11 film composers named their favorite John Williams score

[Aliandra 90]

https://planetradio.co.uk/scala-radio/entertainment/movies/mark-kermode-a-john-williams-birthday-special/

 

Rachel Portman: Schindler's List:

 

"My favourite score of John Williams' is Schindler's List and in particular the main theme. I hugely admire all his film work and in particular his complex rich orchestration to compliment his musical ideas, but for me, there's something even more elevating in his theme for Schindler's List. I think it's the deep humanity and grief he expresses in the violin melody that resonates so fully with the story. It moved me so much when I first heard it. Wishing him a very happy birthday!"

 

Anne Dudley: The Witches of Eastwick:

 

"A score full of wit and sparkle. It seems in many ways to prefigure the "Harry Potter" scores with its big colourful orchestration, glittering percussion and celeste. It captures the devilish humour of the film so well. "The Dance of the Witches", as you might expect builds to a frenzy and when the trumpets take the tune towards to end the woodwind, strings and percussion provide a positively manic backdrop. But the track ends quite quietly, almost with a little wink".

 

Nainita Desai: Memoirs of a Geisha:

 

"John Williams's music has been a huge inspiration to me, particularly his use of strong melodies and themes which formed a part of my musical awakening to film scores as a kid. The music from Raiders, Close Encounters and ET have been eternal ear worms for me and the reason why I fell in love with walking out of a cinema whistling a good tune. "I have a soft spot for Sayuri's Theme from Memoirs of a Geisha. The score is mesmerising and the Japanese influence is very cleverly interwoven into the score becoming part of the fabric of the film. "Along with various oriental instruments, William's draws upon renowned cellist Yo-Yo-Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman who performed on Schindler's List. The atmosphere is delicate, intimate and perfectly captures the grace and beauty of the film. It was a touchstone for me when I composed the score for Enemy Within, a WW2 drama that also required a Japanese influence."

 

Mychael Danna: Home Alone:

 

"Hmm I know it's not quite the right season just now, but if I'm going to be honest: My Very Favourite JW score, is Home Alone. The Maestro takes a rather cheezy B-movie, and gives it a high class, masterfully orchestrated A-movie musical score, which singlehandedly transforms Home Alone into a must see Christmas Classic. That simple melody of the Main Title theme sums up the fun, warmth, nostalgia and play that is Christmas. This movie would be forgotten, not an evergreen classic, without this score, and that's the proof of the power of his music. A great track is Man of the House… a pudding of mayhem, magic and mischief.

 

Harry Gregson-Williams - Jurassic Park:

 

"Of course, I love and admire John Williams' scores. The main theme he wrote for Schindler's List is sublime and created the perfect, heart wrenching emotions that that film just had to have. "However, after an unexpected experience I had in Prague a few years ago, maybe my favourite cue is from Jurassic Park. I had the pleasure of conducting a couple of suites of my own scores in the first half of a symphonic concert and JW's Jurassic Park was scheduled to be played during the second half of the program that night. Of course I'd heard this score before, but never quite how I did that evening. From my position backstage I was able to creep unseen in to a vantage position on the stage floor best described as 'within the brass section!' Being in such close proximity to the players as theme soars and takes off was an unforgettably exhilarating moment."

 

Michael Giacchino - The Witches of Eastwick:

 

"I have always loved the Witches of Eastwick score - Along with the brilliant melodic aspect of the writing, John's use of both full orchestra and smaller ensemble has always intrigued me. He managed to create both a wonderfully romantic and at the same time atonal and frightening sonic soundscape which gave an incredibly unique sound to this score".

 

Brian Tyler - Born on the Fourth of July:

 

"There are too many masterpieces to name from John Williams. But one in particular that really stirred my soul was 'Born on the Fourth of July.' His emotional depth is heard in the music here: the stoic strings, restrained in their tragedy, along with beautiful trumpet melodies. This is a score that should not be missed. I love everything he has done and I am also moved to tears by 'ET' and so many others. As popular as John Williams is as a composer, I have always maintained that he is actually underrated. Brilliant."

 

Lorne Balfe - JFK:

 

"You can close your eyes and the score tells the story of the movie perfectly. The mixture of patriotic themes and conspiracy blends perfectly together . The haunting main theme reflects the loss of a country's hero."

 

Segun Akinola - Memoirs of a Geisha:

 

"I absolutely love John Williams' score for Memoirs of a Geisha. If I had to choose a favourite from the soundtrack release it has to be Sayuri's theme. The composition, coupled with the performance of Yo-yo Ma, is so emotional and I think it's played a big part in informing the solo cello sound that I like. I often find myself humming the theme, even if I haven't watched the film recently".

 

Patrick Doyle - Close Encounters of the Third Kind:

"I am a huge science fiction fan and I will never forget watching 'Close Encounters' in Glasgow's Greens Playhouse in the 1970s. The theatre had a two and half thousand seat capacity and a screen the size of the city itself!vI sat on the balcony for the full vista and audio experience and was captivated. I had no idea I would become a composer one day, but I revelled in the drama and music. When I saw the scientist, played by François Truffaut, make a hand signal to the visitors using John Williams' famous contact theme, I recognised this fine detail, as I was taught the same choral teaching method at my primary school. It would have meant very little to most people in the audience but, as a music boffin, it made the experience even more special and memorable.

 

Germaine Franco - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial:

 

"I have been inspired by John Williams' music since I was a child. He is one of the true pillars of film scoring! He has set the standard very high for all other film composers. His contributions to music reach beyond the world of film scoring. In short, he is an entire musical universe unto himself. He is simply the best! My favorite John Williams score is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. This score is the epitome of storytelling through music. I still remember seeing that movie when it came out as a young musician. It made a huge impact on me. There are so many amazing cues in that film. It is hard for me to just pick one favorite cue. However, if asked to choose only one, it would be: Escape / Chase / Saying Goodbye Soundtrack Reissue (2002)"

[Bespin 8,484]

The survey is asking what are our three favourite scores...

 

Quickly my first three choices would be :

 

1 - Star Wars: A New Hope

2 - E.T.

3 - Home Alone

[Edmilson 7,473]

Pretty interesting!

 

I like that there's some non-obvious choices, like JFK, Geisha and Born on the Fourth of July.

[Bespin 8,484]

They need an expansion!

[Tom 4,671]

Giacchino's rationale for his choice is quite good and thoughtful.  Danna is correct about Home Alone, which does prove the point about potential of film music to literally transform (or degrade, I suppose) a film.  

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

I really loved reading this; a really diverse set of voices to hear from. There are multiple generations of composers who have been directly influenced and inspired by Williams and it’s wonderful to see it acknowledged. Also delighted at how much love Memoirs of a Geisha and Witches of Eastwick got from this group. The latter especially marked a very significant turning point in JW’s style that soared through the Potter films right up to his recent collaborations with Anne-Sophie Mutter. Glad to see it’s being recognised as such by his peers.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Two votes for GEISHA?!!!!!

 

Nothing wrong with the score but.....look at the man's filmography!

 

Many of these comments sound as if written by a publicist

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

 

4 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

Two votes for GEISHA?!!!!!

 

Nothing wrong with the score but.....look at the man's filmography!

 

Many of these comments sound as if written by a publicist

Or maybe just people with a different taste in music?? The question wasn’t what his most iconic or popular score is, it’s what their personal favourite is. The implication of course being the score that speaks most to them, personally, on an emotional level.

[GerateWohl 4,371]

My favourite comments are those of Anne Dudley and Michael Danna.

 

Still surprising nobody chose any Star Wars.

 

...except Bespin.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

1 hour ago, Docteur Qui said:

 

Or maybe just people with a different taste in music?? The question wasn’t what his most iconic or popular score is, it’s what their personal favourite is. The implication of course being the score that speaks most to them, personally, on an emotional level.

Possibly.

More likely; they are not well versed in Williams' body of work.

I've never heard of the two composers who chose GEISHA.

 

Interesting choice whatever the reason

[j39m 75]

41 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

Still surprising nobody chose any Star Wars.

 

I would call that a sign of sophistication, perhaps 😁 though I myself would not hesitate to shill for Star Wars.

 

I have a peculiar attachment to watching the film before listening to scores, but I so seldom watch films that I've never gotten round to watching Geisha or Schindler's List. I know that I'm missing out.

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

37 minutes ago, bruce marshall said:

Possibly.

More likely; they are not well versed in Williams' body of work.

I've never heard of the two composers who chose GEISHA.

 

Interesting choice whatever the reason

I imagine them being professional composers means they’re probably more well-versed in Williams’ oeuvre than the typical person. And I would add, probably have as much if not more insight about his music than most people here.
 

I don’t care much for a vast amount of Williams’ work myself, and probably haven’t even heard about a third of it. Personally my favourite is the first Potter score. Plenty of people here think it’s derivative, garish, and nothing he didn’t already do better with Hook. It doesn’t make my opinion any less valid.

[bruce marshall 1,315]

Most composers concentrate on their own work and don't listen to alot of others.

I believe Williams himself confirmed he doesn't listen to much film music!

41 minutes ago, j39m said:

 

I would call that a sign of sophistication, perhaps 😁 though I myself would not hesitate to shill for Star Wars.

 

I have a peculiar attachment to watching the film before listening to scores, but I so seldom watch films that I've never gotten round to watching Geisha or Schindler's List. I know that I'm missing out.

Well ....SCHINDLER is brilliant.

I recently tried WATCHING " GEISHA" but it was so depressing I quit after fifteen minutes( I heard the score FIRST- a rare occurrence)

[Antonb 118]

Nice but It annoys me when people pick something just because its different from the norm . My top 3 is Star wars A New Hope, Superman and Raiders. I think they are masterpieces.  Saying that, Mr Williams was on fire with the likes of Munich, Memoirs of A geisha etc that year.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

2 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

Still surprising nobody chose any Star Wars.

I would say because it's an obvious choice. The score is well known while all the one quoted here (except E.T. and Schindler's List) are less known Williams scores. I think it's great that those composers mentionned them, might opened up some people to gem like Memoirs, WoE and others.

 

Thanks for posting all this commentary it was nice to read them

[GerateWohl 4,371]

3 minutes ago, May the Force be with You said:

I would say because it's an obvious choice. The score is well known while all the one quoted here (except E.T. and Schindler's List) are less known Williams scores. I think it's great that those composers mentionned them, might opened up some people to gem like Memoirs, WoE and others.

 

Thanks for posting all this commentary it was nice to read them

I might remember this wrongly, but I think, from instrumentalists I heard more often, that Star Wars was their favorite Williams score.

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

It wouldn't surprise me. I was just pointing out the fact that it was very likely that they just wanted to expand people horizon on Williams music in those celebration time

[mrbellamy 6,291]

Danna's comments about Home Alone echo my thoughts and that it possibly surpasses Star Wars in terms of the difference in what the overall perception of that movie would be with a lesser score. I don't think it would be entirely forgotten, but it would just be politely stewing in the middle of 90s kids nostalgia and the ouevres of Hughes and Columbus, mainly for the novelty of Macaulay Culkin's performance. Whether most people realize it or not, I really do think it's only an iconic pop culture classic because of the sheer scale and emotional range of the music. 

[Bespin 8,484]

Nothing surpasses Star Wars, nice try.

[Tom 4,671]

1 hour ago, Bespin said:

Nothing surpasses Star Wars, nice try.

Probably--however, the transformative special effects would have won it an audience either way.  Jaws would have been vastly inferior with a normal "scary" score.  In its case, the special effects would have brought it down.  

[mrbellamy 6,291]

Jaws is a brilliantly written, directed, and acted suspense piece, I can't imagine it wouldn't enjoy a serious following today. I think Williams elevates it from like 90 to 100. Star Wars and Jaws both owe as much to their sharp editing as well. 

 

I'm just saying of the handful of films and scores that are both together canonized as popular John Williams classics, Home Alone is probably the weakest movie on many levels...it's like what, a 65-70 movie with the rep of a 90-95. By comparison I'd say Star Wars goes from like a 75-80 to 100, that's the only way I can put why I'd say it's close. Obviously Home Alone is still a charming tale but I just think Williams single-handedly loads it up with so much of its atmosphere and feeling compared to virtually any other average family comedy of its ilk. I'm just trying to imagine it with like an Ira Newborn score. 

 

I think it's also interesting to consider what Hook and the Star Wars prequels would be as cult objects without JW. It's painful to imagine how even less watchable Anakin and Padme's romance would be with an unmelodious score, or something tacky like The Room. 

[Drawgoon 100]

I don't know about the ones mentioned here and by all means I mean no disrespect to any of the above-mentioned participants, but these statements people make in the media about their "favorite <insert subject>" almost always reeks of dishonesty and feels like they are heavily motivated by business or political agendas.

[GerateWohl 4,371]

I think, such comments should not get overrated. These people get asked, think about it and pick one. The choice itself doesn't matter at all. The interesting part are the reasons they give for it. Is it some live event, some childhood first time occurence or appreciation by musical consideration? That is the interesting part.