Any specific "moments" in a JW score you find beautiful that perhaps is never mentioned elsewhere?

[Tommy Lellan 19]

I was thinking this recently with quite a few Horner/Williams tracks, how there are certain moments specifically that resonate more with me, that I know are not particularly loved by others, and was wondering if anybody else had their own moments like these? If so, give them their moment in the spotlight here.

 

Mine:

 

"Death of Topthorn" from War Horse. Specifically from 0:54 to 1:15.

Death of Topthorn

The best I can describe it is like fine music walking down some stairs, but dragging one foot. Each step brings forth a sad memory, one from recent years, the next from childhood, the next losing a parent, etc. and then the last step is coming to terms with it and moving on stronger than before. Probably reads as insane, but that's what I picture/sort of feel when listening to this. Honestly the most striking part of the score in my opinion. Can't even remember it in the movie, and glad for it.

 

"Setting the Trap" from Home Alone 1. From 1:48 to 1:55

Setting the Trap

The 'Christmas Star' melody juxtaposes the rising chords of the "Somewhere in my Memory" melody while the bass note goes DOWN in the background. It ALMOST sounds chaotic, but it blends together so freakishly well it brings about this strange magic sound to it. Superb.

 

"Farewell Neverland" from Hook. From 2:19 to 4:12.

Farewell Neverland

The entire choir section in general is stunning, but it's because of the CHORDS. The incredible chords. First listen, you have no idea where it's going, and on the 1000th listen you realise how magical the chords are, straight out of a fairytale. Something about the random "cliffhanger" and "end of story with a but" chords that are utilised here, and so often. It's incredible. Best part of the score imo. The crescendo ending is the cherry on top.

 

 

Some others:

 

"Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter 1, the bass drum at 4:22, and the flutter of flutes in the background add such terrific magic at 4:43.

 

"Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye" from E.T., at 9:49, the melancholy cellos giving a very Schindler's List-y sad but beautiful vibe.

 

"Mom Returns and Finale" from Home Alone 1. 1:21, when Kate calls Kevin's name at the end of the movie and he realises she's behind him. This tiny little moment of fluttering strings is just the perfect embodiment of the emotions in that moment. "Could it really be her?" So beautiful.

 

"Main Title 'Somewhere in my Memory'" from Home Alone 1. The end credits music with the main theme, there is a specific moment during the choir singing that has always sent chills down my spine. It's the word "me" in "Christmas joys all around me". The lower note gives the vocals a humming. Mixed with the equally low harmonies and the orchestra surrounding it, it gives a sort of comforting 'wall-of-sound' effect that is stunning.

 

 

 

Do you have any specific moments you love from a JW score?

[Trope 1,429]

Awesome post! There are many short and evocative moments in his music that resonate with me in a special way.

 

E.T. and Me (1:20-1:55): I adore the textures here, with the violin harmonics adding a sense of otherworldliness to the harp melody, and the bassline beautifully landing at 1:35. Add the background chimes and other string tremolos, and you have a truly evocative and intimate passage.

 

Refugee Status (2:33-3:05): Beautiful, quintal string chords plateau into stasis before a noble and surprisingly poignant solo horn breaks through. The briefest moment of tenderness and beauty in an otherwise oppressive and heavy score.

 

Confluence (3:00-3:34): A glorious moment for the brass to shine in an otherwise string-focussed score. Violins ascend accompanied by a powerful brass supported chord shift, before the horns/trombones boldly state the main theme. It conveys a sense of power and majesty.

 

Keen to add to this list and also see what other JWFans have to say!

[BB-8 6,118]

Nice, but how does this thread differ from: 

 

[karelm 3,271]

I adore the very gentle tension in Saving Private Ryan when they are looking through the dog tags.  I tear up when seeing it because the acting, directing, scoring are all so moving.  But it's not a grand moment, not a big theme or anything.  Very subtle.  Here it is transcribed.

 

 

[Bellosh 4,525]

:09-:16 of X Marks the Spot

 

 

 

1:57-2:14 of Han and Leia

 

 

 

[BB-8 6,118]

 

[Quintus 6,340]

The trombones line buried under the finale of the Superman March.

 

Edit: you can see them here to the right of the frame:

 

https://youtu.be/2fnMVpFnSrg?t=5m19s

 

Fuckin sick.

 

[rpvee 1,086]

The statement of “Luke and Leia” in “The Spark” from TLJ. It’s such a beautiful version that’s slower, deeper, more mature, and a bit more sad, but with some lovely high strings in the back that add an air of hope. Very representative of the characters themselves in that scene. It’s my favorite arrangement of my favorite theme, but it always gets overlooked because of the epic Imperial March-esque build up that happens in the piece shortly after.

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

8 minutes ago, rpvee said:

The statement of “Luke and Leia” in “The Spark” from TLJ. It’s such a beautiful version that’s slower, deeper, more mature, and a bit more sad, but with some lovely high strings in the back that add an air of hope. Very representative of the characters themselves in that scene. It’s my favorite arrangement of my favorite theme, but it always gets overlooked because of the epic Imperial March-esque build up that happens in the piece shortly after.

And because of the general nature of all the reuses in the score, and and the (rather standard) reuse of H&L that comes up a few seconds later

[JazzyNips 181]

How could you know if others love them or not? I think you're too hung up on what other people think.

[Escape_Velocity 77]

20 hours ago, Rachael Foley said:

And because of the general nature of all the reuses in the score, and and the (rather standard) reuse of H&L that comes up a few seconds later

Well let’s not lose sight of the fact that they are Han’s dice and are meant to remind Leia of her love for him. It is their love theme. Leitmotific storytelling and all.

[Xander Harris 9,577]

The ending of Amazing Stories The Mission. It's hardly ever mentioned and I guess it's obscure these days.

 

The entire thing is excellent, but there's this wrap-up in The Landing beginning with the ethereal music as the heroes are flabbergasted by the cartoon wheel. Then it goes full-on dramatic with a reprisal of the episode's main theme, brass, strings, percussion and an Always-esque French horn performing the melody to play us out.

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

12 minutes ago, Escape_Velocity said:

Well let’s not lose sight of the fact that they are Han’s dice and are meant to remind Leia of her love for him. It is their love theme. Leitmotific storytelling and all.

I was more referring to the fact, that it's pretty much copy pasted from The Force Awakens The Journey Home

[Edmilson 12,243]

I absolutely love this moment from The Last Jedi (1:48 - 2:30). It's Williams' typical warm but melancholic strings, so prevalent in many scores from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. In a vaccuum, seems like something out of The Last Crusade. 

 

 

[Tom 6,677]

1 hour ago, Xander Harris said:

The ending of Amazing Stories The Mission. It's hardly ever mentioned and I guess it's obscure these days.

 

The entire thing is excellent, but there's this wrap-up in The Landing beginning with the ethereal music as the heroes are flabbergasted by the cartoon wheel. Then it goes full-on dramatic with a reprisal of the episode's main theme, brass, strings, percussion and an Always-esque French horn performing the melody to play us out.

I contend that it is the best TV series score of all time.  

[Quintus 6,340]

The rarely heard middle section of this:

 

 

 

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

The horn bit at 3:46-3:51 of Barnstorming from CE3K

[Nemesis 301]

I love this section (2:35-2:43) from No Man's Land:

 

 

[Arnaud2 84]

The whole levitation cue is fantastic. This score deserves more love.

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

50 minutes ago, Arnaud2 said:

The whole levitation cue is fantastic. This score deserves more love.

Which score? E.T.? ROTJ?

[BB-8 6,118]

 

[Arnaud2 84]

On 13/4/2026 at 9:43 PM, Rachael Foley said:

Which score? E.T.? ROTJ?

Return of the Jedi.
 

Sorry, I tried to import it from YouTube but the link didn’t work.

 

Thank for asking.

[scoreman36 196]

I think ROTJ gets a lot of love, especially here. And that moment is exquisite. I really wish they didn’t rehash it in the sequel trilogy. 

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

34 minutes ago, scoreman36 said:

I think ROTJ gets a lot of love, especially here. And that moment is exquisite. I really wish they didn’t rehash it in the sequel trilogy. 

Did that cue get rehashed in the sequel trilogy?

 

 

 

[Arnaud2 84]

Wait, there is a sequel trilogy? 
 

(Thanks for posting the cue.)

[scoreman36 196]

7 hours ago, Rachael Foley said:

Did that cue get rehashed in the sequel trilogy?

 

 

 

Oh that levitation. Sorry. Yeah that is pretty wonderful. 

[Jay 45,837]

15 hours ago, Arnaud2 said:

Sorry, I tried to import it from YouTube but the link didn’t work.

 

Thank for asking.

 

All you have to do to embed youtube videos into posts here, is copy the URL from youtube, and paste it into your post.  That's it.

 

If you're on mobile and using the youtube app, IE not using youtube as a website, there's a "Share" button that you click that gives you a URL that you then paste into your post.

 

Even if something funky happens and it doesn't automatically turn into an embed, having the URL that people can click on to see the video that way is still better than nothing at all.

[mrbellamy 8,082]

This is maybe an entire other thread topic, but does anybody have a favorite statement of the theme in "A Window to the Past"? 

 

One of the things I find magical about it is how it really is just the same melody restated with small variations, but the orchestration keeps it moving. Even if it's stitched together, it's structured seamlessly. 

 

I could imagine there's a lot of love for the climactic statement at 2:00, and of course the hint of "Hedwig's Theme" as it builds to a crescendo is something else. But it's the one at 1:35 that always got me. There are still times where I'll just queue it up and skip directly there because I just gotta hear it again. To narrow it down even further, it's 1:45-1:49. I don't know what it is but it does something to me, over 20 years now. It almost creates a feeling of slight free-fall, like when you glide over that little hill on a roller coaster. 

 

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

In the main track? When it passes to the high strings, Angela's Ashes style.

 

In the score, probably one of the Patronus cues.

[mrbellamy 8,082]

Yeah I was referring to the track itself because it just occurred to me how it's a series of theme statements that have different character. Which is what he does all the time, but usually there are also subthemes or lengthy bridge sections, while here there's just that brief climactic interlude featuring Hedwig's Theme. 

 

For the score, "Sirius and Harry" is a beautiful unsung moment I just love. It's so simply presented but it fills the scene up to the brim, the music complements Oldman's performance and those lovely views of Hogwarts without trying to hide. It shows you can be melodic and Romantic and still underplay. And the tonal control of the cutback to Pettigrew without killing the mood, that is potentially dicey but it works because JW holds that line. 

 

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

Well, to be fair, that track (WttP) is an edit of the credits + other cues and inserts/overlays edited together, like with Irina's theme.

 

The of course he made this "proper" concert arrangement:

 

[Jay 45,837]

• 0:00-1:04 (1:04) = (unknown number and name) - A unique recorder solo, potentially recorded specifically for the album
• 1:04-2:28 (1:24) = 7M12 End Credits - just a portion of the full cue (which can be heard in its entirely in the LLL track "The Firebolt and End Credits")
• 2:28-3:26 (0:58) = 4M3-4NN Woods Walk and Birds Flight - just a portion of the full cue (which can be heard in its entirety in the LLL track "A Walk in the Woods and Bird’s Flight")
• 3:26-end (0:32) = 7M2 Insert - this presents the Insert on its own (you can hear the insert integrated into the 7M2 cue as intended in the LLL track "Lupin’s Transformation")

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

7 minutes ago, Jay said:

• 0:00-1:04 (1:04) = (unknown number and name) - A unique recorder solo, potentially recorded specifically for the album
•  

Iia it possible it was a seperate element/overlay of the recorder from the other cues, pitch shifted etc. ?

[Jay 45,837]

Anything's possible

[JohnnyD 1,823]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

• 0:00-1:04 (1:04) = (unknown number and name) - A unique recorder solo, potentially recorded specifically for the album
• 1:04-2:28 (1:24) = 7M12 End Credits - just a portion of the full cue (which can be heard in its entirely in the OST track "Mischief Managed")
• 2:28-3:26 (0:58) = 4M3-4NN Woods Walk and Birds Flight - just a portion of the full cue (which can be heard in its entirety in the LLL track "A Walk in the Woods and Bird’s Flight")
• 3:26-end (0:32) = 7M2 Insert - this presents the Insert on its own (you can hear the insert integrated into the 7M2 cue as intended in the OST/LLL track "Lupin’s Transformation")

@Jay Don’t you mean 7M12 End Credits can be heard in its entirety in the LLL track “The Fire Bolt and End Credits Suite”? The OST track “Mischief Managed” is a compilation of other film cues that play after the Window to the Past theme (Buckbeak’s Flight, The Snowball Fight, Knight Bus Ride, Double Trouble, and Aunt Marge’s Waltz), which is reflected in the film.

[Jay 45,837]

Yes.

[Arnaud2 84]

9 hours ago, Jay said:

 

All you have to do to embed youtube videos into posts here, is copy the URL from youtube, and paste it into your post.  That's it.

 

If you're on mobile and using the youtube app, IE not using youtube as a website, there's a "Share" button that you click that gives you a URL that you then paste into your post.

 

Even if something funky happens and it doesn't automatically turn into an embed, having the URL that people can click on to see the video that way is still better than nothing at all.

Great advice, thanks! To be fair, seeing the link didn’t work, I also tried to delete the post entirely and, having failed at that too, planned to solve the problem once back at home!

[Tom 6,677]

There are several moments in this piece (a piece that needs a real recording pronto) worth mentioning.  This one, in particular, takes me straight back to 80s Williams.

 

 

[Trope 1,429]

Revisited this score for the first time in years. I love the melancholy horn solo above the static strings at 2:04. The following gentle, sparkling statement of Yoda's theme is glorious too. I adore these calmer, more peaceful moments!

 

[JohnnyD 1,823]

19 hours ago, Jay said:

• 0:00-1:04 (1:04) = (unknown number and name) - A unique recorder solo, potentially recorded specifically for the album
• 1:04-2:28 (1:24) = 7M12 End Credits - just a portion of the full cue (which can be heard in its entirely in the LLL track "The Firebolt and End Credits")
• 2:28-3:26 (0:58) = 4M3-4NN Woods Walk and Birds Flight - just a portion of the full cue (which can be heard in its entirety in the LLL track "A Walk in the Woods and Bird’s Flight")
• 3:26-end (0:32) = 7M2 Insert - this presents the Insert on its own (you can hear the insert integrated into the 7M2 cue as intended in the OST/LLL track "Lupin’s Transformation")

Actually, 7M2 Insert is not integrated in the OST track.

[Jay 45,837]

Sure it is.  It runs from 0:23-0:46.

[BB-8 6,118]

"A Walk in the Woods..."

[JW collector 94]

from Spielbergs:

 

"ALWAYS"

 

the use of strings   in the track "Saying Goodbye". 

 

I have a soft spot for the sequence with all the strings that "build up" ... in an almost waltz-like way.

 

Listen from around 02:03 ... very low ... then slowly sliding, building up ... almost a flying or floating-sounding feeling ... waltz-like ... to the theme that then - so sadly abruptly stops around 02:35.

 

I wish I could fly when I hear this  melody - this sublime orchestration ... truly masterful....

[Rachael Foley 10,032]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

Sure it is.  It runs from 0:23-0:46.

Not on the OST..

 

 

 

[Jay 45,837]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, yes!  My mistake again.  Thanks for the corrections!

[Jurassic Shark 16,373]

The DreamWorks logo music. 

[Luke Skywalker 2,364]

The sweeping strings in Star Wars "Imperial Attack". 4:20-4:48. (R2 and C3PO look through the escape pod capsule as it departs to tatooine)

[Arnaud2 84]

28 minutes ago, Luke Skywalker said:

The sweeping strings in Star Wars "Imperial Attack". 4:20-4:48. (R2 and C3PO look through the escape pod capsule as it departs to tatooine)

Yes, that is a glorious moment. Perhaps the first time we realize that the music is awesome (after the initial shock).

[Naïve Old Fart 12,908]

The triangle that cuts right through the orchestra, at the climax of 'The Map Room: Dawn'.

[Gurkensalat 383]

I was always extremely fond of this short fanfare outburst: