The Legend of Kings Row
Today we’re going to ask the age old question: Did John Williams plagarize Kings Row in his Star Wars theme?
I post the mp3s and you decide!
MP3: John Williams’ Star Wars theme
MP3: Erich Korngold’s Kings Row theme
Kings Row is a 1942 film about turn of the century small town America. It features a score by Erich Korngold, one of the best and most important film composers that has ever graced Hollywood. Now, how in the heck John Williams decided that the music for this movie would translate into a sci-fi fantasy special effects cornball epic is beyond me. It’s almost in its own class of genius.
In fact, even if Williams did steal Korngold, the music is different enough that I’d like to argue that his talent might just be to polish these old tunes and make them his own (sort of like Tarantino does). It may not justify theft but it is hardly an isolated incident and it hardly diminishes the impact the Star Wars theme has had and will continue to have.
