ST John Williams to Score the Sequel Trilogy

I don't think it's an unfair at all. Excellent video on this very subject:
https://youtu.be/7vfqkvwW2fs

 

Yes I'm aware of that video, and the selectivity of his choices of the scores of unquestionably talented individuals. His obsession with one bit of Doyle's score from a quiet moment of Thor completely ignores the sum of his work on the film, and contributes to a misleading narrative.

Because his larger point - that temp music is the reason the music is forgettable to many - is false. Temp music has been used for many years, for many memorable films and scores. Star Wars used temp music, and John WIlliams borrowed heavily from it. Temp music doesn't cause sameness in music.

The reason the MCU music is forgotten is more probably a combination of editing that drowns the music under action noise and dialogue and never lets it breathe (any good scores can be a victim of this), or the fact these films cycle through composers with each sequel, never letting one voice come to define a character for the audience. Doyle's Thor theme is great but was dropped after the first film. Silvestri's Avengers and Cap themes are the only clear voices amidst the din. They were also the only ones used more than once. The failure to optimize the use and re-use of these scores is unfortunate, but it doesn't make them "generic background music."

Also, Giacchino wrote the score for Doctor Strange, so RO's score is not only comparable to an MCU score, they were done by the same man.

 

I dislike the MCU and its scores, but this guy makes the common misguided assumption that hummable tunes = great score. There are some brilliant atmospheric scores, like that of There Will Be Blood, that are atonal and completely unhummable. Personally, I'd love to see an anthology or two experiment with a different kind of score.

 

"You mean to tell me you can hum the theme of a film series that's part of the public consciousness for the last 40 years, but can't remember a theme that you heard 5 times in one film from 6 years ago? That score clearly sucks then." - Guy taken seriously by millions of YouTube video watchers.

How many of those people can hum the LOTR themes? Probably far less than can hum Star Wars.

I hate, hate hate hate man on the street interviews. They prove nothing and can be easily manipulated to serve whatever point you want to make.

ETA: since we're sharing video essays, I recalled a video response to that video essay that addresses it and probably states better than I did the actual reasons for a score being forgotten even though it is perfectly good:

 

I wasn't sold on TFA soundtrack at first. Now I love it. So much. I also have enjoyed Giachino's work for years now. Always thought he would be the ideal candidate to replace Williams once he is gone. RO was donde in two months and, while it is not at the same level than the other SW movies, it is also way better than most of the other OSTs out there.

When X comes out, I belive it will be Giacchino the one who takes the mantle, and that his music will once again be fantastic.

 

I think that Anthologies should experiment with scores since they aren't the Saga and therefore don't have to sound like it. Sure, some themes will be recycled here and there but the new ones should reflect the new movies.

Count me in as a fan of Doyle's Thor score. The main theme, Can You See Jane aka the Love Theme and Thor 2's Funeral are lovely. Also loved his stuff for Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire - Hogwarts Hymn (why can't SW have a hymn?), Harry in Winter (aka the love theme) and Neville's Waltz are brilliant.

 

This man just totally gets the character. Rey's theme is easily a favorite of his Star Wars work. I honestly can't wait to see how it develops and is used for TLJ.
I'm also very curious to hear what he's going to do with Leia....it'll be the last time he scores for Carrie, I'm sure its going to be a knock out.
I hope and pray John is able to finish out the trilogy, but he is in his eighties and things can turn on a dime health wise. Giacchino is the obvious heir to JW, and I do hope he keeps scoring SW in the future, but when Williams finally retires for good, the movie industry will have lost a master.

 

SW will not be the same any more when JW does not score the music.

 

Well, Star Wars needs to keep evolving to avoid ossification.

 

Hans Zimmer could take over. The bass farts would be glorious.

 

Hans Zimmer is legit!!!

 

What about Vince DiCola.

Vangelis?

 

Dylan Burgess‏ @Dburg25 11h11 hours ago

More​

@rianjohnson Curious, did you use a temp before JW started his thing? Was it all Star Wars or did other stuff make it in there too?
Rian Johnson‏Verified account @rianjohnson 11h11 hours ago

More​

Replying to @Dburg25
Yeah, we have a very talented music editor who cut a temp using JW’s scores. 95% SW.

 

That's actually a bit disappointing. I was hoping Rian Johnson would push Williams to be a little more "out there" rather than the established SW musical mold.
I wonder what the % of OT vs. PT music is, in addition to the other 5%
Though I guess one could assume that Williams wouldn't hear the temp track anyway (I believe that's the usual custom for the composer)

 

Since Rian engaged John to write the music for The Last Jedi kinda early, I guess the one that accompanied the teaser is by the regular Star Wars composer...

Quite an interesting blend of Binary Sunset, Rey's Theme, and Kylo's Theme together with the new music that starts around 1:12, I must say!

 

At 1:12 what we're hearing as a rather energetic arrangement of the Force theme, leading directly into Rey's theme. Something Williams did a bit of in TFA.

I have to say. After living with the themes that Williams created for TFA for a good while now, they have, for me, become just as iconic as anything he created for the OT. Kylo's Theme and Rey's Theme in particular are just immediately identifiable and really paint a vivid picture of those characters in my head.

 

I love Williams, but I thought the Rogue One Score was really good. The scoring of the 3rd act was fantastic. I honestly didn't notice much quality difference. Then again, part of it is that I think Rogue One is one of hte best SW films, so that probably heightens my evaluation of all elements. The Rogue One score, like the entire movie - has only grown on me over time. There's a few themes (in particular "your father would be proud)") that I think are among the best SW music ever

 

Yes, that's for sure... Rey's Theme is easily one of the more memorable new tunes in any Star Wars movie together with Kylo's Theme and even the March of The Resistance as well as The Jedi Steps...

And if many of us enjoyed the music in the first teaser, we can only expect something great coming from John Williams for The Last Jedi soundtrack then!


Sent from MillenniumFalcon.exe using Tapatalk

 

I love the Rogue One soundtrack. I listen to it now and again. In places it is gorgeous.

But with that Celebration concert, I listened properly to Leia's Theme there and, wow. That is so beautiful.

I don't believe in praising one person by knocking their peers. Both Williams and Giacchino make beautiful things.

 

Well John tried to go weirder with the ESB soundtrack. I've been listening through it and there is a lot of weird synths used, all of which were then removed from the actual movie. Piano stuff was also removed.

 

Millennium Falcon 888

He used those themes for Rey and Kylo Snow Fight. Binary Sunset plays over Rey holding the saber and Kylo's awe'd reaction and then it's a mix of their themes plus the Force theme from there. The name of the track is The Ways of the Force. Interesting thing is that Binary Sunset portion is only in the movie but not in the official soundtrack. I guess they thought it was more dramatic for that particular moment than just the Force theme (which it is), or it's because it's such a famous Hero Accepts Their Destiny scene/melody, so it looks like it was added into the movie after the soundtrack was recorded. Good choice.

Introducing KMT to the tune of Across the Stars tells me that love theme is happening. can't wait, JW is a master of love themes.

 

I love how in the teaser, you get that 4 note motif over Leia and you instantly know the Rey theme. Likewise Kylo's. How many recent scores (or even past scores) can you say that with. Phenomenal. And I'd throw Poe's theme, the Resistance March (though it's a bit fanfare-y for me) and the Follow me and the Falcon motif into the TFA classics list. There is a bit more filler than some of the previous scores, but when it soars, it soars - and boy do I hope the Jedi Steps is a major theme in TLJ and 9. ETA - count me in the loved the R1 score too. It's not Williams level, but there is zero shame in that.

 

All, or most, scores take a bit of getting used to I think. We play them for the first time expecting something that'll instantly give goose bumps and stay with us forever, but they're slow burners.

When all the merch for TPM was released, I remember (though maybe the dates are fudged in my head, so I might be wrong) listening to the soundtrack on repeat while reading the novel, and it didn't strike me as a classic at the time, but now I think it's second only to the ESB soundtrack. Anakin's Theme is a work of genius.

 

yeah, MG's RO score needs more love. It's very emotional especially in the ending scenes with Jyn and Cassian.

 

I think we will. The score is a whole other aspect to TLJ that gets my blood pumping - I can't wait to hear it. All we've been hearing about TLJ is how mystical we are going to get, with heavy fantasy elements, which, obviously makes sense considering we're going to spend a large portion of the movie delving into ancient Jedi lore and philosophy. When I first heard Jedi Steps that is the exact type of feeling I got - an overwhelming sense of fantasy and mythology as we finally get our first glimpse of the legend himself, Luke Skywalker.

Williams has an unrivaled ability to understand exactly what is happening in the story and evoke the proper emotional response to that story through his music. I expect TLJ's score to be filled with mysticism and magic to give us a fantastic feeling of Star Wars meets LotR. He has already struck gold combining Rey's theme and the Force theme - that is something I expect to hear several times throughout TLJ. He also started scoring much earlier than expected for TLJ... I suspect this happened partially because he wanted to be able to write music for the trailer, but also because he needs to understand the story. And with TLJ likely being a much more complex movie than TFA, he needs to be able to fully understand what Rian is going for so that he can awaken our feelings of fantasy and lore. I can not wait to see what John has in store for us.