Soundtracks and their Influences John Williams the Genius

John Williams must be our greatest living composer of movie soundtracks. Do you agree with that statement?

Look at the facts laid down bare: Star Wars, all 9 of the ever decreasing turns are heightened by an always excellent score. Superman, that theme lives far longer in the memory than the actual series. Indiana Jones, without Ford, Spielberg and Williams there is no Indiana Jones (please take note Disney). Harry Potter; E.T. Close Encounters, Jaws... the list goes on -

in short some of the most memorable themes from the last fifty years are written by one man.

I ask because I recently watched The Royal Opera House Ballet perform Romeo & Juliet and was struck by how beautiful and powerful Sergey Prokofiev's score was. I noticed hints of Williams and Bernard Herrmann in there. This made me wonder who influenced the young John Williams?

I think an obvious source, with Star Wars in mind, would be Gustav Holst and his orchestration of The Planets. But I can hear more sources in his music, and an appreciation of Prokofiev as well as Tchaikovsky and perhaps Chopin. There is a lightness to his music in its tender moments, but his themes also carry a heroic bombast, these are the themes that stay with you long after you have left the movie theatre.

I noticed in Prokofiev's score the wonderful use of the strings section, which John Williams uses to mesmerising effect in The Empire Strikes Back sequence Rescue from Cloud City. Here the strings build quite gracefully while the Falcon races to rescue Luke Skywalker from the belly of the beast. The music is very dramatic, pushing you on the edge of your seat even when listening to it alone. What I love is that when listening to his compositions at home, I can almost play the movie in my head, and that is the mark of a memorable soundtrack which heightens the movie experience.

Listening to Romeo and Juliet I also heard hints of Bernard Herrmann. The entr'acte to Act 3 of Prokofiev's score is such a soft and beautiful violin piece which brought to mind the slow build of the Psycho soundtrack, notably the beginning in The City; as the camera pans down into the window of Marion and Sam's hotel room, the violins sweep along with our view. It makes for quite an experience on the screen, and again for another when listening to it in your own space. 

Music is so important to the movie viewer. From the ballet of Chaplin to the heroism themes of The Avengers, music plays an enormous role in how we view characters and emotionally connect with the scenes being played out before us.

Many composers have stood out; John Barry, Michael Giacchino, Michael Kamen to name but a few in my timeline. But John Williams for me is the one; the guy who takes you back to a galaxy far, far away, or to a foreign dusty landscape with treasures buried beneath. His music gives me goosebumps nearly 40 years later and will live on way beyond his human years can take him.

He created the soundtrack of a generation in the truest sense. May he live long and prosper.

#johnwilliams  #starwars  #indianajones   #prokofiev   #bernardherrmann   #theplanets 

Zac Thraves is a writer and performer presenting around the country his ideas for the imagination...if you are intrigued, get in touch.