At the risk of unleashing hot-takes and causing controversy, John Williams is a very good composer, his music always fits the movies he’s composing for, and his film scores are memorable. In actuality, though, praising John Williams is about the easiest thing to do when it comes to discussing/critiquing film, because he seemingly never misses. Not only does he refuse to miss, but he usually fulfills his role within the making of a film perfectly, sometimes elevating the entire movie or even overshadowing other parts of it, because his music is just that good.
With close to six decades spent composing film scores, and a staggering 54 Academy Award nominations (his five total wins feels a bit low, really), what’s more likely to cause controversy while discussing Williams’ accomplishments is not being able to list everything. Among the following, there will be some upsetting omissions, but the ranking below intends to showcase his versatility as well as his knack for crafting unforgettable compositions. Taking into account both how well the score fits with the movie and how memorable it might be on its own, the following intends to highlight the most outstanding scores of John Williams’ outstanding body of work.
25 'War Horse' (2011)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Get used to seeing the name Steven Spielberg, because he's easily the director John Williams has worked with most frequently. The two work together so well that it’s rare for Williams to compose a score for a Spielberg film and not receive at least an Oscar nomination for it. To call some of these scores iconic would be an understatement, but those that are “merely” very good shouldn’t be ignored entirely.
Case in point, the score for War Horse is very good, and it’s an overall solid film that doesn’t quite rank among Spielberg’s best war movies simply because he’s made a bunch of other great ones. But honestly, the sweeping and appropriately moving score for War Horse might well be better than most of the film’s other elements, with Williams bringing his A-game to a not-quite-A-level Spielberg film (again, his standards are high; it’s still good).
War Horse
PG-13Release Date December 25, 2011 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Emily Watson , Toby Kebbell , Benedict Cumberbatch , David Thewlis , Tom Hiddleston , Eddie Marsan Runtime 146 Main Genre Drama24 'Catch Me If You Can' (2002)
Director: Steven Spielberg
2002 was a good year for Leonardo DiCaprio, especially when it came to the actor breaking away from the sorts of roles that had made him a heartthrob in the late 1990s. He collaborated with Martin Scorsese for the first time in Gangs of New York, and then also worked with Spielberg on Catch Me If You Can, which was additionally one of two high-profile 2002 movies Spielberg directed and John Williams scored (more on the other one later).
The music for Catch Me If You Can sometimes has that typical Williams feel (like on the track “Father and Son”) but sometimes gets a little less conventional, and even jazzy, as heard on the title track/main theme. It’s a pretty energetic and overall breezy Steven Spielberg film, and John Williams – as always – was able to match that tone with his music.
Catch Me If You Can
PG-13CrimeDramaBiographyRelease Date December 25, 2002 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Leonardo DiCaprio , Tom Hanks , Christopher Walken , Martin Sheen , Nathalie Baye , Amy Adams , James Brolin , Brian Howe Runtime 141 Minutes23 'JFK' (1991)
Director: Oliver Stone
What’s this, a movie that wasn’t directed by Steven Spielberg? Honestly, if John Williams had only ever worked with Spielberg, he’d still have many memorable scores to his name, and would remain one of the most beloved composers in film history. But he’s worked with plenty of other directors, too, and usually turns in equally great work for them, as seen with JFK, which isn’t the only time Williams has done the music for an Oliver Stone movie.
A dense, long, dizzying, and thrilling historical film (that plays fast and loose with history sometimes), JFK explores one of the most infamous and impactful events of the 20th century in the U.S.: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Williams’ score instantly sets the tone, with the prologue sounding solemn and some of his music later matching the tension and frenzy of the narrative.
JFK
RNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
Release Date December 20, 1991 Director Oliver Stone Cast Kevin Costner , Gary Oldman , Jack Lemmon , Walter Matthau , Sally Kirkland , Anthony Ramirez Runtime 189 minutes Main Genre Drama22 'Empire of the Sun' (1987)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Empire of the Sun is another war movie directed by Steven Spielberg that saw John Williams taking on composing duties. It’s based on a semi-autobiographical novel by J. G. Ballard, meaning it captures things with a strong level of authenticity and historical accuracy, which naturally makes the story – about a young boy living as a prisoner of war during World War II – all the more harrowing.
Much of the score is the usual John Williams orchestral greatness, but things stand out a little more on some tracks, thanks to the use of The Ambrosian Junior Choir (which also fits in with the whole narrative being about a young boy’s experience with war). It’s not the only music by John Williams to use vocals by any means, but that touch works extra well here, ensuring Empire of the Sun’s score stands as one of the composer’s more underrated efforts.
Empire of the Sun
PGRelease Date December 11, 1987 Director Steven Spielberg Cast John Malkovich , Miranda Richardson , Nigel Havers , Christian Bale Runtime 154 mims Main Genre War21 'Born on the Fourth of July' (1989)
Director: Oliver Stone
A couple of years before JFK, Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July also benefited from a typically strong John Williams score. This raw and emotionally tense biopic centered on Ron Kovic, a man who became paralyzed while serving in the Vietnam War, and later became a political activist and figure of the anti-war movement, as his experiences made him understandably feel like his country betrayed him.
Born on the Fourth of July was an early showcase for Tom Cruise’s range, and was similarly significant for continuing to show just how well Williams could score war films (and not just those fought among the stars). The film also contains plenty of non-Williams songs, but his compositions – when heard – are incredibly powerful, and drive home the high-intensity emotions conveyed by the rest of the movie; notably, its acting, writing, and expectedly passionate direction from Stone.
Born on the Fourth of July
Run Time 145 minutes Director Oliver Stone Release Date December 20, 1989 Actors Tom Cruise, Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Jerry Levine, Frank Whaley, Willem Dafoe20 'Hook' (1991)
Director: Steven Spielberg
There’s a certain quality to many of the scores John Williams has composed for quite a few family-friendly movies that’s hard to put into words. “Whimsical” runs the risk of sounding juvenile, but there is also something bubbly and undeniably fun-sounding about the jauntier parts of these scores. They’re also a little bittersweet, such a sensation maybe being felt because they don’t tug on the heartstrings as aggressively as other films that target adult viewers more, or because hearing such music can be nostalgic for anyone who watched these family films when they were younger.
Anyway, waffling aside, Hook is one of those hard-to-describe John Williams scores, and it has that sort of magical touch plenty of scores he’s done for family films have. The movie as a whole is also good, if a little messy (and not as consistent as Williams’ work for it), but the story of an adult Peter Pan returning to Neverland has its moments for sure, and the cast is also seriously impressive.
Hook
PGAdventureComedyFamilyFantasyRelease Date April 10, 1991 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Dustin Hoffman , Robin Williams , Julia Roberts , Bob Hoskins , Maggie Smith , Caroline Goodall Runtime 14419 'Minority Report' (2002)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Going from thinking about Hook to thinking about Minority Report shows the versatility of both Steven Spielberg and John Williams as masters of their respective crafts. One is a goofy and sentimental family/fantasy movie, and the other is a rather intense and thrilling sci-fi movie that also asks difficult questions surrounding law, justice, and the extent authorities can/should go to when preventing crimes from happening.
It's a movie that takes some confronting ideas and difficult questions and breaks them down in a way that’s approachable, not to mention entertaining and consistently exciting. Spielberg was lucky, as always, to have Williams there to help in pulling off this balancing act, because his score helps in keeping the momentum going constantly. Minority Report might not have as many memorable motifs or melodies as some other scores by the composer, but it’s exceedingly effective at complementing the visuals and overall narrative.
Minority Report
PG-13ActionMystery Sci-FiThrillerRelease Date June 20, 2002 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Tom Cruise , Max Von Sydow , Steve Harris , Neal McDonough , Patrick Kilpatrick , Jessica Capshaw Runtime 14518 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (2017)
Director: Rian Johnson
While Star Wars: The Last Jedi might be among the more divisive sequels in the Star Wars series, to say the least, John Williams’ score is probably one part of the movie most can agree is very strong. People are passionate about the series as a whole, so that means it’s understandable why debates happen among viewers, but John Williams has been a consistent presence throughout all nine of the Skywalker Saga movies; of the nine, six have received Academy Award nominations (with one win).
The Last Jedi was one of those nominees, and it deserved it, because the score here does a masterful job of building upon some of the themes established in The Force Awakens, making them feel even grander while continually blending them with new takes on recognizable themes from the older movies. The film overall is a strange and sometimes tonally messy one (for better or worse; your mileage may vary), but Williams’ score doesn’t hit a wrong note (pun intended), from the remarkable track “Main Title and Escape” at the film’s opening to “Finale,” the track heard… well, at the end of the film, duh.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
PG-13ActionAdventureFantasy Sci-FiRelease Date December 13, 2017 Director Rian Johnson Cast Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , Adam Driver , Daisy Ridley , John Boyega , Oscar Isaac Runtime 15017 'The Fabelmans' (2022)
Director: Steven Spielberg
The Fabelmans is almost a biographical film, with Steven Spielberg recalling aspects of his childhood and family life when he was younger, working them into a story that also recounts how he himself became passionate about filmmaking. The wonders and hardships of childhood have shown up in plenty of other Spielberg films, giving The Fabelmans a feeling reminiscent of other, older films by the director; though here, the subtext is closer to text.
John Williams also returns to some of his older sounds here, in a way. The score for The Fabelmans isn’t derivative or boring, but it is somewhat familiar in a manner that suits the film, which looks back in time, sometimes fondly, and sometimes with brutal honesty. The approaches taken by both Spielberg and Williams worked wonders, thankfully, because The Fabelmans is up there with the best movies released during the 2020s so far.
The Fabelmans
Director Steven Spielberg Cast Michelle Williams , Seth Rogen , Paul Dano , Julia Butters , Judd Hirsch , Chloe East Main Genre Biography16 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998)
Director: Steven Spielberg
With some of the aforementioned Spielberg + Williams movies, it’s been the case that the score by the latter has sometimes equaled or even surpassed the overall filmmaking of the former. This might not be the case for Saving Private Ryan, though, which is typically considered one of the best films - if not the best film - Spielberg’s ever made, while the score for it is still very good, but maybe not one of Williams’ absolute best.
This might be by design, though, because the score here is largely understated, so as not to distract too greatly from the other more in-your-face and impactful scenes in the film (especially the opening, depicting the U.S. army’s landing at Omaha Beach). However, the music is still a strong accompaniment when needed, and the quietly triumphant yet solemn track “Hymn to the Fallen” is an undeniable standout.
Saving Private Ryan
RDramaHistoryWarRelease Date July 24, 1998 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Tom Hanks , Tom Sizemore , Edward Burns , Barry Pepper , adam goldberg , Vin Diesel Runtime 169 mins15 'Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones' (2002)
Director: George Lucas
Within the Skywalker Saga, Episode 9 is the series’ Voldemort; it shall not be named, even if John Williams still turned in a decent score for it. Before that 2019 film’s release, though, a contender in the eyes of many for the title of “worst Star Wars” movie would’ve been 2002’s Attack of the Clones, which is the middle chapter of the prequel trilogy and feels like the one where the least compelling stuff happens.
It's not an irredeemable movie, though, with George Lucas still presenting some neat ideas, as always (he’s an imaginative guy, after all), and John Williams doing his thing, as reliably as ever. Attack of the Clones’ score might not be too memorable, however, if it weren’t for the track “Across the Stars,” which serves as the film’s love theme. Said love between Anakin and Padme isn’t the most convincing in the world, by any means, but John Williams’ theme for their budding romance is so passionate, bold, and beautiful that it’s almost enough to make you believe they really love each other. It sounds bigger and further-reaching than just the two of them, too, with this quality perhaps even foreshadowing the effects the fallout of their doomed romance has on the entire galaxy (you know, the one that’s far, far away).
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
PGActionAdventureFantasy Sci-FiRelease Date May 16, 2002 Director George Lucas Cast Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Hayden Christensen , Christopher Lee , Samuel L. Jackson , Frank Oz Runtime 142 minutes14 'Home Alone' (1990)
Director: Chris Columbus
Even without John Williams’ involvement, Home Alone still feels like a Christmas classic, because what screams “the holiday season” more than Roman Roy’s brother (no, not Kendall or Connor) sadistically torturing two burglars (one of them being Tommy DeVito from Goodfellas) who chose the wrong house to steal from? But beyond all that and the irresistibly chilly winter aesthetics/feel, Williams’ score also has a significant part to play.
The Home Alone score is good enough to make you wonder why John Williams hasn’t done more Christmas-themed movie scores, with the main title ("Somewhere in My Memory") being particularly beautiful and heartfelt. And when the film gets more chaotic and even a little sinister, Williams is more than up to composing music for such moods, making for a surprisingly varied and well-balanced score all around.
Home Alone
PGComedyFamilyRelease Date November 16, 1990 Director Chris Columbus Cast Macaulay Culkin , Joe Pesci , Daniel Stern , John Heard , Roberts Blossom , Catherine O'Hara Runtime 103 minutes13 'Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace' (1999)
Director: George Lucas
Star Wars fans were left in the dark for a good many years, thanks to Return of the Jedi coming out in 1983 and there being a wait until 1999 for the first chapter of the highly anticipated prequel trilogy to come out. The Phantom Menace was that film, and it wasn’t quite what people were expecting at the time. People nowadays seem to be a little more appreciative of the film, and it certainly doesn’t represent Star Wars at its worst, but it’s also far from Star Wars at its most consistent.
Lucas directing a Star Wars film for the first time since 1977 was exciting, sure, but equally enticing for people back in 1999 was the idea that John Williams would be returning as composer, and he did not disappoint when it came to the score for The Phantom Menace. Hearing old themes remixed and refreshed is good enough, but then when considering this film also featured other tracks like the iconic “Duel of the Fates” and the cleverly crafted "Augie's Great Municipal Band,”The Phantom Menace’s score ultimately emerges as one of Williams’ greatest compositions to date.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
PG Sci-FiActionAdventureRelease Date May 19, 1999 Director George Lucas Cast Liam Neeson , Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Jake Lloyd , Ian McDiarmid , Pernilla August , Oliver Ford Davies , Ahmed Best Runtime 136 minutes12 'Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith' (2005)
Director: George Lucas
Even Sophie would struggle to choose between Revenge of the Sith and The Phantom Menace, when it comes to deciding which of the scores composed by John Williams for the prequel trilogy is the best. It feels a little cruel to pick the film that doesn’t have “Duel of the Fates,” but Revenge of the Sith is superbly composed from start to finish, perhaps being one of the most consistently great scores from the entire Star Wars series to date.
Revenge of the Sith soars not only because it’s memorably quotable and memeable, but also because it’s the prequel film where the most happens, portraying Anakin’s downfall and embrace of the Dark Side in a Shakespearean manner. It can be overblown and silly, but that heightened tone works in the film’s favor, in the end, with Williams going particularly hard in his role as composer. The music has that familiar Star Wars flavor, but everything is dialed up, being bigger, louder, and more dramatic, which makes it all fit perfectly with exactly what George Lucas was going for, narratively and thematically.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
PG-13 Sci-FiActionAdventureFantasyRelease Date May 17, 2005 Director George Lucas Cast Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Hayden Christensen , Ian McDiarmid , Samuel L. Jackson , Jimmy Smits Runtime 140 minutes11 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1977)
Director: Steven Spielberg
1977 was a big year for John Williams, given that was the year the first Star Wars movie came out, and so too was it the year when he composed another iconic science fiction movie score (and his third overall collaboration with Steven Spielberg): Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It’s a slow but absorbing piece of sci-fi filmmaking, telling the story of one man becoming obsessed with observing extra-terrestrial life after an experience with a UFO.
The music of Close Encounters of the Third Kind plays a significant role in the overall film, perhaps even more so than most John William scores, thanks to a memorable five-note motif being used by the film’s characters as a way to communicate with the extra-terrestrial visitors. Beyond that, the rest of the score is also excellent in matching both the eerie and wondrous parts of the film’s story, even if the Close Encounters of the Third Kind score ultimately isn’t as grand or showy as Williams’ other 1977 sci-fi score.
Close Encounters of The Third Kind
PGRelease Date November 18, 1977 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Richard Dreyfuss , Francois Truffaut , Teri Garr , Melinda Dillon , Bob Balaban , J. Patrick McNamara Runtime 135 Main Genre Adventure10 'Superman' (1978)
Director: Richard Donner
Well before superhero movies were cool/mainstream, 1978’s Superman showed everyone how to take a legendary comic book character and do them justice in live-action. And sure, some might find this film’s approach to the soon-to-be ubiquitous genre a little cheesy or overblown, but Superman goes well with idealism and old-fashioned heroics, and those are things offered by this 1978 movie in spades.
John Williams composed the score for Superman, with the main theme easily being one of the composer’s most recognizable tracks. The grandeur and unwavering heroism of the titular character are captured perfectly within this piece of music, to the point where it doesn’t matter too much that no other piece of music within the score is quite as memorable. They’re all good, but they don’t need to be much more when the main theme does so much of the heavy lifting, and is also as iconic as it is, too.
Superman
PGActionAdventureFantasy Sci-FiRelease Date December 13, 1978 Director Richard Donner Cast Marlon Brando , Gene Hackman , Christopher Reeve , Ned Beatty , Jackie Cooper , Glenn Ford Runtime 143 Minutes9 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone' (2001)
Director: Chris Columbus
Like with family films such as Hook and Home Alone, John Williams captured something intangible and put it into the music of the first Harry Potter movie, as it captures the same kind of wonder, whimsy, and spectacle heard within the scores for those films. He’s also credited with working on the music in the second and third films in the series, but none hit quite the same as the music heard in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The film sees the beginning of a long-running series about an unlikely hero, with this first movie obviously having to serve as an introduction into the wizarding world, both for Harry and the audience along for the ride. It’s a movie with a ton going on visually and narratively, meaning there’s a risk one could overlook the score or take it for granted… but one shouldn’t, because some of the pieces of music here are unbelievably good at assisting viewers get immersed in the world of Harry Potter.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
PGAdventureFamilyFantasyRelease Date November 16, 2001 Director Chris Columbus Cast Richard Harris , Maggie Smith , Robbie Coltrane , Saunders Triplets , Daniel Radcliffe , Fiona Shaw , Rupert Grint , Emma Watson Runtime 152 minutes8 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981)
Director: Steven Spielberg
The piece of music known as "The Raiders March" is easily up there with John Williams’ best-known pieces of music, and was first featured in Raiders of the Lost Ark. This first film in the Indiana Jones series is still regarded as one of Steven Spielberg’s very best movies, as well as a definitive Harrison Ford film, with his lead role here working in tandem with Star Wars’ Han Solo to make him a legend of the big screen.
The rest of the music in Raiders of the Lost Ark is also of a high quality, but it’s “The Raiders March” that’s heard and reworked the most often throughout the film, in turn also being the central theme throughout the film’s various sequels. It’s a piece of music that screams action, excitement, and adventure in a matter of seconds, and is deservedly considered one of the most iconic movie themes of all time.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
PGActionAdventureRelease Date June 12, 1981 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Harrison Ford , Karen Allen , Paul Freeman , John Rhys-Davies , Ronald Lacey , Denholm Elliott Runtime 115 minutes7 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence' (2001)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Sometimes referred to as a Stanley Kubrick movie made by Steven Spielberg (the former had considered directing it before he passed away in 1999), A.I. Artificial Intelligence sometimes gets overlooked, both the film and its score. It’s a troubling, sometimes upsetting, and often somber science fiction movie, following a robotic boy who’s eventually rejected by the married couple that obtains him as a way for them to process their grief over losing a child.
The central character’s search for meaning in a cold and unsettling futuristic world is surprisingly heavy-going by the standards of Spielberg sci-fi, which perhaps explains why the somewhat more cynical Kubrick was drawn to the story. In any event, the music for the film is amazing, and it’s one of Williams’ most underrated ones overall. Tracks like “Where Dreams Are Born” and “The Reunion” are so achingly beautiful it feels baffling why the score for A.I. Artificial Intelligence isn’t talked about more often as one of Williams’ absolute best works.
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
PG-13 Release Date June 29, 2001 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Haley Joel Osment , Frances O'Connor , Sam Robards , Jude Law , William Hurt Runtime 146 minutes Main Genre Adventure6 'Jaws' (1975)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Perhaps a little like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws has a John Williams score that’s best known for its central theme, but what a theme it is. Fittingly, it’s known as "Main Title (Theme From 'Jaws')," and, once heard, is incapable of being forgotten. It’s a piece of music that’s incredibly easy to reference, too, and has played a huge part in making Jaws such a widely parodied movie.
Accompanying a tense and exciting film about three men trying to kill a large and deadly shark, the Jaws theme marked the first occasion Williams won an Oscar for Best Original Score, with his sole win before Jaws being for Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score, for Fiddler on the Roof. No other commentary is necessary, really; it’s the Jaws score, after all.
Jaws (1975)
PGThrillerMysteryAdventureRelease Date June 20, 1975 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Roy Scheider , Robert Shaw , Richard Dreyfuss , Lorraine Gary , Murray Hamilton , Carl Gottlieb , Jeffrey Kramer Runtime 124 MinutesncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kt7C0zWauoqScnq6uv4ympq%2BhlWLApLvRnqpmmpWowW6%2BwKeinpxf