Most of his stuff sounds the same. pretty sappy composer in my book. And they are movies, not like it’s real art.
Ditto that. Happy Birthday John Williams.
His music is inexorably intertwined with an entire movie’s experience.
I really appreciate what music does to the experience and how it stays with you through life.
A while back I look at his list of his movie soundtracks. Quite impressive. It takes a special kind of talent to compose music and have it work well with movies. Not trivial.
And he is 90 ...
Jerry Goldsmith wasn’t bad in his day. Theme for Patton stands out.
I disagree. Williams is great, but he’s not the greatest. I find the works of Hans Zimmer to be more varied and more enjoyable. He’s also much more prolific (110 film scores for Williams to 159 for Zimmer, according to IMDB. Williams career spans from 1958 to today, while Zimmers spans from 1984 to today). You give me a great composition by Williams and I can give you three by Zimmer that are better. Music makes movies. Take a great movie and you’ll find great, emotionally evocative music to support it. Sans such music, most movies lack dimension.
Also composed the incidental music on Gilligan’s Island and other 1960s TV shows.
They talked him into a doing a Cameo for Rise of the Skywalker because he was talking about retiring. He runs a shop, for the set dressing they made a prop referencing every movie he won an Oscar for. 3:45 ish in this clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGc47-ncN70&t=206s
Steven Spielberg related how John Williams came to him with his idea for the movie “Jaws”.
He said Williams was really enthusiastic, and was playing it on the piano, the characteristic “BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM” from the theme, looking over his shoulder at Spielberg with a completely expectant face as if he was saying “Do you get it?”
Spielberg was thinking “I don’t get it” but kept listening.
Williams began soft, then began speeding it up, making it louder, and then Spielberg understood.
I respect Williams greatly. Loved his themes, so many of them. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saving Private Ryan, ET, Superman, Star Wars, Close Encounters, Schindler’s List, so many more...
I have to disagree with the sentiment it all sounds the same. I believe he has made masterful and memorable music.
John Williams is excellent.
Hans Zimmer is the modern John Williams.
Williams might be Bach, but Thomas Bergersen is Mozart. Zimmer is Salieri. Seven is among the greatest symphonies ever composed.
Dude, what????!!!!! “Greatest living composer” - WHAT????!!!!
Yeah, he changed symphonic musick into background squiggles highlighting the scripted sayings of posing, self-important freaks.
Ennio Morricone was influential and innovative as far as I’m concerned.
His score for Jaws was brilliant, especially the haunting music to start the film. My other favorites include Superman, Empire Strikes Back, and Schindler’s List.
Movie music is the only listenable contemporary music.
Every time they’d make a new Star Wars movie, be they the prequels from the late 90’s (I think) or the more recent ones, the first thing I ask is if John Williams is making the music. LOL
Jerome Moross - The Big Country soundtrack (and a believable movie.)
Jaws - stupid movie where the men didn’t have sense enough to go to sea with fully automatic weapons and plug Jaws as soon as it came up for bait. But then the movie would have been over in a half hour.
Star Wars - futuristic high tech, but still dog fighting, only in space ships instead of biplanes. When that movie was made jets had been shot down by SAMs 5 miles away 10 yrs earlier in VN, and Gary Powers U2 shot down from a lot farther than that almost 20 yrs earlier.
Harry Potter - (puke) anti-christ training