How on EARTH could be his Superman score beaten by Midnight Express? I can even understand why Raiders lost to Chariots of Fire (Vangelis is another genius), but Superman? Seriously? Possibly the most iconic main theme ever, along with The good, the bad and the ugly. WHAT was the Academy thinking??
shareI watched Chariots of Fire again the other day (for the first time in what seems ages - it was never a movie I liked, I was just curious to see if my feelings about it would change, so I bought the bluray for a relatively low price). What I was surprised to realize is that the famous theme only plays over the opening and closing credit sequences. So, I'd say that as a work of film scoring it has nothing on Raiders in terms of impact and the intricacies of the way themes and motifs are developed. The "Map Room/Dawn" cue is arguably Williams's most brilliant moment, certainly the most powerful marriage of image and music in any movie that year.
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