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John Williams' Tribute to the Film Composer - now streaming free


Jay

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The arrangement is artfully done and the orchestration is top rank, of course. (I imagine the assignment reminded JW of his Boston Pops days.) I wish it was longer, though, so that some of the themes could breathe more. A few of them seem to cut off after the first phrase, just when your ears are getting into it.

 

Other than that quibble, I really like it. 

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The transition from E.T. to Gone with the Wind in particular has always struck me as so perfect. It sounds almost like a continuation of E.T. till a few notes later, due to the opening two notes of the GwtW theme having the same upward leap motion.

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In truth, this is probably my least favorite arrangement by Williams, though I'm glad others seem so fond of it.

 

To me, it's little more than an awkward cut-and-paste job, with no actual arranging happening besides the choice of when to cut off one excerpt and begin the next. That said, I always get a chuckle out of the abrupt shift from Titanic to Psycho, which nicely punctures the romantic gooeyness of the former.

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I think it works a lot better as a clip show, the way it was designed. Clearly meant for TV broadcast rather than a piece of music in its own right but I have a lot of nostalgia for that Oscars performance. I was 11 when it aired and had just become a John Williams fan, taped it on VHS, watched it all the time, know it by heart. It’s how I was introduced to many of these themes.

 

Cinema Paradiso-The Godfather has to be the most seamless, but another I always thought was really fun was Col Bogey-Patton-Rocky.

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3 hours ago, Falstaft said:

That said, I always get a chuckle out of the abrupt shift from Titanic to Psycho, which nicely punctures the romantic gooeyness of the former.

I always found that as an almost insult to Horner, but I am guessing it was all in fun.  I agree with your overall assessment as well--nice showcase of themes, which serves to hammer home just how integral music is to film, but too ADHD as a standalone listening experience.  

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On 10/23/2020 at 8:01 PM, King Mark said:

So where can we classify this as a Williams piece? Playing next to Happy Birthday Variations?

File under “Miscellany,” I’d say. 

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