Music By John Williams (2024 Documentary film) - previously Steven Spielberg is Making a John Williams Documentary

[Tom 5,148]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

Based on the score Williams wrote for this:

 

So Williams scored Nimoy after all.  

[Sandor 846]

Saw it and thought it was wonderful. 

[BrotherSound 2,295]

@crumbs Looks like in addition to the famous five notes, another version was circled as a finalist:

 

[Joni Wiljami 1,212]

Wonderful stuff, I obviously cried too much but that's me😍😭🥳

[mkfantastico 3]

Just watched it. It's fine, but it's just a lovey-dovey fluff piece. There's almost no new information or insight. If you only know Williams as the "Star Wars" guy I guess you'll learn something, but it's not much of a documentary.

[MaxFMusic 14]

12 minutes ago, mkfantastico said:

Just watched it. It's fine, but it's just a lovey-dovey fluff piece. There's almost no new information or insight. If you only know Williams as the "Star Wars" guy I guess you'll learn something, but it's not much of a documentary.

Just finished the documentary myself, and I must say that I respectfully disagree with you. I really enjoyed a lot of the behind-the-scenes clips of the production of a lot of the movies and tv shows Mr. Williams has worked on, and a majority of them I haven't seen before. I also really liked the unique perspectives that each speaking interviewee gave on Mr. Williams and his music, especially from those like Chris Martin or Seth McFarlane whom I haven't seen talk much about him in the past. There was plenty of new information in my opinion, and as someone who has both written a research paper on John Williams and is an active fan of his, I received more in-depth information on some aspects of his career that I hadn't known before seeing the documentary. It was an amazing watch and I would highly recommend it not just to fans of Mr. Williams, but also to those who are fans of music and cinema alike.

[DangerMotif 1,140]

31 minutes ago, mkfantastico said:

Just watched it. It's fine, but it's just a lovey-dovey fluff piece. There's almost no new information or insight. If you only know Williams as the "Star Wars" guy I guess you'll learn something, but it's not much of a documentary.

I was expecting this but I was really surprised that it was not just a bland disney+ original that disappears after a month. It was a really well made documentary and I couldn’t be happier with it.

[Holko 10,396]

It's alright! Had some real nice bits. I was surprised to have enjoyed it more than I expected.

[Tom 5,148]

55 minutes ago, mkfantastico said:

Just watched it. It's fine, but it's just a lovey-dovey fluff piece. There's almost no new information or insight. If you only know Williams as the "Star Wars" guy I guess you'll learn something, but it's not much of a documentary.

It's tough that Williams has been a consummate professional and dedicated artist--boring life equals boring documentary.  Too bad that he was not an addict, condescending jerk, or womanizer.  Those documentaries are a lot more interesting.  

[Sunshine Reger 3,609]

My favourite bit is when at the end he says that the finale of the Cello Concerto, the 2nd movement of the Violin Concerto No. 1, Yoda's Theme, and E.T. "Over the Moon" theme (Flying) describe him the best. And earlier on, that far from losing himself in Hollywood, he found himself there.

 

Also all the private life stills and accounts, and when he passively-diplomatically suggests he should have won more Oscars 

 

There were other points that I will not mention; suffice to say seeing a summary of such a life made me reflect a bit more and take a "Schindler's List" kind of a walk. Blame the Hymn to the Fallen earworm.

[Darth Crossfader 583]

On 26/10/2024 at 12:18 PM, bollemanneke said:

Sacre du Printemps is just an assault on the eardrums...

 

What is The Snow Battle from ESB then? If you've only listened to it once, I urge you to listen to it again some time (I recommend the recording conducted by Stravinsky himself). I was shocked too, initially (so were lots of people at the premiere, apparently), but over the years I've come to love its many tasteful dissonances.

[bollemanneke 3,622]

26 minutes ago, Darth Crossfader said:

 

What is The Snow Battle from ESB then? If you've only listened to it once, I urge you to listen to it again some time (I recommend the recording conducted by Stravinsky himself). I was shocked too, initially (so were lots of people at the premiere, apparently), but over the years I've come to love its many tasteful dissonances.

I hate to disappoint, but have an insanely long list of things I want to listen to. I'm currently not in a position to give anything a second try. The idea is to get through the essentials first, which will take me another five years at least.

[phbart 634]

This friday night will be like...

 

 

[Joni Wiljami 1,212]

I noticed that many of my FB friends liked this documentary pretty much and I talked with my friends(mostly musicians), very positive feedback. All the negative comments I find here. Not surprised and will avoid this site, it was so much better years ago  

[karelm 3,099]

That was such a lovely, sweet film.  I absolutely loved it.  Like many others, I was very curious to see some of the other ideas of the 5 note CEOTTK "hello" motif so played through a few of them before getting bored with the idea.  In short, they chose wisely.

 

 

[Tallguy 4,567]

I'm in the middle of it.

 

"I know. But they're all dead."

 

There we are. Ok, back to the film.

[JohnnyD 1,330]

I just finished seeing it. This documentary was very well done, and there a few insights about the Maestro, the man himself, that were new to me. I’m happy to rewatch this documentary for years to come; it is a wonderful insight into and tribute to the Maestro and one of the greatest artists who has ever lived and continues to move and inspire people all over the world. It is a testament to who John Williams is, as a composer, as a conductor, as a musician and as a human being. On a related note, this documentary is a wonderful first course if you will to the banquet that will be @Maestro, Tim Greiving’s upcoming biography of over 500 pages, “John Williams: Adventures On Earth”, and that will be a further deep dive from the Maestro himself and more people he has worked with and inspired. A job well done to all involved in making “Music By John Williams” and I can’t wait for more from the Maestro himself.

[phbart 634]

I was so bombarded by nostalgia by watching this documentary that I still need some time to digest everything.

 

What can say for now is that I feel so proud to be a John Williams fan for all these years, and this documentary reminded me of how important his music was (and still is!) for me.

 

Thank you, Maestro!

[Ollie 1,162]

Just finished watching. A very lovely tribute to John Williams. Hard to keep a dry eye during the viewing.

[John Dutton 7,502]

This doc did nothing to alter my perception of JW. We already knew this stuff. That being said, there are new photos of him losing his hair throughout time with his hot late original wife and Spielberg tape recordings. The Lucas and Spielberg bits are great. Nerds will interject that for instance his Lost in Space theme he recorded is portrayed as the season 3 theme. *Adjusts glasses* "Well, actually..."

 

The clearly most recent takes from John, he's looking quite old. I wish him well.

[The Train Station 8,870]

He's a little old man now.

[Andy 5,215]

What a beautiful, if somewhat condensed portrait.  This easily could’ve been a 2 part documentary.  It seemed to move so fast, and I was clinging to every word, note, and image. To hear so much from his body of work is a bit overwhelming. And yet I didn’t expect to tear up at the moments that I did.  I guess that’s a sign Bouzerau did something right, getting me when I least expected.
 

 If anyone needed a reminder that we are blessed to have shared time on this world with the man, here it is.  On one hand, I could criticize it should’ve had this person, it should’ve had more of that… but I’m really just feeling grateful this was made when it was and that we now have it for posterity.   Highest recommendation. 

[Brando 2,180]

Just remembered this: the few scenes we got to see without and then with music were great! And they plopped in the original Binary Sunset! What a great addition!! Thats one of the greatest film music moments in the history of film and probably not everyone knows that what you hear in the film is a revision.

[John Dutton 7,502]

It was a huge misfire by Williams.

[Andy 5,215]

Did I miss it, or was there nothing from Return of the Jedi or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?

[Brando 2,180]

The Last Crusade was one of the no music/music examples, when Indy is on the train car with the rhino.

[John Dutton 7,502]

 

The late River Phoenix, brother of the star of the terrible bomb Joker 2, appeared at some point 

[Andy 5,215]

11 minutes ago, Brando said:

The Last Crusade was one of the no music/music examples, when Indy is on the train car with the rhino.

Duh!  How could I have forgotten?  Probably cause I had something in my eye the whole time. 

[artguy360 1,908]

This documentary is reminding me how classic and yet fresh Rey's Theme is. It's incredible that he wrote another one of his best themes, so memorable and instantly fitting for its character so late in his career. 

[Once 696]

I enjoyed it very much! What an incredible artist Williams is - simply a career unmatched, in my opinion!

 

The doc could easily have been an hour longer, closer in runtime to Ennio. I'm convinced even mainstream audiences would've been on board, many Letterboxd reviews mentions wanting a longer runtime.

 

This really did feel like an appetizer for @Maestro's upcoming biography. I. Can't. Wait! 

[Tom 5,148]

47 minutes ago, artguy360 said:

This documentary is reminding me how classic and yet fresh Rey's Theme is. It's incredible that he wrote another one of his best themes, so memorable and instantly fitting for its character so late in his career. 

Yes, and I would add Of Grit and Glory as the same in terms of his sports work.  The Vienna Ball piece is just badass all around.   

[mrbellamy 6,795]

Honestly a very nice and well-rounded doc.  

 

I feel like there are two movies in here intertwined that could be called "A Portrait of John Williams" and "A Tribute to John Williams." The latter is the most predictable stuff cause it's what we all do in here anyway, buncha guys talking about how great he is. But the former is magical throughout, seeing him out golfing, in the car on the way to Hollywood Bowl and backstage, that stuff was great. Talking about his scores, the CE3K clip is one for the ages. I think we're gonna see that passed around for years. I've heard him go into that theory before but this was the most beautifully expressed version. 

 

All of the little bits of him playing his music on piano...playing Fabelmans which he wrote for the Spielbergs while in voiceover talking about his own parents. One of his most recent pieces while talking about the earliest part of his life. Come onnnnn, so good. There was a brief pause in that section where it cut back to watch him quietly playing and it was so simple and casual and sweet, got a little chest pang there. 

 

One of my favorite things was the emphasis on Tanglewood, I knew it'd at least get a passing mention but I felt like the doc really presented it well and it came across why he finds it so special and integral. I also felt like they really did give a nice overview of his earlier life and career, and the fact that they even pointed out Black Sunday as part of his great 1977 year when they could have just ignored it. I think it covered as many dimensions of JW as it could in 100 minutes and honestly didn't feel like they overdid it on the greatest hits. 

 

I enjoyed that the "But they're all dead" anecdote included a big round of applause from the Q&A audience lmao. We need an extended cut that splices in random crowds of hooligans going wild. 

 

I'd really have loved a movie that was pretty much entirely Williams at the piano playing samples of his scores and talking about each of them, but I felt like this doc had a good taste of that and overall a decent approach by Bouzereau. I also caught up with the Jim Henson doc today and I felt like this was extra satisfying in comparison because the man is alive and able to tell his own story. That's what I appreciated most. Ultimately I think there is a 7/10 ceiling on this kind of thing as a piece of filmmaking but as a Williams fan, it's a great thing to have. There's something about it being a little soft that kinda just reflects his character, anyway. I loved the warm-hearted tone of it above all. 

 

The only real criticism I have is that it's too short, of course. You would just need a doc series to do it all justice. And yeah, it's distracting how much Chris Martin is featured in this!

[Jurassic Shark 13,360]

1 minute ago, mrbellamy said:

Chris Martin is featured in this

 

What the Heck?

[mrbellamy 6,795]

You could make a drinking game out of this doc with Chris Martin's appearances, it's hilarious. Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome but it got to the point where my brother and I cheered every time he came back. 

[Jurassic Shark 13,360]

It's sad they felt the need to include him in order to make people interested in the doc. Did he at least say anything useful?

[Sandor 846]

30 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

It's sad they felt the need to include him in order to make people interested in the doc. Did he at least say anything useful?

He did.

[mrbellamy 6,795]

I don't even know that I would say he's there to draw viewers in. There can't be that many Coldplay fans who would watch only cause of him. 

 

My impression is that he's in it because Bouzereau viewed him as a unique perspective, a prominent music star who feels John Williams's influence but isn't an orchestral composer or musician. Which is fair enough and I remember a soundbite from him that was worth noting about Williams being a bridge between classical and pop audiences. And he REALLY loves E.T. and it is endearing how he freaks out describing how "Flying" extends and builds to its climax. He's obviously listening to it like a songwriter. 

 

But it is also just a little incongruous how he keeps coming back! He's not in it as much as Spielberg but it felt like he had more screentime than George Lucas. 

[Alejandro 28]

Well I watched it three times already.

Like many on the board, I’ve been reading and watching features on John Williams since the early 80s so very little here is new to me, but it’s nice that it’s all in one place.

 

I really enjoyed Williams and Spielberg chatting together, especially about Jaws when Williams asks him, “Well, why didn’t you say ‘no’?”  It would have been great fun to have a lot more of that diaglogue back and forth.  

 

I also really liked that George Lucas tearing up about hearing the music for the first time back in ‘77 for his little space film, and I’m glad Laurent was able to extract a bit of interview from Williams about raising his family and about his Pops resignation back in ‘84.  I wonder if more interviews with his family, like with Joseph, weren’t done or if they were just left out. 

I was hoping there was some stuff in the Extras, but I knew there wasn’t going to be any—I looked for it anyways. 

 

Which of Tom Hank’s kid was at the Saving Private Ryan recording!??  The one that looked bored.

 

I’m glad Williams talked about film music today and the dangers of the studio orchestras running the risk of becoming extinct because of electronics.

 

[Jurassic Shark 13,360]

Did Boozer ask about the size of JW's, you know... CD collection, and whether he prefers OSTs or expansions?

[Mr. Hooper 3,550]

I liked Chris Martin's comments. They were genuine and heartfelt, and I felt he represented the fan's perspective. Loved the joy on his face when describing the E.T. music, and preferred his to the usual, stale comments of adulation from J.J. Abrams, James Mangold, Kathleen Kennedy, etc.

 

I thought the documentary went into just enough detail to hold the interest of a casual viewer. It clearly wasn't intended to expand the knowledge of John Williams aficionados. Sorry guys—you'll need to buy the upcoming book.

 

Throughout it, I was left wishing that Bouzereau had let the music breathe more and go on a little longer, without anyone talking over it. It's about a man and his music, so let us hear it!

 

Overall, it's a serviceable documentary, but I don't think it deserves any awards.

 

Attention @Jay and @Smeltington! We can briefly see you guys in the clip from last year's Film Night at Tanglewood at the 1:39:15 mark. My arm and "Music by John Williams" shirt make an appearance too. lol

[Steve 622]

I really enjoyed the documentary. It's nice to have something like this. It could have gone an hour longer, especially with more sections of JW playing themes on the piano. Sometimes I found it a bit too un-chronological, but I guess that's how to make documentaries nowdays. All in all, it was a pleasure to watch, even if we already knew most of the information shared in it.

It featured many selections form this short video:

 

[aj_vader 570]

On 01/11/2024 at 11:56 AM, crumbs said:

The better question would be whether the excerpt of the original version of Binary Sunset is from the SE, because that track was never released elsewhere. To my ears it sounds much clearer than the SE version.

 

That said, we know Disney transferred all those analogue elements years back, so it's probably meaningless and no indication of Star Wars expansions. The end credits do refer to this excerpt with the SE track title.

 

I think it sounds a little duller in the documentary. I checked and it's an upscaled stereo version, because the centre channel sounds like the fake versions in the atmos release for some of the cues in Jedi. The rear just sounds like the front mix with more reverb put on. So I don't think this is a new mix or release unfortunatley. If there IS a difference I feel like the close mics on Violins I and Cellos on the SE CD are louder and more present than the one in the documentary, but that could be volume automation placed on the documentary or a levelling plugin to aid dubbing against narration/dialogue. 

[LB Makes Stuff 304]

They used SpaceCamp

 

it’s a 10/10

[John Dutton 7,502]

It was a pretty standard fluffy DVD feature type of doc. Obviously nerds will get a bit more out of it seeing snippets of Spielberg's tape recordings and archival photos of JW gradually losing his hair. A more avant garde approach of splicing all of that stuff together might have been more interesting. It felt a bit too limited in who was interviewed or featured. Ken Wannberg for instance gets a mention in passing, literally mentioning his passing, but Seth McFarlane is in it blabbing for some reason.

[karelm 3,099]

On 02/11/2024 at 6:24 AM, LB Makes Stuff said:

They used SpaceCamp

 

it’s a 10/10

 

And it was very well used!  I agree, I'd rate this 10/10.  I loved Chris Martin, Silvestri, and Seth McFarlane all in this - it shows of his reach.  I had no idea Chris Martin was a big fan.  We should all keep in mind, we aren't the target audience for this because we've heard the alternative binary sunset for decades.  We already heard his Canadian first film score.  I doubt we've ever seen him chit chatting about golf, his childhood memories, dad telling him to practice, so many very charming stories.  I absolutely loved the relationships being shown, not just told.  I've heard Spielberg and Lucas talk about how Johnny is always so great but here, I felt we saw what their relationship was like.  We heard Johnny call Spielberg baby which just brought such a sweet moment because you know that's how he still sees him and how he called him since his hipster early 1970's day.  One of the reasons why it was so nice having him pour over old scores like the rejected CEOTTK motifs is I've been curious about that forever and seeing him reminisce was just so pleasant.   Of course I would love hours of just that kind of stuff but again, we're not the target audience.  To me, that scene showed a lot of his process that's never been shown.  Many of the ideas I played over were very similar to the one we know and love while others were quite different and I'm sure he could make any of them work, but it showed how he chiseled away something somewhat rough to get perfection.  It felt as if the filmmaker just let Johnny be himself and talk through what we wanted rather than asking "Show us your CEOTTK rejected ideas" which wouldn't have had the same impact of this Master thinking through what he's done and how he approached challenges in the past.  Overall, a fantastic, loving documentary and I'm certain there are hours of outtakes with other interesting bits and memories that had to be cut to make this a theatrical and viable cinematic production.  Well done to all involved!

[mrbellamy 6,795]

The CE3K musing is also now my all-time great example why this man should have been interviewed at a piano at all times. Obviously impractical but there's really not enough footage of him stationed behind the keys demonstrating how he thinks about this stuff. He's clearly having more fun and it's so much clearer than when he's just trying to describe why a 7th chord in third inversion sounds more sinister for bad guys or referencing "thump thumps" or whatever. It's also why it's so hard to talk about music on here without just embedding YouTube videos. 

[John Dutton 7,502]

Why wasn't Michael Giacchino in this?

[Jurassic Shark 13,360]

Because he's Michael Giacchino. 

[Andy 5,215]

7 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

I liked Chris Martin's comments. They were genuine and heartfelt, and I felt he represented the fan's perspective. Loved the joy on his face when describing the E.T. music, and preferred his to the usual, stale comments of adulation from J.J. Abrams, James Mangold, Kathleen Kennedy, etc.

Confession: before this, I did not know who Chris Martin was.  My wife informed me he was married to Pepper Potts and played some Coldplay songs for me.  They were… fine.  But his reaction to the E.T. Clip on his phone felt authentic.  So while most people saw a rockstar, I saw a kid much younger than me vibing on JW in a real way. 
 

But that one clip would’ve been enough.  Young people don’t need a rockstar to tell them JW is cool.  JW IS a rockstar. 

 

9 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

I'd really have loved a movie that was pretty much entirely Williams at the piano playing samples of his scores and talking about each of them,

Perhaps we will get that next one day. Let’s hope this isn’t the final documentary on JW. Perhaps the fans could put one together for the fans. 

 

1 hour ago, LB Makes Stuff said:

They used SpaceCamp Heartbeeps

 

it’s a 10/10

 

It is indeed a 10/10.   I hope there’s a physical media release. 

Bouzerau gets a lot of flak around here, but he done good this time. SpaceCamp was an inspired choice.  Even hearing things like Images and Dracula were for us fans. 

 

Look, the obvious way to close out the documentary was the final chords of Adventure on Earth.  I Love that Bouzerau gave us fans a deep cut there with SpaceCamp. 
 

What a therapeutic way to end my work week.  My soul feels happy.

 

[phbart 634]

You learn something everyday...

 

- The piano for the opening of "To Kill a Mockingbird", is JW playing.

- Spielberg used "Images" as a temp track for Jaws

- JW calls Spielberg "baby" and "sweetie"