Customer Reviews

The Witches of Eastwick

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After 15 years of fruitless hunting in the UK, I was delighted to find the Witches' soundtrack lurking in Amazon's US vaults.

One of Williams' finest hours, it's much wittier than his more popular 'magical' movie scores - namely the Harry Potter series for which he merely plundered his own Star Wars back catalogue.

Mischievous and playful yet edged with a hint of menace, it's the perfect accompaniment to a film about Satan and his unwitting concubines. Williams evidently put a lot of thought into matching the music to the characters and the actors that play them, combining Jack Nicholson's roguishness with the beauty and maturity of Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. The result is utterly enchanting.

While John Williams will probably be most remembered for his music to Spielberg blockbusters ("Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial," "Schindler's List," and "Jurassic Park," among ohters) or other moneymakers (the "Star Wars" saga and "Superman-The Movie"), his score to the Jack Nicholson film ranks as one of his finest. The score foreshadows some of the arrangements that he would later use in the "Harry Potter" series but has hints of Camille Saint-Saens as well as Williams' own earlier work.

However, the composer really pulled out all the stops and created a blend of excitement, wonder, playfulness, along with macabre humor. He carefully incorporates a "linking" melody throughout most of the fourteen cuts, making each selection a fitting accompaniment to the ones that precede or follow it.

"The Dance of the Witches" is a triumph and stands as one of the composer's most infectious and jaw-dropping concoctions. And "The Seduction of Suki and The Ballroom Scene" are near perfection, both lilting and captivating. "The Destruction of Darryl" explodes with frenetic action that I'm sure the musicians were exhausted after recording it.

"The Witches of Eastwick," along with the composer's work for 1979's "Dracula" and the early 70's television of "Jane Eyre," reveal the many facets of a multi-talented artist who has been at the forefront of film music writing for more than four decades.

This score, composed by John Williams, is a must-have soundtrack for anyone who appreciates Williams' music. Although the film is not the greatest, the score adds a unique flavour to William's repertoire of excisting classics. There are a number of themes which have been cleverly woven into the music, some being mischevious, such as the main 'Dance of the Witches' theme, and others quite sombre yet breathtaking, such as the 'Ballroom' cue. Overall, this soundtrack will keep you entertained throughout the whole hour or so of playing time, and will also continue to surprise on numerous listenings.

Great recording of a superb composition. I'm so glad that someone thought of re-issuing a recording of this, one of John William's best compositions. I had been trying to purchase it for years only to find it out of stock. This is definitely one of William's best musical scores and it stands on its own as a classical composition. 200 years from now we will listen to it much like we appreciate Camille Saint Saens' Symphony #2 today.

A musical treat of orchestral mixes some classical, some more jazzy/bluesy. Goes from the magical to the Macabe. I really like this cd

It is said scoring a soundtrack is creating the emotional narration of the content for a movie. If that is true, then Williams is a total success in this one. The music here is truly a vibrational match for the look and feel of the story. I was a big fan of the movie, though campy and certainly now--somewhat dated. The music lives on...

I don't mean to bash other film composers here--I'm certainly not an exclusive John Williams fan, but we're all familiar with the way that many of the other ones tend to take on movies like this simply to add credits to their resume, often following through with a shoddy and boring cue. Now, since Schindler, I think it's fair to say that Williams picks his films rather than the other way around...but the thing I respect about Williams' character is that even when he's given a film like this (which was not a bad film), he pushes himself to write a score that not only complements the film, but carries the film to its success. We've all heard the bit about "turn of the music and the film is boring"...well this score CARRIES the film.

This score is a hidden gem and anyone who enjoys a good film score should have this in their collection. I also urge you to listen to Devil's Dance for Violin and Piano as performed by Gil Shaham (you can find this on YouTube by doing some basic searches) as it carries much of the energy from the original film and is a completely new arrangement done by Williams himself.

This CD (featured on Amazon) is one of two releases of the Eastwick score that I'm aware of, the other one being the "Complete Motion Picture Score" which has some extra pieces and some alternate versions that are quite compelling.

But, if nothing else, listen to "The Ballroom Scene" and tell me it doesn't stand on its own as one of the best film compositions of all time. It is MAGNIFICENT.

My sister had been looking for this sound track since the time she first saw the movie. We looked all over at retail stores and could never find it. I was surprised to find it on Amazon and was able to get it in time to give it to her for Christmas. She was thrilled.