Buy it... if you've been longing for Williams to finally produce a truly spirited, fully orchestral, and infectious comedy score with irresistible rhythm and charm.

Avoid it... if you've never been a fan of those short bursts of optimistic comedy that Williams has inserted as individual cues in his past works (since 1985).

William

The Terminal: (John Williams) The 21st collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams, The Terminal is finally a long overdue opportunity for the two artists to produce the sounds of pure fun and romantic comedy not restrained by the typical elevations of Spielberg's heavy drama. There has been debate about whether The Terminal was inspired by the true story of an Iranian stuck in France's Charles de Gaulle Airport back in 1988, but the concept is certainly a novel one for the big screen. Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) finds himself trapped in a New York airport terminal because war has broken out in his native Eastern European nation (literally while he was on his flight from that country to America) and his passport and other documentation is therefore no longer valid. Unable to be sent back and unable to be allowed out of the terminal, Navorski lives a portion of his life in the airport terminal, becoming a fond fixture for employees and even sparking up a romance with a flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Rather than making the film one of horror and frustration (which, for any of you stuck in an airport for a day or two know, is a believable nightmare), Spielberg has extended the inventive and funny aspects of Hanks' character into a light-hearted and spirited comedy. The last collaboration between Spielberg and Williams (Catch Me If You Can) was a relief from their futuristic, post-2000 sci-fi endeavors, however you'd have to go back to the early to mid-1990's to hear Williams pull truly unhindered, light-hearted material out of his hat. It would be easy to state that The Terminal is by far the brightest comedy of Williams' last twenty years; collectors of the composer will remember the jazzy era of Williams career (the 1960's, largely) when silliness prevailed in many of his smaller-scale scores.

As opposed to the outdated sound of those jazzy 60's scores by Williams, The Terminal is an ageless comedy because it extends its humor through the timeless classical sounds of Williams' masterful orchestral styles of his prime. Utilizing a personality of Eastern Europe that extends through history, The Terminal is a score that could function just as well for an identical story set in 1975 as it would if set in 2025. With echoes of immigration struggles of generations past, Williams does provide the score with the colors of both romance and ethnicity of yesteryear. But the complex construction of the music is a constant magnet pulling the score back to the current standards of excellence in classical writing that makes Williams' music --usually regardless of genre-- accessible to modern, younger ears. Williams presents the score to us in his customary fashion, with a suite-like performance of the Viktor Navorski theme at the beginning and in a reprise at the finale. From the first notes, Williams let us know plain and clear the score's personality is that of a comedy dancing lightly through the score with an adventurous heart. Navorski's theme prevails throughout the score, acting as a lens through which Williams focuses the entire work. As opposed to Williams' nearly concurrent score for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which presents brilliant ideas all over the musical spectrum and loses a dominant focus overall), The Terminal is extremely consistent in its thematic loyalty and Williams' thankfully diligent refusal to allow the score to become too serious at any point. The centerpiece of the score is a combination of free-flowing rhythms established by strings and the woodwinds delicately stating themes above them. Starting with solo woodwinds and expanding to a guitar and accordion, the theme is extremely infectious in its bubbly enthusiasm even though its accelerated pace of movement makes it difficult to whistle the theme once the CD has ended. Rather than providing a memorable theme for the ages, Williams has created a atmosphere of delight, friendship, and curious innocence that lifts your mood with its ceaselessly optimistic charm.

			Learn more about supporting Filmtracks

We've heard moments of this comedy writing from Williams before, often as part of his scores for children's films, but never on the score-wide scale heard in The Terminal. Even detractors of accordions could marvel at the rapid-key-changing performances of an accordion in this score that dance with the same precision as those of the lead clarinet (even outperforming the clarinet in the suite performances). The accordion is really the only specialty instrument in the score, but Williams proves that he can write Luis Bacalov music (in "A Happy Navorski Ending") just as well as Bacalov can, complete with the rumble of the piano announcing passing bars of the theme. The piano is central element in The Terminal, performing the elegant, though rather short love theme heard first in "Dinner With Amelia." There is some of the same broad romance here that we heard in Sabrina, but this time with far more spirit boosting the romance at either end of its length. Particular cues of note include "A Legend is Born," in which Williams opens with timpani and broad brass and allows the ensemble to blossom into a fully Western-feeling theme of high adventure. In the potential escape cue ("Refusing to Escape"), Williams inserts a token nod to Bernard Herrmann, shifting into Herrmann's trademark quivering strings and offering a short performance of the Cape Fear theme (not sure why he chose that one, but it's definitely there). In "Gupta's Deliverance," Williams extends his instrumentation shortly into the realm of the electronic choir. The "Krakozhia National Anthem" is appropriately pompous in its militaristic progression. But the overall personality of The Terminal is summed up by the "Destiny" finale cue, in which Williams builds to a momentous romantic statement and suddenly unleashes Navorski's theme in all its glory. The balance of the score is strong, with the romantic elements often maintaining some jump or skip in step that reminds us of the overarching, rhythmic movement of the entire score. Overall, The Terminal is about as likable a Williams score that you will ever encounter. The sound quality is outstanding (significant reverb has been maintained for the album recording), with the head-spinning clarinet and accordion performances mixed magnificently. It's great to hear Williams finally pull off a truly adult comedy while maintaining the spirit of an eight-year-old, and the infectious result is highly recommended to any film music listener in search of an instant mood perk. *****

Bias Check:

For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.72 (in 63 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.67 (in 299,177 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.