The Terminal

[Pieter Boelen 633]

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 The Terminal 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?

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.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

I know Joe hates it, and some here think its dull autopilot Williams, but this is one of my personal favorite Williams work. The love theme itself is my favorite JW love theme. 5 stars, though its probably more deserving of a 4.

[odnurega1 0]

4.5 Stars. A great score, fits well in the film, and a pleasant listening experience outside of the film.

[Richard Penna 2,082]

3.5

It gets repetitive, and IMO has a pretty bad album presentation, but it works great in the movie. Works nice as a background listen for me.

[Maglorfin 195]

Really fits the movie perfectly, but not what I'd call one of JW's masterpieces. I give it 4 stars.

[Neimoidian 13]

Really fits the movie perfectly, but not what I'd call one of JW's masterpieces. I give it 4 stars.

I think the same.

I don't find it JW on autopilot. I think he had a lot of fun writing this. It's a jolly and hummable score with interesting, eastern flavour.

[Ollie 859]

I gave it a 2, I know that might seem a little harsh.

A fun main theme, it was a treat to hear it performed live, but at times the rest of the score feels like "been there, heard it before".

[Neimoidian 13]

I gave it a 2, I know that might seem a little harsh.

A fun main theme, it was a treat to hear it performed live, but at times the rest of the score feels like "been there, heard it before".

I had the same feeling with "IJ4", but not with "The Terminal"...

[Unlucky Bastard 7,765]

4444.

Pretty good.

[MSM 85]

4444.

Pretty good.

4 for me too. Excellent Love Theme, one of the best ever by Wiliams. A catchy tune, which is also not much more than that. Finding Coins develops the Main Theme in a marvelous way. Also a nice variety of different styles on the album.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

4. The main theme and love theme are terrific, and the rest of the score is very pleasant with several highlights sprinkled throughout. I especially love the carefree buoyancy of "The Wedding of Officer Torres."

[Red 73]

4.

Nice little score.

[Koray Savas 2,095]

4

[indy4 152]

4, very nice.

[Pieter Boelen 633]

Another 4 stars from me. Pretty good, but not amazingly so. A nice listen all the way through, the main theme is pretty good and there's some pretty good moment throughout as well. Not a total loss by any means.

[Bryant Burnette 451]

3.5

I always enjoy it when I listen to it, but seem to forget the specifics of it immediately. That may have more to say about my poor memory than the score itself, but since I don't seem to have that problem with, say, E.T. or 1941, I'm going to assume that I'm probably getting it right.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the only Spielberg-directed film I've seen only once. I should probably fix that; I remember liking it fairly well.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

its hard to dislike a film with Catherine Zeta Jones with short hair and in a stewardess uniform

[AC1 3,565]

Good score but not as good a Catch Me If You Can. The same can be said about the film.

[QMM 4]

I'm a fan

[Delorean90 32]

I voted 4.5, although in hindsight a 4 may have been more appropriate. I really love the score, though. I'm not sure why people hate it--and the more recent Williams I here, the less I understand why people diss his abilities nowadays. Terrific themes, nice underscoring (I concur on "The Wedding of Officer Torres"), and speaking of themes, I almost agree with BurgaFlippinMan on the love theme. It depends on what I listened to most recently as to whether I like "Marion's Theme," "Love Theme from Superman," or "Love Theme from The Terminal" the best.

And I really want to have a version of the film with the original ending.

[MSM 85]

its hard to dislike a film with Catherine Zeta Jones with short hair and in a stewardess uniform

I prefer her with long hair and without the stewardess costume.

[Pieter Boelen 633]

What was the original ending to the film then? I heard something about it before, but haven't got a clue as to the specifics.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

its hard to dislike a film with Catherine Zeta Jones with short hair and in a stewardess uniform

I prefer her with long hair and without the stewardess costume.

Thats just too bad

[Delorean90 32]

What was the original ending to the film then? I heard something about it before, but haven't got a clue as to the specifics.

I haven't heard much beyond the fact that Amelia and Viktor ended up together in the end. I don't know any specifics, but I'm guessing Williams' titling reflects the original ending: "Destiny...Canneloni...and The Tale of Viktor Navorski (reprise)." My assumption is that the final scene would've been them going out for canneloni. I think IMDB says that she originally went to the city with him, but I don't know if that's the case, and she accompanied him as he went to get the autograph, or if she shows up while he listens to Golson playing. With the way that scene was shot, I was actually expecting that to happen.

[indy4 152]

Do you know why they went with the new ending?

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Spielberg purportedly wanted a less cliched ending. Or was it test audiences didn't like the cliched original? Not too sure myself

[Henry B 49]

Do you know why they went with the new ending?

Yes, why didn't the lovers get together? By changing the ending Spielberg made it sad. Why did he do a silly thing like that?

[Delorean90 32]

EDIT: This is slightly retreading what I wrote below, but Henry: the film is already such that people averse to feel-good material or syrupy fun should already have been sick to their stomach. It's already in that vein, and there's no real point in changing it in that way, when the rest of the film sets you up for it to have ended traditionally (see the dinner sequence). Spielberg said he wanted to make a film that had audiences smiling as they leave. A sad/bittersweet ending doesn't do that quite so much.

BurgaFlippinMan: Yeah, what I read was that they were concerned audiences would find it too corny. I think that it was already going in such a feel-good vein, why diverge from that in such a crucial area of such a film? If not, then the significance of the Planters can should've been established earlier, so that when it is the last thing that happens (basically), it's more satisfying. But

I don't wanna watch Jimmy Stewart not get the girl in a Frank Capra film,

and I don't care if it's cliched or corny. It is the type of film that it is, and for me, the ending left a slight taste in my mouth. I mean, I certainly enjoyed it, but it kind of tempered the feel-good nature of it in an unnecessary and, perhaps, disappointing way. It also

makes the finale cue make little to no sense--I'm almost 100% positive that that is the cue Williams wrote and recorded for the original ending, and they simply transferred it over to the new one. And does anyone really know why Viktor and Amelia smile at each other when they see each other outside the terminal?

[indy4 152]

Do you know why they went with the new ending?

Yes, why didn't the lovers get together? By changing the ending Spielberg made it sad. Why did he do a silly thing like that?

I never said I wanted the original or not, I just asked why it was changed.

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

the significance of the Planters can should've been established earlier, so that when it is the last thing that happens (basically), it's more satisfying.

I agree.

It also

makes the finale cue make little to no sense--I'm almost 100% positive that that is the cue Williams wrote and recorded for the original ending, and they simply transferred it over to the new one.

That's a very good point, I bet you're right. Especially with the "Canneloni" reference.

And does anyone really know why Viktor and Amelia smile at each other when they see each other outside the terminal?

I think they're trying to show that

they have moved on, that Viktor is willing to accept that he will never be with Amelia, sort of a "I still want to be friends" type deal.

IMO, it was a very flawed film overall, but still somewhat enjoyable. It's not Spielberg's worst (despite what the Kaplans think), IMO, but it is only an okay/nice film.

[Neimoidian 13]

I must say I like the ending that is in the picture. I don't mind it's bittersweetness, actually I'm happy it ended this way. It gave some new dimmension to the cliched story. Besides, Viktor was in NY only to meet Golson and he had to go back. There was no chance for him and Amelia to stay together and happy ending would have been nothing but forced (and I am sure it would hae become one of the most criticized ones from Spielberg's pictures).

I left the theatre in a very good mood, whistling the main tune, so in my book Spielberg did a good job, one of his best in the 00s.

[Delorean90 32]

Now, I would agree with you--

especially with how things start off when we meet her. But stuff like the dinner sequence (everything that the track on the CD covers) and the fountain scene, I just felt so set up for a happy ending. The dinner sequence particularly had such charm that I was really rooting for it to end differently than it did. For me, it would work if they had shifted much of the focus that was placed on Amelia over to the significance of the can. As for him having to go back, who's to say they couldn't have worked things out one way or the other? I don't recall--did he mention friends or relatives back home aside from his father?

Maybe part of this is me, but when you're in this kind of a film, I don't care if a happy ending has been done before--there's a difference between predictability and inevitability. But I like happy endings. If it's the right film, something else can work. But if they were going to dispense with the conventions in some way, I wish that either they had done it some other way, or that they had started doing it sooner. And if we're talking about corny or cliched, just look at how Viktor gets out of the terminal--heck, look at most of the movie! You know why I like more than one MGM musical? They mostly end up the same way--but the details are different. That's what is different about many movies, and I don't see anything wrong with that. Take the conventions (and maybe put some slight twists on it) and put YOUR characters and YOUR story and YOUR moments in it. But it seems like a lot of people get hung up on the fact that the format is the same or the basic template is the same, but if you're putting your own stamp on it, and it's good, then I fail to see the problem.

[MrScratch 292]

2, a dull listening experience. Never seen the movie and have no desire to.

[Pieter Boelen 633]

I very much agree Delorean90. Being original is a good thing, but being original for the sake of being original is not. The original idea actually has to be a GOOD idea. If not, I'd rather have a tried-and-true formula. Of course one needs to experiment a bit to find out which original ideas are actually good, but with a bit of thinking-it-through, it's quite possible to distinguish bad ideas from good one. Not to mention "bittersweet endings" are becoming a cliché of their own.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Now, I would agree with you--

especially with how things start off when we meet her. But stuff like the dinner sequence (everything that the track on the CD covers) and the fountain scene, I just felt so set up for a happy ending. The dinner sequence particularly had such charm that I was really rooting for it to end differently than it did. For me, it would work if they had shifted much of the focus that was placed on Amelia over to the significance of the can. As for him having to go back, who's to say they couldn't have worked things out one way or the other? I don't recall--did he mention friends or relatives back home aside from his father?

Maybe part of this is me, but when you're in this kind of a film, I don't care if a happy ending has been done before--there's a difference between predictability and inevitability. But I like happy endings. If it's the right film, something else can work. But if they were going to dispense with the conventions in some way, I wish that either they had done it some other way, or that they had started doing it sooner. And if we're talking about corny or cliched, just look at how Viktor gets out of the terminal--heck, look at most of the movie! You know why I like more than one MGM musical? They mostly end up the same way--but the details are different. That's what is different about many movies, and I don't see anything wrong with that. Take the conventions (and maybe put some slight twists on it) and put YOUR characters and YOUR story and YOUR moments in it. But it seems like a lot of people get hung up on the fact that the format is the same or the basic template is the same, but if you're putting your own stamp on it, and it's good, then I fail to see the problem.

Its a 3 year old film.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

2, a dull listening experience. Never seen the movie and have no desire to.

its a stinker.

[Salacius 7]

1 from me. Not a score expected by Williams and did nothing for me as a score in general

[Delorean90 32]

Its a 3 year old film.

Which I myself hadn't seen until a few months ago. I guess if it's easier on the eyes I'll just post a SPOILER warning.

Joe, Scratch, and Salacius, I haven't the foggiest idea as to how you can rate this score this low. 3 would be the lowest I could fathom anyone realistically rating this score. It's lovely, and I don't really follow your complaints.

[MrScratch 292]

I listened to this a couple times when it first came out and it didn't do a darn thing for me.