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For his 85th Birthday, John Williams Gives the Gift of THE LAST JEDI
- Thread starter Bobby Roberts
- Start date
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Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
Williams best is Harry Potter, everyone knows that. Even he does, that is why Rey's theme sounds so similar.
Katzenjammer
Member
Exciting! The TFA soundtrack was my most listened to album of last year (according to Spotify) so I'm really looking forward to hearing what he's written for the next movie. This is good news 
DeadlyParasite
Member
His work for Episode 7 really disappointed me. I'd like to think that maybe things will be better for 8 but I won't get my hopes up.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
L
Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
Look into your heart and you know it to be true.
polyh3dron
Banned
This is what made Morricone's work in Sergio Leone's films so great. Hell, for a couple of Leone's films, he played the already-finished score through a loudspeaker as they shot some scenes.
I'm guessing it was a mutual decision, although it's hard to know for sure...
Yeah, that piece (6M2) got mostly dialed out, for inexplicable reasons. 6M3 and 6M4 were all tracked music from Phantom Menace. Original music resumes at 6M5 (Padme Falls).
I'm honestly shocked that the RotS score is mostly left alone.
brandonh83
Banned
Yeah I want to see a lightsaber fight where the fight is edited around the music, damn.
Ben Burtt is a sound effects dude and was also one of the editors, and he'd frequently try and subdue the music-- to the chagrin of others, there's BTS footage of people arguing with Burtt in the editing room that he was fucking with the music too much lol
I think Episode III had a different editor, so that could explain it.
Ben Burtt is a sound effects dude and was also one of the editors, and he'd frequently try and subdue the music-- to the chagrin of others, there's BTS footage of people arguing with Burtt in the editing room that he was fucking with the music too much lol
I think Episode III had a different editor, so that could explain it.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I think this news brings the biggest hype for me.
It was the music that made me fall in love with Star Wars when I was a kid.
I haven't really considered the opposite of using the score to drive a movie but makes perfect sense when I think about it and it has always been emotion that drives the most powerful moments.
Between this and Dunkirk, I am really looking forward to the latter end of 2017.
It was the music that made me fall in love with Star Wars when I was a kid.
I haven't really considered the opposite of using the score to drive a movie but makes perfect sense when I think about it and it has always been emotion that drives the most powerful moments.
Between this and Dunkirk, I am really looking forward to the latter end of 2017.
A lot of people are wrong.
It's very underrated. I'm not really sure what people were expecting. Williams doesn't write the way he did anymore for the original trilogy and hasn't for decades.
I think I heard somewhere (prob Oxygen) that it was because George made a lot of late changes to the cut, including more slapstick droid comedy in the arena. If you're ever in doubt about that movie's quality...
The middle of the score is pretty bad by his standards. That's also true of the film itself. It's not that Williams doesn't reach the standards he set with the first six films, he just doesn't do it as consistently.
I still rate it higher than the score for AOTC. The love theme is iconic, but the rest is indistinguishable from any other Williams composition in the early 00s. It also suffered from A) that movie being terrible and B) George meddling with the cut (see above)
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Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
Bobby is jealous because I know better.
Universal praise by critics and audiences is now underrated?
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I was kinda ambivalent about the Force Awakens score on first listen, myself. I think the old TFA threads have a few examples of me knocking it for "busywork" bullshit, and pointing out that the most goosebump-inducing moment (maybe in the whole series) features music tracked in from Star Wars.
BUT:
The rewatches show there's a lot of stuff working itself out very subtly in the background, cues that don't seem all that linked together that are sharing themes and tones. The score's a lot more cohesive than it seems on first listen. Both Kylo and Rey's themes have some surprising depth to them.
I still don't think it gets much higher than 5th out of his 7 scores for the series (and I might actually place Giacchino's four-week wonder for Rogue One over it, too) but there's more to it than it gets credit for, I think. I remember doing some housework a couple months back and had all the scores on shuffle, and I caught myself mistaking a lot of the TFA score for stuff from Star Wars and Empire. I think that says something. Maybe all it says is that I'm old and easily confused now, I dunno. I'm that, too.
BUT:
The rewatches show there's a lot of stuff working itself out very subtly in the background, cues that don't seem all that linked together that are sharing themes and tones. The score's a lot more cohesive than it seems on first listen. Both Kylo and Rey's themes have some surprising depth to them.
I still don't think it gets much higher than 5th out of his 7 scores for the series (and I might actually place Giacchino's four-week wonder for Rogue One over it, too) but there's more to it than it gets credit for, I think. I remember doing some housework a couple months back and had all the scores on shuffle, and I caught myself mistaking a lot of the TFA score for stuff from Star Wars and Empire. I think that says something. Maybe all it says is that I'm old and easily confused now, I dunno. I'm that, too.
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Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
Not the best example, Williams actions themes suck dick. Best musical moment in TFA is when Rey is scavenging and her theme is playing (it is just so goddamn delightful to listen to):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH73EYkfj-M
Fancyarcher
Member
Clearly he doesn't write enough BWAAMS in his music.
brandonh83
Banned
Okay dude. Time out.
Tetsujin_MK
Member
TFA's soundtrack wasn't the best Star Wars soundtrack imo but I still it enjoy it more than most other composers' work. Rey's Theme is fantastic imo.
John Williams will forever remain my favorite and I'll be very sad when he's not around anymore some day.
Looking forward to this soundtrack.
John Williams will forever remain my favorite and I'll be very sad when he's not around anymore some day.
Looking forward to this soundtrack.
Excellent, excellent news. Really looking forward to what Rian Johnson can do with this movie.
Not everybody has it in them to appreciate a fugue.
Not everybody has it in them to appreciate a fugue.
Fancyarcher
Member
I think some people expected something a bit more exciting, forgotten that Williams himself isn't interested in composing whimsical bombastic as he once used to. Honestly, I love the score, it's one of those pieces of music that improves with each listen. There's a lot of complicated good stuff that's going on in the music.
LegendofJoe
Member
I have such a good feeling about The Last Jedi, I think it's going to be special. I hope I'm not setting myself up for disappointment.
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Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
NEEDS MORE BWAAAAAAMS!
Fancyarcher
Member
Ba-ba-BWAAAMM!!! Ten times over.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I think Zimmer's new thing (if the Dunkirk trailer is anything to go by) is exaggerated sidechaining? Or getting an orchestra to act as if it's sidechaining?
(also, the BWANGGG wasn't even his!)
(also, the BWANGGG wasn't even his!)
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Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
Actually, the art of it is less than 10 but more than 3. Get with it, pfft.
I will see you in court, old man.
brandonh83
Banned
I... found the score to have plenty of "bombast."
Resistance arrival scene has plenty of it IMO and that's just one easy to cite scene. Jakku chase is bombastic. Saber duel at the end, rightfully, focuses on the themes of the two characters locked in battle so it's not some big pumping action track but thematic, as it should be-- which correlates with what you're saying about more complicated layers. I agree with that.
Vault Dweller 111
Member
The man scored ESB and Jaws. You can't be serious.
WadiumArcadium
Member
The First Order really could have done with a few Chirrut's in that scene.
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Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
His Hedwig theme (so basically the HP theme) is pure magic man (no pun). Granted, I love the series and nostalgia plays a part.
Hope they get Alexandre Desplat to replace him once he quits doing these movies.
I'm reminded of how Kojima asked Gregson Williams for music based on words and themes and then cut the cutscenes around the tracks that HGW made. At least that's how I understood the backstory to be regarding the making of MGS2; cmiiw.
Edit: oops, on topic, I think this will make the aural experience that much more emotional, memorable, and meaningful. Can't wait now!
Edit: oops, on topic, I think this will make the aural experience that much more emotional, memorable, and meaningful. Can't wait now!
Bobby Roberts
Banned
It's gonna be Giacchino. The way Desplat exited (or was made to exit) Rogue One the instant Giacchino had an opening in his schedule tells me Lucasfilm already knows who they want picking up the baton.
(Although I'd prefer they gave Bear McCreary a chance, but hey)
WadiumArcadium
Member
Wonder who they'll pick to compose the score for Han's film. I'd be surprised if it's Giacchino again.
You what now? lmao
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Lord Virgin
Unconfirmed Member
Well, I don't really care about SW and haven't followed it all. Thought it was a scheduling thing? Disappointing if true, I'd take Desplat over Giacchino. He did great work on the HP movies with some great themes.
Also, that sounds like a male pornstar name. Who is that dude?
Hate? More like a general feeling of indifference.
brandonh83
Banned
I think Giacchino will score Episode IX. I would like for Williams to close out the nine movie saga, it'd be kind of a shame if he did 8/9, but man he's up there and Giacchino has already worked with Trevorrow on Jurassic. I'm not saying what'll happen but if Williams weren't up to it I'd say Giacchino would be the obvious step-in. Rogue One's score was so good despite the pressure for time.
It's hard to imagine his successor being anyone but Giachinno, but there's no way Disney, Lucasfilm, and Giachinno himself would let anyone but Williams score IX while he draws breath.
But yeah, Rogue One was definitely Giachinno's resume for writing Star Wars music, and it was outstanding despite it being written and recorded withing a few weeks.
Fancyarcher
Member
Oh, it has bombast, it's just not as "in your face" as some of the previous SW scores were, and as much as I love previous SW's scores, I appreciate the subtle moments a lot.
The thematic complex material is what I especially like about the score, as you and I both mentioned already.
Fancyarcher
Member
Given Lord and Miller's past composer, probably Mark Mothersbaugh. He's also doing Thor: Ragnarok and should be an interesting choice for that film, if he's not limited by studio demand to only have the music serve the scene and nothing more.
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