Harry Potter: The John Williams Soundtrack Collection

Yes for sure. Mike Matessino needs to be allowed to do that. But for once, I do not want exactly what is IN the films, I want them the way Williams scored them. Lucas hacked apart the scores, especially in TPM, and I do not want that choppy crap. I want it to flow like the music was composed.

 

Why do you prefer Gambon? Full disclosure, I really disliked the direction PoA took the series in. Vastly preferred the tone of the first 2 movies, as it felt much closer to the book.

Yes! I just wish I could afford to buy this.

 

Gambon created a Dumbledore that felt fully fleshed out, not so frail and weak. He also captured more eccentricity and depth for me. And was more powerful. I cannot imagine Richard Harris being able to pull off the wizard duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

 

The real answer is Dylan Saunders. Everything else is wrong. Richard Harris felt more like Dumbledore but Gambon could do the action scenes. Did anyone else hate the grey robes Gambon wore? Oh and the DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN DA GOBLET DA FIYA! thing.

 

For me, the fourth movie was where the series took a turn for the worst, when they brought in that one director who hates John Williams

 

How do you know Mike Newell hates John Williams?

 

Fair enough, but I disagree on Harris. This scene alone sold his intensity to me:



If he had remained in good health, I have no doubt he could have pulled it off. Gambon was way too aggressive - which when you find out that he didn't read the books, makes a whole lot more sense. He said he was just playing himself.

Ya I don't like those robes either.

 

This radio interview where he said something along the lines of Williams' music "infantizes the audience" because it told the audience how to feel and wasn't dark enough or something. I might link to it later (mobile's a pain in the asS)

 

Well, I'm far more interested in John Williams' career than I am Mike Newell. Loser.

 

The real reason Williams didn't score GoF anyway was that he was already doing four scores in 2005.

 

Yeah. I still really wish he'd been able to somehow continue the series. The scores for HP4-6 are some of the worst **** I've ever heard in a major Hollywood action adventure film series of any real quality.

 

I think the HP 4-6 scores are fine, but not nearly as good as the Williams ones. If Williams had to stop doing the Potter films due to scheduling conflicts, then I would have preferred if the other films had utilized his established themes more. It was a missed opportunity to have some kind of overarching musical consistency throughout the series (besides Hedwig's theme).

 

Weirdly enough it's Williams himself who ditches all the old films, POA features just Hedwig's theme from films 1 and 2. Any other themes for Hogwarts, Harry, Voldemort, the Forbidden Forest, Quidditch, all dropped from that point onwards.

He introduces a new 'Hogwarts' motif based on the 'Double Double' song to replace the old theme, as well as themes for Lupin and the Patronus.

I imagine he realised that the style of Film 3 was a departure from what came before, and wanted to reflect that in the music, though to me it makes POA feel less cohesive as a soundtrack.

 

Yeah that's a good point. I remember watching PoA for the first time and missing a lot of his older themes from the first two films (even though he did reuse one more old theme at the end here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCizOPfimsU&t=47). Though, now that I look back on it, there are very few places where I think an older theme would have worked better than the new theme he chose. On the other hand, there are definitely places in the later films where an older Williams theme would have fit perfectly.

 

He also uses the Nimbus 2000 theme at the end of PoA. But using few themes from the first two films for the third does not preclude using other themes from SS and CoS if Williams had continued with the series. And frankly, I think the moment when Harry's Parents appear in the graveyard during GoF was the perfect time to use the Window to the Past theme... but nothing. We get mediocre Patrick Doyle forgettable score.

I still say that if Williams couldn't come back for GoF, they should have had respect for the three-film musical legacy of Williams (re-iterated here with this 3 film soundtrack collection) and gotten a very respected, experienced and acclaimed film score composer to take up the reins. Instead we get a no-name Doyle and then a TV composer in Hooper. Total disrespect for the music of Harry Potter, in my opinion. It will always be one of the greatest missed opportunities of all time for music in film.

 

I agree that Doyle in particular didnt go along with Williams' sytle and tried new stuff. He even tried to establish a new theme for Harry (Harry in Winter). I missed "A window to the past" during those graveyard scenes very much. Williams would go all out with that one during that scene!

I like the score for what it is and I'd love a treatment for the rest of the Potter scores like we just got from LaLaLand, but I'd too wish for more consisteny regarding the music. Some of the Williams motifs should have been all over the movies...

Hooper for me established some quite good stuff. The music for Fred and George and especially for Umbrigde is great. He did use Williams Music more then Doyle too. And I think that Prince has some of the best not Williams music of the franchise.

Deplast for me has done very well too!! Love is Obliviation motif and his Lilly Theme!

Btw: James Newton Howard has done an incredible job on the fantastic beasts movies. Very unique sound but very fitting with the franchise!

 

Desplat's two scores are excellent. Easily the best HP work aside from Williams. I would have been fine if he'd been chosen for GoF and did the rest as well. To be, the Hooper scores are almost unlistenable. The Doyle score is mediocre. Harry in Winter is good, but the rest is sort of forgettable.

 

The only listenable piece of music from 4-6 to me is Professor Umbridge. Otherwise I just skip from 3 to 7.

 

Nice.

 

I have the original three scores on my phone and I decided to make a playlist with some of the previously unreleased tracks.

For Sorcerer's Stone I placed Through the Doors and House Selection between Platform Nine and Three/Journey to Hogwarts and Entry into the Great Hall/The Banquet. Fighting the Troll between Hogwarts Forever/The Moving Stairs and Norwegian Ridgeback/Change of Season. The Dark Forest between The Invisibility Cloak/Library Scene and Fluffy's Harp. Reason I chose those was because I felt like they should have been on there especially Through the Doors.

For CoS I included two tracks that I liked. I placed Quidditch, Second Year between Dobby the Elf and The Spiders, and place Dumbledore and Harry between Dueling the Basilisk and Reunion of Friends.

I only added one for PoA which was Buckbeak's Fate and The Marauder's Map just because the Peter Pettigrew theme was omitted from the original album. I placed it between Quidditch, Third Year and Lupin's Transformation.

Also has anyone notice that you can hear Voldemort's theme in Fighting the Troll?

 

The Umbridge music in OOTP is very good. But nothing will ever top Hedgewig's theme. Although Buckbeak's Flight comes close.

 

Every time I hear Umbridge's theme I have to use my finger as a maestro baton. It's so catchy.

 

whats your favorite HP piece. For me its the Harry Hedgwig snow scene in one.

 

Hogwarts March, Umbridge's theme, Face of Voldemort, the Spiders, The Dark Mark, Voldemort (GOF), Hedwig's Theme, The Quidditch World Cup, the themes in the Department of Mysteries. Etc.

 

My favorite piece is Harry's Wondrous World