PODCAST

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

Jeff Commings

Take a chronological journey through the 60-year career of film composer John Williams!

tv & film film history

All Episodes

35:22

Episode 74 - Home Alone 2

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/04/15

It was a natural and easy decision for John Williams to agree to write the score to "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" since the original film was so successful and garnered much praise for the Maestro's score. But, was his enthusiasm still there when he saw that the sequel was pretty much a rehash of the original in new locations? The answer seems to be a resounding yes. Though there are many musical moments directly lifted from the first film. Williams does his best to put in some new touches,

01:20:43

Episode 73 - Far and Away

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/04/08

John Williams had really hoped to take a break from film scoring in 1992. But when Ron Howard approached him about writing music for the tale of two Irish settlers in America, the Maestro could not say no. He realized his chance to write Irish music for a film about the Irish had finally arrived. That film is "Far and Away," starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Host Jeff Commings is joined by Colin Stokes as the two talk about the strengths of the score that elevate the clunky film and often mask

01:05:40

Episode 72 - JFK

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/04/01

The story behind the creation of John Williams' score for Oliver Stone's "JFK" is just as compelling as the score itself, an eclectic mix of styles that included a percussion-heavy theme for those believed to be involved in the plot to assassinate John F. Kennedy. That theme was so influential that it was copied by many composers in the years that followed, including Williams. Join host Jeff Commings and co-host Brian Martell as they analyze the six themes written before filming began, and how well

01:00:09

Episode 71 - Hook

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/03/25

The journey to bring "Hook" to the big screen was a long one -- 16 years, to be exact. It started out as a Steven Spielberg project in 1985, and was to be a retelling of the classic story … with Michael Jackson in the lead role! There was also a plan to make the story into a musical, an idea that stayed with Spielberg when he officially started work on it in 1990. John Williams brought on lyricist Leslie Bricusse to create eight songs for the film, and only two survived after the musical idea was

43:45

Episode 70 - Home Alone

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/03/18

John Williams planned to take a break from film scoring in the second half of 1990 to work on a concerto, but fate brought a screening of the comedy "Home Alone," and Williams could not resist the film about a boy who protects his house from burglars after his family accidentally takes off for Paris without him. The Maestro came to the project after Bruce Broughton had to step away due to scheduling conflicts, marking the second time in two years that Williams replaced Broughton on a film project

33:38

Episode 69 - Presumed Innocent

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/03/11

"Presumed Innocent" was a hot commodity in Hollywood, with several studios putting up big bucks for the film rights. Alan J. Pakula and Frank Pierson fashioned a decent film adaptation from a novel seemingly difficult to translate to the big screen, and Harrison Ford does well to shed his Indiana Jones image ... with the help of a new hairdo. For those who have not seen the film, it might be best to watch it before listening to this episode, as host Jeff Commings gives away several major plot points

26:40

Episode 68 - Stanley & Iris

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/03/04

John Williams had three film scores released in 1990, and each one presented different musical styles that continued to showcase Williams' ability to write music for any genre. He composed the score for "Stanley & Iris," his final collaboration with director Martin Ritt, in early 1989 after finishing work on "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." This score is almost the polar opposite of his work for Indiana Jones, presenting an often-innocent melody for Robert DeNiro's Stanley that has some musical

30:25

Episode 67 - Always

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/02/26

Steven Spielberg dipped into the romance genre with "Always," a remake of the 1943 Spencer Tracy film "A Man Named Joe." It seems like Spielberg rushed this film through post-production to get it into theaters before the Patrick Swayze film "Ghost," which featured many similar plot points. The seemingly rushed post-production likely affected John Williams, who wrote a score that is hard to grasp and features very few trademark Williams touches. Host Jeff Commings analyzes the love theme for the two

40:43

Episode 66 - Born on the Fourth of July

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/02/19

John Williams' fifth foray into the war film genre was "Born on the Fourth of July," featuring a somewhat restrained score shortly after his work on "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." His score features two haunting themes, one for strings and another for the trumpet. Tim Morrison, the principal trumpet player for the Boston Pops at the time, made his film score debut with a gorgeous performance. Williams' score is one of many excellent aspects of this film, including Oliver Stone's direction and

34:27

Episode 65 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/02/12

In what was believed to be the last film in the Indiana Jones saga, John Williams put together a quieter action score than what he wrote for the previous two films. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" featured a new stately theme for the Holy Grail and a new action melody for Indy's heroics. But host Jeff Commings points to the 12-minute prologue featuring a younger Indiana Jones as the best scene in any Indy film, thanks to the multiple sync points that Williams successfully navigated with the

59:49

Episode 64 - The Accidental Tourist

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/02/08

After director Lawrence Kasdan was unable to agree on a musical style with composer Bruce Broughton, John Williams stepped in to write a delicate score that many John Williams fans often forget is part of his filmography. Using a theme for the main character, a travel guide writer dealing with major grief, that starts out quietly on piano and builds to an incredible finale, co-hosts Jeff Commings and Maurizio Caschetto note that it is one of his best cues for a finale in his storied career. Join the

41:17

Episode 63 - Empire of the Sun

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/02/08

The 1987 war film "Empire of the Sun" was Spielberg's attempt to make another "grown-up" film after his success with "The Color Purple." In a sense, Spielberg retained his youthful vision with a teenage Christian Bale taking the lead in the story, but worked to keep the heavy drama intact. His unsteadiness with the direction spilled over into the final product of John Williams' score, as the music is heavily edited and doesn't show up for large portions of the film. Host Jeff Commings details the

01:00:43

Episode 62 - The Witches of Eastwick

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/02/05

After missing out on the opportunity to have John Williams score "The Color Purple," Jon Peters and Peter Guber made sure to get the Maestro for "The Witches of Eastwick," which the two produced. Host Jeff Commings notes this as his fourth-favorite John Williams score because the fun can be heard in every note. Commings is joined by Gianmaria Caschetto, who returns as co-host to talk about the structure of the theme for the three titular witches. The two also talk about the brilliant music for the

53:51

Episode 61 - SpaceCamp

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/01/29

The 1986 film "SpaceCamp" was a product of bad timing. Two months before its scheduled release, the real-life Challenger shuttle exploded, putting the future of the film in jeopardy. The producers decided to dump the film into theaters that summer, and didn't turn a profit. Host Jeff Commings and co-host Brian Thompson differ on their thoughts about the performance of the film had the Challenger explosion not happened, but agree that John Williams' score has bright points to heighten the film's

43:17

Episode 60 - The River

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/01/22

Probably the least stressful thing for John Williams in 1984 was composing the score to "The River," which reunited him with director Mark Rydell for the fourth and final time. Williams employed the talents of longtime collaborator Tommy Tedesco for the score's wonderful guitar solos, and created an Oscar-nominated score light years from the work he had done on his previous two films. The work kept his mind off the drama that unfolded earlier in the summer when he abruptly resigned as conductor of

01:09:53

Episode 59 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/01/15

Steven Spielberg has essentially disowned his work on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," but host Jeff Commings and guest co-host Erik Woods are here to convince you of the marvels within the film and the score. From the wonderful renditions of the Raiders March to the heroic melodies for the slave children and Short Round, there's plenty to appreciate about the score. We'll also talk about that cute throwback (or, since this is a prequel, a "throw-forward") to the sword trick fight from

43:24

Episode 58 - Return of the Jedi

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/01/08

The schedule to compose and record the score for "Return of the Jedi" was pushed up about a month, leaving John Williams with much less time to draft music to close out the original trilogy. The delays on finishing visual effects meant Williams couldn't get the full finished film at once, only about 30 minutes at a time. The rushed process near the end is evident in the music for the final 30 minutes or so, with jarring edits all over the place. Despite that, Williams did some great work on this

32:37

Episode 57 - Monsignor

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/01/01

The 1982 film "Monsignor" is the first straight drama containing a John Williams score in eight years. Besides what host Jeff Commings calls "the most depressing love theme John Williams has ever written," the Maestro wrote a bold piece for organ and choir to accompany the film's major climactic scene. The film features just 30 minutes of music, probably due to the limited time Williams had to compose the score outside of his work on "ET," his summer conducting the Boston Pops and the beginning of

01:04:50

Episode 56 - E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2020/01/01

Year Two of "The Baton" is here! And there is no better way to kick off the second half of this journey through John Williams' film career than with a discussion of "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial." Host Jeff Commings counts this score as his second-favorite, and believes the final 15 minutes of music is the most perfect composition ever created. David Kay joins this episode to break down the multiple themes composed for the film, and the melodic interval they all have in common. And, did you know that

36:23

Episode 55 - Heartbeeps

The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey ·

2019/12/25

We're closing out the first year of "The Baton" with another of John Williams' lesser-known works. "Heartbeeps" was a massive flop at the box office, but has some charms that were greatly helped by John Williams' music. The Maestro experimented with heavy use of synthesizers and keyboards, and also used a much smaller orchestra compared to his previous two films. The result is a love theme that has some tenderness when played on strings, or on keyboards. There's also a theme for the "villain," a

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The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

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