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Saving Private Ryan


Pieter Boelen

Saving Private Ryan (John Williams)  

60 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you rate this score?

    • 5 stars
      14
    • 4,5 stars
      8
    • 4 stars
      12
    • 3,5 stars
      16
    • 3 stars
      2
    • 2,5 stars
      5
    • 2 stars
      1
    • 1,5 stars
      0
    • 1 stars
      2
    • I'm not familiar with this score
      1


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Every few days I will post a thread on a random score from my collection that we can discuss and rate. I made a playlist on my computer with one track of each score I've got, so by using the random play option, I'll be able to post a truly random score each time. Hopefully this will allow us to discuss some scores that would otherwise never be discussed. Also we can record the rating so that we can create a full list of the ratings given to scores by JWFan.com.

Today's score is Saving Private Ryan by John Williams. Are you familiar with it? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? How do do you think it works in the film? What are your favourite tracks?

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So far JWFan has rated:

See Soundtrack Ratings by JWFan.com.

This web page contains the ratings from all my previous polls as well as those of Blumenkohl's.

Final ratings are converted to a 1-10 rating for both rating systems so that they can be compared.

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2 stars, and that is just for "Hymn to the Fallen," a fantastic track.

The rest of the score is a snoozer, as Alex and KM said.

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One of Williams's very finest scores, for one of Spielberg's finest films, and one of the greatest film scores of all time.

I LOVE it.

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I like parts of this score, but it's not a favourite of mine. That said, it does it's job as well as any other JW score; along with the images on screen, there are moments in this score which can be very moving, therefore I give it 4 out of 5.

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5! 5! 5!

This is probably my favorite film score. It's a dust collector for those who seek only fanfares and perceptible motifs. For me (and many others), this is one of the finest dramatic approaches in film history.

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3. It *is* a dust collector, but it's also quite good when I actually listen to it. The movie is overscored though. And similar brass writing can actually be head in The Wind and the Lion, in a less dust-collecting context.

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I give it a 4.5, Williams should have walked away with the Oscar for this one. It does what a film score is supposed to do and that's work within the context of the film.

Perhaps it is a bit over scored but the music doesn't take you away from the film and the scenes that didn't need music are not scored.

Hymn to the Fallen is a beautiful piece of music that brings a lump to my throat whenever I listen to it.

Of course it's not Harry Potter, Star Wars or IJ so it becomes a dust collector for many I suppose.

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HTTF is a good piece. Some tracks are boring, some are enjoyable. "Omaha Beach" is very underrated. In the film it works well. 3.5 stars

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I soured on this score awhile back not because it's a "snoozer" -- it's not, although it can become tiresome in its own way -- but because as a portrait of war it pales next to Zimmer & Co.'s The Thin Red Line. Two equally valid approaches, perhaps (to two very different films), but when it comes to this general subject matter, I have to go with Zimmer's grittier and grimmer vision over a respectful and finally tedious solemnity that at times treads dangerously close to mushy Americana.

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I am not familiar with this score, outside of Hymn to the Fallen. What I've heard to sounds good, but not really interesting as a listening experience on its own. Worked great in the film though. I'll go with the "I'm not familiar with this score" option though.

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4 stars. It's quite good, and "Hymn to the Fallen" rules. I'm not surprised that the votes have been polarized though, it is practically the definition of Williams minimalism.

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Four stars from me. I haven't listened to it in a year or so, and my memory of the score (apart from the impressively awesome "Hymn to theFallen") isn't good enough for me to have much of an opinion on it. So the four stars is basically for "Hymn to the Fallen" alone.

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I voted 4 stars. On an alternate and totally unrelated subject, what happened to "Josh500"? I was thinking it was odd, there not being that many polls. If I missed something, let me know.

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if he shows up because of your constant mentioning of him, so help me god I will hunt you down.

Hey Man, I mentioned him once. You ain't huntin me down! :)

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sorry you don't agree Koray but you think Zimmer's batman begins again score is good, and its not.

Hymn the the fallen is the most saccahrin piece of work that John has written, truly for the diabetic.

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sorry you don't agree Koray but you think Zimmer's batman begins again score is good, and its not.

Hymn the the fallen is the most saccahrin piece of work that John has written, truly for the diabetic.

You are wrong on all counts.

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sorry BB, Im quite right, its one of JW's worst scores.

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I refuse to blaim Goldsmith's illness for his "decline".

But there is another thing, it's called old age.

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I don't know Stefan, but I only blame the cancer for Jerry's Nemesis score, I'm not so familiar with his other works towards the end.

Strangely he seemed more inspired by the Lost World than SPR which is a better movie by far, though not a masterpiece.

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Wall-E- A Great, fun score.

The Dark Knight- love it. After seeing the film, and hearing "Why So Serious?" in context, it has become my favorite track.

Careful, don't let people hear that you like the Dark Knight score, they'll tell you how wrong you are. (And by the way -- you aren't wrong. It's flipping terrific.)

1 star, right up there with terminal

What's not to like in The Terminal?

Seriously! I like The Terminal.

And not everyone agrees that JW's scores are declining in his later years. All one has to do is listen to Memoirs of a Geisha.

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Every now and again Williams writes a score that it is so so. But there is always one track that blows me away so much so that I love the soundtrack just for that one track. This is one of those scores

4.5 from me

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sorry BB, Im quite right, its one of JW's worst scores.

Give me Saving Private Ryan over John Goldfarb, How To Steal A Million, Penelope, The River, SpaceCamp, Midway, The Poseidon Adventure, Diamond Head, and Not With My Wife You Don't any day.

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