John Williams - The Mission

[aprilhala]

Dear Nicole Marie,<P>My sister told me you know everything, so I am going to ask you. I was sitting here, struggling through writing page 6 of a 15 page research paper, enjoying a little Beethoven radio to help the ol' brain cells. (It's the middle of the night at Beethoven Radio, because I live in Japan.) Suddenly, NBC Nigthly news music comes on, which was just a *tad* suprising. When I looked on the main page crawl, it said the music was by John Williams and was called "The Mission." Now I've never heard of him, but I clicked in the music log, and I see he has written music for movies like Star Wars (not that I've seen that, either). Is "The Mission" out of a movie, too? That would be really funny if it were.<P>Thanks,<BR>April

[EricMichaels]

Hi April.<BR>Yes, that was the theme to NBC News. John Williams wrote The Mission specifically for NBC, and although it sounds an awful lot like the music from ET, it hasn't appeared in any other films.<BR>That recording is on a Sony disc called American Journey, which also includes the 2002 Olympic Theme, Call of the Champions: <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005UN9G/beethovencom" TARGET=_blank>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005UN9G/beethovencom</A> <BR>

[Blackberry]

Eric,<P>I followed your helpful link to the John Williams CD and saw a special suggesting that I buy another CD as well, one called John Williams: Treesong. Can you tell us anything about that one? The official review from Amazon makes it look interesting, but that's what it's supposed to do.

[EricMichaels]

Unfortunately, Blackberry, I haven't heard it. Sony doesn't always see fit to send us everything, and that's one they skipped. <BR>Has anyone else heard it? I must say that I'm curious...<P>Eric

[DryadTree]

I haven't heard of TreeSong, but a fellow John Williams enthusiast suggested I buy The Five Sacred Trees. It is an amazing piece of music and I would highly recommend this CD. There are pieces from other composers on the CD as well but Williams is my favorite. (I also found the liner notes in the CD facinating)<P><A HREF="http://www.iclassics.com/iclassics/album.jsp?selectionId=14467" TARGET=_blank>iclassics (Five Sacred Trees)</A>

[shostakovich]

I can't pass up a chance to suggest a good movie with a good soundtrack. It's called The Mission (no relation to the John Williams news theme). It stars Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro, and deals with the Spanish slave trade in 17th C. So. America. A remote mission protects the Indians until religion and politics collide. The haunting music is by Mr. Spaghetti Western, Ennio Morricone (another example of film music reflecting the personality of the film rather than the composer).<P>Film worth seeing. Music worth hearing.<BR>Shos

[Blackberry]

I'll second that recommendation, though the movie was very slow (but then I may have been too young when I watched it). Beautiful cinematography, gorgeous music, and fine acting.

[Trinurse]

April, Your sister is correct. Nicole Marie does know everything.

[Nonamel]

I know John Williams wrote the music to the highly acclaimed Star Wars and Harry Potter movies, but what else did he write? I know I am forgetting the movie that made it all for him, but that shows how mindblank I must be right now.

[BenMurphy6]

<A HREF="http://us.imdb.com/Name?Williams,+John" TARGET=_blank>Here's a list of John Williams credits</A>

[Jeff Dutton]

"I know I am forgetting the movie that made it all for him, but that shows how mindblank I must be right now."<P>You must be thinking of the TV show <BR>"Gilligan's Island", right? <P>Jeff

[BenMurphy6]

yes, the list is astonishingly long...

[Nonamel]

Unbelievably long... However, number 154 happens to be "Gilligan's Island," I htought that it would be appropriate.

[brickroot]

actually it was 155 and why was 154 appropriate?