Readers react: John Williams and the demise of the film score

Film music is a dying art

I appreciated Mark Swed’s column praising AFI’s selection of John Williams for a Life Achievement Award [“AFI Award: Music to His Ears,” June 9]. However, I believe Mr. Swed did not go far enough. A great score can significantly elevate a film’s impact, just as a poor one can similarly diminish it. That George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and precious few others have understood this speaks not only to their filmmaking acumen, but also to their generation of filmmakers, a generation whose formative years were not discolored by the current societal disdain for great music and art. It is sad to consider that the movie industry is now leading us away from that same great orchestral sound as a result of ill-prepared producers, sound designers and “music supervisors.” John Williams is our most important link not only to the film music past, but also to the notion that living, breathing musicians give life and breath to movie music that no electronic simulation can ever hope to duplicate.

Robert Elias

Santa Clarita

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The AFI’s tribute to John Williams’ illustrious career could be written in a minor key, as Mark Swed points out. Great film scores, once an integral part of the moviegoing experience, are now gone, no longer deemed important in our comic book culture. Can you imagine the thrill of “Jaws” without that ominous opening? Or the epic sweep of the original “Star Wars” without Williams’ rousing music score?

Leslie Gargan

Beverly Hills

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Mark Swed is on the mark when he reminds us that music is a vital component of films. I likewise stay for the end credits and am often dismayed to see perhaps only one name for the music and then often to see that the music was recorded by musicians in Romania or other Eastern European countries. Although there are great orchestras across the pond, the greatest musicians in the world are in Los Angeles. Before and during World War II, film production was the life bread of many expatriate composers and being an accomplished musician in Los Angeles meant making a living was possible. Today, not quite so much.

Kara Knack

Malibu

Dealing with terror in the U.S.

Mary McNamara’s review of the Tony Awards show [“A Unity of Spirit Among Participants Is Powerful,” June 13], made my jaw drop. Her intro put the spin of political correctness on the Orlando terror attack, defining it as “the deadliest shooting in American history” and referring to “this time of seemingly endless gun violence, of terrorism perpetrated by Americans against Americans.” I would remind her that radical Islam has declared war on the West — the U.S. in particular — and we must defend ourselves on penalty of the certain demise of ourselves and our freedom. And you cannot defeat an enemy whom you refuse to name.

Wynn Marlow

Sherman Oaks

The greatness of Bob Dylan

Great review of the Bob Dylan show [“It’s Never the Same Old With Dylan,” June 13]. I hope everyone who’s going to attend Desert Trip reads it. Great stuff!

Ivor Levene

Los Angeles

Make Americans act again

I agree with the previous letter [Feedback: “American Cast? A Genius Idea!” June 12] that both Jude Law and Colin Firth are terribly miscast in this film about the relationship between Thomas Wolfe and Maxwell Perkins. Why do producers keep casting Brits in American roles? I admired these actors when they were cast in their native tongues, but give us all a break and cast Americans next time.

Dennis Wong

Van Nuys

Lawsuit to heaven

[Regarding “‘Heaven’ or Penalty for Led Zeppelin,” June 11] . Why now, about 45 years after “Stairway to Heaven” was released? Why didn’t Randy Wolfe sue sometime during the 1970s or even the 1980s? I’ll bet it wouldn’t be difficult to find 10 seconds in one that was similar to 10 seconds in another. But then, it’s only worth looking at the blockbuster songs to see if you can get a piece of the pie.

Larry Keffer

Chatsworth

Puzzling over the crossword

Regarding: “Puzzler: Hybrid Crossing,” June 5”

Clever, but too many obscure names.

David Weaver

San Juan Capistrano

A new song on the way?

Now that Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris have reportedly split [“Quick Takes: Just Her, Him and 45,000 Retweets,” June 4], will we have to endure yet another song by Swift that spotlights the breakup? Advice to future suitors: Get a prenup from Swift that says you will not be the subject of a song in case things go south.

David Tulanian

Los Angeles

The Bard and the Donald revisited

The analogy to current politics and Shakespeare is clever yet offensive in the May 29 column “Could Shakespeare Have Foreseen Trump?” Referring to Donald Trump: “He wins voters over by appealing to their spleens rather their minds.” Trump speaks the truth that many are too meek or fearful to express. He has awakened America out of apathy and complacency, invigorating voters with his no-nonsense leadership boding for safety and security. As for the media pollution, his assessment is astute. We need a president who will make our country great again, not a charlatan with excuses for egregious errors or a socialist septuagenarian. A fiscal conservative who understands “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” looking out for our own citizens over those of the world.

Stephanie Mardesich

San Pedro