Your favorite Williams score of the 2010s and why

[Jay 37,353]

So far since composing Indiana Jones 4 in 2008, Williams has brought us 4 more motion picture scores, 3 of them to films by Steven Spielberg.

Which one is your favorite? Don't just say the title - tell us why!

For me, i find it hard to decide.

Tintin is the most accessible and the most fun. I love all the action music, especially the swashbuckling piratey music, as well as the puzzle solving music, playful Snowy music, location setting music, etc. And of course the jazzy opening titles! This is also the score I've listened to the most times out of the 4 for sure, partly due to it being the first new Williams score released in 3 years, and also cause it's just damn good!

War Horse still blows me away. It's a score that grabbed me right away and has never let go, full of great themes and great settings of those themes. The reunion theme is so heartbreaking! This is film music at it's best, conveying emotions that can affect the listener deeply. It's also the only score of the 4 I've continuously listened to since getting it (I don't think I've listened to Tintin since 2012)

Lincoln was a very surprising score to me. For whatever reason, I wasn't expecting too much from it, but then it came out and it was just FULL of FANTASTIC themes. The difference between it and War Horse, I think is that while War Horse has interesting music in between the thematic passages, while with Lincoln I don't find those sections to be as interesting. But the themes are all great.

The Book Thief I've only listened to 3 times so far, but it is a very nice, quiet score. A couple of the themes are really great, and most of the rest of the score seems to be little ideas that only exist in one track but are all very nice to listen to.

So every score has great things to offer in my opinion, but if I had to pick one, I suppose today I'd pick War Horse.

What are your picks, and why?

[gkgyver 1,645]

His scores got progressively less interesting, so either Tintin or War Horse.

War Horse.

[Joe Brausam 214]

It's a tough decision for me too, except for Tintin which I just honestly don't enjoy.

I would put Book Thief in third place because it doesn't grab me as much as Lincoln and War Horse, but the Max/Leisel theme is gorgeous and even though the 'main theme' is rhythmically repetitive I still like it very much, and I think the repetitiveness of it was a deliberate decision.

Lincoln gets 2nd place. I actually think that as a pure composition it is better than War Horse (although it doesn't stand on its own quite as well as War Horse), and the performance is excellent and it's a wonderful album. I don't get bored listening to it. I think it's very emotional and inspired, and the simplicity of it is only really skin deep. A lot of deep thought went into this.

War Horse is my 1st place pick. It has the most emotional resonance for me, and I think part of that has to do with this score being something of a connection between me and a friend who's grown to be my best friend. So I admit that part of the reason I love it is not musical at all. But beyond that it is performed very expressively, I love the themes, the lushness of the opening tracks is stirring and I appreciate how much the themes mature over the course of the score. (i.e. I do honestly believe the reunion theme is very deeply connected to the original Dartmoor themes, and the bonding theme grows up quite a bit too) I also think that War Horse is Williams' best constructed album in many, many years. The album truly tells a story and I think that listening to it all the way through is the best way to enjoy it, this really works beyond the film. Also, like Jason, this is one that i still continuously listen to. Lincoln a little less so, but that pops up often as well.

[Jay 37,353]

Yea, I too am most found of the opening Dartmoor tracks in War Horse, and like the 2nd "act" the least, with the 3rd act being in the middle. The third act contains my favorite theme (the reunion theme), but the first act is just glorious from start to finish.

And yea, the album is structured great, keeping things is mostly chronological order was the right choice for this score.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

War Horse, and I'll tell you why. The last bars of that score, with those pentatonic flute figures, approach divinity. There is a similar moment in The Peterson House and Finale on solo trumpet but it's slightly less striking. It's the sound of "passing into history" to me, if that makes any sense to you.

As morbid as it may seem (and to me it seems far more poetic and beautiful than morbid), it feels like John is ending most of his scores now in a way that would be fitting as an... overall end as well. War Horse was the first one that made me feel like that.

[Joe Brausam 214]

The 2nd act has its moments, like "Pulling the Canon" or "Joey's New Friends", but I agree that it's the least enjoyable.

[Jay 37,353]

As morbid as it may seem (and to me it seems far more poetic and beautiful than morbid), it feels like John is ending most of his scores now in a way that would be fitting as an... overall end as well. War Horse was the first one that made me feel like that.

I doubt Williams is consciously approaching every score as if it could be his last. He's in excellent health and mentions in every interview how he hopes to keep scoring films for a long time.

[mstrox 6,651]

War Horse, because it's real good. Of the remaining three, I only have a particular fondness for Tintin, but it does not approach my fondness for War Horse.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

As morbid as it may seem (and to me it seems far more poetic and beautiful than morbid), it feels like John is ending most of his scores now in a way that would be fitting as an... overall end as well. War Horse was the first one that made me feel like that.

I doubt Williams is consciously approaching every score as if it could be his last. He's in excellent health and mentions in every interview how he hopes to keep scoring films for a long time.

I've gotta disagree. From the standpoint of an artist, no matter how optimistic, there's bound to be some thought and consideration on what could be the last thing you say.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

This is the end.

Hold your breath and count to ten.

Feel the earth move and then.

Hear my heart burst again.

For this is the end.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Terrible lyrics.

[Joe Brausam 214]

I get what you mean, Pilgrim. But I think that approach to the music has more to do with the source material Williams is writing for rather than a greater meaning. Lincoln, War Horse (for the most part), and The Book Thief all end in a bittersweet way and all have a strong sense of finality.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

That's fair. Maybe I'm just romanticizing it a bit.

[Jay 37,353]

Yea, I think you are, I agree with Joe

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Fair enough.

[Thor 7,495]

WAR HORSE, by a landslide.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

TINTIN, by an avalanche.

[SF1_freeze 131]

War Horse by far.

Three post 1993 John Williams scores are in my top ten favorite JW scores list: "The Phantom Menace", "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and "War Horse". War Horse has all the ingredients of a JW masterpiece. A rich palette of fantastic and memorable themes, a number of very good submotifs and great action writing. It's a beautiful score.

[mstrox 6,651]

If War Horse was just "No Man's Land" playing on repeat for eighty minutes, I would still likely prefer it to the other three scores.

[Glóin the Dark 1,220]

I've only seen (and heard) Lincoln and War Horse. Neither the film War Horse nor its score were to my taste at all; maybe I should listen to the score on its own to find out if it's any more agreeable. In Lincoln I was relieved that the score was kept fairly low-key and not too saccharine, so that's my favourite by default.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

War Horse, the rest are autopilot.

[Jay 37,353]

Good one, Koray!

[Omen II 1,235]

For me it's between War Horse and Lincoln, but I think Lincoln gets my vote by a nose. I'm a sucker for that Coplandesque stuff that Williams does so well, which is why I also like the score for Saving Private Ryan so much. There is a lot to enjoy in all four scores, however.

[mrbellamy 6,286]

I'll say Tintin. It has more color and energy than the others, and I think it does the most for its film. War Horse is maybe my favorite album of the four, but it's sort of hit-and-miss as a film score, though it does have some inspiring moments, especially that piano theme over Joey and Albert's silhouette against the sunset.

I really love Lincoln and The Book Thief's delicacy, though, and "The American Process" makes for one of the best moments in a pretty great film. Haven't seen The Book Thief yet so I can't say anything about that aspect of it.

[KK 3,307]

War Horse. The writing here is just exquisite. You just don't hear stuff like this anymore. Those Vaughn-Williams-like strings and the gorgeous soaring flute passages. This is the maestro in top form!

It'd be followed by Tintin, but Lincoln is climbing up the ranks.

The Book Thief, while a good score, is on the bottom of the list by a larger margin.

[Jay 37,353]

Crap, I forgot to turn on the public option for the poll! Bah!

Well, at least all 4 scores have at least one vote, that's always good

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

I must know who didn't agree with me so I can harass them.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

War Horse edges out Tintin by a hair. They're so different that it's hard to compare them but War Horse's emotional punch leaves a greater effect on me than Tintin's dazzling thematic depth. Lincoln and The Book Thief are pretty much at a tie. Lincoln features lusher orchestration but lacks a definite main theme and it's role in the film is so diminished that it might as well not be there. The Book Thief has a definite main theme and works well in the film but it the orchestration leaves a little bit to be desired.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Star Wars Episode VII!

Followed by Lincoln, War Horse and Tin Tin. I'll reserve judgement on The Book Burglar as I've yet to steal it.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Star Wars Episode VII!

Yes, that's the spirit.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Star Wars Episode VIII

[Stempel 136]

Tintin

[Naïve Old Fart 9,520]

"The Book Thief", mostly because it reminds me of "The Accidental Tourist", and most posters know what I think of that score.

[Faleel 5,346]

Definitely not "Prisoner of the Crystal Catch Me if You Tintin."

[King Mark 3,631]

Winner is War Horse. It might even be a "classic" JW score alongside his better ones and I like it even better than Far and Away. Plowing has one of the most epic Williams passages of all time

Tintin is alright but not as good as the Indiana Jones and Star Wars scores (including KotCS and Prequels). Not enough development of the heroic Tintin theme (the only one that's great) and the other themes are forgettable by Williams standards. It's like he followed his recipe but forgot to put the secret spice in

Lincoln is growing on me and The People's House is a great JW track

Last is Book Thief. It's middle of the road Willliams with a few highlights (Visitor on himmel Street and Rudy is Taken

[indy4 155]

1. War Horse - Easily my first choice. The score flows so wonderfully, you would never know it was written for film. It's so clearly a JW score, but at the same time he takes things into new directions and develops ideas from previous works.

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - I know this isn't in the poll, but since adding it rounds out the most recent phase of JW's career, the "film semi-retirement" phase, I thought I'd throw it in. A great score, with great development of classic themes. Sounds really fresh to my ears.

3. Lincoln - I almost ranked this one as #4 soley due to unoriginality. It's a very good score, but it lifts directly from a LOT of non-JW works (multiple works by Copland, plus Beethoven, Mancini and Vaughn-Williams). That said the result is so beautiful, and the the structure of the score is highly original. I think the OST really takes on a new meaning when separated from the film.

4. The Book Thief - As I said above, this one almost took the #3 slot because while it's as unoriginal as Lincoln, its rips are all from previous JW scores, which I certainly prefer. It's a great work that has grown on me a lot since first hearing it. But not quite as engaging as Lincoln for me. Not really sure why.

5. Adventures of Tintin - I feel bad ranking Tintin so low because there are so many outstanding cues (the first and last cue are some of Williams' most inspired recent film cues, IMO). My problem is overall the score just doesn't work that well. It's just too scatterbrained and hyperactive, and a lot of it sounds like filler to my ears. Probably 50% of the score is unnecessary (but the other 50% is just fantastic). I'd say this is his least good score since Minority Report (which again is painful for me to say because I love MR too).

As morbid as it may seem (and to me it seems far more poetic and beautiful than morbid), it feels like John is ending most of his scores now in a way that would be fitting as an... overall end as well. War Horse was the first one that made me feel like that.

I doubt Williams is consciously approaching every score as if it could be his last. He's in excellent health and mentions in every interview how he hopes to keep scoring films for a long time.

I've gotta disagree. From the standpoint of an artist, no matter how optimistic, there's bound to be some thought and consideration on what could be the last thing you say.

I agree. I think this is the reason JW chose to score Book Thief, a film about art's ability to transcend death.

[Jay 37,353]

Woah.

[nightscape94 965]

War Horse. I do like Tintin, but War Horse just sings to me. It's a beautiful score with a lovely collection of themes, some of JW's best in a long time, all in one score. The variations are high class. It's amazing that we got this and Tintin within a few weeks of each other.

[Incanus 5,714]

I have to say I have an affinity for each of these 4 scores for different reasons and this is music I have most listened to in these past few years. If I would have to pick the absolute favourite it would be War Horse for its sheer emotional resonance and the lovely pastoral beauty.

I have written at length (too much and too ramblingly some might say) about each score, except the Book Thief as I have not seen the film (opens here in April!) and I really found all of them to be exceptional, more so in this time and film music climate.

[AIFan 16]

Interestingly, I had just recently pulled these up on my Ipod and played them in chronological order, though I'm not sure listening to them out of their release order really would have made much of a difference. I ended up voting, in this poll, for The Adventures of Tintin, because ultimately it was the most refreshing for me, and it provides the most original material in quite some time from the Maestro. I would consider Lincoln and War Horse in a close tie for second, because they each have their own advantages working for them, and they each have great cues to recommend them. Lincoln is outstanding Americana, in addition to having on display a lot of its folk roots. War Horse shows an incredible mastery of Vaughn Williamsesque and other English sources, and evoked much of what was great about Jane Eyre's score as well. The Book Thief would probably end up in fourth, because, while it does have some great themes, it relies on them a little too much, and certainly evokes Presumed Innocent and Stepmom, along with some other ealier scores. While I have a great amount of appreciation for those scores, and for Williams' more personal scores in general, I find that it just lacks the creativity to sustain my interest throughout the entirety of the score.

Going back to Tintin, I felt it was inspired writing from Mr. Williams based on some inspired filmmaking by Spielberg. It was the first score since the first Harry Potter movie (well, perhaps since Prisoner of Azkaban) where I felt that Williams wrote a greatly inspired score that allowed a full pallette: action, drama, jazz, and thrilling cliffhanger music. (Also, as a bassoonist, I enjoyed the liberal use of contrabassoon in the score, only really heard in its full glory when wearing earphones!) Overall, while the other scores reach lofty heights, none seems more inspired than Tintin, and I do hope that he gets the opportunity to follow up on those ideas in the (hopefully) imminent sequel...

AIFan

[Quintus 5,399]

Tintin overall, but War Horse had the better main theme. But during the movie itself Tintin trounced it, because I thought Williams' War Horse was overbearing and twee. It was extremely distracting.

[Gurkensalat 340]

Tintin, I admire its youthful energy and invention, lots of surprises. And also its intrinsic motivic development is astounding, although only to hear with repeated listening.

[Incanus 5,714]

Actually it is amazing how many themes these 4 films have combined. In my opinion Johnny is still churning out some bloody fantastic thematic material.

Tintin overall, but War Horse had the better main theme. But during the movie itself Tintin trounced it, because I thought Williams' War Horse was overbearing and twee. It was extremely distracting.

Oh and I agree with what Karol once said about the War Horse and how it follows a very old fashioned melodrama mindset in both storytelling and music. I just saw the film a few days ago and Williams' music was a bit too much on the nose in the opening third but it really shines in the middle and final thirds. As an album it works like gangbusters for me, creating a very strong musical narrative and includes basically every major setpiece of the score. The Homecoming will always be the highlight of highlights for me on the album. I don't think I have heard such an organic and joyous end credits suite from Williams in a long time. Lincoln and The Book Thief both have strong end credits but both feel much more reworking of the cues from the album than the Homecoming, where Williams takes the original ideas and gives them a completely new spin.

[Jay 37,353]

Yea, the War Horse end credits are great.

[King Mark 3,631]

Is Homecoming a different recording or an edit from other cues?

[Jay 37,353]

Original.

However, in the film itself, other music is tracked in instead: http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21097&p=780350

[King Mark 3,631]

ah, that's right

[Incanus 5,714]

The film version is just a rather clunky edit in comparison. I think the only real alternate passage is the slower flute phrase that opens the film version, otherwise it is mix of the original Homecoming and tracked sections mostly featuring the main theme.

[RuBen_Kenobi 19]

War Horse has all the ingredients of a JW masterpiece. A rich palette of fantastic and memorable themes, a number of very good submotifs and great action writing. It's a beautiful score.

If War Horse was just "No Man's Land" playing on repeat for eighty minutes, I would still likely prefer it to the other three scores.

I Love No Man´s Land, one of my all time favourite tracks.

For Me War Horse is in my Williams Top 10 or close. Tintin is really fun, with a lot of themes and action music but as KM said is not at the level of SW, Indy or HP. Lincoln is one of my favourites Williams´ dramas (I prefer it to Accidental Tourist, Angela´s Ashes or Sleepers for example. I´ve only listened The Book Thief 5 o 6 times and it´s ok, but is by far my least favourite of the four.

[Balahkay 627]

"The Adventures of Tintin" is the one I enjoy the most. It makes me excited to hear what Williams has in store for Episode VII. He's still got it in him.