2002 or 2005?

[Muad'Dib 1,801]

I apologise for creating another poll if anyone is bothered by that, but I thought this could be a very interesting topic to discuss.

Two differents years. Eight scores. Four each year. Which do you think was the best year? The contenders...

2002 had...

- Attack of the Clones

- Chamber of Secrets

- Catch Me if you Can

- Minority Report

And 2005 had...

- Memoirs of a Geisha

- Munich

- War of the Worlds

- Revenge of the Sith

Personally, I find myself listening to the four scores from 2005 very often, and I love them all! Memoirs and Munich are some of Johnny's best serious writing, I don't understand why some people dislike them. They're masterpieces!

And the other two scores... WOTW is simply the best atonal score Johnny has ever done. I love the fact that there isn't any identifiable theme. It makes the score a lot more effective.

And ROTS is my favorite of the prequel scores.

How about you?

PS: I promise I won't create a poll for a couple of months, at least

[Jay 37,336]

I'm sure 2005 will win this poll easily.

However, I personally vote for 2002. It contains two scores I enjoy quite a bit (AOTC and COS), a score I like (MR), and a nice score I've only listened to once or twice (CMIYC).

2005, on the other hand, contains 4 scores that I think are nice, but I haven't fully "clicked" with yet. I really need to find time to give all of them a thorough listen.

[Richard Penna 3,679]

Gotta be 2005.

The problem with 2002 was that CMIYC was from a period that doesn't musically interest me, Minority Report just bores me and the less said about AotC the better. Chamber of Secrets is the only score that year I truly enjoy.

Whereas I really like RotS and WotW and there are bits of Geisha and Munich that I appreciate in heavily abridged form.

[Quintus 5,399]

Being a part-timer, none of the years mentioned are particularly memorable for me, as far as JW is concerned; but at a push I'd go for the option which featured the superb PoA.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

2002 because I like all the scores. I don't really like WOTW or Munich.

[John Crichton 4]

'05 by a mile. One of Williams' most underrated years, actually.

[indy4 155]

2002 - AotC and CMIYC are both fantastic, CoS and MR are both very good.

RotS beats everything in 2002, but I'm just less interested in the other scores of the year (although I think they're all good).

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

'05 by a mile. One of Williams' most underrated years, actually.

I don't think so. I would argue the opposite. It seems like most people here laud the '05 Williams scores and completely trash '02.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

When 2002 is bad and boring, it's very bad and very boring (some CoS, some Minority Report and most of AotC). But it gave us one of Williams' freshest and most inspired scores in recent memory: Catch Me if You Can. Second only to AI in this decade.

2005 gave us, amongst of all the drivel, Memoirs of a Geisha. As technically astounding as esthetically irreproachable. But somewhere between those mind-blowing cues lies the fact that this was a score written with the mind and not the heart. All the elements are there but it doesn't have the staying power that other, simpler works have. Catch Me if You Can, for instance.

So I'm undecided.

[Diego 21]

1977

[Datameister 2,041]

Hmmm...not sure. I'm not sufficiently familiar with Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report, and Munich. I generally prefer ROTS over AOTC but enjoy the latter more than most around here do. COS is...blargh, it has some good new material in it, but the insane amount of reused, rehashed, reconstituted material in the context of a poor sequel drives me crazy. And again, Catch Me If You Can is not a score I'm very familiar with, but I recall finding it fresh and fun but not quite to my taste. Minority Report didn't catch my attention much in the context of the film, except when I heard parts that sounded like AOTC.

In 2005, MOAG is very interesting to listen to - and a great conversation piece whenever anyone claims all Williams music sounds the same - but aside from the utterly fantastic main theme, I haven't fully embraced it yet. And WOTW is just too difficult for me to get into. Munich I've never even heard.

I dunno...I'm leaning toward 2005 overall, but I really just don't have enough information to make an educated choice.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

1977

[Koray Savas 2,251]

2005 has Munich, so 2005 it is.

[Red 75]

It's much closer than you might think, but 2005. The standouts of that year, ROTS and Memoirs, trump those of '02, Minority Report and Catch Me if You Can.

[Ollie 1,059]

2005.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Munich is one of John's worst scores, but then so is Revenge of the Sith, Geisha is forgettable, and War of the Worlds is very good.

2002 had the utter horrid ATOC, Chamber of Secrets is underrated by this board. Catch Me if You can is jazzy so you know most of the board won't even listen. Minority Report is bland.

Catch me if you Can and Chambers makes 02 the winner, though really we're losers for those 2 years.

[Josh500 1,615]

Two differents years. Eight scores. Four each year. Which do you think was the best year? The contenders...

The better year was certainly 2002.

Although it's very close. I am a big fan of AotC, CoS, and MR.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

2003.

[Datameister 2,041]

2002 had the utter horrid ATOC, Chamber of Secrets is underrated by this board.

AOTC is a thousand times better than COS, especially when one considers the whole scores as opposed to just the OSTs. I wouldn't be able to say that so confidently if all the re-recorded SS music had been originally written for COS, since most of that music is excellent in and of itself. But when considered in context, I can't view the score as anything other than an uninspired, sequelitis-ridden rehash of another wonderful score, with some fun but unremarkable new music and a few snippets of some other scores, too. Including the "utter[ly] horrid ATOC [sic]", which puts the Separatists' theme and Coruscant action music to better use.

Honestly, I don't know you could refer to any of Williams' music in such hyperbolically demeaning terms - in my experience, bottom-of-the-barrel Williams is usually no worse than mediocre in the grand scheme of things. I mean, AOTC is certainly no Star Wars or Raiders or E.T....far from it. Some of the music gets too cutesy, some of the action music could benefit from a little more inventiveness and emotional punch, and the score as a whole just doesn't exude that instant classic feeling that the man's best works do. But..."horrid"? Come on. Don't strain your credibility as a John Williams fan by exaggerating so needlessly. It's a well-performed score with a gorgeous (if rather derivative) love theme, some fine action scoring, solid new adaptations of existing themes, a sort of cohesive variety of moods..I don't see how it could be so devastatingly offensive to you.

[Josh500 1,615]

2003.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,511]

2002, because it contains "Everybody Runs!"/"Anderton's Great Escape", which is one of the best pieces that J.W. has ever written!.

[Josh500 1,615]

2002, because it contains "Everybody Runs!"/"Anderton's Great Escape", which is one of the best pieces that J.W. has ever written!.

Exactly!

Not to mention "Minority Report," "Sean's Theme," "A New Beginning," "Fawkes the Phoenix," "The Chamber of Secrets," "Dobby the House Elf," "Across the Stars," "Zam the Assassin," "Jango's Escape," "On the Conveyor Belt," and "Learning the Ropes."

[Naïve Old Fart 9,511]

2002, because it contains "Everybody Runs!"/"Anderton's Great Escape", which is one of the best pieces that J.W. has ever written!.

Exactly!

Not to mention "Minority Report," "Sean's Theme," "A New Beginning," "Fawkes the Phoenix," "The Chamber of Secrets," "Dobby the House Elf," "Across the Stars," "Zam the Assassin," "Jango's Escape," "On the Conveyor Belt," and "Learning the Ropes."

You forgot "Window To The Past", and "Quiditch: Third Year".

[Josh500 1,615]

2002, because it contains "Everybody Runs!"/"Anderton's Great Escape", which is one of the best pieces that J.W. has ever written!.

Exactly!

Not to mention "Minority Report," "Sean's Theme," "A New Beginning," "Fawkes the Phoenix," "The Chamber of Secrets," "Dobby the House Elf," "Across the Stars," "Zam the Assassin," "Jango's Escape," "On the Conveyor Belt," and "Learning the Ropes."

You forgot "Window To The Past", and "Quiditch: Third Year".

No, that was 2004!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,511]

OH, BUGGER!!! You're right. Appologies all round.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

2005.

[Neimoidian 14]

2005, mainly because of Geisha and Munich, but also because of RotS. 2002 was preety good year too, though.

[Greg1138 3]

Very, very tough for me, this one....need to think about this!