101 replies to this topic

[JWfangirl1992]

I am currently uploading all my John Williams scores onto my new MacBook and it got me thinking, was there one particular score that got John Williams' name out there or was it just his extreme brilliance throughout the late 1970s and early 80s that brought about his fame?

[Quint]

It was arguably Jaws which put him firmly on the "map" and fast tracked him down the road to success.

[Stefancos]

I concur. Williams had a successful career before that. But Jaws was the first time his music became part of our public consciousness.

[E.T. & Elliott]

Home Alone 2.

[Michael]

I think it started with Images and The Cowboys, but Jaws definetly made him the musical man of the hour.

[indy4]

Jaws definitely played a role, but I don't think he became legendary until Star Wars.

[Luke Skywalker]

the reivers, when the boy Johnny Williams became John Williams, tha man

[Ren]

i think SW sealed the deal.

[mrbellamy]

I think arguing about precisely which film brought him success is kind of a moot point, because fact is, starting with The Towering Inferno but really kicked off by Jaws, he began an unprecedented streak of scoring monster hits - and a comparably constant stream of Oscar wins and nominations - that never really stopped. It's remarkable, but there have been no major lulls in his career. Even relatively speaking, the enormous good fortune he's had - especially in the sequel realm, from Jaws to Star Wars to Superman to Indiana Jones to Home Alone to Jurassic Park to Star Wars again to Harry Potter to Indiana Jones again - has ensured that his music is always right smack dab in the public consciousness. Completely by accident, he just always seems to find himself working on these things that hit that worldwide pulse in a big way.

I'll concede that this may be because I've seen his career mostly in hindsight, but I don't think most people would have registered Johnny's name off of just one film alone. An odd comparison, but it's like how Jim Carrey came out with Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, AND The Mask in 1994, followed by Ace Ventura 2 in 1995. It's hard to pin it all on just one film because it all came seemingly at once, and I think that's even more true for a composer than an actor.

[Koray Savas]

Completely by accident, he just always seems to find himself working on these things that hit that worldwide pulse in a big way.

Is it by accident, or does he seek them out?

John Williams: The Blockbuster Menace

[mrbellamy]

I guess I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt

[Joey]

I think it started with Images and The Cowboys, but Jaws definetly made him the musical man of the hour.

Perhaps Cowboys but not Images. No one saw that movie.

[Ren]

I think it's wonderful that many ages of people look fondly on JW for different scores like freshman in college are total Harry potter products.

[wanner251]

We all know that John Williams came from a time when doing great television scores was what really put a person on the proverbial map. So my vote would go for Gilligan's Island. :-)

[Alexcremers]

Jaws definitely played a role, but I don't think he became legendary until Star Wars.

True. The music of Star Wars was played everywhere. Suddenly the average Joe/Jane knew his name (and Meco's ).


Alex

[Marian Schedenig]

We all know that John Williams came from a time when doing great television scores was what really put a person on the proverbial map. So my vote would go for Gilligan's Island. :-)

As far as his studio standing goes, a lot of it was probably sealed by his TV work and early film scores (of the kind that's only now being released by The Labels). He may not have become one of the greats until the early to mid 70s, but he certainly was a highly regarded composer in the film world already in the late 60s, respected by his colleagues and well regarded by directors and producers. His 70s blockbuster scores may have "put him on the map" for the general public, but it's not like he came out of nowhere. Williams had been steadily working towards this point, and then his standing and a bit of good fortune allowed him to write those kinds of scores he's now famous for.

[JWfangirl1992]

Do we know how he came about scoring Star Wars? Because wasn't Jaws a big success by this point and Star Wars a small, independent and controversial film at this point?

Trying to figure out my John Williams history lol.

[Joey]

He came to scoring Star Wars from a suggest from Spielberg to Lucas.

John's entrance into public awareness was gradual but there is no doubt that his success with Jaws cemented it. Jaws is the most well know score he's created. Sure people will argue Star Wars, but hum a bit of Jaws and everyone, EVERYONE knows even if they don't know his name. Star Wars is wonderful and popular but it lacks that primal voice that his score to Jaws creates in the public awareness.

[KK.]

As many have said before me, Jaws is what jumpstarted Williams hit career. Star Wars then made him a superstar.

But Williams had a fair amount of attention from the Oscars before Jaws. I'm curious as to know which score got him on that map specifically.

[Alexander]

I'd say it was The Cowboys (and The Reivers). That's the film that inspired Steven when he wrote the script to Jaws. Without that music, he wouldn't have chosen John.

[Joey]

I'd say it was The Cowboys (and The Reivers). That's the film that inspired Steven when he wrote the script to Jaws. Without that music, he wouldn't have chosen John.

Steven did not write Jaws.

thankfully some of Steven's ideas were so damned stupid and over the top, not to mention beyond the filmmakers ability to make happen that they never saw the light of day.

[Quint]

The UFO movie turned out quite good though.

[Joey]

yes but ufo's are actually capable of jumping over a bridge.

[indy4]

Do we know how he came about scoring Star Wars? Because wasn't Jaws a big success by this point and Star Wars a small, independent and controversial film at this point?

Trying to figure out my John Williams history lol.

Spielberg suggested that Lucas use them. When Williams and Lucas first met the latter was going to track music from old concert works (Mars, Rite of Spring, etc.) in the film, but Williams convinced him that there needed to be thematic continuity/an original score.

[Michael]

What about Fiddler on the Roof? That probably helped a great deal too.

[indy4]

I don't think so. People can make a career of orchestration and arranging other composers' works without ever composing something original.

[Stefancos]

Angela Morley was mostly responsible for Fiddler anyway!

[E.T. & Elliott]

It depends on what exactly you mean by getting his name out there. Obviously, scoring Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, E.T., etc. made him about as much a household name as a composer could be. If you want to trace the evolution of his film career, the correct answer would probably be whatever flick he proved himself on during his years at Columbia (?) and was able to even start working on films to begin with. Without that one, he may never have even progressed to working with those young California guys with their shark and space movies.

[Krang]

I would argue that it wasn't even a film that got his name out there, but the television show Lost In Space.

[Alexander]

I'd say it was The Cowboys (and The Reivers). That's the film that inspired Steven when he wrote the script to Jaws. Without that music, he wouldn't have chosen John.

Steven did not write Jaws.

thankfully some of Steven's ideas were so damned stupid and over the top, not to mention beyond the filmmakers ability to make happen that they never saw the light of day.

Damn, that was stupid of me.

[Thor]

Williams has himself called HOW TO STEAL A MILLION (1966) his first A movie, so I think that was the big breakthrough movie that made him join the bigtimers.

At any rate, he was a very successful composer BEFORE he ever met Steven Spielberg.

[Romão]

John Williams already had 10 Oscar nominations before Jaws, and one win. Jaws made him a superstar, true, but even if Jaws hadn't come along, I'm sure he would have involved in some very prestigious and iconic movies anyway

[king mark]

I think his true success was Star Wars, that's when he became almost godly as a film composer

[Joey]

Williams has himself called HOW TO STEAL A MILLION (1966) his first A movie, so I think that was the big breakthrough movie that made him join the bigtimers.

At any rate, he was a very successful composer BEFORE he ever met Steven Spielberg.

I would argue that it wasn't even a film that got his name out there, but the television show Lost In Space.

that's where I first remember him, or Gilligan's Island, but those didn't get him into the public consciousness.

[Wojo]

I think his true success was Star Wars, that's when he became almost godly as a film composer

Right, because winning two Oscars prior doesn't make you a superstar. Just ask Gustavo Santaolalla.

[Jason LeBlanc]

I'd say it was The Cowboys (and The Reivers). That's the film that inspired Steven when he wrote the script to Jaws. Without that music, he wouldn't have chosen John.

Steven did not write Jaws.

Damn, that was stupid of me.

The only feature scripts Spielberg has written are Close Encounters of the Third Kind and A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

He also has "Story by" credits for Sugarland Express, Poltergeist, and The Goonies

[Alexcremers]

I think his true success was Star Wars, that's when he became almost godly as a film composer

Right, because winning two Oscars prior doesn't make you a superstar. Just ask Gustavo Santaolalla.

Bieber is a superstar. Unless you have an interest in film music, the name John Williams doesn't mean a thing.

[Wojo]

Damnit. I didn't use enough nodding smileys to indicate sarcasm.

[Richard]

JW had been honing his craft since the mid-sixtes, and it is arguable that his work for Irwin Allen on T.V. brought him more recognition than any of his "comedy" scores". Even his meisterwerk at that time - "Heidi" - although bagging him an EMMY, did not do too much for his career.
Quint (among others) is right: "Jaws" was the jumping-off point, and a little something called "Star Wars" propelled him into orbit - and orbit that has yet decay! To compose "the greatest score of all time" is no mean feat. To sustain that momentum is just astonishing, and as Donner and Mankiewicz have stated..."he's a comer"...

[wanner251]

We seem to be debating the difference between being successful in the eyes of the public vs. in the eyes of the industry. It is very evident that one leads to the other. We can go on all day about Jaws, but he may not have been able to do Jaws, had he not done all of the things before that, including Valley of the Dolls...

True though, Jaws is the most iconic of everything up to that point...