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Favorite short musical moments in Williams scores?


Balahkay

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I hated it when I watched it, script sucks, story had no depth and moral themes (unlike JP which at least suggests them until it starts ignoring them for just some action movieness) setpieces are mostly directed well but the stuff that ties them together is autopilot with giant holes (how the hell did everyone on board get eaten when the T-Rex is still locked away below deck etc.), main characters are all evil or braindead or both (carrying the bloody jacket to invite the rexes along but then hanging it in her own tent and being surprised, leaving the hunters who saved their lives on the island with no ammo).

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52 minutes ago, Holko said:

I hated it when I watched it, script sucks, story had no depth and moral themes (unlike JP which at least suggests them until it starts ignoring them for just some action movieness) setpieces are mostly directed well but the stuff that ties them together is autopilot with giant holes (how the hell did everyone on board get eaten when the T-Rex is still locked away below deck etc.), main characters are all evil or braindead or both (carrying the bloody jacket to invite the rexes along but then hanging it in her own tent and being surprised, leaving the hunters who saved their lives on the island with no ammo).

I actually just found out about how the Rex ate the crew of the ship. There’s storyboards of a hole in the side of the wheelhouse(which would be behind the camera as we see the hand on the wheel), which is how that happens. The Rex was in a fury because of what he was shot with, which they state in the film. So one guy gets injured and makes his way over to the controls to close the cargo hold as another brave man leads the Rex back into the hold and sacrifices himself, then the other guy dies holding the button(you can even see part of the pool of blood as the police officer grabs the control from his hand).

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19 hours ago, Brando said:

Been a minute since I posted something here, and I've wanted to post about this one for a while. When I was little, before I knew anything about soundtracks or anything like that, this little moment here was always something I looked forward to when I would watch Temple of Doom. This shot occupies 11 seconds of this 1 hour and 58 minute movie and this is one of the best moments in the score. This shot is one of the reasons why the Spielberg/Williams relationship is so important and amazing, because Spielberg has a good habit of stepping back and letting Williams tell the story in specific moments in his movies. This is the big introduction of Short Round's Theme, and the horns are so absolutely beautiful. There's no dialogue, no sound effects, just the orchestra giving us one of the most joyous and childlike themes ever written.

temple-doom-movie-screencaps.com-3548.jpg

 

One of the best score moments from JW's best score :love2: (in my humble opinion)

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"Hello boy."

"Hello Wendy lady. Give us a sqwudge."

I absolutely love this moment here. The very end of Hook. Captain Hook has been defeated, Peter is a changed man, having found the child inside, reuniting with his family, returning Tootles lost marbles to him, and finally it comes to the moment where he acknowledges Wendy. It was a great idea for the sound team to turn up the music here for this moment. This orchestral swell brings feelings of warmth and love to the audience because the family has been reunited and its just oh so so good.

 

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@Not Mr. Big Love that moment too! But the choir entry always vaguely reminded me of "the Swim to Otoh Gunga" from TPM. I think the chord might be the same?

"The Gungans Converge" would nearly be as haunting though :biglaugh:

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Was listening to Jaws and Jaws 2 at work today and the ending of Munching the Helicopter is so brutal. The music is tense and gives you a glimpse of hope for Marge, until the BWAM comes in and the shark surfaces and eats her. So good 🤌

 

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On 17/10/2022 at 6:36 PM, Brando said:

"Hello boy."

"Hello Wendy lady. Give us a sqwudge."

I absolutely love this moment here. The very end of Hook. Captain Hook has been defeated, Peter is a changed man, having found the child inside, reuniting with his family, returning Tootles lost marbles to him, and finally it comes to the moment where he acknowledges Wendy. It was a great idea for the sound team to turn up the music here for this moment. This orchestral swell brings feelings of warmth and love to the audience because the family has been reunited and its just oh so so good.

 

 

It took me a loooong time to disassociate the lovely melody at 2:10 with Fah Who Foraze from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  I'm good with it now.

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17 hours ago, Brando said:

I really love the fanfare as Indy is chanting and the bag catches on fire and the Stones begin to fall into the river. Musically satisfying.

 

 

My favourite part is the woodwinds hitting that minor 2nd at 6:27, decorated by the bell tree... :love2:

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Quote
noun
  1. a short ceremonial tune or flourish played on brass instruments, typically to introduce something or someone important.
    "a specially composed fanfare announced the arrival of the Duchess"

It’s definitely the Slave Children’s theme, but I would think it’s a fanfare of that.

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This moment in Across the Stars (2:01 to 2:26) always caught my attention. I have a theory that the overly dramatic strings is a subtle nod to Bernard Herrmann's Scene D'Amour and his Vertigo score, as well as to other romantic melodramas of the 50s. It may be Williams' way of suggesting to the audience that the infatuation that Anakin feels for Padme is not exactly healthy and may be as obssessive as the one James Stewart had for Kim Novak's character. 

 

 

 

But even if this is not a reference to Herrmann, I still think there is a certain instability in the strings, kinda like suggesting Anakin's own problems that would later lead to the creation of Darth Vader.

 

What do you guys think?

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From my favorite JW cue ever: 0:43-0:45, its a short moment that I look forward to listening to every time. Also, at 0:37, the drum beat that syncs with the Lost Boy jumping off the ladder is timed perfectly.

 

 

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On 14/04/2023 at 9:23 AM, Drew said:

Another one from Minority Report. I love this little snippet for some reason. He brings out this slightly comedic emotion out of the trumpets just by having them double-tongue or whatever. His 2002 scores have so many great little moments. Something must've been in the water in 2002.

 

 

Pretty sure that cue starts with the violas, also, which is always cool. That's some John Adams Chamber Symphony stuff, for sure

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On 16/1/2023 at 12:05 AM, Jay said:

Boy do I dream of one day Mike being able to make TESB sound as good as he made Superman sound

And ROTJ. 

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My theory for why this cue is scored the way it is, is so it stands out in our memories when this room comes up again in RotS. It's like an elegy for the children who have't died yet. 

 

 

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