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Favorite Williams End Titles Cue?


Disco Stu

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I listened to the Minority Report OST for the umpteenth time today and when I got to "A New Beginning," the end titles cue, I realized that this is probably my favorite end credits cue from any Williams score.  It's an absolutely fucking gorgeous piece of music that's become one of my favorite Williams tracks period.

 

What's your favorite end titles cue from a Williams score?

 

 

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2 hours ago, loert423 said:

My current favourite is TFA. Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade are really good as well.

 

This pretty much defines mine. Those are some of my favorite Williams bits in general too. I'd add PoA because, as The Psycho Pianist put, it really does a great job of showing off what a masterpiece that score is. 

I'd also throw in ROTS as an honorable mention, if only because of how ingeniously Williams propels Leia's Theme into Battle of the Heroes.  

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Empire Strikes Back

Temple of Doom

Born on the Fourth of July

 

I usually prefer end titles that are not mostly comprised of other cues edited together, as good as those kind of suites can be. 

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7 hours ago, Red said:

Empire Strikes Back

Temple of Doom

Born on the Fourth of July

 

I usually prefer end titles that are not mostly comprised of other cues edited together, as good as those kind of suites can be. 

 

Well it's almost like they're two separate categories!

 

So for me:

 

Favorite end credits that's a suite editing together the themes of the movie: "Mischief Managed" from Prisoner of Azkaban

 

Favorite end credits that's a distinct performance/composition: "A New Beginning" from Minority Report

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13 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

Favorite end credits that's a suite editing together the themes of the movie: "Mischief Managed" from Prisoner of Azkaban

 

 

 

One of my least favourite. 12 minutes long and about 10 of them regurgitated from the rest of the CD.

 

 

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1 minute ago, Stefancos said:

 

One of my least favourite. 12 minutes long and about 10 of them regurgitated from the rest of the CD.

 

 

 

Yep!  It's convenient when I don't have time to listen to the whole CD :D

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The Towering Inferno

Jaws

Star Wars

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Empire Strikes Back

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Amazing Stories

SpaceCamp

Jurassic Park

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

That was really hard to narrow down, but I think those are my favorites!

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Ugh, so many great ones to choose from.

 

TFA is obviously fresh on everyone's mind, and I can't help including it on my list either. Structurally, it's among Williams' very best. And honestly, I love all the Star Wars credits cues, with ESB and ANH probably at the top. Even the ROTS credits, which overall are kind of lazy, do have those chillingly great transitions into and out of Battle of the Heroes.

 

Jurassic Park definitely belongs on my list as well, as does the first part of the POA credits (the part that was written specifically for the credits). Structurally, I don't think the E.T. credits are that strong, but they belong on my list purely on the basis of how wonderful the music is (especially the opening piano solo).

 

Then there are all the Indy scores. Raiders basically "just" uses the Raiders March - but I'm guessing it was written specifically for the credits and then adapted into a concert suite, not the other way around, and it's obviously fantastic. The other three - even KOTCS -are all very good, but none of them feel quite as natural to me, so Raiders wins there.

 

Overall favorite? Not sure. Probably one of the Star Warses. Probably ANH or ESB, but TFA is really giving them a run for their money while it's still so fresh.

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See, I love E.T.'s end credits, including the alternate on the 1996 CD, but I prefer the score ending with "The Departure" as on the OST. So, for me, those end credits are an oddity and I rarely listen to them for whatever reason.

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49 minutes ago, E.T. and Elliot said:

See, I love E.T.'s end credits, including the alternate on the 1996 CD, but I prefer the score ending with "The Departure" as on the OST. So, for me, those end credits are an oddity and I rarely listen to them for whatever reason.

 

The piano in the E.T. end credits is just....yeah, all the positive adjectives.

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6 hours ago, E.T. and Elliot said:

...

Star Wars

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Empire Strikes Back

...

 

Woah, I can't believe I forgot this one! That "When You Wish Upon a Star" arrangement is really quite beautiful. Also didn't Williams once say that this was his favourite piece of film music he wrote?

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6 hours ago, E.T. and Elliot said:

See, I love E.T.'s end credits, including the alternate on the 1996 CD, but I prefer the score ending with "The Departure" as on the OST. So, for me, those end credits are an oddity and I rarely listen to them for whatever reason.

 

I can appreciate that. I mean, the end of "The Departure" is pretty freaking powerful. But I love going from that thunderous final crescendo into the softer elegance of the end credits. Something really neat about the contrast.

 

CE3K really needs a complete remastered release.

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This is a perennial question.

 

So difficult to pick one from the master of these end credit suites.

 

Top candidates include

The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars The Force Awakens

Jurassic Park

Born on the Fourth of July

Far and Away

Indiana Jones scores (all sport fine lengthy end title compositions)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Lincoln

The Witches of Eastwick

War Horse

 

 

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Has to be TESB. The gorgeous HSAP and Force theme quotes, the energetic rendition of Yoda's Theme with the Rebel Fanfare counter motif, launching into the Imperial March and ending with HSAP theme, and topped off with an emphatic augmentation (the drawing out into longer note length) of Vader's theme as four orchestral stabs... He was on fire that day.

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7 hours ago, Incanus said:

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

 

Really?  I mean, I love the score, but wouldn't consider either End Title composition to be its strong point!  The Abandoned in the Woods expansion was wisely not used to kick off the end credits as Williams intended (but its nice enough on CD, though the problem is its not TERRIBLY different from teh actual film cue), and the Monica's Theme arrangement for soprano solo is too opera-y for my tastes.  I prefer just ending things with The Reunion sometimes, honestly!

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19 hours ago, Jay said:

 

Really?  I mean, I love the score, but wouldn't consider either End Title composition to be its strong point!  The Abandoned in the Woods expansion was wisely not used to kick off the end credits as Williams intended (but its nice enough on CD, though the problem is its not TERRIBLY different from teh actual film cue), and the Monica's Theme arrangement for soprano solo is too opera-y for my tastes.  I prefer just ending things with The Reunion sometimes, honestly!

Where Dreams Are Born is sublime! The end credits version of Abandoned in the Woods is in opinion a more rounded version of the piece and it is a shame it wasn't used for the credit sequence in conjunction with Where Dreams Are Born. It would have perfectly showcased the two major aspects of the score.

 

1 hour ago, KK. said:

Aside from the obvious choices, how has no one mentioned this yet? One of his career highlights imo!

 

I think the version found in Suite for Cello and Orchestra is superb, better than the OST counterpart.

 

23 minutes ago, crocodile said:

This is one of the best ones. And a very overlooked one:

 

 

Karol

Yes this one is terrific. I was floored the first time I heard it and it has remained a favourite ever since.

 

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5 hours ago, Incanus said:

Where Dreams Are Born is sublime! The end credits version of Abandoned in the Woods is in opinion a more rounded version of the piece and it is a shame it wasn't used for the credit sequence in conjunction with Where Dreams Are Born. It would have perfectly showcased the two major aspects of the score.

 

I think it was wise to not begin with End Credits with the Abandoned In The Woods reprisal since the movie ends with 7 minutes of delicate imagery and music.  It would be quite jarring to suddenly jump back two acts to that scary and loud music.  Spielberg was wise to start the end credits with Where Dreams Are Born instead.

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I love how Presumed Innocent's gorgeous title theme bookends the film, matching the symmetry of the opening and closing shots, with Williams subtly amplifying the reprise with a judicious array of accents and flourishes.

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7 hours ago, Incanus said:

I think the version found in Suite for Cello and Orchestra is superb, better than the OST counterpart.

 

 

Definitely!! The suite presents the superior rendition. But the OST still features the original composition, and it's still amazing.

 

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21 hours ago, Hlao-roo said:

I love how Presumed Innocent's gorgeous title theme bookends the film, matching the symmetry of the opening and closing shots, with Williams subtly amplifying the reprise with a judicious array of accents and flourishes.


I did not even know that Williams scored this movie.  I need to seek this out.

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14 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:


I did not even know that Williams scored this movie.  I need to seek this out.

 

Well this one is not easy to find these days... I'm still waiting for a cheap used copy on Amazon. I will certainly not pay over 40 $ for it!

 

1990... maybe it's time for a reissue!

 

p_vsd5280.jpg

 

Presumed Innocent [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (1990, Varèse Sarabande, VSD-5280)

 

Presumed Innocent; Remembering Carolyn; Family Life; Love Scene; The B File; The Bedroom Scene; Carolyn's Office; "Leon Talks"; Rusty Accused; Case Dismissed; The Boat Scene; The Basement Scene; Barbara's Confession; End Crédits.

 

 

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Yes!  That lovely music with the gentle ocean sound effects in the background.  What a perfect ending to a perfect movie.

 

I got to see Jaws in a movie theater for the 1st time last year for its 40th anniversary and my goodness that movie and its score was meant to be seen LOUD and with an audience.

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Man . . . this is tougher than I would've figured at first blush. Not sure I can narrow it down further than the Top 5 (in no particular order, and all of which have already been mentioned):

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Empire Strikes Back

Jurassic Park

Temple of Doom

Far and Away

 

Close runners-up: SpaceCamp, "Harry's Wonderful World" from HP 1 & 2, and Born on the Fourth of July

 

All of these present the major themes from the film in wonderful ways without simply photocopying what was in another part of the movie (POA is a great suite, but is very guilty of this).

 

 

On 2/28/2016 at 6:32 PM, Disco Stu said:

I listened to the Minority Report OST for the umpteenth time today and when I got to "A New Beginning," the end titles cue, I realized that this is probably my favorite end credits cue from any Williams score.  It's an absolutely fucking gorgeous piece of music that's become one of my favorite Williams tracks period.

 

 

Gotta nitpick: technically, this is an epilogue piece, playing over the final scenes of the movie, not an end credits suite (once the credits begin to roll as the camera pulls away from the isolated house, it switches to the actual end credits piece). Aside from that, however, I'm in complete agreement. This is one of the most sublime pieces Williams ever composed, and it's one of my favorites as well.

 

 

5 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

I did not even know that Williams scored this movie.  I need to seek this out.

 

You really should. Presumed Innocent remains one of Williams's most overlooked scores from the 80s, and undeservedly so. It's not blockbuster material, to be sure, but it's a fantastic piano-based theme that fits the subject matter perfectly. It features a lot of rapidly-emerging secondary movements that never quite settle into themes of their own--an excellent musical allegory for a man torn in pieces by the circumstances of his life and work. Makes for a good end credits piece in its own right (I love how Williams changes its pace in the middle, accelerating it with high strings over a thundering low-string triple).

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19 minutes ago, Uni said:

Man . . . this is tougher than I would've figured at first blush. Not sure I can narrow it down further than the Top 5 (in no particular order, and all of which have already been mentioned):

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The Empire Strikes Back

Jurassic Park

Temple of Doom

Far and Away

 

Close runners-up: SpaceCamp, "Harry's Wonderful World" from HP 1 & 2, and Born on the Fourth of July

 

All of these present the major themes from the film in wonderful ways without simply photocopying what was in another part of the movie (POA is a great suite, but is very guilty of this).

 

 

 

Gotta nitpick: technically, this is an epilogue piece, playing over the final scenes of the movie, not an end credits suite (once the credits begin to roll as the camera pulls away from the isolated house, it switches to the actual end credits piece). Aside from that, however, I'm in complete agreement. This is one of the most sublime pieces Williams ever composed, and it's one of my favorites as well.

 

 

 

You really should. Presumed Innocent remains one of Williams's most overlooked scores from the 80s, and undeservedly so. It's not blockbuster material, to be sure, but it's a fantastic piano-based theme that fits the subject matter perfectly. It features a lot of rapidly-emerging secondary movements that never quite settle into themes of their own--an excellent musical allegory for a man torn in pieces by the circumstances of his life and work. Makes for a good end credits piece in its own right (I love how Williams changes its pace in the middle, accelerating it with high strings over a thundering low-string triple).

Ooh I forgot Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That's another good one.

 

Minority Report's end credits does contain a full concertized arrangement of the theme heard in the epilogue, which is an entirely different arrangement and recording, not just truncated edit.

 

The end credits of Presumed Innocent, from the 90's, is actually brilliant piece. The theme, the obsessive main theme heard throughout the score is finally offered a musical release. I consider the score is very effective and subtle one, illustrating obsessions of all kinds to the woman Harrison Ford's character has been infatuated with and how she haunts him in the form of the theme that repeats and repeats as he keeps remembering her after her death throughout the film. Interestingly the theme is entirely and tellingly absent from the finale confession scene.

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I actually like the stand-alone version of "A New Beginning" better than the concertized version.

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