then and during other Williams score dry spells we had Boston Pops albums relased. This is a serious dry-spell like none we have experienced before!

Home Alone 2 is definitely not run of the mill Williams, specifically as it's an improvement upon Home Alone and features some of his best and most complex scoring in many guises.

- Tim.

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The difference is that 20 years ago, Williams was still "young" by comparison.

And HA2 isn't run-of-the-mill. It's an excellent score, better than the first one.

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