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JW Directly Quoting Other Pieces


ConorPower

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I forget, was there ever any info on why he used that? Did Johnson request it? Was that part of the temp and JW thought it would be fun to keep in there? 

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Whatever the reason is, it’s a dumb one^. And I think The Long Goodbye also is quoted in The Last Jedi.

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7 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

I forget, was there ever any info on why he used that? Did Johnson request it? Was that part of the temp and JW thought it would be fun to keep in there? 

Rian Johnson specifically asked for it along with JW playing the theme to The Long Goodbye for a few seconds.

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11 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

I forget, was there ever any info on why he used that? Did Johnson request it? Was that part of the temp and JW thought it would be fun to keep in there? 

 

Imho, it's just John having fun. The whole Canto Bight source piece is a concoction of jazz stylings from the 1930s, mostly Duke Ellington and Artie Shaw, so it's in this vein that he threw in a direct reference to another popular tune. It's part of the things he loved a lot when he was kid growing up.

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I suppose one could also read it as a continuation of the Cantina Band's space jazz aesthetic, and JW's own personal taste influencing the sounds of the galaxy.  

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@BB-8Do you think this is a direct quotation? It doesn't read that way to me. They certainly sound rather similar, but I don't think it's a case of JW directly nodding to Vaughan Williams

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28 minutes ago, ConorPower said:

@BB-8Do you think this is a direct quotation? It doesn't read that way to me. They certainly sound rather similar, but I don't think it's a case of JW directly nodding to Vaughan Williams

 

JW is probably familiar with the English pastoral and religioso styles of RVW.

 

I wouldn't say this is a direct quotation but it comes close to a certain musical idiom which fits perfectly to the movie's bucolic/pastoral opening to describe a peaceful yet illusive atmosphere just before the outbreak of war.

 

RVW's Tallis Fantasia was first performed in 1910.

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An example, that I stumbled across before, Williams arrangement of Hatikvah, national anthem of Israel, is not credited at all on the Munich OST. It is handled like a Williams composition. The recording of Star Spangled Banner on Jerry Goldsmith's Poltergeist album is credited with "Composed by Francis Scott Key, Public Domain". 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, ConorPower said:

Another one? A very familiar little motto but I can’t place it. Can anybody help? 
 

Muted trumpet phrase at 0:15

 

Haha!! I'm sure this wasn't what you were going for, but for whatever reason, it immediately made me think of "Get Me to the Church on Time" from My Fair Lady!! LOL

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1 hour ago, ConorPower said:

Another one? A very familiar little motto but I can’t place it. Can anybody help? 
 

Muted trumpet phrase at 0:15

 

 

 

That's the theme for Panama Hat, the guy in the white hat that the bandits were working for.  It also plays at 0:02, 0:13, 0:47, and 1:01 in this video when he's on screen and at 2:51 and 2:56 as a final goodbye when he's dead and all you see is his hat

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@JaySo it is! But this particular presentation of it still reminds me of something else - particularly the rhythm (Sibelius? Tchaikovsky?)

It’ll come to me after 5 months when I’ve forgotten. 
Clearly a reappearance of the the theme then, not a quote of something else. So case closed - as far as this thread is concerned. 

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On 10/08/2022 at 9:25 PM, ConorPower said:

Can anybody help?

Hmm, some march by Sousa? It sounds really familiar, I can almost hum it...

 

P.S.: Or maybe from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Or from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? Any of these would be a coincidence anyway.... ...but there is something. Now I have to keep thinking about it, oh my. ;)

 

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Perhaps.

There are a lot of little JW motifs that sound traditional, but are, actually, composed by the man.

For example, the jaunty, little tune, that takes centre stage in the End Titles of JAWS, is a perfect example.

That's his genius: to make something sound as if it's always been here.

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  • 1 year later...
On 10/08/2022 at 5:30 PM, ConorPower said:

@JaySo it is! But this particular presentation of it still reminds me of something else - particularly the rhythm (Sibelius? Tchaikovsky?)

It’ll come to me after 5 months when I’ve forgotten. 
Clearly a reappearance of the the theme then, not a quote of something else. So case closed - as far as this thread is concerned. 

 

@ConorPower: so it's a little more than 5 months -- but are you still thinking about this? Good old Panama Hat's motif is bugging me now too! I feel like maybe it's something Spanish style (or some French or Russian take on a Spanish style... Debussy/Ravel?).

 

This is what's echoing in my head...Mystery.png

 

Is this a relevant soundalike? It's a variant of the Flying Theme...  If so, maybe there's a Stravinsky connection (what with all the Firebird/Fireworks/Scherzo Fantastique stuff in Hook). There's also the main theme from Monsignor but that's getting pretty far afield.

 

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16 hours ago, Falstaft said:

 

@ConorPower: so it's a little more than 5 months -- but are you still thinking about this? Good old Panama Hat's motif is bugging me now too! I feel like maybe it's something Spanish style (or some French or Russian take on a Spanish style... Debussy/Ravel?).

 

This is what's echoing in my head...Mystery.png

 

Is this a relevant soundalike? It's a variant of the Flying Theme...  If so, maybe there's a Stravinsky connection (what with all the Firebird/Fireworks/Scherzo Fantastique stuff in Hook). There's also the main theme from Monsignor but that's getting pretty far afield.

 

This has actually still been bugging me, so thank you for returning to it. 
 

I definitely hear the likeness but still not what I’m after sadly. You might be on to something regarding it’s Spanish flavour - maybe it’s from an opera?

 

Apologies for the crude/hurried transcription. This is the rhythmic likeness I hear and a continuation of it in whatever piece it’s from. Particularly when I hear the Panama Hat statement I reference above, I hear it continuing in this manner. I know it’s staring me right in the face; I don’t believe it’s particularly obscure. I’ll kick myself once it reveals itself. 
 

IMG_0766.jpeg

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