The Music of John Williams: 40 Years of Film Music

On the four disc that you get for your money, you are bombarded by william's talent for creating mood in the music that brings you so close to the film itself, you almost no longer need the pictures or the actors to see the film. His scores help to set the mood of the film and every note played every chord struck fits the action of the film exactly. Great examples are the raiders march, duel of the fates or hedwig's theme.

However, there is one very big drawback to this CD boxset, and that is the attention given to one of his greatest soundtracks. I'm talking about superman. This was a soundtrack that actually sounded as incredible as the film itself was. There was no sense of O.T.T about and neither was it underplayed and shadowed by the film, but it made the film as much what it was as christopher reeve playing the man of steel himself. The superman score makes you want to put a red bedspread round your neck and fly off the building. But here in the box set of his greatest work, john william's superman score is reduced to having just one track on one of the discs. At the very least it should have had fortress of solitude on there aswell!!!

But apart from that this is a truely a value for money CD collection.


"John Williams still riding high after 40 years ~ GREAT!"   October 11, 2003
J. Lovins (Missouri-USA)
20 out of 25 found this review helpful

Much like the John Barry Collection, this latest release from Silva America "The Music of John Williams:40 Years of Film Music", a four compact disc collection is also worth their weight in GOLD! Williams creates visual moods for each film he scores ~ strings, brass and lush-velvet arrangements overlay each cue in his distinctive style. Williams musical movements fit the story and must resolve rather quickly as each cue of the film passes quickly, as in Harry Potter and Star Wars. John has the ability to emphasis music in a similar fashion to Holst. Williams use of strings sets the mood and has the ability to make the whole scene come together.

John Williams compilation traces 40 years of film music, featuring "The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra" ~ conducted by Paul Bateman, Nic Raine and Mario Klemens (outstanding) ~ "Crouch End Festival Chorus" ~ David Temple (choir master) ~ perform 45 selections ~ 36 blockbuster films ~ most complete collection of Williams compositions ever assembled ~ over four hours of symphonic suites with full orchestra all individually wrapped-up into one neat package ~ Silva's collection covers all his major works and some lesser known but memorable cues ~ just the way "film-score-buffs" like 'em!

Take a bow Silva America, James Fitzpatrick (producer), Reynold da Silva (executive producer), Rick Clark (associate producer/compilation mastering) and of course the one and only legendary composer of the millennium ~ Mr. John Williams!

Total Time: 4-CD-Set ~ Silva America 810 ~ (10/07/2003)


Movie Music Magic & Memorabilia   December 13, 2006
Martin A Hogan (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules))
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This four CD set expands on the previously released John Williams Greatest Hits. It's a grand collection of nearly four hours of famous music scores from over forty years. There are many songs never before available in any collection. The short liner notes tell a great tale of musical movie history and include all of his numerous award nominations and wins. Each song (oddly enough) mentions the actors and the director, so fond are John Williams's memories of his work with these people. All of the conductors are mentioned along with specific orchestras, choirs, arrangement and orchestration specialists and even the publishers (contractual, I am sure). The only things missing are his early television scores, such as those for "Lost In Space" (by Johnny Williams back then). But with four discs, one has nothing to complain about and everything to enjoy!


John Williams: 40 Years of Outstanding Film Music   November 28, 2006
A. Mobasheri (Newark, United Kingdom)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I have been a huge fan of John Williams and I have known about his music for years. However, I never actually bought any of his music on CD. I was rather skeptical about purchasing this CD but when it arrived I knew I had made the right choice. The sound quality of the compilation is outstanding. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra do a great job under the direction of Paul Bateman. The original London Symphony Orchestra CDs of John Williams' Star Wars Trilogy CDs are marginally better but this is still a great CD compilation. If you love ET, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, you will love this compilation soundtrack. Buy it, listen to these CDs in the car and enjoy every minute of the collection!!!


40 years of wonder   November 8, 2006
Joe (Pleasant Grove, UT.)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I understand some might complain about the fact that John Williams is not the conductor for the 4-disc set, and that the conductors, Mario Klemens, Nic Raine, Paul Bateman, interpreted the music differently. However, I think it is an amazing tribute to one of the world's greatest composers. I love the music John Williams has composed in the last half-century and this set captures the beauty and power of his music. Being one who loves music, I couldn't pass this oppurtunity up. I highly recommend this CD set for anyone interested in listening to awe-inspiring music.