/

Announcing the John Williams Blog-a-Thon

Let us delve into the depths of the man’s work, let us explore his psyche, let us find out what makes him tick.

John Williams

I was 4 years old when I first heard a John Williams composition in a cinema. I had been to the movies before, and my parents had let me watch a whole bunch of films on Turkish television way past my bedtime. One Friday, just before they dropped me off at kindergarten, they told me my two uncles would be coming over from Istanbul, and we would be going to the movies. Daze the kid with sturm und drang, so that you could get hammered peacefully. I was brought up in such a traditional Turkish household.

Anyway, I remember being so excited that day—the film, it turned out, was Raiders of the Lost Ark. I remember but a few moments from the actual experience of watching the film for the first time, but I remember the music—I always remember the music.

A few days ago, Matt Zoller Seitz and I got to talking about John Williams. We both realized how rich Williams’ work has been, and how no one has approached it critically on the blogosphere. So, here is the challenge, me darlings: a John Williams blog-a-thon—from his early days scoring TV shows and then disaster movies, to his latter-day masterpieces such as Catch Me If You Can or Munich, as well as the influence he was wielded on not just film music, but the artform itself. Let us delve into the depths of the man’s work, let us explore his psyche, let us find out what makes him tick.

Advertisement

As we head into the Memorial Day weekend (from May 26-May 30 to be precise), let’s celebrate John Williams in style!

Post your pieces on your own blogs unless you need a place to host a piece, and then we will be pleased to place them at Edward Copeland on Film, though they will be subject to editing. More details to come.

This article was originally published on The House Next Door.

Advertisement

Ali Arikan

Ali Arikan is the chief film critic of Dipnot TV, a Turkish news portal and iPad magazine, and a regular contributor to RogerEbert.com. Ali’s work has appeared in IndieWire, Fandor, Chicago Sun-Times, Vogue, Vulture, Sabah of Istanbul, and The Times of London.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.