A thing that I noticed;

[jojoju2000 20]

Unlike Goldsmith, Barry, or Morricone, John Williams tends to graviate towards Historical Based Films or Docudramas when he wants to do a " serious " film; Born on the Fourth of July, Schindler's List, JFK, Nixon, The Patriot, Munich. 

 

And the trend is that almost all of these films have something to do with War, American Revolutionary War, World War 2, the Vietnam War, and the later 20th century conflicts. 

 

I wonder what attracts him to these types of Films ? A personal connection ? His love for American History, and world History for that matter ? 

[Thor 7,504]

43 minutes ago, jojoju2000 said:

I wonder what attracts him to these types of Films ? A personal connection ? His love for American History, and world History for that matter ? 

 

He's often expressed an interest in composing in certain idioms and styles (Christmas music for HOME ALONE, Irish music for FAR & AWAY, fife & drums for THE PATRIOT etc. etc.), and that's why he's taken on a given project. So yeah, I'm guessing that's part of it. But he's obviously done a great deal of 'contemporary' drama films that have nothing to do with historical idioms too.

[jojoju2000 20]

13 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

He's often expressed an interest in composing in certain idioms and styles (Christmas music for HOME ALONE, Irish music for FAR & AWAY, fife & drums for THE PATRIOT etc. etc.), and that's why he's taken on a given project. So yeah, I'm guessing that's part of it. But he's obviously done a great deal of 'contemporary' drama films that have nothing to do with historical idioms too.

Oh I know. I just see that he seems to have an affinity for certain types of films. Maybe his  connection to Air Force Service ?  He could be a history nerd like I am. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

1 hour ago, jojoju2000 said:

Unlike Goldsmith, Barry, or Morricone, John Williams tends to graviate towards Historical Based Films or Docudramas when he wants to do a " serious " film; Born on the Fourth of July, Schindler's List, JFK, Nixon, The Patriot, Munich.

 

Keep in mind that of those films you listed, three are Oliver Stone collaborations, two are Spielbergs, and I wouldn't really call The Patriot a "serious" film (according to what little I know about it; I've only seen bits and pieces once).

 

Which of course doesn't mean that Williams might not have a special interest in that kind of material - he's certainly written some of his best stuff for various US presidents.

 

But it's also rare for a film composer to be able to pick and choose like Williams does. Williams can afford it because he's (or at least was) the #1 go to composer for most major Hollywood projects, and because he seems to be more of a diligent workhorse than an outright workaholic, and he's long had his concert music career on the side for when he wasn't busy with film work. Goldsmith was a massive workaholic with apparently little interest for concert composition and, post Star Wars, not quite the same clout in the industry as Williams, so he took what he got and often scored a vision of the project that the director failed to achieve. I don't know about Morricone, but he had an even more insane workload plus did more concert music on the side, so he also seemed to accept pretty much any type of project for a long time.

[Thor 7,504]

Quote

 

Oh I know. I just see that he seems to have an affinity for certain types of films. Maybe his  connection to Air Force Service ?  He could be a history nerd like I am. 

 

 

He probably is.

 

1 minute ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Keep in mind that of those films you listed, three are Oliver Stone collaborations, two are Spielbergs, and I wouldn't really call The Patriot a "serious" film (according to what little I know about it; I've only seen bits and pieces once).

 

It is. And a good one at that.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

2 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

because he's (or at least was) the #1 go to composer for most major Hollywood projects

Luckily he is still #1 in quality!

[Jay 37,359]

I think he picks projects based on which directors he wants to work with, not necessarily what the subject matter of the films those directors are making is

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The Patriot is not a serious movie? They burn the whole town alive in a church! Two of Mel's kids are shot dead! Mel brutally chops up like 38 redcoats with a hatchet in the woods while his kids pick 'em off with muskets! 

[GerateWohl 4,365]

I think, there is a reason why there is such a close relationship between Williams and Spielberg and such a deep understanding. That might include the view on what makes a movie matter, what has actual value. Spielberg is since probably Empire of the Sun in a mission to use his reputation and craftmanship to give certain historical  stories and view points a stage. And it would not surprise me if that inspired Williams as well to chose a certain kind of films for his work.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

I think he picks projects based on which directors he wants to work with, not necessarily what the subject matter of the films they are making are

Not sure that he particuliary wanted to work with Brian Perceval, Bob Marshall or Roland Emmerich for that matter.

 

To be fair the man can do whatever he wants. I seriously doubt any directors or studios would refuse him a project.

I think the way he chooses his project really depend just on what he wants: work with certain people (like Oliver Stone) or on projects to which he thinks he can bring something or to which he's just sentimentaly attached (like Memoirs of a Geisha and the Book Thief).

[crumbs 14,314]

And he's still worked with 11 different directors since 2000. Scoring Geisha and Book Thief was a result of his personal interest in the source material (in both instances it was the book the movies were based upon, I think). 

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Yeah. PATRIOT is neither serious, nor historical.

But, Im sure it was intended to be both#