The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey

The fifth Indiana Jones movie brought 79-year-old Harrison Ford back into the old fedora for another adventure involving a precious artifact that could spell doom if put into the wrong hands. Along for the ride was 91-year-old John Williams, who completed his 43-year association with Indy with a score that features callbacks to moments from previous Indiana Jones films and a lack of a major theme that had the potential to make the score a major standout. Host Jeff Commings details some of the highlights of the score on this latest episode of The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey.

Looking for something to pass the time as you wait for episode 113 of The Baton? Since the next John Williams film score won't be released until summer 2023, there won't be a new episode of The Baton until then. But host Jeff Commings has another podcast that can help you fill the time with more Hollywood history. This show, called The Best Song Podcast, is perfect for fans of Hollywood history, of music history, of movie songs, and movies in general. You'll go on a 92-episode journey through 90 years of the Academy Award for Best Original Song, featuring all the songs nominated for the big award from 1934 to 2023. Chances are you'll find a new favorite movie song, or learn a bit more about one that is already near to your heart! The show is available on all podcast platforms, and new episodes are released every Monday. Enjoy the show!

Host Jeff Commings is back on The Baton to discuss what might be the final film collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams. The Fabelmans is Spielberg's semiautobiographical film about his family and the beginnings of his career as a filmmaker. Though the film is 200 minutes long, there is only about 30 minutes of original music from John Williams in it. Commings details a couple of the highlight musical cues, including a now-iconic dance scene with Michelle Williams, and what Williams had been doing in the two years since finishing work on The Rise of Skywalker..

This is the final episode of "The Baton: A John Williams Musical Journey," and host Jeff Commings has invited one of the premier analysts of John Williams' music to talk about his extensive catalog for the "Star Wars" and Indiana Jones films. Frank Lehman discusses the genesis of the idea to examine all of the thematic material in both film series, and breaks down two of his favorite themes from the "Star Wars" franchise. It's a fantastic discussion that closes out this extensive podcast series with an over-reaching look at the Maestro's career.

After a mind-boggling span of 42 years, John Williams closed out his involvement with the "Star Wars" film series with the score for "The Rise of Skywalker." Host Jeff Commings and cohost Paulius Eidukas talk about the missteps in director J.J. Abrams' choices visually and musically. The two talk about the four new themes that flow through the score, all four notable because they connect more to a group of people and an idea instead of one person. With the help of Eidukas on the piano, we understand how the new themes connect to previous melodies, and how the finale gave them a "shivers-up-the-spine" feeling with the music. As of this posting, "The Rise of Skywalker" is the final film in the John Williams canon after 60 years of writing the score for 109 films. It is fitting that "The Rise of Skywalker" is the final film in John Williams' career, if the Maestro has indeed retired from film scores.

In what might be their final film collaboration, Steven Spielberg and John Williams worked together to give us a score for "The Post" that doesn't go full bore with the orchestra, using instead the emotion of electronic pulses and Americana touches to convey the tension of publishing the Pentagon Papers in The Washington Post. Host Jeff Commings and co-host Paul Wright discuss the way Williams perfectly matches "the intended emotional contexts of a scene with music," resulting in an emotion from the viewer that is almost purposeful. Though we could presume that "The Post" is the final John Williams score for a Steven Spielberg film, the Maestro started a new collaboration in 2017 with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, writing a concerto for her that was a long time coming.

Rian Johnson took over for J.J. Abrams as director of the second film in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy, titled "The Last Jedi." Johnson changed the tone and direction of the sequel dramatically, and composer John Williams went along for the ride with a couple of new themes for two new characters whose music only appears in this film, for different reasons. Host Jeff Commings is joined again by Paulius Eidukas for an examination of the use of pre-existing music -- including Leia's theme in the controversial "Leia in Space" scene -- and how certain compositional techniques made Williams' Oscar-nominated score feel bold and a little daring.

Trombone player and music teacher Paul Wright makes his debut appearance on "The Baton" to defend the Steven Spielberg film "The BFG" and discusses with host Jeff Commings the intricate compositional technique John Williams used for this score. From creating virtuosic flute writing to reaching back to past themes to give us a buffoonish motif for the villains, the co-hosts have a blast dissecting this "blip" on John Williams' filmography, a underrated score that has many gems that you will discover in this episode.

When the news broke that Disney would be producing a new trilogy of "Star Wars" films taking place after the events of "Return of the Jedi," the logical choice was to have John Williams return to continue his expansive space opera composition. And he returned with some new themes for "The Force Awakens" that featured a complex motif for the female hero and a theme for the villain that, not surprisingly, had a connection to Vader's theme. Host Jeff Commings is joined by Paulius Eidukas for an examination of Williams' compositional techniques for the new film, and why some music might have a connection to the Harry Potter scores.

Host Jeff Commings and co-host David Kay discuss the quiet yet personal score for "The Book Thief" in this episode. John Williams lobbied hard to be the composer for this film after reading the book and the script, and Kay believes Williams found a personal and intimate connection to the story at 81 years old. In addition to discussing the themes Williams wrote for Death and the heroine Liesel, the two chat with director Brian Percival about collaborating with John Williams. Percival relives the moment he sat in John Williams' home listening to the Maestro play themes from the score on his piano, and sitting in the middle of the recording studio as Williams conducted the studio orchestra. This is our first opportunity to hear firsthand about the director-composer relationship in this podcast, and we hope you enjoy the episode!

John Williams only worked on one film score when he turned 80 years old, collaborating once again with Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln." The film marked the 40th year of Spielberg and Williams working together, and it required Spielberg to exercise a lot of restraint in a dialogue-heavy film. Williams also shows some restraint in writing music for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, providing a noble but slightly fragile theme for the president. Host Jeff Commings also looks into the research Williams did to write music that harkened back to the 1860s, including a main theme for the film that feels like it is adapted from a pre-existing Negro spiritual.

John Williams had the opportunity to return to the English style of music he loves so much, drawing on the influences of Ralph Vaughan Williams for his score to Steven Spielberg's film "War Horse." Host Jeff Commings is joined by composer Victor Josse for this look into the stunning setpieces of the film and the music that accompanies them. That includes the moving prologue, the emotional plowing scene and the heartbreaking dash through No Man's Land.

Though John Williams didn't have a film score released in 2009 or 2010, he was working hard during that time on his next project, an animated film adaptation of the popular Tintin character, called "The Adventures of Tintin." Host Jeff Commings talks about why Williams was allowed nearly two years to write the score, as well as the other pieces of music he wrote in that timeframe. Co-host Felix Moller helps to discuss the musical themes in the film, including the ways Tintin's theme is linked to Indiana Jones' theme. But that's just one way these two movie heroes are linked, so settle in for a great analysis of this fun score!

John Williams' 100th film brought him back into the world of Indiana Jones, this time writing music for our fedora-wearing adventurer's quest to find a mythical skull that has strange powers. Joining host Jeff Commings on this episode to discuss the highs and lows of the film and score is Brian Martell, marking his fourth appearance on "The Baton." The two discuss Shia Labeouf's miscasting, Cate Blanchett's spot-on acting and the various callbacks to previous Indiana Jones scores that melded with new thematic material. It's going to be a 95-minute ride that could change your thoughts about the film!

Break out the confetti and party hats! The 100th episode of The Baton is here! And on this episode, host Jeff Commings talks about John Williams' haunting score for Steven Spielberg's "Munich," the story of revenge after the 1972 deaths of 11 Israelis at the Munich Olympics. John Williams gives us four themes that provide the mold for the score, a radical departure from his work on Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" earlier in the year. From a gut-wrenching vocal by Lisbeth Scott for the Israeli hostages to a main theme that is transformed into what Commings believes is the best strings-only composition by John Williams, there is much to admire in this episode.

John Williams wanted to be the composer for the film version of the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha" long before a script was written or a budget finalized. He realized the opportunity to infuse Japanese flavors into a Westernized score, and he enlisted the help of previous collaborators Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman to play on the cello and violin, respectively. Host Jeff Commings talks about the themes in the score, and examines the scenes in which three Japanese instruments are highlighted throughout the film. Though the movie did not gain a Best Picture Oscar nomination as hoped, the film did garner some praise for Williams' score, and he was celebrated during awards season. Put on your best kimono and join us for this exciting episode!

Steven Spielberg had long wanted to do an alien invasion movie featuring very bad visitors to Earth, and he finally checked that off his list with "War of the Worlds." In telling the story, John Williams went into full horror mode, employing some of the tactics used previously by such classical composers as Igor Stravinsky, especially in the first alien attack that turned out to be one of the most violent nonfiction moments Spielberg has put on film. Host Jeff Commings is joined by composer/conductor Eduardo Victoria as the two detail the high points of the score and how the music really has similarities to Williams' previous work, including Jaws and Superman.

Host Jeff Commings starts this episode of "The Baton" with a not-so-great opinion about John Williams' score to "Revenge of the Sith," the final film in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy. Can co-host Andrew Ledford change our host's mind about the score as they discuss the use of the Emperor's theme, the Force theme and the music for all the lightsaber battles? It's going to be a tough sell, but by the end of the episode, it's likely that hearts and minds will be changed about this film ... except for Hayden Christensen's acting, of course.

Though the movie and score for "The Terminal" might seem like a blip on the radar, neither Steven Spielberg nor John Williams approached this film any less seriously than their major successes. The story marks Tom Hanks' third film with Spielberg, as an Eastern European man stuck in the JFK airport for nine months. Williams supplies a wonderfully light theme for Viktor, as well as a lyrical love theme that host Jeff Commings believes could have been turned into a beautiful love song by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Grab a plate of cannelloni and join us for this exploration of an often-forgotten Williams score.

Many John Williams fans sneered at the music for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," mostly because the Maestro chose to almost completely scrap the musical ideas he created for the first two films in favor of darker themes and tonalities in Alfonso Cuaron's take on the franchise. Host Jeff Commings is joined by Paulius Eidukas as the two talk about some of the new themes that make up the score and how some of the compositional techniques made Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew musically intertwined with each other. Both praise Williams' work for the film and lament there wasn't another opportunity for Williams and Cuaron to collaborate after this project.