John Williams: His 20 Best Film Scores
"Dun da-dun dun...dun dun dunnnn"...you know which one we mean?
If you are a movie watcher of any intensity, chances are you have heard many musical scores from the great John Williams, who is most famous for his scores for the films of Steven Spielberg and for the Star Wars franchise. Many of his themes have become iconic in popular culture, from the majestic theme for Superman to the imposing Imperial March for Darth Vader. Film music has a way of conjuring up powerful memories of the movies from which it originates. Someone listening to a longing French horn playing the Force theme and building to a powerful crescendo will instantly picture the binary sunset on Tatooine from Star Wars. The soaring flying theme from E.T. will summon an image of a bicycle flying across the moon, or a simple, but ominous, two note stab instantly inspires anxiety in people as they picture a shark fin protruding from the water. The music in movies is not only a powerful accompaniment, but it is also a vital portion of a complete work of art. John Williams, along with the directors he has worked with, has helped shape our collective film consciousness and contributed so much memorable music to the movies we love. This list is a tribute to the work of a great film composer. But no list would be complete without a few honourable mentions. Even after picking twenty outstanding scores, some favourites were still on the outside looking in. Among the scores to just miss the cut are The Towering Inferno, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Fury, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Born on the Fourth of July, Home Alone, Seven Years in Tibet, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.