Favorite short musical moments in Williams scores?

[Nick Parker 3,047]

11 hours ago, Richard said:

 

Stu, watch JAWS2 for:

- Michael Butler's nice photography (at yeast the equal of the original),

- Neal Travis' crisp editing,

- Roy Schneider's 'phoned-yet-still-somehow-heartfelt portrayal of a man under pressure,

-JW's score (END TITLE/END CAST-sigh ).

Other than that, it's all "business as usual". I continue to not give one fuck about those kids.

 

I'll give you the photography and Roy Scheider. The movie could've been great, even as good as the original if it focused more Brody's internal dilemma and conflict with the town rather than Bruce 2.0. As it is, that movie gives me a queasy feeling, like it shouldn't exist.

[Disco Stu 15,506]

It's not even kinda bad in a fun way?  Thinking about watching tonight on Prime.

[Nick Parker 3,047]

Yeah, go watch it. It'll be the highlight of your week, a shower of entertaining razzle dazzle. Seriously, what are you waiting for? 

[Disco Stu 15,506]

1 minute ago, Nick Parker said:

Seriously, what are you waiting for? 

 

This!

1 minute ago, Nick Parker said:

Yeah, go watch it.

 

See you on the other side.

[Nick Parker 3,047]

Crap, it didn't work!

[Pellaeon 596]

 

Does this flute bit at the beginning remind anyone else of “Luke and Leia”? Try to sing it and hear how it sounds without harmony.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,015]

Yes it does. What does JW know?

[Pellaeon 596]

Well, there was a trailer…

 

 

…where they took the Brother and Sister scene and applied it to someone else.

[ComposerEthan 8]

 

Love this, especially the dark string chords at 1:17.  I'm like obsessed with that sound. 

[Nick Parker 3,047]

John Williams' trademark Action Thirds!

[leeallen01 2,181]

1:16 - 1:25.

 

I adore the high strings he uses as counterpoint to the main theme.

 

 

[Mitth'raw'nuorodo 43]

Okay, here we go. I want to do one for each Star Wars movie since I've listened to them so many times.

 

Ep. IV: I love the first minute and a half of "Wookiee Prisoner/Detention Block Ambush." The echoey sound of the pizzicato strings and that timpani solo is not really a type of underscore you hear again in any Star Wars movie. Or maybe I'm just experiencing Stockholm Syndrome from hearing it so many times in Jedi Outcast.

 

Ep. V: The first twenty seconds of "The Training Of A Jedi Knight/The Magic Tree." Those magical pizz strings with the bells playing sounds so mystical and exciting and beautiful at the same time. And then that mischievous version of Yoda's theme on top is great.

 

Ep. VI: The Alliance Assembly theme. It only appears during "Alliance Assembly," but it's such a rich and noble and serious theme. I wish it had appeared more.

 

Ep. I: In "Fighting The Destroyer Droids" (Ultimate Edition), I love the snare solos starting at 1:13 and then the martial motif at 1:28. It feels like a destroyer's theme, but it never shows up again, so I guess we'll never know.

 

Ep. II: Really the entirety of "Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant"  because we'd never heard SW music like that before and didn't really again until Solo: A Star Wars Story. But more specifically I love the famous electric guitar solo and the percussion solos. The first percussion solo is 2:18 through 2:32, the first electric guitar bit is 3:18 through 3:26, the second percussion solo is 4:21 through 4:55, and both the percussion and guitar get a solo moment together at 5:10 through 5:26 (mostly percussion, but the guitar makes a very distinguishable appearance).

 

Ep. III: The swirling operatic strings at the beginning of "Grievous Speaks To Lord Sidious" and leading into that martial brassy theme and eventually choir. The best part goes from 0:00 to 0:52. So stirring!

 

Ep. VII: This one's harder because when he isn't presenting a main theme, it's mostly underscore without a lot of melody or personality (you can see my opinion of the TFA score peeking through here, doubtless). I love all the brass fanfares in "I Can Fly Anything," like at 0:23. And the trumpet screams at 0:48. And the off-beat trumpet stabs around 1:06. But there's no long segment that's not a theme that really speaks to me.

 

Ep. VIII: I have three for this since it has a lot more personality and fun little one-off moments. My favorite has to be the end of "Main Title and Escape." That whole tragic passage from 6:13 to 6:44 often makes me tear up. The brass writing there is so powerful! My second favorite moment is, of course, the opening of "The Fathiers." It's so bubbly and energetic and is totally original, not based on any previous themes! The first ten seconds are the best part other than the glowing brass rendition of Rose's theme. And my third favorite is from the FYC in "The Master Codebreaker." John Williams goes full old-school scoring when we see the codebreaker, with those sweeping strings playing something that sounds right out of the 40s. Specifically 0:49 through 0:59. So lavish!

 

Anyway, that was a lot, and maybe I'll do another about non-SW scores, but SW is, after all, my first love, so I really wanted to do a moment from each Williams score.

 

My favorite non-SW JW moment is when the Arab swordsman shows up in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The bombastic brass playing a Middle-Eastern-sounding theme and then those brass swoops up are great! 2:22 through 2:28 of "The Basket Game," specifically.

[Nick Parker 3,047]

1 hour ago, Mitth'raw'nuorodo said:

My favorite has to be the end of "Main Title and Escape." That whole tragic passage from 6:13 to 6:44 often makes me tear up. The brass writing there is so powerful

 

This track has steadily risen into one of my favorite Williams tracks (my opinion of it at first was not very kind). The section you single out is great, just full of that meat that good Star Wars music should be...and when all of those different layers drop out at the last few seconds for pure brass...talk about a powerhouse of an opening setpiece.

[artguy360 1,980]

Main Title and Escape from TLJ OST is a fantastic action cue. It's one of those rare situations of JW action music where I far prefer the OST version to the film version. In the film the music and editing is very disjointed and without flow, whereas the OST track just gives us the best bits with nice sharp transitions and impactful edits. 

[Nick Parker 3,047]

8 minutes ago, artguy360 said:

Main Title and Escape from TLJ OST is a fantastic action cue. It's one of those rare situations of JW action music where I far prefer the OST version to the film version. In the film the music and editing is very disjointed and without flow, whereas the OST track just gives us the best bits with nice sharp transitions and impactful edits. 

 

Absolutely, it's a great testament to the power of a carefully curated Listening Experience. And the album-only March of the Resistance is tough to beat.

[artguy360 1,980]

15 minutes ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Absolutely, it's a great testament to the power of a carefully curated Listening Experience. And the album-only March of the Resistance is tough to beat.

Yes, the OST version has some really sharp edits and set ups for immediate musical payoffs. I assume you are referring to the initial, rushed, dance-like statement of MOTR that is immediately followed by a much more powerful, march rendition of MOTR? 

 

[Nick Parker 3,047]

4 minutes ago, artguy360 said:

Yes, the OST version has some really sharp edits and set ups for immediate musical payoffs. I assume you are referring to the initial, rushed, dance-like statement of MOTR that is immediately followed by a much more powerful, march rendition of MOTR? 

 

 

Hell yeah. The way the music whirls into that initial statement, somehow pulling back while still maintaining that dazzling momentum, is badassery of the highest caliber, with a great statement of Poe's Theme to top it off at the end.

[Disco Stu 15,506]

Love the weird little pizzicato strings and piano that play for the little bit where Vader is just standing there, starting to fall over, without a head.  What an interesting, odd musical choice for that moment.

 

At 4:13

 

[mrbellamy 7,075]

On July 25, 2018 at 1:19 PM, Nick Parker said:

Hell yeah. The way the music whirls into that initial statement, somehow pulling back while still maintaining that dazzling momentum, is badassery of the highest caliber, with a great statement of Poe's Theme to top it off at the end.

 

That bit is my favorite memory of listening to TLJ for the first time. All the speculation and expectation for what he had cooked up. Anxiously listening through the fanfare. Excited but slightly impatient hearing Kylo Ren's theme and Rebel Fanfare sounding the same as ever. Pleasantly surprised by the more densely orchestrated "prequel-y" action stuff compared to TFA.

 

And then THAT drops in out of fuckin nowhere and I officially was like

 

[Will 2,285]

 

[Holko 11,029]

 

2:15-2:39

Those two last strikes are a fantastically satisfying resolution to this mini-buildup.

[leeallen01 2,181]

 

1.17 the Brass is just so precise and fun.

 

 

[Not Mr. Big 4,779]

26 minutes ago, leeallen01 said:

 

1.17 the Brass is just so precise and fun.

 

 

Great track!  Underrated score 

[Disco Stu 15,506]

My creed prevents me from pressing play on that video.  Not one second of either score will I hear before Thanksgiving.

[Jay 41,199]

20 hours ago, Holko said:

2:15-2:39

Those two last strikes are a fantastically satisfying resolution to this mini-buildup.

 

Yes!

[Nick Parker 3,047]

One of my favorite Williams action cues:

 

 

Not all of the stylistic shifting in this score works, but this track is so muscular it sits well with past Indy setpieces. Particularly this segment, ending at 2:57...wow. Imagine how this sound with a gutsier, rougher recording like the first two Indy scores!

[Holko 11,029]

 

When hearing Raiders March and Short Round's Theme, nobody in their right mind would think "yeah, let's counterpoint these!". But the crazy bastard somehow made it work. In two different ways.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,015]

You did it. You crazy sonofabitch, you did it!

[Disco Stu 15,506]

I don't know if this qualifies as short, and I don't know if it's a favorite, but the last 45 seconds or so of "The Raptors Appear" sure is bugnuts, huh?

 

 

[Demondm810 420]

30 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I don't know if this qualifies as short, and I don't know if it's a favorite, but the last 45 seconds or so of "The Raptors Appear" sure is bugnuts, huh?

 

 

For sure, that's pure insanity. 

Holdo's Resolve is one of my absolute JW short favorites

[leeallen01 2,181]

Every time I've listened to this piece, the little string moment at 0:54 is so familiar to me. For months I've wondered where else I heard Williams doing that.

 

 

 

FINALLY after going through every single note of The Terminal (which wasn't difficult considering it's my favourite Williams score) I've found that little thing that reminds me of that above moment in the Catch Me If You Can piece.

 

0:07 - 

 

 

[Sunshine Reger 3,622]

.

 

 

[Balahkay 629]

"Setting the Trap" is among my top 20 Williams tracks but I've always loved this segment in particular: :52 to 1:10

 

 

[Marc 870]

Those 2 bars from Harry's Wondrous World, absolute magic

 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,015]

On 12/8/2018 at 8:09 AM, Balahkay said:

"Setting the Trap" is among my top 20 Williams tracks but I've always loved this segment in particular: :52 to 1:10

 

 

Yes, it is nice, isn't it? 

Shades of TRAINING WITH GEORGE/GEORGE SETS THE PACE, in there. My favourite bit is :43 - :46.

[Will 2,285]

 

[Muad'Dib 1,895]

 

 

[Will 2,285]

Obviously the opening of My Friend the Brachiosaurus is great but for some reason I'm just now realizing how sublime the end is too: 

 

 

What a gorgeous melody - crazy it's only a one-off thing. I feel like it's just about good enough to be another composer's main theme! 

 

And then this little pizzicato riff is so fun and whimsical: 

 

 

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

The best piece of Hook repertoire imo,

2:31 - 3:25 Terrific rhythm and bass... and adventuuure

 

 

[Loert 2,864]

 

3:35

[Sunshine Reger 3,622]

.

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

The piano embellishments at 1:00 and 1:06

 

Same vein. The piano counter-melodies

 

[Loert 2,864]

1:09 - 1:23 

 

 

 

[Romão 2,360]

On 6/2/2019 at 12:57 PM, Loert said:

1:09 - 1:23 

 

 

 

 

This is one is incredible

[Bellosh 4,034]

On 6/2/2019 at 7:57 AM, Loert said:

1:09 - 1:23 

 

 

 

 

Holy smokes this makes me want to listen to The Phantom Menace.

[Jamie Dutton 7,714]

Also 1:23-1:52. It's very masculine and testosterone-fueled. Also rather Goldsmithian.

[Loert 2,864]

4:33 - 4:46

Homeboy JW dropping some sick beats:

 

 

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

Anyone have anything good to post though?

 

1:11 - 2:38

 

 

On 4/16/2019 at 4:19 PM, Fabulin said:

The lush love theme from TOD is one of my favorite themes in Williams' ouvre. And here it so sweetly and innocently invites us to an adventure!

 

Reminds me of different themes I wrote years back.

[Bellosh 4,034]

On 7/24/2019 at 7:34 PM, Borodin said:

Anyone have anything good to post though?

 

Sure do!  I'm gonna keep it mainstream with Indy and Luke's themes.

 

My absolute favorite version of the Raider's March B theme:

 

 

 

and MY ABSOLUTE favorite version of Luke's theme (3:44-4:00).  It's like the Luke Skywalker March

 

 

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

0:28 - 1:06