Music By John Williams Review
John Williams, the legendary film composer, who has scored the most amazing orchestral soundtracks to some of the most iconic films of all time, is now the subject of an equally amazing documentary releasing on Disney+. It’s one that charts the man’s life from his youth to his period in a jazz band, to eventual stardom. But this documentary isn’t just a chronology of the man’s life (as storied as it is), it’s a call for the next generation of film composers to prevent the removal of orchestral film themes from the art form and being lost to the sands of time.
The documentary does an amazing job at giving audiences a window into Williams’ life, and the early parts before Hollywood. It’s done largely through interviews, not just with Williams himself but from his family, people across Hollywood like Steven Spielberg and musical walks of life. It’s a large collection of people that Williams has personally impacted, who have come to help talk about the man. It’s also one that doesn’t shy away from hard questions and moments in Wiliams’ life, like Barbara Ruick’s – Williams’ first wife – death.
One thing that should be commended, is that Disney have gone out of their way to include pieces of Williams’ music from across his work across the many different Hollywood studios, playing snippets to give audiences a taste at the man’s brilliance. It’s likely that this was a Herculean task, not only with the sheer amount of them to track down, but also navigating around the myriad of IP owners and copyright laws. It’s likely that Disney did work with other studios to bring this documentary together, and it’s great that these diverse group of studios were able to create this as a tribute to Williams.
Of course, Williams has done more work than just his contributions to film and TV, as crazy as it is to say. There is a section devoted to his original scores he’s created for concert, allowing Williams to go off the beaten track and create pieces not tied to specific films, but also the music he’s done for NBC News and the Olympics. It’s honestly surprising that among his vast film and TV library – from comedies, science fiction, historical dramas, and more, Williams has even more range than that, showing both the immense amount of talent, he has, but also the incredible work ethic and passion the guy holds for music.
What’s great about this documentary is that it’s a call to action for music composers across the film industry to prevent the loss thematic scores and orchestral music. The way Williams sees it, is that too much work now is done on electric synthesizers, which is preventing the creation of new legends, The overall point of the documentary is to say that all of this amazing work that audiences see laid out in front of them in the documentary couldn’t have been created with a synthesizer, yet the industry is moving towards that more and more, to the detriment to orchestra. It’s something that adds another layer to the film, and not just a retelling of Williams’ life.
‘Music By John Williams’ is a fantastic tour through one of the most legendary composers of all time, showing off all the different facets of the man that audiences might not have realized before. It acts as a wakeup call to younger composers and film fans in general that electric synthesizers can create good music, they pose a threat to traditional orchestras, and that synthesizers shouldn’t be the only way to create film music. ‘Music By John Williams’ is a wonderfully realized documentary, a fitting tribute to the man who has scored many iconic moments to so many people’s lives.
