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JOHN WILLIAMS REVIEWS 1970-1974
In this latest installment of the new irregular series looking at the early career of some iconic composers, and in recognition of his 90th birthday this week, here is our look at the first part of second decade in the career of John Williams, and all the scores he wrote from 1970 through 1974.
The 1970s was the decade which really established Williams as a major composer in Hollywood film music circles; he moved mostly away from the light jazz scores that typified a great deal of his work in the 1960s, he dropped the cheerful name ‘Johnny Williams’ and became the much more serious ‘John,’ and he formed many of the directorial relationships that would result in much of his mainstream success – notably with a young and ambitions and incredibly talented kid from Cincinnati named Steven Spielberg.
Not included here are the scores where Williams adapted music by other people: Fiddler on the Roof (1971), where Williams worked with music by Jerry Bock and for which he received his first Academy Award for Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score, and Tom Sawyer (1973), where Williams adapted music Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, and for which Williams received an Academy Award nomination for Best Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. Read more…
JANE EYRE – Bernard Herrmann
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1941 independent producer David O. Selznick hired director John Houseman to write the script for his next project, a retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel, Jane Eyre; ultimately the screenplay was realized thanks to the collaboration of fellow director Robert Stevenson and writer Aldous Huxley. However, at this point of his career, Selznick was tired and seeking a respite from producing films. As such he sold production rights for Jane Eyre and several other films to William Goetz of 20th Century Fox. Kenneth MacGowan and Orson Welles were assigned to produce the film and Robert Stevenson was tasked with directing. Welles would star as Edward Rochester with Joan Fontaine as Jane Eyre. Joining them would be a fine cast which included Margaret O’Brien as Adele Verans, Peggy Ann Garner as young Jane Eyre, John Sutton as Dr. Rivers, Sara Allgood as Bessie, Agnes Moorhead as Mrs. Reed and Elizabeth Taylor as Helen Burns. Read more…
JANE EYRE – Dario Marianelli
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë’s timeless tale of love, madness and female empowerment, has been brought to life several times on the big screen, and inspired some excellent scores, most notably by Bernard Herrmann and John Williams. This new film, directed by Cary Fukunaga, stars Mia Wasikowska as the eponymous heroine, who was mistreated and downtrodden as a young girl in 17th century England, but eventually grows up to be the governess of a young girl at the rambling, imposing Thornfield Hall. Jane falls in love with the dashing master of the house, Rochester (Michael Fassbender), but as her relationship with the raffish gentleman develops, increasingly strange things begin to happen during the night in the dark and dusty corridors of Thornfield, testing Jane’s nerve, and her sanity. The film also stars Jamie Bell, Sally Hawkins and Judi Dench, and features a sumptuous, utterly beautiful score by Dario Marianelli. Read more…
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