On the whole, I would agree with you. But in musical terms, I think the most popular in style is someone who produces the most memorable simple and hummable melodies. Here it is for debate; but where Williams gets 40+ Oscar nominations compared to Rota's 1, I see an immense injustice. I think I'm right to declare my personal emphusiasm for Rota even though some of his `circus' music for Fellini, for example, is not everyones cup of tea; because he is so unfairly recognized. But to continue to elevate Williams is...

wow, this thread has had a life of its own since I started it. In the end, I still think Williams is the man. Its very rare indeed that i hear a soundtrack that has as big an impact on me and the film as some of the ones JW has done. In the making of featuret on 25th Ann. Jaws they talk about how they showed the movie to the studio guys without the score... and they walked out saying something like, "ummm....so?". Include williams score and you have one of the great films of all time. I think Spielberg's quote was something about how the score was atleast "half" the movie. not bad.

I really liked his score for the Patriot too. People never really seem to talk about it much, but I thought it was great. I didnt even know it was his until well after i saw the film and was looking it up on imdb. lol! In any case, to each their own I guess. Williams is my fav movie composer... and 2nd fav composer over-all (no one will ever surpass Ludwig). other peeps like diff guys, and thats ok too.

j

• Quoth Sheky •<HR SIZE=1>John Williams isn't fit to shine Jerry Goldsmith's shoes! <HR SIZE=1>

That would be along the lines of my response. Williams is certainly the king of hummable themes for blockbuster films, but as a diverse composer, I think he's lacking. He's in the conversation, I guess, but I wouldn't have him in my Top 5 ... maybe a Top 10. While I'd be tempted to choose one of the greats like Waxman as my top guy, I will be forever amazed at Goldsmith's willingness to take chances and succeed in so many different styles. Lay out the scores to The Omen, Planet of the Apes, Poltergeist, The 'burbs, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and it's awe-inspiring to think that the same guy composed these vastly different scores. If you want a hummable theme, he'll give you the Trek theme or the Alien theme, but if you want something hauntingly unique, he can serve up Planet of the Apes.

While his association with Spielberg and Lucas has positioned him as the most recognizeable big budget composer, I suspect many (not all) of those proclaiming Williams the best ever haven't taken the time to listen to the volumes of great work they're comparing him against. Hummable themes and large, recognizeable scores are necessary, but they're not everything. Some composers have to step outside the box and try something more unique for all the other films, and of those composers, Goldsmith is may favorite. The complete score to Star Trek: The Motion Picture takes my breath away. It's often dismissed because it's Trek, and people only remember the main theme, but taken in its entirety, it's a profound piece of work.

das

Ennio could kick Jonny boy's melodious ass in a Compose-Off any day, my friends. Then he'd write a theme for it longer than the fight itself.

... Because as we all know, poularity is the measure of quality.

So Would I, Bernard Herman wrote and conducted the music to "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and a few others. He bests John Williams anyday IMHO!

I really like what Ennio did in the good the bad and the ugly... but at the same time I think that movie would have been great with no music at all.... sergio made one hell of an impact with his visual presentation. That, and other than the main part of the score that we all know and love, I didnt really find it all that profound or memorable. Sorta the same deal with Herrmann, his stuff is definitely functional but doesnt do much for me beyond that. I think when Williams creates a score for a film, he looks at the score as a sort of an equal to the visual portion of the movie.. while most other composers seem to be trying to support the visual part of the film... depending on the film/director/intent etc is, either approach is entirely viable. I dont think Williams should lose 'cool points' for "not having range"... there is something he does, and hes great at it. The greeks were great at building certain kinds of temples and therefore deserve a certain degree of respect for their architectural greatness in spite of what quality their other types buildings may or may not have had.

j

Understatement of the month!

I love John Williams, but I love Hans Zimmer too so I might not be the best person to comment

here's an excellent link to the music of [Yustafev Gustannavich]; have a listen to these before you tell me a European cinema composer cannot be as `classic' as Williams...

http://www.epdlp.com/rota.html

Yes he is awesome but lately the only films he scores are Spielberg and George Lucas flicks and for movies he did work for in the past like Harry Potter and Superman.

it seems like he is not being hired by other directors.

Is he thinking of retiring?

I hope his health is ok.

John Williams: As great in 2009 as he was way back in 2003.

Yup

For me, Nino Rota is the best composer of all-time. In fact, Williams doesn't even crack the top 5 of Rota, Hermmann, Morricone, Schifrin, and Elfman

JEFF SCHWARTZ!!!!!

I don't think anyone has Williams beat for "catchy" cinematic themes. Aside from Howard Shore's work for Lord Of The Rings all my favorite themes come from JW.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he's the best ever at scoring overall.

Amen to that. Nobody tops The Maestro.

As good as I think Williams is there are still other composers I prefer over him, but I recognize his achievements in cinematic scoring and I think most of his work is fantastic and timeless.

I like John Barry myself. His James Bond music was great.

I love when they have Philip Glass music in a movie. It adds a ton especially if the movie is kind of creepy and/or edgy to begin with (like Thin Blue Line or Candyman).

The Superman composition is the most inspiring everz.

Williams for the win.

Fatality: EMOTIONESS

Williams is a competent craftsman and has done a few scores I've liked (e.g. De Palma's THE FURY), but I'd place him way down on the list of great movie music composers. Here are some better ones:

My eternal top 3:
Bernard Herrmann
Ennio Morricone
Miklos Rozsa

Other great ones:
Hugo Friedhofer
Alfred Newman
Max Steiner
Victor Young
Franz Waxman
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Elmer Bernstein
Jerry Goldsmith
Jo Hisaishi
Taro Iwashiro
Taku Iwasaki
Akira Ifukube

to name a few...

Nice pick. The Memories of Murder soundtrack, in particular, is both beautiful and haunting.

I also agree with whoever said Michael Nyman six years ago.

Who?

Howard Shore (only the Cronenberg films & Silence of the Lambs)

I was entirely unaware of the fact until this past week when we bought the DVD release, but...

Dude! John Barry scored Howard the f'n Duck!

Otherwise, I readily concede to not having enough working knowledge of the history of composers to even rank anyone. What I do know is this:

John Williams may or may not be the "best," but his work is certainly among the most iconic.

Furthermore, his masterpiece work was Jurassic Park. Sometimes I think we say he hasn't done anything interesting since then simply because that's entirely too high a bar to reach.

James Horner's masterpiece, for the record, is Glory.

Danny Elfman's is Batman. This isn't a fanboy preference; the score is simply the only one of his that's fully complete and shows some breadth. The bulk of his scores are interesting themes bridged by atmospheric--but otherwise unremarkable--sounds.

Jerry Goldsmith's is Star Trek: The Motion Picture. "Ilia's Theme" alone is a simply gorgeous work; this is the starting point for that score.