Happy Birthday, John Williams!

Today, we are celebrating the 80th birthday of five-time Academy Award-winning composer John Williams. Lauded as one of the greatest cinematic composers of all time, Williams has found a way to enter the collective public consciousness more often than any of his peers. While I could easily go through his list of work, I'd rather make this a more personal post. I've grown up listening to John Williams, and his work became a part of my life at an early age. I can remember listening to one of his "Greatest Hits" albums on family road trips, and it was from this particular CD that I garnered my initial appreciation for Williams's exceptional talent. My dad is just as taken by each John Williams score, so much so that he has associated a score with each of his three children. In his mind, I was given the score to the 1978 film, Superman, which has become one of my all-time favorites. The fact that this man has scored such iconic films as Jaws, Star Wars, the Indiana Jones series and, more recently, the start of the Harry Potter saga goes to show that he has quite a bit of range, and he is extremely well-respected throughout the Hollywood community. I mean, the man has nabbed a whopping forty-seven Oscar nominations in his career, bringing home the aforementioned five statuettes. There must be something brilliant about him, right? Most recently, we've heard his work in the 2011 films War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin, for both of which he received Oscar nominations. We'll next hear his work in the 2012 film, Lincoln. So, to celebrate his birthday, I've listed my ten favorite of John Williams's film scores, and I've provided a snippet of each for your listening pleasure. Once again, happy birthday, Mr. Williams. I look forward to hearing more of your work in the coming years.

10. War Horse
2011


*****

9. Schindler's List
1993


*****

8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2001


*****

7. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
1982


*****

6. Superman
1978


*****

5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977


*****

4. Jurassic Park
1993


*****

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981


*****

2. Star Wars
1977


*****

1. Jaws
1975


*****

And now, for your added viewing pleasure, I've included a fan video entitled "Star Wars (John Williams Is the Man)" by Corey Vidal that became an overnight Internet sensation a few years back. I just love this video, and it truly serves as a real tribute to John Williams's composing prowess. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Gene Hackman!

Today we're celebrating two-time Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman's 82nd birthday. Although he has not appeared in a film since 2004's Welcome to Mooseport, Hackman has had quite the storied acting career. His first film appearance came in an uncredited role in the 1961 film Mad Dog Coll, and he continued to appear in television shows and movies throughout the early 1960s. He made his first credited appearance in a theatrically-released feature film in 1964's Lilith but didn't make a major splash until his role as Buck Barrow in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination. He nabbed his first win four years later for his performance in 1971's The French Connection. Hackman worked consistently throughout his career, appearing in such high-profile films as 1978's Superman, 1986's Hoosiers and 1992's Unforgiven (which gave him his second Oscar). So, to celebrate his birthday, I've listed my five favorite of Gene's performances. I hope you enjoy the videos I've found. Once again, happy birthday, Gene!

5. Lex Luthor
Superman (1978)


***

4. Harry Zimm
Get Shorty (1995)


***

3. Little Bill Daggett
Unforgiven (1992)


***

2. Blind Man
Young Frankenstein (1974)


***

1. Royal Tenenbaum
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Movie Review: SUPERMAN

SUPERMAN

1978
PG


You can watch the trailer here

I realize that this is one of those movies that I probably should have seen ages ago, and in retrospect, I think I've seen bits and pieces over the years. However, I had not seen the entire film, so it was probably a good thing I put it onto my NetFlix queue. As usual, I have a few things I would like to say about the movie. The film was directed by Richard Donner.

Let's start with the story. By now (meaning 2010), everyone and their mother knows the basic story of Superman: he was born on the planet Krypton and sent to Earth by his parents as his home planet exploded. Once on Earth, he was taken in by a small-town farming couple who raised him into a young man. Upon the death of his surrogate father, he made his way north to the Arctic where he witnessed the construction of the Fortress of Solitude, where he would learn many of the secrets of his heritage. Upon reaching full adulthood, he entered the real world as Clark Kent, aspiring journalist. Taking up a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Kent continued life, balancing his day job with his alter-ego, Superman.

You can fill in the pieces where need be, but that's the basic gist of it. In this particular film, Superman takes on Lex Luthor (played well by Gene Hackman, who's given much too little screentime), who's planning to sink the western coast of California. I don't have any major qualms with the screenplay, but I don't think it was spectacular by any means. The first hour of the film, which shows the demise of Krypton and Kent's beginnings on Earth, prove to be the film's most intriguing pieces. Once "Superman" actually appears, everything loses a little bit of luster. Don't get me wrong, it's still entirely entertaining, but it goes from a movie with a hefty amount of drama to a somewhat goofy action flick. This would be totally fine if things didn't seem to go perfectly for Superman. Everything seemed a little too gift-wrapped as it happened; I would've liked to see a little bit more negativity thrown his way.

The acting is fine all-around. As I previously said, Hackman did a very good job as the evil genius plotting against the world, but his screentime left something to be desired. Maybe I'm just a little used to the 21st-century influence on superhero flicks where the bad guy spends a lot of time as the center of attention. The late Christopher Reeve is good as Superman/Clark Kent, and Ned Beatty provides a couple of laughs. If anybody's gonna take the acting cake this time around, it's Marlon Brando as the ill-fated Jor-El. His small role in the beginning of the film lays the groundwork for Superman's upbringing, and his presence on the screen is unmatched by anyone else in the movie. He is the godfather, after all.

The movie does have a couple things going for it. The special effects, although cheesy by 21st-century standards, were probably state of the art back in 1978. Aside from the obvious green-screen (well, probably blue-screen back then) effects with the flying, the rest of the effects are actually pretty well-done. However, the one major selling point for Superman is definitely the musical score. John Williams, who in the three years prior to this film had scored both Jaws and the original Star Wars film, continued his role of classic scores this time around. It may not be as memorable as the other two films I just mentioned, but it fits the Superman saga perfectly.

Although I have my grievances with the screenplay, Superman still set the standard for the superhero genre. It's only been in recent years that that bar has begun to be re-set, but this one should always be able to stand the test of time.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B+
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