Is Williams a person?

Hlao-roo · December 7, 2004

...Or is he a deity?

King Mark · December 7, 2004

He is certainly closer to beeing a supernatural entity than any other person right now.

K.M.

stewdog1 · December 7, 2004

He is a god among men.

Falstaft · December 7, 2004

God or man, I still worship him.

Elmo Lewis · December 7, 2004

His musical talent is what make him god-like. But before a composer or even a musician, he is a person. Hence, I voted for "person".

stewdog1 · December 7, 2004

His musical talent is what make him god-like. But before a composer or even a musician, he is a person. Hence, I voted for "person".

Somebody please smack him.

Elmo Lewis · December 7, 2004

Or you can glare at me to death.

Justin · December 7, 2004

*SMACK*

Justin

Miguel Andrade · December 7, 2004

He is just a man, like anyone else around here. A simple, common man, who just happens to do what he does better than anyone else. And as a unique way of doing things, and saying things, that make him look like someone untouchable, but you can still shake his hand and see his umble way, even after he got almost every single honor there is to get.

And he knows he's only a man... it is us who sometimes think he's God.

Mr. Breathmask · December 7, 2004

I was going to write something deep about Williams just being a person... but Miguel already did it for me. 8O

JoeinAR · December 7, 2004

He is just a man, like anyone else around here. A simple, common man,

I could agree with you up to this point,

there is nothing common about John Williams, nothing common at all.

Joe, who can hear Mrs Swan on Mad TV going, yeah I tella you, he was a man, 8O

Lurker · December 7, 2004

He's a person I had the pleasure of meeting in May.

Ask Jeff Bond what happens when you tell a film composer you worship them.

Neil

HPFAN_2 · December 7, 2004

I would answer a person but then i will listen to something like Fawkes the Pheonix and think he is angelic. So i have no answer.

JoeinAR · December 7, 2004

Ask Jeff Bond what happens when you tell a film composer you worship them

since I only know Jeff by reputation and not in person, why don't you tell us what happened.

John Crichton · December 7, 2004

He's a person. An unbelievably talented, creative, amazing person.

Adam · December 8, 2004

I think there?s something very spiritual, in the non-religious sense of the word, about quality music, JW or otherwise. If I try to think how exactly it is that my life could be so enriched by music, it almost doesn?t make sense. Its just a certain pattern of an arrangement of noise coming through my ears. And yet its a tremendous source of nourishment and enjoyment.

So there?s some sort of spiritual dimension to our fundamental human nature which music speaks to, though we understand very little of how that works. Also film music, if done well, should speak in a very direct way to fundamental human emotions that are represented in film. So part of JW?s brilliance is his ability to connect with these kinds of spiritual ideas in all of their infinite range, seemingly no matter what the film, whether it be heroism, fear, nobility, love, etc., etc. And he does it in a mind-boggingly precise way, on top of being impressive in pure musical terms.

If there?s a sad scene he doesn?t just write sad music. Instead, he captures something fundamental in the motivations of the film, which in turn connects with the audience?s capacity to feel and empathize. (Witness the finale to ET for just one notorious example of this.) Anyway its remarkable to me and its in this sense that I can sort of see where the deity votes would come from. Nonetheless, I will take the controversial position that, yes, he is in fact a person. ( :

- Adam

Falstaft · December 8, 2004

I have met him four times now, and can personally attest that, yes, he is a deity.

The entire room was bathed in holy light as he entered, and as he shook my hand and signed my Star Wars CDs (now in a reliquary), I could feel his divine essense coursing through me.

Then, he mounted his winged horse and flew back off to Los Angeles.

Docteur Qui · December 8, 2004

This is far too religious for my liking. LOCK IT! LOCK IT! :thumbup:

Magical_Me - Who considers Williams a man who is grood. I meang great. Great and grood.

Unlucky Bastard · December 8, 2004

He's a god. Deity. Higher power. Call it what you will.

Josh500 · December 8, 2004

He is just a man, like anyone else around here. A simple, common man, who just happens to do what he does better than anyone else.

I agree with most of what you said, but I don't think he just "happens" to do what he does better than anyone else. I think he's someone who is EXTREMELY ambitious, who is constantly trying to become better at what he loves to do. And that shows. He's now reached the pinnacle of his career, he's the most talented and influential (not to mention successful) film composer ever, and that's what makes him to his fans god-like. But, to my mind, he is still a person . . . and thank God he is.

:thumbup:

John McClane · December 8, 2004

I voted for "Person".

He's just a norman person, who becomes God when he's writing music!

Greg1138 · December 8, 2004

He's not a norman, he's John!

Marian Schedenig · December 8, 2004

I don't believe in deities. But I believe in John Williams.

Marian -

John McClane · December 8, 2004

Marian, your post...----->

MAG-SI · December 8, 2004

Ask Jeff Bond what happens when you tell a film composer you worship them.
Neil

Well......

Greg1138 · December 8, 2004

.....yes - I'm intrigued about that comment too.....

Neil?

Morlock · December 8, 2004

To paraphraze from FSM Volume 5, Number 5:

"Jeff Bond tells Goldsmith he worships him. Goldsmith yells at him."

SeekUYoda · December 8, 2004

He is just a man, like anyone else around here. A simple, common man, who just happens to do what he does better than anyone else. And as a unique way of doing things, and saying things, that make him look like someone untouchable, but you can still shake his hand and see his humble way, even after he got almost every single honor there is to get.
And he knows he's only a man... it is us who sometimes think he's God.

Wow. That's deep... and says it perfectly.

I don't think he's God, but I sure think he's amazing.

Romão · December 8, 2004

Although he's only human, he has been able to rise above all the others through music. That makl

es him more than a man but lesser than a god nvertheless.

Docteur Qui · December 9, 2004

An ordinary man with extraordinary talents.

Justin · December 9, 2004

He will be forgotten soon enough.

Justin

Romão · December 9, 2004

What do you mean by that, Justin?

Docteur Qui · December 9, 2004

I seriously doubt that he will be forgotten even one hundred years after his death. Many people are convinced he's the Beethoven/Mozart/Other classical great of our time.

pixie_twinkle · December 9, 2004

It takes lasting popularity for a composer to be remembered. Williams has been world-famous now for around 30 years. That's pretty good going by anyone's standards. People aren't going to forget, not as long as the 100+ films he's scored remain in the public conciousness.

Josh500 · December 9, 2004

He will be forgotten soon enough.
Justin

By you, perhaps.

Docteur Qui · December 9, 2004

John Who?

Hlao-roo · December 9, 2004

The point is: 100+ years from now or whatnot, will Williams be mentioned in the same breath as some of the undisputed masters of Western art music? Somehow I would have to doubt it, but, as people have suggested, he will be "remembered" through the continual "performance" of his music on home video players.

John McClane · December 9, 2004

Williams who?

Morlock · December 9, 2004

The amount of sense that question makes is slim to nil.

John Crichton · December 9, 2004

Williams will be remembered as the most famous film music composer ever, and if there's any justice in the world the greatest also. And possibly the greatest overall composer period of the 20th/early 21st century.

Lurker · December 9, 2004

Salieri was a very famous composer in his age.

Neil

SeekUYoda · December 9, 2004

Williams will be remembered as the most famous film music composer ever, and if there's any justice in the world the greatest also. And possibly the greatest overall composer period of the 20th/early 21st century.

I dunno... Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Copland & Gershwin were highly influential too.

And Neil, you're exactly right.

John, I do think he'll be remembered with the likes of Korngold, etc., but I don't know if he'll be remembered as THE great. (Even though he is) I am sure, though, that if you asked Mr Williams, he would be tickled pink to be remembered by anyone.

Marian Schedenig · December 9, 2004

...and one of his operas was just performed at the reopening of the Teatro alla Scala.

Marian - :mrgreen:

Adam · December 10, 2004

Its difficult to imagine how his legacy will be remembered many years down the line. But it makes sense to me to have some separation between orchestral film music and the great tradition of non-film orchestra music that has preceded it. A lot of what makes JW impressive is specific to the craft of writing for film and can?t be compared with a Mozart or a Beethoven - composers who were absolute geniuses at what they did but who might have been bad film composers for all we know.

The way I look at, for what I consider important in a film composer, JW is the best that I?ve been able to observe. Whether my judgement will bear any relationship to conventional wisdom years from now, I?m not too concerned about, especially since conventional wisdom is not sacrosanct and film music is such an underappreciated art form.

- Adam

Romão · December 10, 2004

Film music is whole new musical genre created in the 20th century, and I'm sure JW is the best the world has ever seen in this area. And if he's remembered by that and that alone, I wouldn't be too displeased, though I love his non-film work.