Legendary musician and film composer John Williams, known as “the Maestro of the Movies,” has created some of the most emblematic and enduring film scores of all time, working with auteurs like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas on cinematic classics such as Jaws and Star Wars. Williams is still going strong at age 92, having most recently scored last year’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Nevertheless, with the news that John Williams is set to be honored as a Disney Legend at this summer’s D23, the company’s Comic-Con-esque annual fan convention, it’s a fitting time to rank the greatest film scores of all time for this musical genius.
The five best John Williams’ scores of all time
5) Superman
Let’s start with a superhero pic whose moniker could be fitting for Williams himself with his seeming creative invincibility. The MCU may have done wonders for the special effects-heavy superhero blockbuster, but in some ways the original superhero epic, Superman, is still the best in the genre. A big reason why is Williams perfectly suited score that told viewers right from the opening credits this was going to be a grandiose adaptation of DC’s most famous creation. Williams’ score let Superman take flight, and added heart and soul to Clark Kent’s love story with Lois Lane.
4) E.T.
Try to imagine a more uplifting musical accompaniment to E.T.’s fateful bike journey with Elliott across the full-mooned night sky — I dare you. It can’t be done, because there’s no way to top the iconic combination of that classic 80s cinema visual and and auditory delight. As E.T. phoned home, John Williams dialed in a tune to the collective hearts of moviegoers everywhere.
3) Jurassic Park
“Welcome to Jurassic Park,” John Hammond tells his guests (and us, the audience) which cues a sprawling camera shot to capture the grandeur of his new dinosaur theme park. The fateful weekend those first visitors to Jurassic Park spent there may have ended rather badly, but the beauty and majesty of the undertaking is on full display with Williams’ timeless melody.
The tired and puzzling logic of humans repeatedly chancing fate to interact with these dinosaurs has plagued the franchise through the last umpteenth sequels (and counting), but the one consistent positive of any film in the Jurassic saga is the beautiful musical accompaniment masterpiece by John Williams.
2) Jaws
Duunnn dunnn… Possibly the two most haunting musical bars of all time, so simple and yet so elegant. The repeating lower octave pattern conveyed the essence of fear and animal instinct as Steven Spielberg’s infamous great white shark terrorized vacationers in the town of Amity Island, New York.
It’d be an interesting psychological experiment to investigate whether moviegoers develop quite the same irrational fear of shark attacks after seeing Jaws if the iconic John Williams theme were removed from the film. It sure feels like the musical score that goes along with Jaws lurking through the waters is at least as scary as the sight of the shark itself.
1) Star Wars
Was there any doubt about which film would occupy the number one spot? The blockbuster space odyssey Williams composed for this George Lucas larger-than-life sci-fi saga helped usher in a new era of filmmaking, and cemented John Williams’ legacy as one of — if not the — greatest film composers of all time.
John Williams’ score for this one is as iconic as light sabers, the Millennium Falcon, storm troopers, and/or anything else related to the Star Wars universe. He summoned the force with his own inherent supernatural abilities to create one of the most lasting musical scores of all time.
Hopefully John Williams will continue creating memorable film scores for many years to come. In the meantime, fans can see him be honored at D23 on August 11th.
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