ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
“E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” the Olympic Games, “Home Alone,” the “Harry Potter” series, and the “Star Wars” saga.
At face value, these titles seemingly have absolutely nothing to do with each other. However, if you’re a music nerd like myself, you know all of these titles have musical contributions from the one and only John Williams.
Earlier this month, Disney+ released a new documentary titled “Music by John Williams,” and being the music nerd I am, I knew I had to watch it and learn more about this legendary composer. And like many of the movies he’s composed for, I came away absolutely not disappointed.
The documentary was produced and directed by French director Laurent Bouzereau, and the end result is absolutely wonderful. The movie starts back in his childhood and his beginnings being influenced by his percussionist father and moves through the creation of some of his more famous film score work (including, but not limited to, the “Indiana Jones” series and “Jaws,” among many others) until his more recent work with the Boston Pops and the Hollywood Bowl.
Something in particular that struck me as I was watching the movie was the huge scope of Williams’ work. He’s been composing for movies and TV since the mid-1950s and has been going non-stop since then, and I also found it amazing just how much joy he still seems to take in his work. His versatility and work in multiple genres is highlighted throughout the movie (the difference in tones and style between “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List,” both released in 1993, is particularly striking), and my jaw nearly dropped upon realizing just how much music Williams has been able to compose in all the time he’s been in music. Among all of that, another interesting note is how recognizable Williams’ music is to so many people throughout the world. Kathleen Kennedy’s quote near the beginning of the movie about how much of his music is instantly recognizable (even if the listener is unaware it’s his work) is absolutely on point.
Another minor focus of the movie is Williams’ friendship with Steven Spielberg, and I absolutely enjoyed it, especially since they’re still good friends and collaborators today. I found Spielberg’s story about hearing the simple but effective “Jaws” theme for the first time particularly amusing. There’s also an amusing anecdote from their collaboration on “Schindler’s List” – after Williams saw a rough cut of the movie, he was apparently so overwhelmed by what he had just seen, he called Spielberg and said “This is a fantastic movie, but you need a better composer than me to score it,” to which Spielberg replied, somewhat drolly, “I know, but they’re all dead.” They’ve collaborated so many times together, and I’m sure they’ve got many, many more stories to share, so I enjoyed the movie’s peek into their friendship. There are multiple times throughout the documentary where some of Spielberg’s own home movies of Williams’ conducting are used, which I also loved, because I thought that helped add an extra dimension to everything.
While the documentary is a mostly joyful look back on Williams’ life and work, I will admit the brief part of the movie when he talks about his first wife’s sudden death from an aneurism was an absolute punch in the gut. You can tell, even to this day, he still has some trouble talking about it, and I liked how he was open about how much it affected him and how he somewhat buried himself in work to help deal with it. I felt that openness very refreshing.
While I’m not entirely sure the director intended this, I felt like the movie was not a documentary JUST about Williams, but also about the evolution of film/TV score music throughout time. The film highlights some stories about how “lowbrow” and “undignified” such work was, even as late as the 1980s and early 1990s, which absolutely baffled me because there are many times I’ve watched a movie or TV show and have become absolutely fixated on a character theme or some other piece of music compared to whatever media I just watched. There’s a point later in the documentary where famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma says “I was always baffled by so many different walls between music,” and I could not agree more, because why shouldn’t a piece of an absolutely gorgeous film score (say, Itzhak Perlman’s violin contribution to the “Schindler’s List” score) be considered as lofty as, say, a Mozart or Bach concerto? That attitude is shifting nowadays, thankfully, and more musicians are starting to see the value of score music because it truly sets the tone for whatever media you’re consuming, whether it’s a movie, a TV show, a video game, or whatever.
I also really enjoyed how the movie highlighted Williams’ skills as a conductor, because he also amazing at that. I enjoyed seeing the respect he shows toward everyone in whatever orchestra he happens to be working with, and everyone seems to enjoy working with him in return. As someone who was in band for many years, I also enjoyed learning how he actually prefers to work with a live orchestra because he wants that emotion and more real sound compared to just putting everything together with computers and having it be almost too clean. The question of “Why aren’t we hearing more orchestral scores/themes in music?” is asked, and I feel like it’s a good one.
While I overall enjoyed the documentary, there are just a couple minor quibbles I have. One, I wish there would have been just a little more emphasis on how Williams came up with some of his more famous themes and what kind of inspiration he had. That’s briefly talked about with the “Star Wars” themes, but I wish there had been a little more of a deep dive into some others. I also wish there could have been some younger composers/musicians interviewed about how Williams is inspiring some of their own work (because come on, there HAS to be AT LEAST one or two). I also felt the movie was maybe a little too short to fully encompass Williams’ work, and in truth, a short docuseries (perhaps two or three episodes) might have worked a little better given just how long Williams has been in the business.
Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed “Music by John Williams” on Disney+ and would give it a solid “A” grade. I enjoyed learning more about one of the best composers of all time and getting a glimpse into his life and musical output, and the end result is a joyful celebration of Williams’ contributions to the music world. If you’re a music nerd like me, you’ll definitely enjoy this movie.
