Besides SW, what's your fav John Williams score?

the reunion from war horse hits me every time without fail. it is next level perfection.

 

BUMP

"Without John Williams, bikes don't really fly. Nor do brooms in Quidditch matches. Nor do men in red capes. There is no force. Dinosaurs do not walk the earth. We do not wonder. We do not weep. We do not believe. John, you take our films, many of them about our most impossible dreams, and you make them real and everlasting for billions of people." -- Steven Spielberg, June 9, 2016

 

I change on this as I'm such a big JW fan. Today it's
Superman
Temple of Doom
ET
Hook
Harry Potter

 

I really need to check out Seven Years in Tibet.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark, particular stand-outs being "Flight from Peru", which gets me at the drums when Indy swings on the vine and then splashes into the river.

Williams' ability to match the images on screen to the correctly arranged musical motifs and themes in order to convey who the characters are, where they are and what they are doing, in all his movies, is pure genius.

A composer who we will never see the like of again.

 

I hate snacks Jock I hate em!

 

During that scene, I love how the score is the "second half" of the main Raiders march theme played slower with the horns before switching it back up to the main theme as the plane is shown flying over the jungle canopy into the sunset, it's flipping brilliant.

 

I had the Raiders soundtrack as a kid and was disappointed they didn't include the beginning jungle credit music. Then I played Lego Indy and was so excited to hear it. My av is Lego Short Round.

 

I think special mention too has to go to the score of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, a movie I still struggle to watch the end of without a lump in my throat even now at the age of 44. The music accompanying the bike chase scene at the end with the flying sequence is nothing short of incredible.

 

that and Jaws are the 2 biggest examples I can think of of a score enhancing a movie.

 

It is no wonder the man is so decorated and loved. His natural talent for coming up with a motif or an arrangement to immediately evoke the jungle or the desert, a theme park, a killer shark, a magical school full of wizards etc etc ... it's extraordinary.

 

Marion's theme gets me every time.

 

Just last night we watched The Crimes of Grindelwald and remarked on how great John Williams's Harry Potter score is.

 

Which Harry Potter?

 

anything with Hedwig's theme.

 

Okay well that's all eight films, five of which Williams didn't even do the score for...

 

Indiana Jones!

Jurassic Park has some great moments also though.

 

For me beside SW the best Williams Scores are: Harry Potter (each), Indy (each), Schindlers List and ET.

Honorable mentions: Private Ryan, Empire of the Sun

 

Superman for me.

 

Superman is incredible.

 

So much, if not most, of JW's film music is so masterful that it is hard to choose favorites. He is very good at his job to say the least.

One of my favorite pieces of music is the piano concerto like passages from E.T.
This music almost seems like it could have been composed by Brahms or someone in that category of genius.
The entire E.T. soundtrack is probably my favorite JW's music after his SW compositions.

 

E.T. is a solid choice. It's up there for me.

 

I differentiate between score and main title/"theme". W/the former I'd have to go E.T. It just spans the spectrum, easily going from creepy and mysterious to pure childlike wonder and finally to triumphant joy. But main theme is a bit tougher. Ultimately I have to go w/Superman. I don't think there's ever been a more perfect marriage between theme and character. It literally says "Su-per-man!".

 

JW has so many great scores, but for me 4 are his masterpieces. 1. ESB 2. Superman 3. Jaws 4. ET

 

The only one I'd change for my list would be Jaws, which I'd replace with Raiders/Temple of Doom. Tough choice though.