Episode 57 - Monsignor

The 1982 film "Monsignor" is the first straight drama containing a John Williams score in eight years. Besides what host Jeff Commings calls "the most depressing love theme John Williams has ever written," the Maestro wrote a bold piece for organ and choir to accompany the film's major climactic scene. The film features just 30 minutes of music, probably due to the limited time Williams had to compose the score outside of his work on "ET," his summer conducting the Boston Pops and the beginning of his work on "Return of the Jedi." The score is notable for being nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award that picks the worst in film. And, we also discuss the song Williams wrote for Luciano Pavarotti for the film "Yes, Giorgio" that earned him another Original Song Oscar nomination the same year he won for scoring "ET."