#john williams
SIMBAfromThe Lion King(1994)
VOICE ACTORS: Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Young- Speaking), Jason Weaver (Young - Singing), Matthew Broderick (Adult - Speaking), & Joseph Williams (Adult - Singing)
Born in 1981, Jonathan Taylor Thomas began his television career in 1990 as Kevin Brady in The Brady’s, a spin-off of The Brady Bunch. At the time of The Lion King’s release, he was most known for his role as Randy Taylor, Tim Allen’s son, in Home Improvement. He has worked with Disney multiple times since providing his voice for Young Simba. Some of his other roles include Ben Archer in Man of the House, Tom Sawyer in Tom and Huck, and Jake Wilkenson in I’ll Be Home for Christmas. As of 2022, he is 40 years old.
Jason Weaver was born in 1979 and is most known for his performance as Marcus Henderson in the sitcom Smart Guy. One of his earliest roles was in Oprah Winfrey’s 1990 TV series The Brewsters, and he portrayed Michael Jackson in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. In 1995, a year after The Lion King’s release, he released his debut album Love Ambition. As of 2022, he is 42 years old.
Born in 1962, Matthew Broderick has had an extensive career on both the stage and screen. His first major acting role was in a workshop of Horton Foote’s On Valentine’s Day, in which he acted opposite his father. He holds the record for youngest person to ever win the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, which he won at only 21 years old for his performance in Brighton Beach Memoirs. He also won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 1995. Some of his other prominent stage credits include The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, and The Producers, in which he starred alongside Nathan Lane, the voice of Timon in The Lion King. Broderick became a household name, however, for his starring role as the title character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in 1985, as well as some of his other films including The Cable Guy andManchester By the Sea. After Simba, he was considered for many other Disney voice roles like Buzz Lightyear, Mike Wazowski, and Chicken Little, and while he didn’t get those, he has given his voice to other animated films such as Bee Movie, The Tale of Despereaux,andThe Thief and the Cobbler. He also reprised his role as Simba for all of the sequels. He married actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1997, and in 2006 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As of 2022, he is 59 years old.
Joseph Williams was born in 1960 as the son of composer John Williams and actress Barbara Ruick. He was the lead vocalist for the band Toto in the mid-to-late 1980s, as well as releasing his own solo albums. Before The Lion King, he had worked with Disney when he sang the theme song for the 1985 TV series Adventures of the Gummi Bears. Since then, he has composed scores for many television and film projects, such as the series RoswellandThe Lyon’s Den. As of 2022, he is 61 years old.
FUN FACT: Simba was the first animated Disney character to have a villain as a biological relative. He would be followed by Hercules and Elsa & Anna in Frozen II.
How the First Abrams Cut Leak Explains Why the Score for the Rise of Skywalker is so Disappointing
How the First Abrams Cut Leak Explains Why the Score for the Rise of Skywalker is so Disappointing
Ask 10 Star Wars fans to rank the Skywalker Saga films from their favorite to least favorite and you will likely get 10 different answers. Prior to the release of the Rise of Skywalker if you asked them to then name the best things or redeeming qualities about their least favorite Saga film nearly all of them will mention the score, and it’s easy to understand why. John Williams Star Wars scores…
Comparing The Film Scoring Processes of John Williams and Hans Zimmer
Comparing The Film Scoring Processes of John Williams and Hans Zimmer
John Williams and Hans Zimmer are both brilliant composers of iconic blockbuster scores, but they have very different processes by which they craft their scores.
John Williams considers himself “Old School” when it comes to how he goes about actually writing his scores. He still uses pencil and paper to actually write out the score. He also prefers to score his films based on his initial…
How Leitmotifs are Used in Film Scores
How Leitmotifs are Used in Film Scores
A Leitmotif is a short musical phrase that is repeated throughout the film or series of films to emphasize recurring people, places, objects, ideas, emotions etc. Some of the best uses of leitmotif in cinema, in my humble opinion, come from film series with long run times where the scores for all of the films are composed by the same composer. The length of the series allows the composer to…
There’s something interesting to note in John Boyega’s recent interview with GQ magazine where he called out the sidelining of Finn in the Sequel Trilogy. While John Boyega is clearly upset (and rightly so) with how his character was treated in the trilogy he appears to cast no blame at J.J. Abrams despite the fact that Abrams directed and co-wrote The Rise of Skywalkerwhich is arguably just as…
This is all but explicit confirmation that the JJ cut for TROS is real.
2018.
Tatooine | Star Wars Movie Poster –
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Catch Me If You Can, opening sequence. Titles by Kuntzel+Deygas, music by John Williams.
Tell me I’m not the only one who gets emotional watching this scene.
Minority Report (2002)
Lag Time: 14 years
Dir. Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow
Here we have one of Steven Spielberg’s most unique but ignored films from his 2000s filmography: Minority Report. I explore what about it makes this film underrated and what weaknesses have buried it outside our cultural memory.
Spielberg’s 2002 thriller is very clearly in the company of other film adaptations of the works of story-teller Philip K. Dick. A coupling of futuristic vision and plot-twisting action, Minority Report represents the famed author well as it places itself among the higher-quality adaptations. And yet, despite very positive reviews, this film does not attract very fond retrospection. It remains frequently overlooked.
We see elements compete throughout the film. The story, taking place in 2054, is set-up quite well in the exposition. We learn that a special police force called “Pre-crime” has been channeling the clairvoyant powers of three gifted “pre-cogs” to catch murderers before they commit their crimes. While certain mechanics of the plot are directly introduced, there are many moments that reveal Spielberg’s knack for handling details, for setting up characters and situations without drawing attention to the fact that exposition is happening. One thing that makes this director so great is how slyly he wields Chekhov’s gun. The Pre-crime system is set-up incredibly well with an engaging opening scene and rising action. These first forty-five minutes are, however, weighed down by special effects that do not quite seem ready for this film’s demands, and by editing that is not quite fast enough to support action which is nevertheless intriguing and original.
The middle of this movie is its most puzzling part. While in the interest of world-building and resisting the temptation to fill that world with two-dimensional stock characters, the second forty-five minutes are characterized by a weirdness that seems more or less arbitrary. There are moments in the scenes with the botanist (the “inventor” of Pre-crime) and the surgeon (with an interesting but distracting backstory) which wind this movie a little less tightly than other Spielberg works. The vines that attack protagonist John Anderton and the subsequent antidote scene are an instance of the extraneous world-building detours that do not really fit the tone or the plot and only distract the pace. I believe these weird moments and characters are there for that pace though. In distracting the flow, they make up for what would likely be an under-stimulating and slow-paced middle segment. But that rescue job is achieved by bizarre and burdensome intrigue alone.
The plot takes us to events of foreseen homicide, and we seem to be gearing up for an unsatisfying conclusion. A climax nears but it seems contrived and premature, with an unimaginative dramatic theme about thwarting destiny. Perhaps because of what came before, I was expected to be let down as I expected the movie to come its end. But then the plot twists. And it does so quite well. I fell for some story-telling sleight-of-hand, and so the twist was truly unexpected. What evolved in the final act was the most entertaining and successful part of the whole film as plot elements which before seemed under-cooked began to evolve. The story’s concept is engaged to the plot’s extreme benefit in what is really some excellent screenwriting work by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen. The film’s mystery is at its most rich in these final forty-five minutes. They redeem the film, if I do say so myself, and make it well worth the watch.
The screenwriting is not all this well written. There are a few weak lines which mainly serve as your basic dramatic padding. And there are too many puns revolving around eyes. While not a fault of the writers, the screenplay does not always seem to match well with the direction by Spielberg and the editing by Michael Kahn, most evident to me in the scenes in the greenhouse and the surgeon’s apartment. The production gives these scenes (and more) a faster pace than the writing warranted. These issues of pacing, if it is not yet apparent, seem to be the most impressionable issues of the film as I look back on it.
There are moments of the score by John Williams which really standout as mature and individual in his ouerve. At other moments, you can hear that he was rushed into this score from his work on Attack of the Clones. They are stylistic siblings, genetically linked. The design of this film also stands out. The movie, if anything, is the realization of a great effort of cinematic future-building. Beyond the production design, the visual style itself is inspired yet sometimes gets in the way of the film’s clarity with Kamiński’s overlighting and desaturating with the film.
Each of these elements - from writing to visuals and more - supports the overall film well but also each have their moments of weakness which work to unwind the film. In short, this film has taken the back-seat in Spielberg’s filmography, likely due to its inconsistency and an occasional strangeness which can be off-putting for viewers. The weaker scenes reveal the dissonance between art and action. But there are elements which are strange in just the right ways, and where the art and the action merge is the realm of pure mystery and cinematic tension, the latter of which for sure is right in Spielberg’s wheelhouse.
Worth a watch? Definitely. Worth remembering? I can see why it hasn’t been. Worth reviving? I think so. Whether the new television show does that, I have yet to see. But looking back to the film is certainly a fair use of anyone’s time.
363. John Williams, London Symphony Orchestra - Cantina Band
La La Land Records is releasing a 25th Anniversary Edition of John Williams’ score for Schindler’s List. You can buy it from Tuesday 27th November.
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I realized that “rewrite the stars” in the Greatest Showman suits Ben and Rey’s relationship alot…
Recording session for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)– composed and conducted by John Williams; performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Voices
In this extra from the DVD release for The Phantom Menace, we take a small glimpse into the recording session for the first Star Wars prequel’s score. George Lucas make a brief appearance just before the recording, as he assures Williams that “Duel of the Fates” will have echoes in what eventually became Revenge of the Sith (2005). In traditional film scoring, the orchestra/chorus/ensemble will most likely not see any of the music until the day of recording (so that movie studios can cut the costs on an expensive recording process). So there is a good chance all of the above is sight-reading.
“Duel of the Fates” contains one of the few examples of sung text in a Star Wars score as the orchestra passes complex harmonies back-and-forth amongst each other. Its lyrics are taken from Robert Graves’ translation of a medieval Welsh epic poem, Cad Goddeu (The Battle of the Trees). Sections of that translation are sung, maestoso, here by the London Voices in Sanskrit:
[Under the tongue root a fight most dread
While another rages behind in the head]
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah
Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah
Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah
Korah Keelah Daanyah
“Han Solo and the Princess”fromThe Empire Strikes Back (1980) – composed, conducted, and arranged by John Williams; performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra; solo violin by Anne-Sophie Mutter
Since 2017, John Williams has collaborated with German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter for various classical music compositions. In addition to those works, Williams has also reworked select cues from his film music for Mutter’s talents. In this case, he arranges “Han Solo and the Princess” (The Empire Strikes Back’s love theme) for orchestra and solo violin.
“Main Title”fromStar Wars (1977) – composed and conducted by John Williams; performed by the Vienna Philharmonic
The Vienna Philharmonic is one of the most prestigious orchestras in the world. With that prestige comes practices unique to the orchestra itself. Among those unique practices is that the Vienna Phil has never employed a principal conductor/music director – all conductors are invited by the musicians themselves. In addition, the musicians themselves program all of the music they play. As such, the Vienna Phil is one of the more conservative of the world’s major orchestras (in that they seldom play contemporary classical music, let alone film music).
So what a head-spinning headline it was when, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, they asked John Williams to conduct them in two concerts of his film music. Williams joined the rare company of the likes of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Wilhelm Furtwängler of Vienna Phil conductors conducting their own music (and probably the most recent since Leonard Bernstein).
On the 45th anniversary of the theatrical debut of Star Wars, no other composer has opened doors to the classical music scene for film music as Williams has, and no other composer’s work for cinema has been so readily accepted into the growing classical music canon as that of John Williams.
gffa:
John Williams directing the Obi-Wan theme, I AM LEGITIMATELY EMOTIONAL RIGHT NOW.
14 Years Ago…
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008, dir. Steven Spielberg)
25 Years Ago…
The Lost World: JP (1997, dir. Steven Spielberg)
Steven Spielbergshot most of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrialfrom the eye-level of a child to create a stronger connection with Elliot and the titular alien…
gffa:
John Williams directing the Obi-Wan theme, I AM LEGITIMATELY EMOTIONAL RIGHT NOW.
OKAY OKAY THE SHEER MUSICAL GENIUS OF THIS THOUGH
The piece starts out with a recurring motif inspired from bits and peices of the original Force Theme - particularly the last swell before the ending of the original theme we all know so well.
But instead of rising then gently descending to resolve as the original theme did, this motif descends, and descends, because Obi-Wan himself does - diminished, lost, grieving alone and unwilling to reach out to the Force the way he did before the fall of the Jedi. The phrases are more disjointed, more piecemeal - the great theme of the Force broken asunder by Order 66, alive only in warped echoes and peices of its once whole glory.
But, as this new theme progresses, we begin to hear a new motif with trumpets - approaching, rising, like warlike steps, that we think should end in a great clash but only culminates in a quiet, almost atonal wash of violins - the same dissonance calling back to the immolation theme that played when Obi-Wan left Anakin burning on Mustafar.
BecauseObi-wan realises Anakin is alive. The darkness that approached - that Obi-Wan dragged himself out of his stupor to face - is no other than Anakin. And in that moment he remembers and grieves afresh, as the theme brings us back to Mustafar.
But where does the memory of Mustafar lead us?
The dissonance and atonal theme of Mustafar merges into a chorus of trumpets - playing the penultimate few notes of the Force theme far more clearly than the beginning of the peice, again and again, climbing as the violins do, as Obi-Wan finds new purpose - or perhaps understanding that his purpose never changed.
But even as this steady echo of the Force theme progresses, it does not fully resolve, instead mirroring the warlike step notes of trumpets we saw in the middle of the peice.
Obi-Wan and Anakin. Their themes perfect foils to each other and yet still perfectly matched as brothers are.
The theme does not resolve - it does not balance itself - because it is not yet time for the Force to be fully balanced. Balance will only come to the Force when Vader becomes Anakin again for the love of his son.
gffa:
John Williams directing the Obi-Wan theme, I AM LEGITIMATELY EMOTIONAL RIGHT NOW.
OKAY OKAY THE SHEER MUSICAL GENIUS OF THIS THOUGH
The piece starts out with a recurring motif inspired from bits and peices of the original Force Theme - particularly the last swell before the ending of the original theme we all know so well.
But instead of rising then gently descending to resolve as the original theme did, this motif descends, and descends, because Obi-Wan himself does - diminished, lost, grieving alone and unwilling to reach out to the Force the way he did before the fall of the Jedi. The phrases are more disjointed, more piecemeal - the great theme of the Force broken asunder by Order 66, alive only in warped echoes and peices of its once whole glory.
But, as this new theme progresses, we begin to hear a new motif with trumpets - approaching, rising, like warlike steps, that we think should end in a great clash but only culminates in a quiet, almost atonal wash of violins - the same dissonance calling back to the immolation theme that played when Obi-Wan left Anakin burning on Mustafar.
BecauseObi-wan realises Anakin is alive. The darkness that approached - that Obi-Wan dragged himself out of his stupor to face - is no other than Anakin. And in that moment he remembers and grieves afresh, as the theme brings us back to Mustafar.
But where does the memory of Mustafar lead us?
The dissonance and atonal theme of Mustafar merges into a chorus of trumpets - playing the penultimate few notes of the Force theme far more clearly than the beginning of the peice, again and again, climbing as the violins do, as Obi-Wan finds new purpose - or perhaps understanding that his purpose never changed.
But even as this steady echo of the Force theme progresses, it does not fully resolve, instead mirroring the warlike step notes of trumpets we saw in the middle of the peice.
Obi-Wan and Anakin. Their themes perfect foils to each other and yet still perfectly matched as brothers are.
The theme does not resolve - it does not balance itself - because it is not yet time for the Force to be fully balanced. Balance will only come to the Force when Vader becomes Anakin again for the love of his son.
