2023 John Williams Official top 10 film scores. Your individual lists.

[Fabulin 3,514]

1. ESB

2. TLC

3. E.T.

4. SW

5. ROTLA

6. TPM

7. JP

8. HP 1

9. TLW

10. Jaws

[Thor 7,513]

Abbreviations.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

Dudes, am I the only person who likes 1941? 

[GerateWohl 4,370]

2 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Dudes, am I the only person who likes 1941? 

Yes.

[Jay 37,369]

It's a great score.  I absolutely love it.  It made my top 25 without hesitation.

 

We're talking about a man who has written so many amazing scores, it should be difficult for any serious fan to narrow it down to only 10. 

 

1941 not appearing in a top 10 list doesn't make it a bad score.  It just means that many people think he wrote at least 10 that are even more amazing.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

Fair point.

[Damien F 1,742]

Of his 100+ scores, I think a valid argument could be made for a majority of them to be an entry in the top 10 list.

[Faleel 5,357]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

Abbreviations.

To be fair, E.T. is already in the title

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Dudes, am I the only person who likes 1941? 

You're not but he's done to many Star Wars, Indy and JP to put that one in a top 10 (same would go for a Spielberg top 10). But that being said I would choose this score over any other composers score as the best score ever

[Andy 4,138]

 

 

What the hell, you guys?  

 

Spoiler

 

 

On 15/8/2023 at 3:41 PM, GlastoEls said:

1. Empire Strikes Back

2. Star Wars

3. Jaws

4. E.T.

5. Jurassic Park

6. Hook

7. Home Alone

8. The Phantom Menace

9. Return Of The Jedi

10. The River

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 15/8/2023 at 3:50 PM, Jay said:

1. Hook
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. Jurassic Park
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8. Home Alone
9. Lincoln
10. War Horse

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 15/8/2023 at 7:09 PM, Bellosh said:

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark

2. The Empire Strikes Back

3. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

6. Jaws

7. Schindler's List

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

10. War Horse

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 15/8/2023 at 10:09 PM, Smeltington said:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars
Hook
The Phantom Menace
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Return of the Jedi
War Horse
Lincoln

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 16/8/2023 at 4:24 AM, Thor said:

1. JURASSIC PARK

2. Jane Eyre

3. Return of the Jedi

4. Angela's Ashes

5. A.I.

6. Hook

7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

8. Far & Away

9. E.T.

10. Not With My Wife You Don't

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 16/8/2023 at 4:51 AM, GerateWohl said:

1. E.T.
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Force Awakens
4. The Witches of Eastwick
5. Schindler's List
6. War Horse
7. Raiders of the Lost Ark
8. A.I.
9. The Lost World
10. Attack of the Clones
     

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 16/8/2023 at 9:09 AM, Tom said:

ET

ESB

SW

AI

Home Alone

CEOTK

Temple of Doom

Tintin

Nixon

Dracula

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 16/8/2023 at 5:16 PM, Richard Penna said:

Jurassic Park

Potter 1
Last Crusade
Revenge of the Sith
Potter 2
Potter 3
The Lost World

The Terminal
War of the Worlds
Home Alone

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

On 16/8/2023 at 10:11 PM, Toillion said:

1. Star Wars 
2. Jurassic Park 
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. Schindler’s List
5. The Empire Strikes Back
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
7. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
9. Home Alone
10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 16/8/2023 at 10:55 PM, Muad'Dib said:

1. The Fury
2. The Eiger Sanction
3. Jurassic Park: The Lost World
4. AI: Artificial Intelligence
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
6. The Terminal
7. Tintin
8. Dracula
9. The Long Goodbye
10. The Missouri Breaks

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

On 17/8/2023 at 1:34 PM, Mr. Hooper said:

1. ESB

2. Jaws

3. E.T.

4. ROTJ

5. SW

6. Jaws 2

7. Raiders

8. Dracula

9. Jane Eyre

10. CE3K

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

 

 

[Damien F 1,742]

In chronological order:

 

1. Jaws
2. Star Wars
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
5. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
8. Jurassic Park
9. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

This is obviously heavily biased towards Star Wars and Indy at the expense of non-franchise scores but it doesn't feel right not including those scores in my top 10. My 11 - 20 would be a much more eclectic collection of scores and would have a lot more from the 2000s.

[MaxMovieMan 273]

1. The Empire Strikes Back

2. ET

3. Jaws

4. Raiders of the Lost Ark

5. Close Encounters

6. Schindler’s List

7. Saving Private Ryan

8. Lincoln

9. War of the Worlds

10. War Horse

 

I genuinely believe the score to the Empire Strikes Back as a whole is one of the greatest compositions of music in history. ET is also close behind.

[Toillion 215]

6 minutes ago, Andy said:

 

 

What the hell, you guys?  

 

 

The ask wasn't for my bottom 10  

jk that really doesn't go that low on my list

[Bellosh 3,419]

1 hour ago, Andy said:

 

 

What the hell, you guys?  

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

 

 

 

Probably still not in my top 10 even without SW and Indy....🫣

 

 

[MaxMovieMan 273]

It’s a good theme but the score overall isn’t my favorite at all. I think "The Planet Krypton" is the best cue in the whole soundtrack though.

[Jay 37,369]

I agree with MaxMovieMan

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

If the ask was for top 10 main themes, Superman would definitely be up there for me.

 

As for the rest of the score, 'The Trip to Earth' is in regular rotation on my iPod, along with the Love Theme.

[GlastoEls 563]

4 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

If the ask was for top 10 main themes, Superman would definitely be up there for me.

This is my position on the matter too!

[Schilkeman 964]

Destruction of Krypton!, Trip to Earth!!, Fortress of fucking Solitude!!!, The goddamn Flying fucking Sequence!!!! 
 

We live in a society!

[Damien F 1,742]

The third act action tracks (Chasing Rockets, Superfeats, Super Dam and Finding Lois, Turning Back The World) are really great too.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

And let's not forget 'The March of the Villains', which is a fun track...

 

Well, come to think of it—with a nudge and prod from Andy—I think we can agree that there's lots to love about that score! 😄

 

[MaxTheHouseelf 324]

1. E.T.

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

3. Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

5. War Horse

6. Star Wars - The Phantom Menace

7. The Adventures of Tintin

8. Hook

9. Jane Eyre

10. Memoirs of a Geisha

 

The order does change of course but these are my top ten at the moment.

[Andy 4,138]

Silence!!!  This tribunal has heard enough testimony on Superman being a Masterpiece.  I think you all know what happens now.  Forecast in the Phantom Zone is cloudy with a chance of being flattened. 

[Thor 7,513]

He, he. I love SUPERMAN (and as a film, it's one of the most important in my life), but I think I overplayed it in my formative years, so I rarely return to it these days. It's also not a sound I gravitate towards anymore. Thirdly, when a title is so "overpraised" by fans, I tend to tune out a bit. I like the lesser-talked about titles more. It's a psychological fault of mine. So it won't be on my top 10 JW list. But by all means -- the score is very much ingrained in my spine, and I return to it with infrequent intervals. I have nothing bad to say about it. It's Strauss on steroids. Short sentence exercise over.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

Silence!!!  This tribunal has heard enough testimony on Superman being a Masterpiece.  I think you all know what happens now.  Forecast in the Phantom Zone is cloudy with a chance of being flattened. 

As long as I'm trapped with Ursa...

 

 

The others are stuck with Non.

 

 

[Tom 4,665]

4 hours ago, Thor said:

Short sentence exercise over.

Next time, consider abbreviating.  

[Bayesian 1,363]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

It's Strauss on steroids. 

Yeah. I like the way you put that.

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

13 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

Yeah. I like the way you put that.

'The Cowboys' has been similarly described as "Aaron Copland on steroids."

 

Williams can certainly inject his music with loads of pep, vim, and vigor.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

On 19/08/2023 at 1:45 AM, MaxMovieMan said:

... "The Planet Krypton"...

 

On 19/08/2023 at 4:29 AM, Mr. Hooper said:

... 'The Trip to Earth'... Love Theme.

 

"Turning Back The World" is not only my favourite cue from SUPERMAN, it's in my all time top-5 JW cues.

 

 

 

 

23 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

 

 

 

 

Let's just hold hands 

[Mr. Hooper 1,793]

This is turning into the 'Superman Appreciation Thread'!

 

Maybe the tribunal will reconsider banishing some of us... Depends on how Andy feels today.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

3 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

This is turning into the 'Superman Appreciation Thread'!

 

... and long may it continue 

 

 

3 hours ago, Mr. Hooper said:

Maybe the tribunal will reconsider banishing some of us...

 

Squirt?

[Damien F 1,742]

This thread caused me to revisit Superman and Hook this weekend which have been both neglected from my regular listening for a long time. They both showcase his technical complexity, emotional poignancy, thematic richness, and exhilarating action writing. What an absolute genius!

[Corellian2019 386]

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Minority Report

Jurassic Park

Jaws

The Empire Strikes Back

The Fury

JFK

The Long Goodbye

Return Of The Jedi

[filmmusic 1,837]

It's surprising that The Long Goodbye, a monothematic repetitive score is already in 2 lists IIRC!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,544]

Didn't you know, @filmmusic; JAWS is only two notes long, and it's considered among the greatest scores ever 

[Smeltington 1,440]

On 18/08/2023 at 6:09 PM, Andy said:

What the hell, you guys?  

 

I love the early part but not so much the later parts, and I also dislike March of the Villains. But because of that, I still haven't listened to the score enough to really sink my teeth into it. I do listen to the main theme and the love theme a lot, which are two of his best concert arrangements ever. The Krypton tracks, Trip to Earth, Fortress of Solitude, and the Flying Sequence are highlights too. I've considered condensing the score down to get myself to listen to it more, but that seems sacrilegious, so we'll see.

[Brónach 1,302]

to make sense to me, a list must have jaws and close encounters

 

one is also tempted to exclude some franchises, they may take so many spots

[Bespin 8,484]

Ok, finally I wish to modify my top 10 for this year.

 

1. Star Wars: A New Hope

2. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back

3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

4. E.T.

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark

6. Schindler's List

7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone

8. Jurassic Park

9. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[The Lost Folio 183]

1. Hook
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark
6. Superman – The Movie
7. Star Wars
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
10. Jurassic Park

[Damien F 1,742]

7 hours ago, Brónach said:

to make sense to me, a list must have jaws and close encounters

 

one is also tempted to exclude some franchises, they may take so many spots

 

I was tempted to limit my top 10 to one score per franchise because it is dominated by Star Wars and Indy, but I decided against it because that wouldn't be my true top 10.

[Faleel 5,357]

11 hours ago, Brónach said:

to make sense to me, a list must have jaws and close encounters

 

 

No adagios.

On 20/08/2023 at 6:35 PM, Damien F said:

This thread caused me to revisit Superman ...showcase his technical complexity, emotional poignancy, thematic richness, and exhilarating action writing. What an absolute genius!

Superman is his lushest score!

[mrbellamy 6,287]

Superman was never really my thing for some reason either. Except for the march, of course, which rules and I've played a million times like everyone else. I've only listened to the whole score once, though, and can't remember the last time I saw the movie. Probably not since I was a kid. 

 

So I will probably refresh my memory on the score and movie. Also finally think this will give me a good excuse to watch some JW movies that I've been meaning to see...even though ultimately I doubt it will have much effect on my list with so many classics and longtime sentimental favorites in the mix. 

 

These are all the JW scored movies I still haven't seen. I bolded the ones I feel like I'll prioritize but anything in here I definitely gotta check out?

 

Spoiler

Daddy-O

I Passed For White
Because They're Young
The Secret Ways
Bachelor Flat
Diamond Head
Gidget Goes To Rome
The Killers
None But The Brave
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home
The Rare Breed
How to Steal a Million
The Plainsman
Not With My Wife, You Don’t!
Penelope
A Guide for the Married Man
Valley of the Dolls
Fitzwilly
Heidi
Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
The Reivers
Storia di una Donna (Story of a Woman)
Jane Eyre
Pete ‘N’ Tillie
Tom Sawyer
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
The Paper Chase
Cinderella Liberty
Conrack
Earthquake
The Eiger Sanction
Family Plot
The Missouri Breaks
Midway
Black Sunday
Dracula
Heartbeeps
Monsignor
The River
SpaceCamp
Stanley & Iris
Presumed Innocent
Sabrina
Sleepers
Seven Years in Tibet
Stepmom
The Book Thief

 

[Thor 7,513]

Of those titles, definitely SLEEPERS first -- an unheralded masterpiece. Then THE MISSOURI BREAKS and THE RIVER.

[Jay 37,369]

1 hour ago, mrbellamy said:

These are all the JW scored movies I still haven't seen. I bolded the ones I feel like I'll prioritize but anything in here I definitely gotta check out?

 

The Eiger Sanction.  Just listen to these samples!

 

https://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.12305/.f

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,433]

Sleepers is terrific, I would also recommand How to Steel a Million this is such a fun movie

[Jay 37,369]

OOOPS, I misunderstood the question and thought you were asking about scores.  For scores on your list, I recommend The Eiger Sanction.  For films, I definitely don't recommend that dumb movie!

 

Out of all the movies on your list, the only ones I've seen are

 

How to Steal a Million

The Eiger Sanction
Dracula
The River
SpaceCamp
Stanley & Iris
Presumed Innocent
Sabrina
Sleepers
The Book Thief

 

I guess Sleepers, then Presumed Innocent, then Sabrina, then The River would be my recommendations for watching the films

[mrbellamy 6,287]

Yeah I love The Eiger Sanction score!!

[Thor 7,513]

4 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

Yeah I love The Eiger Sanction score!!

 

Everybody does! But as Jay alludes to, it's a film with difficulties. It's not a BAD film, but it has some pacing issues and other things.

[Holko 9,529]

Oh it's bad alright

[mrbellamy 6,287]

I guess I'm also just wondering like, the best of the films left I haven't seen where the scores really make an impact. Which is somewhat a gray area between the best scores and the best films.