Can you not think of 'Jaws' or 'Star Wars' or 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' or 'Superman' or 'Home Alone' or 'Schindler's List' or 'Jurassic Park'...

...without humming the music?

My all-time favorite composer/musician in the world is John Williams, the man who breathes such stunning life into even the worst flick (Remember "Heartbeeps?" or "Yes, Giorgio?").

In the summer of 1980---at the impressionable age of 16---I walked into the little theatre in Mount Vernon, Ohio to see the second Star Wars flick, "The Empire Strikes Back," and emerged a changed person. They could have showed a blank screen for all I cared. Darth Vader's Theme, Yoda's theme, and that INCREDIBLE battle music on the ice planet---just a few examples---contributed to my seeing that movie no less than 20 times that summer.

John Williams is a god. He is not only the finest film composer who ever lived, he is one of America's best composers, period. To this day I get teary-eyed when I listen to that glorious finale from "E.T."---and I NEVER cry (boys don't do that, right? Thanks for the sensitivity training, Dad).

His upcoming score for "Harry Potter" is already getting rave reviews as one of his best fantasy scores. Next year we get ANOTHER STAR WARS SCORE!!! And, at 69, the man has no intention of slowing down. Incredible.

Any other JW fans out there?

[This message has been edited by Bill Harnsberger (edited 08-27-2001).]