ST John Williams scored TFA - incl. Soundtrack discussion

I'm good with even someone present at the recording recreating the feel on piano. Lets hear it!

 

I wonder if Donald Foster's clarinet will be the main instrument used for Rey's Theme(assuming she has one); just like the french horn was the main solo instrument used for the Force Theme.

 

Personally, I think George Lucas owes more to John Williams for the success of Star Wars than any other individual. It would not have become the biggest movie of all time without that music. Williams is 83 years old, has a life expectancy of about 6.5 more years, but who knows whether he'll be able to maintain his health long enough to finish scoring the next few movies.

Once Williams is gone, Star Wars is effectively over.

 

I agree that John Williams had been pivotal to how iconic the series is, but to suggest that the series dies with him is a little too far, I think.

 

No. Williams is more critical to Star Wars than George Lucas, who clearly isn't critical at all given that people are so excited by a non Lucas sequel. All you need to make Star Wars is access to the intellectual property plus John Williams to make more music. Once he's gone, you've kicked out one of the supporting legs of Star Wars, and the whole thing collapses.

 

That's ridiculous.

You're being ridiculous right now.

 

Crap. In that case, we might as well just burn all these Star Wars comics and books, because there's no John Williams to accompany them.

 

Obviously I'm talking about the movies

Here's the tripod holding up Star Wars.

1. Convincing high end visual effects
2. Access to the intellectual property
3. John Williams composing Star Wars music in the style of John Williams Star Wars music

Without any one of those things you have Battle Beyond the Stars.

 

Here's the real tripod holding it up:

1. Likable characters
2. Good storytelling
3. Good filmmaking

 

The PT didn't have any of those things, and yet it was Star Wars, because

1. FX
2. IP
3. JW

6.5 years guys, statistically speaking. Then the ride is over. John Williams is the musician I will mourn more than anyone since George Harrison.

No Beatles without Harrison. No Star Wars without Williams.

 

The idea that Star Wars literally ceases to be relevant, or even maintains its ability to still be Star Wars once John Williams decides to no longer do the music is ridiculous. You don't have to overstate your stance to so silly a level in order to express appreciation for the man's quality of work. It's counterproductive, honestly, because the tack you're taking is so well outside the realm of basic sense that it almost taints the praise you think you're giving the man by suggesting the ludicrous thing you're suggesting.

 

This reminds me, has anyone heard the Jurassic World soundtrack? Giacchino does a pretty good job of emulating Williams' style. When the inevitable happens, I think he would do a great job of helming the major entries of the franchise.

 

The stuff I've heard of Jurassic World is *really* good.

Hell, the best thing to come out of Shadows of the Empire (shudder) was McNeely's soundtrack - which was just as Star Wars as anything Williams composed. In fact, if I had to insert it into the rankings of his Star Wars film scores, I'd probably stick it above Attack of the Clones.

 

JW scores and the SW movies themselves are tied together the music doesn't outweigh the movies nor vice versa he made that music for that movie and the same continues when he is sadly gone. To me JW and GL laid the great foundation of SW other people can step in and make great contributions to it.

 

I don't see it as praising Williams. It's a question of artistic identity. Maybe there's someone out there who can forge John Williams Star Wars music so well that no one can tell the difference in the same way that there's someone out there who can forge a Picasso or a Rembrandt.

 

No one needs to forge anything. Williams' music is his own musical accompaniment to the Star Wars universe, it's his perspective. There's nothing to suggest that someone can't compose music that's reflective of their own perspective of the universe that's consistent with the film they're scoring and Star Wars as a whole. If Star Wars dies, it's not going to be because Williams is gone, it'll be because the market will be routinely saturated with bad films in a short period of time, causing people to start to lose interest. So long as good movies are consistently made, people will continue to show up on opening day, and the series will live on.

 

I have a close friend who's a music publisher and does sheet music arrangements for John Williams and knows him personally. My friend is a music snob and I'd always assumed he'd be a bit dismissive of a mere movie music composer, but whenever I talk to him about Williams, he absolutely gushes, and I don't think it's because Williams pays him. His take is that there isn't really anyone else out there who can do exactly what Williams does. There are other score composers who are different and unique and talented, but Williams is the only one of his particular kind.

Star Wars is John Williams just as much as it's Jedis and the Force and TIE fighters and in general the galaxy far far awy. Take away those things and there's nothing left.

 

Well, Rogue One isn't going to have either Jedi or John Williams, and likely won't feature the Force unless Vader doesn't show up, and what's left is a universe that's still vast enough to tell an unlimited amount of stories in. There's even the distinct possibility that it can both succeed critically and financially. It will succeed or fail on its own merits, and not because Williams isn't dong the music, or because it lacks Jedi, or the Force. It will succeed or fail based on what is there, not what isn't.

You're right, no one can do what John Williams does, the man is a bona fide genius and we're fortunate to have him for (at minimum) seven full films. The point I was trying to make is, we don't need someone that can do what Williams does the way he does it, nor should they seek such a person out. We'll need composers who do what they do, and do it well. All we need in terms of following in Williams' footsteps are good composers who are capable of making music that matches the film they're hired for. That's all every movie needs.

 

I'd agree there's no reason these movies can't be good and entertaining and valuable without Willliams. They just won't really be Star Wars movies. I'd call them post Star Wars movies. Or Star Wars spinoffs. Or Star Wars ancillary cinema entertainment. Star Wars can exist without Lucas, but it can't exist without the things that are integral to Star Wars.

 

That's ridiculous.

You're *still* being ridiculous.

 

The whole thing closes down when we read a Star Wars movie end credit dedicating the film to the memory of John Williams. Obviously I wish the man a long life with good health into his 90s, but these things are not likely.

I'm sure we'll continue to have years of lesser entertainment properties that are vaguely Star Wars-ish, like the Clone Wars or Rebels series, etc

And Williams is no guarantee of quality for things over which he has no control, like in general the prequel trilogy. But at least most of us agree that the PT is Star Wars, though some might not be willing to concede that. If you believe an element of quality is inherent in Star Wars, then you're probably just an OT fan.

 

While Williams' score is my main source of anticipation for this movie, I have to disagree. There are many other composers who could also do Star Wars justice.
I do think they should keep him in the main trilogy though and I don't want any mediocre composers (Kevin Kiner) scoring the films.

 

The main thing to remember is that the original Star Wars would have been just another movie without Williams and that every Star Wars movie since has traded on the greatness of John Williams.

 

There are certainly composers out there that do not come close to matching the style of Williams. Trent Reznor, Gustavo Santaolalla, Hans Zimmer, and Danny Elfman just to name a few. Michael Giacchino is probably the closest match but I wouldn't be surprised if Alexandre Desplat does a great job with Rogue One.


I am just praying that Williams makes it to Episode IX. If the schedule holds, he'll be recording that score around January of 2019. That's less than 4 years from now. It's not impossible. There's still a few composers around his age that are still with us like Ennio Morricone, Michel Legrand, Laurence Rosenthal, Burt Bacharach, Dave Grusin, Richard Sherman, Lalo Schifrin, John Morris, Francis Lai, Andre Previn, Quincy Jones, Giorgio Moroder, Mikis Theodorakis, and John Corigliano.