Thank you for these great remarks (mainly about orchestration). I would add a few things about his chord progressions. - He starts a lot of his themes (in major keys) with the first degree followed by a major chord on the second degree (keeping the previous tonic). Ex: CMaj then DMaj/C. You can hear it in : Flying Theme from E.T., the 2 bars motif that opens and closes E.T., Fawkes the Phoenix, the second theme from Jurassic Park, Anakin's Theme, Yoda's Theme, Love Theme from Superman, Theme from The Lost World. - It's been mentioned already but he likes parallel triads as a chord progression for his major themes. You can hear it in : Abandoned in the Woods from A.I., the theme you hear in Searching for E.T., the second part of Hedwig's Theme, Main Theme from Seven Years in Tibet, Emperor's Theme from Star Wars, Jabba's Theme from Star Wars, Theme from The Lost World. - He massively uses the 4th degree minor in a major key (borrowed chord from the minor key, of course). You have it in : Main Theme from Born on the Fourth of July, Flight to Neverland, Marion's Theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Across the Stars from Star Wars, Princess Leia's Theme from Star Wars, Yoda's Theme, Luke and Leia from Star Wars, Han Solo and the Princess from Star Wars, Love Theme from The Terminal. - I would also say that he often uses sharp 9 dominant in a non jazz context (thanks to his jazz background, I guess...) So those are the things I noticed... Anyway, I hope it makes sense to you