JoeinAR 1,949 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 With the Oscars only 25 days away, and John has a chance to win his 6th Oscar, or lose for the 38th time (though in 77 he lost for Close Encounters he won for Star Wars). In this poll I am not including his first Oscar which was for an adapted score for Fiddler on the Roof, simply because it is an adaption.So which of these 4 do you think is the best, or your favorite, your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Skywalker 1,794 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Every is the best in its own way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Star Wars.Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SturgisPodmore 0 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 E.T.~Sturgis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlock 11 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Impossible to choose, methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Star Wars, but Jaws isn't too far behind.Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diskobolus 3 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Then mentally place Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban into this list. Does it belong in the trophy case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted February 1, 2005 Author Share Posted February 1, 2005 yes, it would sit there nicely, but then so would any of his 21st century scores that have been nominated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Schindler's List Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Lewis 6 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 E.T. But Schindler's List and Jaws are equally as good - just without the golden heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trumpeteer 302 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I almost picked "ET," because it is my favorite of the bunch. But I think "Jaws" is the best because it really made the movie. The others would have been fine films anyway if the music had gone a different way. But "Jaws" really needed music that could distract us from the trappings of a mechanical shark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendal_Ozzel 36 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 A New Hope, followed by E.T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Breathmask 555 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I almost picked "ET," because it is my favorite of the bunch. But I think "Jaws" is the best because it really made the movie. The others would have been fine films anyway if the music had gone a different way. But "Jaws" really needed music that could distract us from the trappings of a mechanical shark.You are absolutely right on your comments on Jaws, but I don't think Star Wars would be remotely the same without John Williams. John's music really elevated the gritty, cheap Star Wars to epic proportions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Star Wars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPFAN_2 0 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Schindler's List. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted February 1, 2005 Author Share Posted February 1, 2005 A New Hope, followed by E.T.Sorry Kendal, A New Hope isn't on the list, nor did it ever win any kind of Academy Award, there is only Star Wars from 1977. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendal_Ozzel 36 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Sorry Joe, I don't give a crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diskobolus 3 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 yes, it would sit there nicely, but then so would any of his 21st century scores that have been nominated.Glad to see you giving the A.I. score the credit it deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 AI is a wonderful score that works perfectly in the film, but I have a hard time listening to it outside the film, more than any other Williams score I own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I agree, John. I have a hard time making it through the Oscar Promo without a break.Justin - Who has the exact opposite problem with Star Wars. I mean it just get's going and then it's over! I just listened to it but I must hear it again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 The sequencing on that Oscar promo is horrible! It makes listening to the music a chore and an unpleasant experience. It certainly didn't help Williams win the award that year. Of course a double nomination also didn't help.Anyway, AI works very well when heard chronologically.Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoby12 0 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 If Harry Potter POA was written in 1981 we would all consider this one of his best scores. I believe it to be as good as some of those others, it just hasn't sunk in yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Potter 0 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 E.T. naturally gets my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Anyway, AI works very well when heard chronologically.I've made a chrono edit of the OST and Promo but still have a hard time connecting with it. Oh well, it's still rather new to me and maybe with time it'll sink in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 E.T. naturally gets my vote.Well well well....look what the cat dragged in....HI HARRY!! Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Potter 0 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Greetings to you and to all fellow posters. It's nice to see I've been remembered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker 5 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Who?Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Some kid that likes Harry Potter.Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Potter 0 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 I hear he occasionally is a John Williams fan. And I hear he's from that wierd state called Ohio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 So...you are gonna go with this posting messages thing for a while, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Barnsbury 8 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 One of the easiest polls I've seen! E.T. the Extra Terrestrial.Ray Barnsbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixie_twinkle 48 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Star Wars! Come on guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam 1 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 In tems of favorites, ET gets my vote. Star Wars, though a great score, is not something I listen to that much. In fact, I listen to it less than the prequel scores though more recent scores always have an advantage in that regard. - Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Star Wars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Potter 0 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 So...you are gonna go with this posting messages thing for a while, right?You talkin' to me?If so, I'm going to try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Justin: "If 2000 posts is breached, Stefancos will fall."Justin's alter ego: "Even if it is breached, it will take a number beyond reckoning, thousands, to defeat the leader of JWFan."Justin: "Tens of thousands."Justin's alter ego: "But, my lord, there is no such force."Justin: "A new power is rising. Its victory is at hand. This night the land will be stained with the blood of Frequent posters! March to Stefancos. Leave none alive. To war!"Justin - Who fears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScratch 294 Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope ...with all three other scores in a close tie for second Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 you're evil Maestro since no such score won the Oscar, I suspect Star Wars and ET to dominate, but I thought Jaws and SL would do a little better, though IMHO, SL is the weakest of these scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Potter 0 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 weakest of these scores.Just curious, weakest in terms of what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Joe liking them. I figured that would be obvious. Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 weakest of these scores.Just curious, weakest in terms of what?the overall score, it is neither as memorable as the others(I'd like to see someone argue this point, hell even E.T. and Star Wars are not even as memorable as Jaws, which is universally recognized world wide), nor does it service the movie like the others.The score does not make SL a better movie, and if the score wasn't there it wouldn't be a worse movie either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 That might not be a fair comparison. Schindler's List is based on reality. The others are not.Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 reality of the subject matter has nothing to do with it Justin, as the music itself is real. BTW real life events that happend in Jaws happened alot last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixie_twinkle 48 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 The score does not make SL a better movie, and if the score wasn't there it wouldn't be a worse movie either.I think that the real difference between SL and the others is the role of the music. In Jaws, ET, and Star Wars the music is active, meaning it not only underscores the action onscreen, it becomes a part of it. Characters have their own themes which change as the mood of the character changes (leitmotifs). In many cases the punctuation spots in the action scenes themselves are mirrored exactly by the musical score. Prime examples are the Death Star blowing up in SW, the shark blowing up in J, the bikes lifting off the ground in ET. There are many more, in fact these film scores are almost entirely composed in this "active" way, with music as action or character.Schindler's List by contrast is a passive score. The music doesn't punctuate the action onscreen, or even represent any of the characters. Rather it is a meditative reflection on the events onscreen. It is slightly distanced from the action and connects more with the listener's subconscious rather than with his/her immediate reactions. Often Spielberg doesn't use music in SL when he wants the viewer to connect in an immediate sense with the events onscreen, as if we were there so to speak. When the music appears it's as if Spielberg is taking us out of the film for a moment and saying "There, what do you think of that..." This is the opposite of the other three films where the use of music draws us into the scene, the music taking a more active role.This also explains why the score to Schindler's list sounds like a collection of concert pieces. They are not short fragments composed to sync up exactly with the action. It's a way of being taken out of the action for a moment to let the events of the film sink in. Very effective.In this respect it is a little unfair to judge these scores using the same criteria. I think all four scores are amongst the best Williams has ever written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deimos 0 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Star Wars, though is SO difficult to choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowster 23 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Schumannisque (look at his romances) Schindler's List is it of course.-Snowster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batmanand 0 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 OK, my two cents.Best quality composition has to be Schindler's List. I honestly believe that every piece that JW composed for the film should proudly enter the canon of great classical works. The "Theme from Schindler's List" is, to a certain extent, beginning to get that recognition (although I still think Remembrances is better).The most impact on the film has to be Jaws. Simply put, the film would be crap without the music. It probably works better than Psycho, and taht is saying something.The most innovative and most impact on film music as a whole as to be Star Wars. It is hard to overstate the effect it had back in 1977. It, almost singlehandedly, revitalised orchestral film scoring. It is in my opinion the most important film score ever composed for that reason.The most beautiful music is ET. The flying theme, as he is lifted off by ET, is the most magical moment in cinema history (voted for by Empire magazine). I also love the sly Yoda's theme quote.... for the quick-eared JW enthusiast. Every time I hear it, it is like Williams himself looking over his shoulder as he is conducing and winking at us. Fantastic.Overall, then, it is a toughie. In the end, I voted Star Wars, simply because I think it wins its category and comes runner up in all the others; and because I cannot see any of the others (obviously excepting Jaws) existing without it.Shame he was robbed in 1980, cos ESB would have been my ideal choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin 2 Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 BTW real life events that happend in Jaws happened alot last year.Indeed.What a horrible summer vacation that was....Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Potter 0 Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 pixie twinkle, a very brilliant analysis. Great points! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixie_twinkle 48 Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 Why thank you. I'm glad someone likes what I have to say occasionally. Clearly you are a wizard of good taste and perception, Harry.from the "Rip-off" thread:It's actually a ludicrous argument, but one you might expect from Mr. Twinkle.... Hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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