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What are your top 5 John Williams scores?


JoeinAR

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Back in 2003 and later in 2013 I conducted a survey on this fan groups favorite John Williams score. It was a lot of work, especially the 2003 survey and the results was very satisfying. It wasn't scientific but it reflected the current time.

 

However attitudes seem to have changed recently. Young newer fans have a different way of thinking and approaching film music. 

 

So my question/plea is what are your top 5 John Williams score and as a bonus what are your top 5 non Williams score. I hope people will participate. I suspect results may be quite different.  Each generation of fans have their own ideas. I am eager to see.

 

PLEASE FOLLOW THE SIMPLE RULE OF 5 CHOICE. MORE THAN 5 OR LESS @Kasey Kockroach Will be ignored.

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Top JW scores

1. Superman

2. Schindler's List

3. Jane Eyre

4. The Book Thief

5. Empire of the Sun

 

Top non-JW scores

1. Ben-Hur (Rozsa)

2. The Mission (Morricone)

3. Krull (Horner)

4.The Land Before Time (Horner)

5. The Rocketeer (Horner)  

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1. STAR WARS

 

I don't do actual rankings, so the rest could include E.T., CE3K, Empire of the Sun, HP1, Temple of Doom, Phantom Menace... stuff like that.

 

2. E.T.

3. CE3K

4. HP1

5. Empire of the Sun

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7 minutes ago, Holko said:

1. STAR WARS

 

I don't do actual rankings, so the rest could include E.T., CE3K, Empire of the Sun, HP1, Temple of Doom, Phantom Menace... stuff like that.

Sorry but to make this work I need 5. 5 not 6 or ties. I do try to be as statistically accurate as I can.

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33 minutes ago, JoeinAR said:

Sorry but to make this work I need 5. 5 not 6 or ties. I do try to be as statistically accurate as I can.

Typo fixed

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Top 3 John Williams (not ranked):

-Hook

-The Fury

-The Lost World

 

Top 5 non-JW (not ranked):

-Poltergeist (Goldsmith)

-Ferdinand (Powell)

-Land Before Time (Horner)

-Hellbound: Hellraiser II (Young)

-Miracle on 34th Street (Broughton)

 

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JW Scores:

 

1. The Empire Strikes Back

2. Star Wars

3. Schindler's List

4. Hook

5. Raiders of The Lost Ark


Non JW:

Vertigo - Herrmann

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Goldsmith

Return to Oz - Shire

Once Upon A Time in America - Morricone 

Heavy Metal - Bernstein

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1. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

2. Munich

3. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

4. Empire Of The Sun

5. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

 

1. Once Upon A Time In The West

2. The Thin Red Line

3. Signs

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas

5. Road To Perdition

 

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As always, extremely difficult! I'll try to limit it to one Star Wars and one Indiana Jones pick.

 

1. The Empire Strikes Back

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark / Jaws (Edited Jaws in last minute)

3. Seven Years in Tibet

4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

5. Empire of the Sun

 

Of course, there are loads of dark horse Williams scores (including Seven Years and Empire of the Sun), many of which I'd throw into a longer non-ranked list thanks to an old discussion in the Discord. This would include The Post, War Horse, Lincoln, The Adventures of Tintin and The Book Thief, to name a few. 

 

And as as for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, two top caliber series that would dominate my list if I didn't show more variety and thought, I'd put Temple of Doom over The Last Crusade (although I cherish both dearly), and Star Wars would see The Phantom Menace, Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith and The Last Jedi taking top billing behind Empire.

 

Obviously, Close Encounters, Superman, and Schindler's List (although I don't just listen to the latter leisurely) are three glaring absences, but it's oh so close!

 

Seven Years in Tibet is probably my most unique pick. I adore that score. The suite is near perfect! 

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John Williams Scores

1. E.T. 

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

3. Star Wars 5: The Empire Strikes Back

4. The Reivers

5. Hook

 

Non John Williams Score

1. Gone With The Wind - Max Steiner

2. Lawrence of Arabia - Maurice Jarre

3. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Michel Legrand

4. Amarcord - Nino Rota

5. La Strada - Nino Rota

 

Can you share the previous results with us just for context?

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Hmmm...haven't we done this before?

 

In any case, it will probably look something like this:

 

1. JURASSIC PARK

2. Return of the Jedi

3. Jane Eyre

4. Angela's Ashes

5. Hook

 

Non-JW:

 

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

2. Edward Scissorhands

3. Beyond Rangoon

4. The Abyss

5. Blade Runner

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5 hours ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

As always, extremely difficult! I'll try to limit it to one Star Wars and one Indiana Jones pick.

 

1. The Empire Strikes Back

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark / Jaws (Edited Jaws in last minute)

3. Seven Years in Tibet

4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

5. Empire of the Sun

 

Of course, there are loads of dark horse Williams scores (including Seven Years and Empire of the Sun), many of which I'd throw into a longer non-ranked list thanks to an old discussion in the Discord. This would include The Post, War Horse, Lincoln, The Adventures of Tintin and The Book Thief, to name a few. 

 

And as as for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, two top caliber series that would dominate my list if I didn't show more variety and thought, I'd put Temple of Doom over The Last Crusade (although I cherish both dearly), and Star Wars would see The Phantom Menace, Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith and The Last Jedi taking top billing behind Empire.

 

Obviously, Close Encounters, Superman, and Schindler's List (although I don't just listen to the latter leisurely) are three glaring absences, but it's oh so close!

 

Seven Years in Tibet is probably my most unique pick. I adore that score. The suite is near perfect! 

Sorry but your list wont fly. There are NO TIES.   I will take the first 5 so bye bye  empire of the sun. You assume incorrectly that you have to limit your list to one Star Wars saga or Indy film. However no more the 5 films TOTAL.

Yes @Thor we did this in 2003 and 2013. I am doing it again because I suspect Jw scores that were once  dominant are no longer.

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3 hours ago, Bilbo said:

Is Jay malfunctioning? 

CED4C932-BC00-4155-B9BC-0F2F0F37F456.jpeg

It wasn't there when I asked, obviously. 

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Williams (Edit and updated)*

1 The Empire Strikes Back

2 Raiders of the Lost Ark

3 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

4 E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

5 Jaws*

 

Non-Williams

 

1 LOTR: Return of the King by Shore

2 LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring by Shore

3 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan by Horner

4 LOTR: The Two Towers by Shore

5 Signs by James Newton Howard

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By popular demand, here's probably my favourite JW scores. The order is a bit arbitrary, except for the first spot:

 

1. Jurassic Park

2. The Empire Strikes Back

3. Star Wars

4. E.T. and Jaws

5. The Last Crusade and Schindler's List

 

...and here's possibly my favourite non-JW scores, in arbitrary order:

 

Oliver: Lady Jane

Herrmann: North by Northwest

Barry: Out of Africa

Goodwin: Where Eagles Dare

Walton: Henry V

Morricone: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jarre: Lawrence of Arabia

Korngold: Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, Robin Hood

 

1 hour ago, Bellosh said:

Signs by James Newton Howard

 

That one almost made my list!

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7 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

By popular demand, here's probably my favourite JW scores. The order is a bit arbitrary, except for the first spot:

 

4. E.T. and Jaws

5. The Last Crusade and Schindler's List

 

 

No fair.  You got to pick one for each.

 

And yeah, Signs is still amazing to this day.

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5 minutes ago, Bellosh said:

 

No fair.  You got to pick one for each.

 

Haven't you heard of the film E.T. and Jaws? It's in the buddy cop genre.

 

5 minutes ago, Bellosh said:

 And yeah, Signs, is still amazing to this day.

 

Without a doubt JNH's best!

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Do the people posting 

9 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

By popular demand, here's probably my favourite JW scores. The order is a bit arbitrary, except for the first spot:

 

1. Jurassic Park

2. The Empire Strikes Back

3. Star Wars

4. E.T. and Jaws

5. The Last Crusade and Schindler's List

 

...and here's possibly my favourite non-JW scores, in arbitrary order:

 

Oliver: Lady Jane

Herrmann: North by Northwest

Barry: Out of Africa

Goodwin: Where Eagles Dare

Walton: Henry V

Morricone: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Jarre: Lawrence of Arabia

Korngold: Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, Robin Hood

 

 

That one almost made my list!

I see your list and what  i see is your top 5 is JP, ESB, SW, E.T., and Jaws. Least crusade and the list do not count.

 

Choose 5 peoplen  5 no more and no less.

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12 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

You assume incorrectly that you have to limit your list to one Star Wars saga or Indy film. However no more the 5 films TOTAL.

 

Why would you put that condition?  A new Hope is a different score from Empire Strikes Back. Raiders is a different score from Crystal Skull. Why can't they both be on the list?

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Just now, TheUlyssesian said:

 

Why would you put that condition?  A new Hope is a different score from Empire Strikes Back. Raiders is a different score from Crystal Skull. Why can't they both be on the list?

I didnt. You misunderstand.  You can put up to 5 on the list. You are not limited to one from any saga. You are just limited to 5 so if you want you can put sw, esd, rotj, tfa, and TLJ..

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Nope.

 

I had to omit a couple from my alltime top 10 -- ALIEN 3 and WATERWORLD. It was painful, but I had to do it, as them's the rules! And I struggled for 5 minutes to choose between HOOK and LAST CRUSADE for my JW no. 5.

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1. Star Wars: A New Hope

2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

3. Superman

4. ET

5. Jurassic Park

 

non-JW:

1. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

2. Batman Returns

3. Conan the Barbarian

4. The Mask of Zorro

5. North by Northwest

 

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55 minutes ago, Richard said:

Oops! I forgot about BLADE RUNNER!

Is it possible to add a 5a? :D

Sorry I have a program ive tweaked for years that works on 5 and 10. Its basically a test program I run at my work. 

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54 minutes ago, Thor said:

Nope.

 

I had to omit a couple from my alltime top 10 -- ALIEN 3 and WATERWORLD. It was painful, but I had to do it, as them's the rules! And I struggled for 5 minutes to choose between HOOK and LAST CRUSADE for my JW no. 5.

 

I'd say Hook is too uneven, therefore Crusade wins.

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There’s only four John Williams I classify in the category “love”, Jaws 2 being that last nominee. Hence I cannot do a top 5. I merely “like” Williams scores beyond the listed four. 

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23 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I'd say Hook is too uneven, therefore Crusade wins.

 

Both are one glorious setpiece after the other. But due to "Face of Pan", HOOK wins, barely beating out its "brother" -- "Only the Penitant Man Will Pass".

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13 minutes ago, Kasey Kockroach said:

There’s only four John Williams I classify in the category “love”, Jaws 2 being that last nominee. Hence I cannot do a top 5. I merely “like” Williams scores beyond the listed four. 

Which of the likes do you like the most?

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8 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Both are one glorious setpiece after the other. But due to "Face of Pan", HOOK wins, barely beating out its "brother" -- "Only the Penitant Man Will Pass".

 

But to its advantage, Crusade doesn't have a cue like Banning Back Home, nor any mediocre songs. :D

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29 minutes ago, SteveMc said:

Which of the likes do you like the most?

Maybe Temple of Doom, but I can only listen to certain favorite cues (Mine Car Chase, Short Round’s Theme). Even the OST is too much. Williams needs to arrange a 15-minute suite!

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JW:

 

1. Star Wars

2. A.I.

3. The Empire Strikes Back

4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

5. Schindler's List

 

 

non-JW:

 

1. The Matrix (Don Davis)

2. The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore)

3. Alien (Jerry Goldsmith)

4. The Adventures of Robin Hood (E. W. Korngold)

5. The Mission (Ennio Morricone)

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My Top 5 JW:

 

1.  SW ANH

2.  SW ESB

3.  Superman

4.  E.T.

5.  Hook

 

Top 5 non-JW

 

1.  Fellowship of the Ring - Shore

2.  The Two Towers - Shore

3.  Return of the King - Shore

4.  Star Trek Wrath of Khan - Horner

5.  Braveheart - Horner

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2 hours ago, JoeinAR said:

Do the people posting 

I see your list and what  i see is your top 5 is JP, ESB, SW, E.T., and Jaws. Least crusade and the list do not count.

 

I can live with that!

 

2 minutes ago, Richard said:

Screw that, JS. ALIEN³ every time!

 

We're just talking about winning the 5th spot of JW scores. :D

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2 hours ago, Thor said:

Nope.

 

1 hour ago, JoeinAR said:

Sorry I have a program ive tweaked for years that works on 5 and 10. Its basically a test program I run at my work. 

 

Right. In that case, 1/ screw you, both, and 2/ I've amended my non-JW top-5. So, there! :P

 

 

 

 

 

4 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I can live with that!

 

 

We're just talking about winning the 5th spot of JW scores. :D

The answer's obvious: JFK.

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@JoeinAR fine, let me try this again, and I'll only pick five this time. But darn it, every time I do this I choose differently! This is my final answer.

 

Williams:

1. The Empire Strikes Back

2. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark

4. Star Wars ('77)

5. Empire of the Sun

 

Honorable mentions:

Seven Years in Tibet

Jaws

Schindler's List

Jurassic Park

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The Phantom Menace

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

 

Non-Williams:

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by Howard Shore

2. Batman by Danny Elfman

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by Howard Shore

4. Out of Africa by John Barry

5. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone

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