Ultimate Harry Potter Poll.

[Josh500 1,615]

Okay, you guys might complain that this ground has been covered already, but now that we've had several months to drink in the latest achievement by JW for the HP series, what's your favorite? A lot of people keep saying PoA is the best, but I think that's not really fair (or right, for that matter). Don't get me wrong, PoA has some of the best themes of the entire series -- I'm thinking here especially of A Window to the Past and Buckbeak's Flight -- but I think Hedwig's Theme, Fawkes the Phonix, both of Harry's Themes, and Dobby the Houseelf are equally good.

To my mind, the 3rd HP score is different (because the movie and the director are different, no doubt), but by no means better or worse. Bottom line is all three soundtracks are equally good, just the CoS as heard in the movie is slightly inferior to the other two, no doubt because of William Ross's contribution (whatever that was).

But the original compositions by JW, to my mind, are all equally top-notch.

LOL

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

CoS is the inferior one, due to the recycling of material. As good as the stuff is that Williams wrote, I still think it suffers from the recycling. PoA and PS however are two very different scores, but both work surprisingly well for the same characters. I can't choose between these two, really. With PoA freshest in my mind I might choose for that, but some other time I might go with PS again.

- Marc,

[Josh500 1,615]

CoS is the inferior one, due to the recycling of material. As good as the stuff is that Williams wrote, I still think it suffers from the recycling.  

- Marc,

I think Williams's new compositions for CoS not only suffer because of the recycling but also because of Ross's conducting (not necessarily on the album, but almost certainly in the movie). But I still think CoS has some of the best themes ever (and not only in the HP series), like Fawkes the Phoenix, Chamber of Secrets, Dobby the Houseelf, Gilderoy Lockhart, and Moaning Myrtle.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Yes, the themes are great, but as a score overall, it falls short.

[Josh500 1,615]

So what's YOUR vote?

[King Mark 3,624]

CoS has very solid themes but is overall the weakest because of the recycling (especially the Stone motif that shouldn't be there at all in this movie) and the botched cues derived from AotC.I see nothing wrong with the actual conducting of the music,whoever ended up doing it.

K.M.Unsure if PS or PoA is the best

[Josh500 1,615]

Hey people, why is my poll closed??

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It is not closed

[fommes 153]

Prisoner of Azkaban.

[Josh500 1,615]

It is not closed

Oh yeah . . .

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Prisoner of Azkaban.

There was a farmer had a dog and BINGO was his name...

[HPFAN_2 0]

Chamber of Secrets.

[QMM 4]

POA

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Chamber of Secrets.

HAHAHAHA!!!

[Halloran 0]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!!!

[Morlock 11]

HP&TPS. Amazing wealth of themes and amazing underscore. CoS has the former, PoA has the latter, TPS has them both in spades.

[John Crichton 4]

What Morlock said. And what KM and Marc said about CoS. Guess I'm just Hornering today.

My vote, now and always: Sorcerer's Stone.

[Justin 2]

POA is a superior score overall.

Justin - Who thinks parts of the SS can drag. (The Banquet for example.)

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I love all three, but Sorcerer's Stone is unmatched, barely.

[Henry B 50]

Sorcerer's Stone because of it being the ultimate leitmotivic score, though Prisoner of Azkaban has the best stand-alone material.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Sorcerer's Stone, for all the above reasons.

Ray Barnsbury

[King Mark 3,624]

Chamber of Secrets.

You know,one of these days maybe you can explain to us (in detail) what's so great about that movie,since for most viewers,it's a mediocre movie overall,and the least good HP film and score.

K.m.

[mahler3 478]

Bottom line is all three soundtracks are equally good, just the CoS as heard in the movie is slightly inferior to the other two, no doubt because of William Ross's contribution (whatever that was).  

But the original compositions by JW, to my mind, are all equally top-notch.  

LOL

There's nothing wrong with William Ross, have you heard any of his orchestrations or indeed scores? I know i'm repeating myself to many here, but check out My Dog Skip - some of the loveliest music out there!

COS will always be my favourite as it has 4 delightfully classic stand-out Williams cues:

Fawkes The Phoenix

The Chamber of Secrets

Gilderoy Lockhart

Dobby the House Elf

Equally as good are the Myrtle & Flying Car cues plus the superb prolonged coda tagged to Reunion of Friends - love it!

-Tim

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Chamber of Secrets.

You know,one of these days maybe you can explain to us (in detail) what's so great about that movie,since for most viewers,it's a mediocre movie overall,and the least good HP film and score.

K.m.

one thing is for sure, its a better constructed film than POA, better shot film than POA, and a better adaption than POA.

Joe, whose opinion of POA is at its lowest point yet(film, not score).

[Morlock 11]

its a better constructed film than POA

For what it aims for, yes.

better shot film than POA

A categorical no.

a better adaption than POA.

A more faithful adaptation. Whether it's better is debatable.

one thing is for sure

I counted three things.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Philosopher's Stone, but I don't see that option up there...

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

CoS is terrible constructed, many scenes are simply redundat, like the terrible long scene in the forest with the spiders, a red herring dragged out till unreasonable infinity.

And what does Madam Pomfrey's Mandrakes or Cornish Pixies have to do with the main storyline.

Why not use that time to develop the growing mistrust towards Harry some more?

Thankfully PoA get's rid of a lot of the clutter.

It's main fault lies in the lightning speed in which the events in the Shrieking Shack take place, but otherwise it's an perfectly paced film.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

POA is just a series of scenes unconnected to anything logical. Its a mess.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Thankfully PoA get's rid of a lot of the clutter.

It's main fault lies in the lightning speed in which the events in the Shrieking Shack take place, but otherwise it's an perfectly paced film.

I agree with you completely here. However, the scene in the Shreaking Shack was always going to be a problem. It's even a problem in the book in my opinion. For three chapters back to back the action grinds to a halt and the long, laborious explanation drags on and on. It's all vital stuff, and Rowling was right to put it all in the book, but I feel a better writer would have found a less plodding way of doing it.

[mahler3 478]

CoS is terrible constructed, many scenes are simply redundat, like the terrible long scene in the forest with the spiders, a red herring dragged out till unreasonable infinity.

And what does Madam Pomfrey's Mandrakes or Cornish Pixies have to do with the main storyline.

Why not use that time to develop the growing mistrust towards Harry some more?

Thankfully PoA get's rid of a lot of the clutter.

It's main fault lies in the lightning speed in which the events in the Shrieking Shack take place, but otherwise it's an perfectly paced film.

But do you not think the COS score has more thematic substance than POA? I sometimes find the POA score hard to connect with. I agree that POA is the superior film though

-Tim

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

POA is just a series of scenes unconnected to anything logical.  Its a mess.

Nah, the film made a lot of sense to me, especially the Time Turner stuff was well thought out, IMO.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

CoS is terrible constructed, many scenes are simply redundat, like the terrible long scene in the forest with the spiders, a red herring dragged out till unreasonable infinity.

a very important scene, in that it proves Hagrid's innocence.

And what does Madam Pomfrey's Mandrakes or Cornish Pixies have to do with the main storyline.

its Prof. Sprout's Mandrakes, who Madam Pomfrey must use once fully grown to reverse the turning to stone. The cornish pixies are Prof. Lockharts, whose ineptitude is hidden behind a series of books, smiles, and memory charms.

Why not use that time to develop the growing mistrust towards Harry some more?

there is one scene left out that would do just that.

Thankfully PoA get's rid of a lot of the clutter.

yes it did, it replaces clutter with confusion. Too many questions are left for those who are not aware of Potter lore. How did Lupin know what the map was, since Snape did not? Who are Mssr, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs? Why not add 6 to 10 minutes and these faults are corrected.

It's main fault lies in the lightning speed in which the events in the Shrieking Shack take place, but otherwise it's an perfectly paced film.

Its main fault is poor direction, and a total mishandling of the material. Plus the grainy cinematography is just putrid, as is the color pallet of the film.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

POA is just a series of scenes unconnected to anything logical.  Its a mess.

Nah, the film made a lot of sense to me, especially the Time Turner stuff was well thought out, IMO.

Agreed. Apart from the gaff with the boggart not turning into Voldemort, and the failure to explain why the stag shot out of Harry's wand, POA is as near perfect a Harry Potter movie as I could wish for. The pacing is exhilarating compared to the first two, and the central cast have finally settled into their parts and have started acting very well, especially Harry!

[Ren 75]

POA for me, and a very close second is HPSS. i definitely think the following cues are the main reason I have chosen POA as my first choice: Time Turner, Werewolf Scene, Window, Knight Bus, Double Trouble, Hagrid and Buckbeak, and all the clips of these within the other cues.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

POA is the best soundtrack for me.

I really don't think POA is a "series of scenes unconnected to anything logical". If anything, I thought PS/SS, while still being an enjoyable film, was more episodic and "unconnected".

[John Crichton 4]

As far as the score goes, PoA is definately the least connected and cohesive of the three.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

How is that? It sounded pretty connected and cohesive to me.

[Saxbabe 28]

Did you know William Ross orchestrated Forrest Gump?? Beautiful orchestrations, very warm and lush.

Really great score, one of my favorites.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

There's nothing wrong with William Ross, have you heard any of his orchestrations or indeed scores? I know i'm repeating myself to many here, but check out My Dog Skip - some of the loveliest music out there!  

Indeed! And the same goes for his Tuck Everlasting. These are two of the loveliest, as you put it, scores in recent years.

Ray Barnsbury

[Josh500 1,615]

Bottom line is all three soundtracks are equally good, just the CoS as heard in the movie is slightly inferior to the other two, no doubt because of William Ross's contribution (whatever that was).  

But the original compositions by JW, to my mind, are all equally top-notch.  

LOL

There's nothing wrong with William Ross, have you heard any of his orchestrations or indeed scores? I know i'm repeating myself to many here, but check out My Dog Skip - some of the loveliest music out there!

-Tim

I didn't mean to put William Ross down, I just meant that if John Williams had been solely responsible for the score -- meaning if he had written the score for the entire movie instead of letting Ross adapt the score to PS -- it would have been a better score overall. In that regard, PS and PoA are surperior to CoS.

[mahler3 478]

Bottom line is all three soundtracks are equally good, just the CoS as heard in the movie is slightly inferior to the other two, no doubt because of William Ross's contribution (whatever that was).  

But the original compositions by JW, to my mind, are all equally top-notch.  

LOL

There's nothing wrong with William Ross, have you heard any of his orchestrations or indeed scores? I know i'm repeating myself to many here, but check out My Dog Skip - some of the loveliest music out there!

-Tim

I didn't mean to put William Ross down, I just meant that if John Williams had been solely responsible for the score -- meaning if he had written the score for the entire movie instead of letting Ross adapt the score to PS -- it would have been a better score overall. In that regard, PS and PoA are surperior to CoS.

But Williams did write the actual musical score to COS, Ross merely assisted by arranging and conducting - at least I believe that to be the case anyway.

-Tim

[Josh500 1,615]

On the other hand, ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS for CoS are some of the very best. I love almost every track on the soundtrack, and I don't mean just the concert arrangements.

I love Knockturn Alley (music when Hermoine shows up in the movie for the first time, makes me smile every time), I love The Flying Car (crazily spinning and heart-stopping), the Duelling Club (so funny and urgent at the same time, especially the moment when Malfoy and Harry walk away from each other and the camera pulls back from above), The Spiders (for each of the eight spider legs two descending notes), and Reunion of Friends (this is one of the REALLY best: I love the way the music swells when Hermione embraces Harry and then stops all of a sudden, when she hesitates to hug Ron; the quiet music alone says so much -- it seems to say that something has been slowly developing between the two of them . . . could it be first love???; the rousing finale as we slowly pull out of the building and leave the students and faculty alone in the Great Hall). Great stuff!!!

[King Mark 3,624]

Bottom line is all three soundtracks are equally good, just the CoS as heard in the movie is slightly inferior to the other two, no doubt because of William Ross's contribution (whatever that was).  

But the original compositions by JW, to my mind, are all equally top-notch.  

LOL

There's nothing wrong with William Ross, have you heard any of his orchestrations or indeed scores? I know i'm repeating myself to many here, but check out My Dog Skip - some of the loveliest music out there!

-Tim

I didn't mean to put William Ross down, I just meant that if John Williams had been solely responsible for the score -- meaning if he had written the score for the entire movie instead of letting Ross adapt the score to PS -- it would have been a better score overall. In that regard, PS and PoA are surperior to CoS.

But Williams did write the actual musical score to COS, Ross merely assisted by arranging and conducting - at least I believe that to be the case anyway.

-Tim

I get worked up whenever the topic comes up.This will never be settled.There are some,like me,who based on listening,plus evidence and observations that have been discussed on the MB,that JW wrote every note of the final score in spite of what the "adapted" credit on the c.d. says.There are those who will continue to ignore all this and attribute whatever role to Williams Ross in composing of the score.

K.M.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Your evidence is shaky at best, my dear Doctor.

Based on nothing but conjecture and opinions.

It's a fact that no one knows exactly how much or how little work was done by Ross.

[King Mark 3,624]

It's 6:22 A.M.I need sleep.Was up all night.Damn insomnia.

K.M.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Stop trying to change the subject.

The point is, you have no evidence!

[Josh500 1,615]

Bottom line is all three soundtracks are equally good, just the CoS as heard in the movie is slightly inferior to the other two, no doubt because of William Ross's contribution (whatever that was).  

But the original compositions by JW, to my mind, are all equally top-notch.  

LOL

There's nothing wrong with William Ross, have you heard any of his orchestrations or indeed scores? I know i'm repeating myself to many here, but check out My Dog Skip - some of the loveliest music out there!

-Tim

I didn't mean to put William Ross down, I just meant that if John Williams had been solely responsible for the score -- meaning if he had written the score for the entire movie instead of letting Ross adapt the score to PS -- it would have been a better score overall. In that regard, PS and PoA are surperior to CoS.

But Williams did write the actual musical score to COS, Ross merely assisted by arranging and conducting - at least I believe that to be the case anyway.

-Tim

I get worked up whenever the topic comes up.This will never be settled.There are some,like me,who based on listening,plus evidence and observations that have been discussed on the MB,that JW wrote every note of the final score in spite of what the "adapted" credit on the c.d. says.There are those who will continue to ignore all this and attribute whatever role to Williams Ross in composing of the score.

K.M.

Actually, JW DID indeed write every single note of the final score. It's just that Ross strung the music, which was written by JW for TPS, together for the unscore to CoS. The word "adapted" is a little misleading, but fact remains William Ross did not write a single note of ORIGINAL MUSIC.

BTW, did you read this??? What do YOU like about your favorite score???

On the other hand, ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS for CoS are some of the very best. I love almost every track on the soundtrack, and I don't mean just the concert arrangements.

I love Knockturn Alley (music when Hermoine shows up in the movie for the first time, makes me smile every time), I love The Flying Car (crazily spinning and heart-stopping), the Duelling Club (so funny and urgent at the same time, especially the moment when Malfoy and Harry walk away from each other and the camera pulls back from above), The Spiders (for each of the eight spider legs two descending notes), and Reunion of Friends (this is one of the REALLY best: I love the way the music swells when Hermione embraces Harry and then stops all of a sudden, when she hesitates to hug Ron; the quiet music alone says so much -- it seems to say that something has been slowly developing between the two of them . . . could it be first love???; the rousing finale as we slowly pull out of the building and leave the students and faculty alone in the Great Hall). Great stuff!!!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Again, show me your documented evidence stating this fact with 100% certainty....

[Josh500 1,615]

Again, show me your documented evidence stating this fact with 100% certainty....

For that matter, do I have a "documented evidence stating this fact with 100% certainty" that John Williams isn't in truth Hans Zimmer???

No! That doesn't mean I do believe it!!!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Hans Zimmer

John Williams

Plus, a picture of both of them together.

Seems pretty obvious to me.

- Marc,