10 Underrated John Williams Tracks
8. Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) - Theme From Born On The Fourth Of July
Williams is famous for his work with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg but he also composed three beautiful scores for Oliver Stone. Born on the Fourth of July is his first time working with the famously demanding director.
The film is the second in what Stone has called his Vietnam Trilogy (the first being 1986's Platoon and the final being 1993's Heaven & Earth). It's the true story of Ron Kovic, a patriotic young American who went to Vietnam and returned home a changed and shattered man.
Williams' theme is sentimental, evoking the romanticized version of small-town America with a full string orchestra. But throughout it all is a growing sense of dread, illustrated by a lone trumpet. Before Ron leaves for Vietnam, it's the call to arms. Once he returns, it's his past haunting him: His lost youth and the horror of his time in a war he knows was wrong.
Stone is often lambasted as a director who "hates America" but his actual films show a deep love of his country's ideals coupled with a bitter disillusion of his country in practice. Williams seems to understand this, producing a score that is both incredibly optimistic and deeply tragic.