“Music by John Williams” Delivers, But Leaves Me Wanting More
I just spent two hours reliving my childhood while watching Music by John Williams, a documentary now streaming on Disney+. The movie explores the life and music of Hollywood’s most celebrated composer. While movie fans will recognize his unforgettable scores — Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, and many others — few know much more about the composer. While director Laurent Bouzereau did an admirable job filling in the blanks, the film felt rushed. How could it not? Williams’ career has spanned nearly 70 years. A two-hour documentary simply isn’t enough time to do it, or the man, justice. Perhaps this film would’ve been better served as a mini-series.
Regardless of the format, Music by John Williams feels more like a love letter than a documentary. Filmmakers and musicians gush about Williams’ uncanny ability to elevate movies with his scores. Coldplay’s Chris Martin goes so far as to say that the composer is the “biggest pop star ever.” I have zero issues with the tone. In fact, I loved it. From all accounts, Williams matches his brilliant musicianship with a beautiful soul. I doubt you could find anyone who would utter an unkind word about the man. In that sense, it was a true documentary.
Branford Marsalis shares a story that illustrates both sides of Williams. The jazz saxophonist watched Catch Me If You Can and immediately reached out to the composer’s office with a special request: “Please implore Maestro Williams to turn this into a saxophone concerto.” A few days later, Marsalis received a response saying that the concerto was already in the works and he’d have the music in six weeks.
Collaboration with Steven Spielberg
For much of the documentary, Williams sits at the same piano he’s used to compose many of his TV and film scores. He explains his craft to Bouzereau while playing the melodies we’ve heard hundreds of times. Spielberg joins the party early on, sharing a hug with “Johnny.” It was a nice moment and illustrates how important the two geniuses are to each other.
For over 50 years, the two have collaborated on dozens of movies. Their collective genius has brought an animatronic shark to life, made real the many horrors of World War II, and resurrected dinosaurs. Oh, and they brought aliens to Earth three times (four if you count Crystal Skull).
A highlight came when the two discussed the Jaws score. Spielberg initially wanted a horror movie vibe, but Williams disagreed: “Oh no, sweetie. This is a pirate movie.” Two weeks later, Williams played the now-famous 2-note motif for the director. Spielberg thought he was joking but soon realized Willliams’ simple melody was inspired.
And this is where I first noticed the rushed aspect of the film. I wanted to hear much more from the two, but the Jaws discussion was done. Over and over again, Bouzereau drew us into key moments in Williams’ life, only to quickly move on to the next topic. A documentary on the music of Star Wars could fill 10 episodes. We got less than five minutes. But those five minutes were good. We learned that Williams planned on scoring A Bridge Too Far and not George Lucas’ space opera. Spielberg stepped in and helped change the composer’s mind. Said Williams: “He convinced me to do it, but it didn’t take much pushing.”
The teacher
A standout moment comes when the conversation shifts to Close Encounters. Viewers are treated to a music masterclass:
Williams plays the famous five-note theme on his piano.
“There is something spiritual about that.”
He plays a different five-note phrase that resolves to the first note of the scale.
“It’s finished, okay? It’s a sentence. A period.”
He replays the actual phrase.
“That is like a conjunctive sentence or a phrase that ends with and, if, or but. It’s creating an expectation with the fifth degree of the scale, which in that context is like ‘but’.”
Music by John Williams shines brightly in these moments. It also excels when sharing archival footage of his film-scoring sessions, but those are too few for my tastes.
Tragedy and success
Bouzereau deftly explores a dark period in Williams’ life. After losing his first wife, Barbara Ruick, he took a break from scoring: “I just didn’t want to deal with films and stories and characters and so on,” he said. He did, however, compose a violin concerto for Barbara, as it was her favorite instrument. Losing her changed Williams and influenced his music. “I felt like she was helping me. I think in some way, I grew up artistically or gained some kind of energy or penetrated what I was doing a little more deeply.”
Upon Williams’ return to scoring, moviegoers were treated to some of the most quintessential film music ever composed, Jaws, Close Encounters, and Star Wars among them. Williams called it the most successful time of his career. I agreed at first, but then I started thinking about his resumé. How do you quantify a career that includes nine Star Wars films, five Indiana Jones films, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Lincoln, Close Encounters, Saving Private Ryan, Harry Potter, and Schindler’s List? The late 1970s and early 1980s may have made him a household name, but the decades since have elevated him even higher.
Despite his unparalleled career, Williams exudes a quiet humility.
“In the end, what I’m completely happy with is the finale of the Cello Concerto. Or completely happy with the second movement of the First Violin Concerto. But not the whole piece. Some of the themes in Star Wars, like ‘Yoda’s Theme,’ for example, I think [are] especially good. The way the intervals go, it’s original, it’s very simple. There are parts of E.T., I think the ‘Over the Moon’ theme is especially good. So that’s the closest thing I can come to saying, ‘This thing describes me.’ I think all the things I mentioned do describe me, but not completely.”
John Williams
Music by John Williams concludes with the composer reciting Sergei Rachmaninov’s famous line, “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” I feel the same way. I need more.
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