Howard L
Forumsvar Lagt Inn
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Innlegg
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* It’s tricky to balance one’s fandom with objective analysis, and there were perhaps moments where I felt the salutations were somewhat over-the-top (again, maybe that’s an American thing…we’re more “sober” over here).
Word has reached me that some among our hobbyists are taking him to task for what one characterized his editorializing. I understand that as a legitimate literary criticism. But I simply can’t cast that critical an eye here. Especially because I tended to agree with him 99% of the time! Consider it a loss of objectivity on my part, I celebrate this stuff too easily. 🙂
First and foremost and hands down because of the impression it made upon this then-kid, for me it’s think Lalo think Mission:Impossible. Every Sunday night. That show and theme were monstrous hits. Later in life I’d accidentally discover his Rollercoaster on a cable TV channel and it was instant LP purchase.
I think Tim could have been more confident in his own opinions – one doesn’t always have to say what people “out there” thought of it.
Good point. As you also noted, his personal thoughts on scores added a true flavor for what I would think would be the primary targeted audience—us. That includes other composers. It is something we’ve done in our own little hobbyist way. And as to photos: tell me you didn’t get a kick out of 12-year-old Johnny’s face on diploma day. Cute kid. But then the photo of I believe John’s oldest son is astonishing. They are dead ringers! It’s like in movies when the same actor plays his father or grandfather.
In answer to the topic question, the FSM website’s has been the one I’ve limited myself to, while moviemusic.com’s pretty much served as the go-to substitute when FSM’s went down for an extended period. And a fine substitute it proved to be. Trust me, I could have joined others but “real life” demanded balance with this peculiar hobby of ours. Similarly, I never joined any of the famous composer societies out there as I also wanted to celebrate all composers of really good film music. But still felt I could go toe-to-toe with any composer’s most devoted adherents when it came to serious discussions.
Yes, he didn’t get off the chronological beaten path so much as weave in and out while always managing to get back to the time period at hand. Good, creative transitioning on his part what with so much material to cover.
Oh, my. If I recall correctly, the live ascent of one of the space shuttles had me illustrating an answer at that time to the questions you posed almost 25 years ago. And of late I eagerly awaited reading the part on Stepmom in the John Williams bio and was anything but disappointed; in fact, author Greiving’s description matched up well with the post from 1999 that spawned your post, Thor.😎
Yikes, I would never consider Rosenthal a one-hit wonder, not with a score like The Miracle Worker to go with Titans though the latter does stand out as a listening pleasure for sure. The former’s a truly memorable accomplishment for a from-stage-to-screen production if ever there were.
That is wonderful. And how often do you get to see a conductor doing a nice, clear, distinctive 4/4 tempo! The “moody” chords you describe add an aura of mystery and wonder while driving at night to the soundtrack. One of my favorite moments is when the Steve Martin character gazes out the window at the sunrise while laying in the hospital bed. That music/scene comes on the heels of the young lady gazing emptily at the ceiling from her apartment bed. Great segue from one to the other, both image-wise and musically.
I’m a huge, huge fan of Grand Canyon. Added so much to the film. Wonderful fanfare at picture’s climax that exploded when closing credits commenced.
The ongoing zingers coming from his pal and contemporary Andre Previn were something else. Ugh, he sounded like all the other classical music snobs in their putdowns. Say it ain’t so, Andre! But they also came off as good-natured, i.e., he respected Williams so much and felt JW would not reach his full potential by sticking with film scores. And there had to be the professional jealousy factor, too. Can’t hide from that.
I’m not “into” classical music, per se, while most certainly not a foreigner to it. Still, I must confess abject total listening ignorance to—and worse—knowledge of the classical symphonic works, concertos, etc. in the Williams portfolio. Such is the case of the inveterate film music aficionado. The sections detailing them were hardest to read through. Still, what a kick I got out of reading how he would hear a terrific solo performance and then contact the musician with the proposition that he compose a work just for that violinist or cellist or pianist or trumpeter or whatever else. Their reactions to being contacted by John Williams!
But to this end, I love how you highlight his early TV work as I was a youngster who “discovered” him thanks to The Time Tunnel much as I had Bernard Herrmann (and Jerry Goldsmith) even as a younger youngster owing to Twilight Zone. Never missed an episode of either show. So when SW arrived and then his collaboration with Spielberg took off, in particular, I was already aware of the name Johnny/John Williams.
It is neat, in retrospect, to have grown up at the same time his career was growing up.
Although never having seen Le Droit D’aimer, I know its score because Sarde re-used its main theme for same in Lovesick (1983) and is a huge favorite of mine. Oh is it ever. Was as smitten with it that evening at the cinema as was Dudley Moore’s character with Elizabeth McGovern’s.
You guessed well. Still have the album collection, buried both elderly parents, am now in the “elderly” living situation myself having qualified for the USA version of gov’t. health care and pension (the latter inadequate on its own, caramba!). And all the hobbyist writing about film music over 2+ decades seems to have energized me into recently completing a two-volume memoir about growing up in the 60s-early 70s followed by amateur baseball coaching that carried into the 80s and 90s. Before film music took over!
Oh I’m kind of hard up for excitement these days and think I’ll stick to the Norwegian Code. Thanks anyway!
I must say I enjoyed meeting the challenge of registering while receiving instructions in Norwegian. I may not speak it but got the idea of what to type with not too much difficulty. Same thing happened, in a way, when I visited the Soviet Union back in ’85. Of course, the stakes were just a wee bit higher in that place. Yeesh.
Oh, my. Kinsinger and I treated your earnest inquiry as a straight line to be met by our tag-team brand of messageboard wit. We could really launch into it at the slightest provocation. Took the edge off of all the serious posts and replies that were so plentiful back in them early days. Unfortunately, it was done at your expense in that thread!
