Wednesday, February 8, 2012

DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN, DUN DUN DUN DOO DOO:  John Williams -- the film composer, not "Hot Rod" or "Hot Plate" or any of the other John Williamses -- turns 80 today.

11 comments:

  1. Stacie from St. Louis10:16 AM

    Guaranteed goosebumps, every time. He is an amazing composer.  Thanks for posting this, Adam.

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  2. Not shocking. Shocking? Yesterday was Axl Rose's 50th birthday.

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  3. When Physics majors take Music Appreciation courses:  I remember sitting in a concert hall, listening to the New World symphony, and thinking, "Man, this Dvorak dude really ripped off the Star Wars soundtrack..."

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  4. You said it, my friend. I'm afraid Williams is as big a classical-theme-biter as any in Hollywood. As I believe has been discussed on this site before, the symphonies of Mahler alone have been a prime source for Williams: the Jaws theme and the Darth Vader theme come to mind. And poor Gustav Holst...how many film composers have looted his Planets? Too bad he didn't live long enough to sue.

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  5. Just for the sake of outside citation (I wish I could quickly find a site with compare-and-contrast mp3 files): http://www.scena.org/columns/lebrecht/021120-NL-williams.html   In Williams defense, we could say that classical composers frequently did much of the same, using popular/folk tunes as basis for melodies.

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  6. Tosy and Cosh2:19 PM

    In the realm of under-appreciated Willams' scores, A.I. gets my vote. Just as Spielberg's sensibilities get tangled up in interesting ways with Kubrick's, so did Williams take some of minimalism's (I hear a bit of Philip Glass, specifically) influence and intermingle it with his own Romantic sensibility. Great stuff.

    Also, if push came to shove I just might put his Schindler's List theme as my favorite film theme of all time.


    http://www.youtube.com/v/0yYikshdLcw&feature" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="170" height="140

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  7. Tosy and Cosh2:26 PM

    My favorite example of such pilfering:

    Shostakovich 14 (first minute or so)

    http://www.youtube.com/v/BK9cPymRVbs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="170" height="140

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  8. Chuck4:17 PM

    Meta-comment:  I always get thrown off by Adam's "DUN DUN"'s and "DOO DOO"'s etc.  I'm not even sure what music this thread's title is referring to. Help?

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  9. Main Star Wars theme.

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  10. Joseph J. Finn6:12 PM

    Look, if you're a superhero fan at all and your heart doesn't thrill just a bit when that main theme slowly rises at the climax of Superman II with the hand crunching, well I don't know what to say.

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  11. Tosy and Cosh9:58 AM

    That is maybe my favorite movie music moment ever. Love that it's just the lone trumpet (?) we hear at first, coming out of that defeated silence.

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