Did anyone else dislike John Williams' score?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Born on the Fourth of July
indisposedinmymind — 12 years ago(March 10, 2014 09:26 AM)
It seemed too syrupy and was often at odds with the movie, especially when documenting the uglier part of Kovic's post-war life. It's funny I've often criticized Spielberg for being too sentimental and a lot of the time I think it comes from John Williams' scores ; they seem a little too operatic for some movies.
I'm probably gonna get flamed for this (I noticed there's a thread of people talking about how much they were awed by Williams score), but sometimes I just wish directors (like Stone and Spielberg) would realize what they have on-screen and drop the manipulative tricks it's unnecessary and usually taints otherwise excellent films.
IS THIS SOMETHING YOU CAN SHARE WITH THE REST OF US, AMAZING LARRY?!?! -
Midi77 — 11 years ago(October 14, 2014 12:34 PM)
I would agree, I thought it fit incredibly well for the first part of the movie and then became trite as Ron's innocent perspective changed. I hate to criticize the master, but simply augmenting instrumentation/tempo/ etc. with the same tireless theme did nothing to augment the progression of mood of the movie.
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Howard_Hand — 11 years ago(October 29, 2014 02:57 PM)
"Manipulative" is the most overused word to describe a film score. Nearly every element of a film from its cinematography to its sound design is designed to "manipulate" an audience.
I thought the film was brilliantly scored. The "syrupy" tone of the music is intentional, it represents Kovic's naive view of America. Its placement in the more graphic scenes is almost ironic; creating a contrast between Kovic's beliefs and the harsh realities of war.
I wish there were more scores like Born of the Fourth of July. Scores that take an active role in shaping their movies, rather than creating sonic wallpaper. -
uncleernie1973 — 10 years ago(May 07, 2015 06:52 AM)
I urge you to listen to the atonal music he did for the Vietnam sequence. I think the three films he scored for Oliver are some of his best scores. Born On The Forth, JFK, and Nixon. The piece he wrote for JFK title Arlington is a powerful piece.