An Ode to John Williams, the Movies’ Music Magician

The main title is probably one of the most recognizable themes in film music history with the heralding brass and lush strings. The score began the rebirth of the grand symphonic sound played by a large orchestra in films. It’s a seminal score that would instantly make Williams the top Hollywood composer.

Who can forget that shark theme with its terror lurks feel? That theme established film music as an integral part of filmmaking.

For a movie about dinosaurs, the music cues from this score are quite the opposite from what you would think. Almost half of the cues have a soft, light and sensitive emotion to the music.

Beautifully written music to this emotionally-tragic score about the Holocaust. Itzhak Perlman’s violin solos throughout are superb.

Great adventure to the music with Williams’ usual diverse orchestration with active string work and bold brass action. The best cues: "Fawkes the Phoenix," "The Chamber of Secrets," "Dueling the Basilisk," "Harry’s Wondrous World."

Another one of Williams’ most recognizable themes, the "Theme from Superman." It’s like you’re really flying with the The Man of Steel superhero looking to do good deeds and succeeding.

One of the most underrated scores by Williams. Beautiful lush strings, great oboe and piano solos interspersed at times with narration from the film. Check out the "My Dad’s Stories" cue with its fabulous pizzicato string work.

What a journey you’re taken on with this score, the best in the Indiana Jones franchise. From the opening "Raiders March" cue, you’re off for nonstop adventure and drama. Bold, brassy and frenetic music.

This score is a bit more atmospheric/mystical than what we usually hear from Williams, but outstanding nonetheless because it’s perfect for this type of movie. "The Wild Signals" five-notes motif cue in the communication with the aliens’ spaceship scene again states the case that music can be a significant player in films.

A signature score that’s emotionally exciting, tender and frightening with dazzling brass and string compositions. The "Escape/Chase/Saying Goodbye" cue is the piece de resistance of the score. Simply outstanding.

The reason I'm picking Episode V over Episode IV is that it contains "The Imperial March" (Darth Vader's Theme), the second most iconic track in the series behind the opening title, and one that dogs have recently barked in Volkswagen commercials.

While Episode IV deserves credit for introducing the opening theme (while it's technically just rehashed for the other movies), as an entire piece of work, V > IV. However, IV contains "The Throne Room," which as far as I'm concerned can take the place of Mendelssohn's Wedding March without anyone really noticing.

What separates Schindler's List from other Williams/Spielberg collaborations is that it inserts another level of emotion in an otherwise already emotional film (as opposed to another level of excitement in an already exciting film). Williams also does this with Amistad and Munich, but ultimately it's Itzhak Perlman's violin that provides the soundtrack over the tears for the most important film that Spielberg has ever made.

This score is the epitome of a Spielberg/Williams collaboration. With multiple memorable melodies throughout, it's jam-packed with themes for each mood of the film - the scary, the exciting, the silly, the heartfelt, the sad. With no sequel to be made and thus no opportunity to expand on these themes, Williams lets it all out here. The special effects of this film will age, but the music will not.

Like how Star Wars Episode IV gave us the Star Wars theme, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark gave us the Indiana Jones theme (Raiders March). And like how Star Wars Episode V gave us the "Imperial March," The Temple of Doom gave us "Slave Children's Crusade." While this track isn't used exactly the same as the "Imperial March" in Empire Strikes Back, it's catchiness with the dark undertones has the same effect, and elevates this score over the other Indy scores.

I haven't seen the Harry Potter films (until I make time to read the books), but I HAVE heard the music, like a true soundtrack geek. And since I can't put in perspective which track goes to which film while casually listening to random scores and skipping over boring ones, I let my iTunes data make the decision here. Seems that I've been enjoying tracks from Part III over the others (Williams only composed the first three). I've also mistaken parts of "A Window To The Past" for music from Schindler's List (listen yourself and see if you hear the similarities).

This is a film that folks want to like more than they actually do, because this disturbing historical event ended up becoming a courtroom drama that didn't draw the emotional responses that they would've expected from Spielberg. But Williams still delivered with the score, giving a soundtrack for Out-of-Africa slaves in the 1800s by relying heavily on a choral chants.

Even though the title The Phantom Menace was the first bad omen prior to its release, Williams's "Duel of the Fates" (also released ahead of the film) told us that something epic was about to happen. Though this movie kicked off a trio that ultimately disappointed long-time fans, no one walked out thinking it was Williams who botched it. If anything, "Fates" and tracks such as "The Arrival at Tatooine/The Flag Parade" enhanced this Jar Jar Binks-led disaster.

It's the theme, and only the theme, that makes this score because no one remembers any other part of it. I've always thought if Williams had been inspired to write this music while scoring the Star Wars main theme, it would've worked just as well (although the Star Wars theme probably wouldn't have worked the same for Superman).

Here's another score that is underrated due to the absurdity of the film, even with a typical Williams prologue and a cheesy child's song, "When You're Alone." Ultimately, it's the tracks "Presenting the Hook," "The Banquet," and "Smee's Plan" that you'll be whistling along to on your all-Williams iTunes mix.

I'll be goofed on for this pick considering it's typically off the radar for lists like this, but when you actually listen to what Williams composed out of context with the distractions of a prepubescent Macaulay Culkin outwitting Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, you'll hear exactly what Williams does best. His heavily Christmas-themed score sometimes adds a tone that enhances the seriousness of an otherwise slapstick film. John Hughes could've used Looney Tunes music for this but instead added a layer of quality that's often lacking in family comedies.