Shannon Nutt

Great picks...after seeing HUGO, I wanted to know who did that score, and it was Shore. I hope he gets the Oscar.

Ash Ketchum

The only Williams soundtrack I ever bought was THE FURY (1978). Never considered buying any others.

Sondheim

I think "hummability" is overrated - I guess it's nice if a composer can create something good and catchy that has you humming as you leave the theater, but I've had enough bad and/or annoying music stuck in my head that "hummability" isn't going to be a major factor when I evaluate music. In fact, many of my favorite composers of film music (and classical music, particularly "modern classical" music) aren't, as far as I know, particularly known for the catchiness of their music (even if some of the music has become culturally iconic, as in Herrmann's Psycho score.)

I think Vertigo is one of the best film scores ever, because it's a perfect complement to the film and enhances without overwhelming everything else going on. It also one of those rare cases where the score both captures and reiterates the themes of the film. Whereas I find that a lot of Williams' best work deals in vague, grand, sweeping emotions that can (and do, considering the similarity of a lot of his scores) fit a whole lot of films, the style of Vertigo's score is very specific to the film. No, I don't ever find myself humming it (though it is one of the few scores I have on my iPod), but it's a great score nonetheless.

I like Williams - his style is perfect for certain films - I just think there are a lot of other really great composers out there too.

Nick Martin

Never liked that theme.

Supermallet

I completely agree (and I assume we would agree on who composes the best musicals based on your screenname). I think the best film score isn't even a film score at all, but Kubrick's use of music in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Terrell

Yes, and he pimp slaps ever other deadbeat that's been mentioned in this thread. That doesn't mean there aren't other great composers, but he's the best.

5 Oscars, 4 Golden Globes, 7 Baftas, 21 Grammys, and 47 Oscar nominations says it all, and that has nothing to do with how hummable his music is. The only reason his music is even considered hummable is because he's scored many of the most iconic and memorable films of all time.

Supermallet

TGM

John Williams clearly raped Supermallet's mother. It's the only excuse behind such vitriol.

Sonic

1) John Williams - It's hard to beat that Superman soundtrack.

2) Hans Zimmer - The Rock soundtrack is very moving.

Nick Martin

Try some dedicated film score boards. People get far too personal with their hatred of film composers, their music and their personalities. Supermallet isn't coming remotely close to anything people typically say.

Of course Williams is considered a god - Terrell's comments (as extreme as they are because of how insulting they are toward anyone else's opinion) are actually not far off for most film music fans' opinions of Williams.

Supermallet

Why do you poke at old wounds? I'll never forgive that bastard.

JeffTheAlpaca

Anyone catch the AFI salute to John Williams on TNT?

Hardly any promotion or commercials and it just showed up tonight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG8IL9_tjfg

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eG8IL9_tjfg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ash Ketchum

Posts #2 and #3 got it right 13 years ago!

Solid Snake

I think Williams is a great composer and he probably the most iconic in the industry by what he's joined. He's easily the most memorable and that's not bad. But he's also something different from Herrmann and Morricone. Those two weren't so locked or comfortable in maintaining in the same sandbox.

They experimented all the time. Seriously... how wild were some of the things Morricone put into Once Upon A Time in the West? Shit ton of details that are obvious and some not so obvious. Just... amazing.

I'm not saying he's not a great composer or that he doesn't "experiment" a bit... but he plays in a sandbox that he stays in and it's not bad. He's got this thing/style/whatever. I can tell a Williams track pretty fast after catching the tempo and sounds or whatever. There's a mix he uses and it is entirely him and his own. He's bandstand and he's a lot of fun. And he's talented and memorbale. And that's fine... but Morricone is fucking Morricone. And Herrmann is Herrmann.

Yes. Williams is great and only he could create the memorable things he has created but there's a slight gap in quality compared to those two that Ash quoted for. It's not bad. He's Americana for better or worse. And I love that.

Williams is confined in the best ways and the other two aren't. Which to me.... gives them the edge. And maybe that's just cuz it's in the level of admirement I have for what they played with and executed in or maybe I just prefer them more as just pieces of work? I don't know.

Either way... Williams to me is more fun than the other two. Another thing that just shows what Williams is. He's like candy you grew up with from the states in whatever era you want to take it from. Take that as you will. The other two are so fucking different that they're just as good but goddamn do I love some of our candy here too.

Ash Ketchum

Well said, and with only three profanities! And no mention whatsoever of fellatio or anal sex. You're getting better, Snake.

dom56

What do you think of Michael Giacchino? I loved his work on the Lost tv show, did a lot of scores for Pixar films. My favorite was The Incredibles.

OldBoy

i recorded it, but would like to know if worth watching. sometimes these tributes can be torturous...

Solid Snake

He is alright compared to someone like Williams or Herrmann or Morricone. He's solid as fuck and possibly underappreciated due to how he's maybe NOT that memorable in the culture but he's solid as fuck. I honestly couldn't tell you a Giacchino score out of a list that you'd make me here. I know he's good but he's not someone I remember. That sounds dismissive on his quality but it's also kind of like how he just feels so right for the visuals he plays with that it just melds into the whole thing.

CCGoldRush

Longtime lurker, but had to chime in.

Just by volume alone, Williams has to be consider at least the most prolific of all time.

Personally, I find Thomas Newman much more memorable and enjoyable -- Shawshank, Green Mile, Road to Perdition, even the newer Bond movies have been very good. He was always IMO the best at being distinctly American.

I also think Peter Gabriel is a hell of a composer, he just doesn't have the resume. Birdy, Last Temptation of Christ and Rabbit Proof Fence is still a hell of a filmography.

Mike86

I think he has to be considered one of the best at least. The man has composed some of the most memorable movie themes ever. Who else can say they're responsible for the iconic themes for films like Superman, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jaws, Jurassic Park, etc.? Maybe there are some that are technically better or more experimental but Williams themes will live on for ages.

E Unit

I think he did a great job with the Star Trek reboot theme and The Incredibles. But just about all of his other stuff I don't care for. In fact, I can't recall any good themes from him other than those two.

My personal fave is Vangelis. With Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire, and 1492, those are scores that are uniquely his own. They have a life of their own. Plus so many other great scores.

Solid Snake

He is. I'd think so. While I don't think he's better than say... Morricone... I don't think it's a bad thing that he's probably the most recognized and memorable of the bunch. He really created some amazing work that hits emotional cores in varied forms and it just resonates so well. At the same time... is genuinely American, based on his style and himself as well, to the point where he is so goddamn unique. He feels of another time. In such a good way. He's Americana. And that's not bad. I love him for it. He's of times past. But always feels close to you because of it.

Much like Spielberg... he gets that awe out of you. More so as as child. He makes you feel it. He gets the wonder and spectacle. I don't think many composers, even the ones that are better than him can do that. And that makes him one of the best. It adds to his talent that is all his own.

Ash Ketchum

Per IMDB, Ennio Morricone has 529 composing credits. He did over a dozen films a year during the 1960s and 70s. He did 17 films in 1967 alone and 23 in 1975! I'm sure it's not even a complete list. Talk about prolific.

John Williams has 142 composing credits.

Solid Snake

Yeah. I'm not sure how he did that. Like... that's a shit ton. Was Morricone like the HK action industry in the 1980s. Just pumping out tracks like it was nothing? I seriously don't understand how anyone can do that. ESPECIALLY knowing how we do it here. I'm guessing...the Italians did it much different than we did here?

Seriously... how fucking busy is that kind of man? To have THAT much work.

CCGoldRush

I didn't realize it was THAT much, even though a vast majority of that 529 have never been seen in the US, let alone by major audiences.

I love Morricone as well, but Williams has produced far more successful and well-known scores.