How amazing is John Williams?

[GirlsAloudFan]

How fucking amazing is John Williams? Damn. I'm in the midst of a huuuuuuuge Harry Potter movie kick right now in anticipation of Half-Blood Prince and I just found out that he did the score for the first three HP movies which includes, of course, "Hedwig's Theme" which is the main theme of the series and has gone on to be used in the other two HP movies and is just a wonderful piece of music. You know it even if you may think you don't.

This is that real shit

And obviously there's his work on Star Wars, which is probably the greatest and most epic work I've ever heard a composer do for a film series. The famous tune played over the opening rolling intro, "Duel of the Fates", "Imperial March", and then whatever the hell the "Luke gazing out at the twin suns theme" is actually called, etc., etc. Beautiful shit.

Add on top of that all the stuff he's done for Steven Schpeelsborg. The fucking thrilling Indy Jones theme and the iconic themes for Jaws (this is undeniably classic), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Jurassic Park. Even his lesser appreciated work on shitty movies like Home Alone and Hook is great. I'm forgetting a lot of other stuff he's done, too.

I'm sure there are other composers who have written a lifetime of great tunes for movies but this guy deserves all the praise he gets. He's the biggest name in the business, and that's how it should be. Look at that body of work. Jesus Christ. This guy, this motherfucker John Williams, in terms of cultural impact and creating music that will last forever...he's got to be one of the most underrated musicians of all-time. Peace out.

Oh yeah, and if there actually are some film composers that you like better than Mr. Williams I'd like to get their names so I can listen to their stuff. Thanks. Peace out again.

 

[lazarus]

Ennio Morricone. The fucking MAESTRO.

Listen to the entirety of this majestic clip:

YouTube - Ennio Morricone - Once upon a time in the West

Some stuff from The Mission, arguably the greatest film score ever recorded:

YouTube - Ennio Morricone - The Mission

YouTube - Ennio Morricone "A Fistful of Dynamite", live in Warsaw, PL

YouTube - Ennio Morricone - "The Ecstasy of Gold", live in Warsaw, PL

45 seconds in, an incomparable, fragile beauty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfzBx8SSQOU

And my personal favorite, from Once Upon a Time in America:

YouTube - Ennio Morricone "Deborah's Theme", live in Warsaw


John Williams has some memorable themes, but he couldn't touch the brilliance of Morricone's shit in a million years.

Also, Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, Michael Nyman, Maurice Jarre, Gabriel Yared...all better than Williams.

 

[Lancemc]

Deborah's theme is one of the most heartbreaking things ever recorded. His work in Cinema Paradiso is also well worth mentioning above.

 

[Daddysgonnapay]

The Mission

 

[2861U2]

And obviously there's his work on Star Wars, which is probably the greatest and most epic work I've ever heard a composer do for a film series. The famous tune played over the opening rolling intro, "Duel of the Fates", "Imperial March", and then whatever the hell the "Luke gazing out at the twin suns theme" is actually called, etc., etc. Beautiful shit.

Amen. A couple summers ago I felt a whim to go to Best Buy and buy all 6 Star Wars soundtracks. One of the best ideas I ever had. That stuff is incredible.

 

[powerhour24]

He has had a wide variety of incredible big orchestral scores (Superman, Star Wars series, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter) but as a fan of subtle scoring that perfectly fits the mood but doesn't take you out of the picture, my biggest appreciation for Williams comes from when he does something different and does it well, like with Munich, or even the jazzy mix up he brought to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (more and more reason why that film will always stand head and shoulders above the rest).

Oh and Jaws, you might of heard of it. One of the best suspense movies ever is just made even better because of it, even in spite of the incessant humming we get of the shark cue in American culture to this day.

 

[powerhour24]

Or his excellent Minority Report score, evoking film noir as with the rest of the movie, but also having an extremely old sound, that added to the movie despite the future setting, so good, but doesn't bash you over the head.

 

[LMP]

John Williams is my favorite composer because I'm more familiar with his work, but guys like Morricone, ("Ecstasy of Motherfucking Gold!!!") Bill Conti (check out the theme from The Right Stuff), Bernard Herrmann (Psycho and Taxi Driver), Carter Burwell (most of the Coens films).

Two of my new faves have gotta be Jon Brion (he's done almost all of P.T. Anderson's films and Eternal Sunshine) and Michael Giacchino (do yourself a favor and check out the end credits of Cloverfield).

 

[Lancemc]

As much as I liked Up, Giacchino's score might have been the best thing abou tit.

 

[lazarus]

How could I have forgotten to include this Morricone masterpiece??

YouTube - Ennio Morricone - Days of Heaven

YouTube - Days of Heaven

or this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsT-0vhkxsg

 

[LMP]

Morricone's score for The Thing is kind of disappointing though. Sounds exactly like John Carpenter, which ordinarily isn't a bad thing, but if I didn't see the guy's name in the credits, I would not have known it was him.

 

[lazarus]

Isn't that a testament to his versatility? And more telling is that Carpenter used that template for most of his own scores after that. Morricone pretty much invented the "Carpenter Sound".

The score isn't used very much, but I think it's pretty effective when it is.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

As much as I liked Up, Giacchino's score might have been the best thing abou tit.

Yup. One of the better scores I've heard in recent years. I mentioned in my original little write-up in the other thread that it will no doubt be up for an Oscar.

Meanwhile, I'm still loving "Hedwig's Theme." Figured out how to play a little shotty version of it on guitar and I literally can't stop playing it.

 

[LMP]

Isn't that a testament to his versatility? And more telling is that Carpenter used that template for most of his own scores after that. Morricone pretty much invented the "Carpenter Sound".

The score isn't used very much, but I think it's pretty effective when it is.

I saw Carpenter's films out-of-order, so it may very well be the case, but I do remember it being very similar to his score for Escape from New York. He had certainly used synthesizers in Halloween as well. Big Trouble in Little China is probably Carpenter's most dynamic and entertaining score, not sure how much that can be attributed to Morricone's work.

There's no doubt that it's very effective in its simplicity though. And there's that little shock sound that plays whenever a figure flashes across the screen or right before one of Blair's moments towards the end that's pretty damn awesome.

 

[Lancemc]

I'd kill for Malick and Morricone to collaborate again before either of them passes away/stops working.

 

[lazarus]

I saw Carpenter's films out-of-order, so it may very well be the case, but I do remember it being very similar to his score for Escape from New York. He had certainly used synthesizers in Halloween as well. Big Trouble in Little China is probably Carpenter's most dynamic and entertaining score, not sure how much that can be attributed to Morricone's work.

There's no doubt that it's very effective in its simplicity though. And there's that little shock sound that plays whenever a figure flashes across the screen or right before one of Blair's moments towards the end that's pretty damn awesome.

Keep in mind that Morricone was also doing a lot of electronic/psychedelic style scoring in the 60's and 70's before his work with Carpenter. There's a few he did with Dario Argento that are pretty notable as well.

 

[Screwtape2]

Laz is dead on with Morricone. His scores on The Mission, Once Upon a Time In The West and the Dollars Trilogy among others are stunning. John Williams has an amazing quantity of work but the overall quality of Morricone's is far superior. Other great composers in their league are:

Jerry Goldsmith (often gets overshadowed by John Williams but has written some of the most beautiful music in film. Also his television themes are classic.)
YouTube - Star Trek First Contact Main Title

Angelo Badalamenti (a master of haunting scores)
YouTube - Angelo Badalamenti - Love Theme

Akira Ifukube (was basically the John Williams of blockbusters before John Williams with his bombastic and sweeping scores. Very impressive for the time and is very underrated due to in large part to the types of films he scored.)
YouTube - Akira Ifukube--Master Works: Symphonic Fantasia No. 1 (Part 1)

Howard Shore (Probably the best blockbuster film composer around today)
YouTube - The End of All Things

 

[powerhour24]

Nice mention of Days of Heaven laz! I just spent my afternoon watching it and revelling in the poeticism/reclusim of Terrence Malick. Although to be fair, much of the use of music in the film is from Saen's 'Carnival of the Animals'.

Speaking of, any word on who will be scoring Tree of Life? I found it interesting how well the scores for The New World and the Thin Red Line worked despite being mostly written prior to the movie being made (it seems especially with TRL that some of the score was an influence during the photography, as Malick played selections to the actors. That's quite the reverse from the composer being inspired by the feeling of the film to write the music), and from composers I don't always see the hype for.

 

[Lancemc]

Speaking of, any word on who will be scoring Tree of Life?

Alexandre Desplat. Definitely someone worth getting excited over.

 

[lazarus]

Nice mention of Days of Heaven laz! I just spent my afternoon watching it and revelling in the poeticism/reclusim of Terrence Malick. Although to be fair, much of the use of music in the film is from Saen's 'Carnival of the Animals'.

Well the main title music is from Saen, but Morricone's work is still featured more throughout the film. And is just as memorable.

 

[powerhour24]

Well the main title music is from Saen, but Morricone's work is still featured more throughout the film. And is just as memorable.

Oh agreed, just throwing that information out there for those who didn't (of course I knew you would!)

And Desplat? Damn, could that film sound anymore awesome? The biggest thing is if we get it this year or even next year, it'll be the shortest wait in between movies in his career.

 

[LMP]

Keep in mind that Morricone was also doing a lot of electronic/psychedelic style scoring in the 60's and 70's before his work with Carpenter. There's a few he did with Dario Argento that are pretty notable as well.

Oh, okay. I thought you were referring to his work on The Thing specifically.