John Williams: His 10 Greatest Film Scores

9. Home Alone (1990)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krFDX1ThdwA John Williams plays off on his more curious side with the primarily comedic score for Home Alone, his first collaboration with Chris Columbus. His score lends itself to a sense of childlike wonder, as the main protagonist in the film is a 10 year old boy. Williams peppers jingle bells strategically throughout the score, adding a sense of wonder surrounding the Christmas themed film. One cannot but get warm feelings around the Holidays when they re-watch the film's opening credit sequence with Williams' bouncy score setting the mood. Williams' Oscar nominated score accompanies the film's slapstick humor throughout, with a very nuanced and perfectly timed repertoire of Chaplin-eqsue musical stings to hit the jokes home, which made Home Alone one of the biggest hits of all-time. At the end of the film Williams, who's music has a genuine way of pulling at the heartstrings, allows his theme to swell into a beautiful orchestral crescendo as we see family ties reunited on Christmas Day, giving the film a sweet and highly memorable finish.
Contributor
Contributor

Kyle Hytonen is a film school grad, an independent film-maker, photographer and sleeper-inner.