John Williams Returns

Perhaps this summer's most anticipated blockbuster movie is Superman Returns. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Indeed, this version harkens back to the one that came out in 1978, where ads proclaimed "you'll believe a man can fly".

The original had an all-star cast except Superman himself, who was played by an unknown, Christopher Reeve, who had been in soap operas. He created a version of Clark Kent that was so indelible, that most people consider it the prototypical Kent. Actors, like Dean Cain, have sought to make their Kent less nerdy and socially awkward as Reeve. If you watch the black-and-white television show, Kent was portrayed as tough as nails. He wasn't the meek guy that Reeve portrayed.

Superman Returns, which I believe is based on a comic book with the rough story line (comic films have abounded lately, including the newest X-Men movie, but also films like Constantine and Hellboy and V for Vendetta, most of which are "graphic novels", a fancy name for a fancy comic book). Unlike the original, this film covers a period of time where Superman has left the earth and has returned.

Like the original, Superman is played by a relative unknown, Brandon Routh. Kevin Spacey plays Lex Luthor, and seems to be enjoying hamming it up for the camera.

Early trailers for the film used the John Williams score, in particular, the theme played when they are on Krypton. Williams heyday was in the 1970s and just around 1980, when he composed some of the most well-known film themes in American cinema. During this time period, he composed Jaws, Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg has used John Williams (as has George Lucas) in nearly every film he's made.

The current opinion of Williams has turned negative. He's considered bombastic and not too subtle. Still, there aren't many composers with his pedigree of fame. I'd put maybe Jerry Goldsmith in his league. (You could go back to earlier eras where Bernard Herrmann, Nina Rota who were noted for their compositions).

Even so, the music for Superman was so effective, that it really made the trailer work, even when there was very little of the film to show. Now, they probably could have gotten Williams to compose more music. After all, he did just that with the latest Star Wars films. However, they've gone with more of an unknown: John Ottman, who has based his composition on Williams original.

Apparently, the reason director Bryan Singer chose Ottman is that Ottman has not only composed music for many of his films, he's also been the film editor. Presumably, like Spielberg has had a long working relationship with John Williams, Singer wasn't prepared to abandon Ottman to get Williams. I haven't found an interview to hear why Singer made this decision. Certainly, Ottman could have focused exclusively on editing duties, and I'm sure he'd have been happy with doing that too.

If anyone's got a link to an interview where Singer explains this, I'd love to read about it.