Haunting. Memorable. His music is inspiring to me. When I saw the 4th movie (Patrick Doyle, composer), and the 5th (Nicolas Hooper, composer) in the Harry Potter series I knew there was something missing. For me it was in the music. This greatly affected my experience. I wasn’t brought into the story as emotionally involved as I had been before. This was such a disappointment to me. Nicolas Hooper has written the score for the second time.
His reviews are in:
His reviews are in:
All of the enveloping curiosity, the swirling whimsy, and the tangible sense of a growing threat is so marginalized by Hooper in comparison to his peers in the franchise that his two pedestrian scores are completely uneventful. They fill space but not memories. And let’s not get started on the absence of “magic” in the ambient tone.
—Christian Clemmensen, Filmtracks: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
‘Swirling’, ‘sweeping’ and ‘magical’ are words I have always used to describe Williams’ HP score. The key to the musical franchise is Hedwig’s Flight.
This is Hedwig ~
Harry’s pet owl.
Look how adorable Daniel Radcliffe was!
Thankfully some of JW’s themes are recurrent in the new score but why-oh-why maestro are you not at the podium once again for this movie?
I once saw Mr. Williams at a Hollywood Bowl concert a few years ago. We went around the back of the shell waiting for him like groupies while he came out the stage door. I knew if my boys had gone up and talked with him he would have been very approachable. My musical encounter of the third kind never did materialize. We all chickened out. There was just something about being that close to genius.
Enjoy the movie!
“Hedwig’s Theme” ~ John Williams
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You are so right! Music makes the movie! Themes that stick with us are written by great composers…who can’t hum “Lara’s Theme” from Dr. Zivago, or sing multiple songs from “Sound of Music?” (And if scary movies didn’t have really good scary music, how would you get the living daylights spooked out of you?)
I can’t wait for the new Harry Potter movie to come out! I think I will borrow a friend’s kids to go see it!
Sucha great post! I am going to the new one tonight! I will definately be more in tune to the music after reading this!
Oh I LOVE John Williams…so missed here in Boston. Keith Lockhart (Boston Pops)is just not the same, although we love him dearly!
Music does set my emotion when watching a movie, maybe because the first movies I remember seeing and loving were Mary Poppins and Oliver.
I still remember the scores of both.
The cinematic music channel is a favorite on satelite radio because of this.
Not to mention all that glorious Star Wars music!!! I rememeber when Hailey was almost 3, they were playing a tribute hour on NPR & when the main theme began she called to me from the backseat…
“Eesha..Tar wars!!!”
Now thats iconic!!!
Luke”s Theme still gets me misty.
TOTAL AGREEMENT. I was raised on Star Wars & Indiana Jones & I remember “feeling” the music in my seat at the theater. It was the ticket that would take us on a fabulous ride. So easy to suspend disbelief with John William’s music in your ears.