Sound
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scoresin cinema history. He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism and atonal music with complex orchestration. He is best known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has received numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. With 54 Academy Award nominations, he is the second-most nominated person, after Walt Disney, and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 91 years old. Williams's early work as a film composer includes Valley of the Dolls (1967), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Images and The Cowboys (both 1972), The Long Goodbye (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974). He has collaborated with Spielberg since The Sugarland Express (1974), composing music for all but five of his feature films. He received five Academy Awards for Best Score for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler's List (1993). Other memorable collaborations with Spielberg include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the Indiana Jones franchise (1981–2023), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War Horse (2011), Lincoln (2012), and The Fabelmans (2022). He also scored Superman (1978), the first two Home Alone films (1990–1992), and the first three Harry Potter films (2001–2004). Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops' principal conductor from 1980 to 1993 and is its laureate conductor. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games; NBC Sunday Night Football; "The Mission" theme (used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia); and the television series Lost in Space, Land of the Giants and Amazing Stories. Among other accolades, he has received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, the National Medal of the Arts in 2009 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998, the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000 and the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He has composed the score for nine of the top 25 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office. In 2022, Williams was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, "for services to film music". In 2005, the American Film Institute placed Williams's score to Star Wars first on its list AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores; his scores for Jaws and E.T. also made the list. The Library of Congress entered the Star Wars soundtrack into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Description above from the Wikipedia article John Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
Film · 2025
Music by John Williams
Film · 2024
John Williams in Tokyo
Film · 2024
John Williams - A Legacy In Sound
Film · 2024
Henry Mancini: 100 at the Hollywood Bowl
Film · 2024
Disney Legends Award Ceremony
Series · 2024
Anne-Sophie Mutter - Vivace
Film · 2023
The Making of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Film · 2023
The Fabelmans: A Family in Film
Film · 2023
Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford
Film · 2023
Ennio
Film · 2022
Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen
Film · 2022
Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes
Film · 2022
The Stories of West Side Story
Film · 2022
Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Williams & Friends: Beethoven and Williams
Film · 2022
If These Walls Could Sing
Film · 2022
John Williams: The Berlin Concert
Film · 2021
The Skywalker Legacy
Film · 2020
John Williams: Live in Vienna
Film · 2020
A World Without Beethoven?
Film · 2020
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Series · 2020
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
Film · 2019
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Film · 2019
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Adventure Awaits
Film · 2019
Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood
Film · 2018
Score: A Film Music Documentary
Film · 2017
Spielberg
Film · 2017
John Williams at the BBC
Film · 2016
John Williams: The Seventh Symphony
Film · 2016
A John Williams Celebration
Film · 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Series · 2015
Lincoln: An American Journey
Film · 2013
Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Celebration
Film · 2013
The 'E.T.' Journals
Film · 2012
A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later
Film · 2011
Return to Jurassic Park
Film · 2011
AFI's Master Class - The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams
Film · 2011
Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott
Film · 2010
Jaws: The Inside Story
Film · 2010
Music
Film · 2010
The Shark Is Still Working
Film · 2009
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos
Film · 2009
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
Film · 2009
Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me
Film · 2009
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Film · 2007
Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer
Film · 2006
You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman
Film · 2006
Within a Minute: The Making of Star Wars Episode III
Film · 2005
Star Wars: A Musical Journey
Film · 2005
Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
Film · 2004
When Star Wars Ruled the World
Film · 2004
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
Film · 2004
The Revamping of Dracula
Film · 2004
Parkinson
Series · 2004
Catch Me If You Can: Behind the Camera
Film · 2003
The Music of 'Indiana Jones'
Film · 2003
Building a Scene
Film · 2003
The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams
Film · 2002
The Beginning: The Making of Star Wars Episode I
Film · 2001
Plotting 'Family Plot'
Film · 2001
Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman'
Film · 2001
Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend
Film · 2001
The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
Film · 2001
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
Film · 1997
In the Teeth of Jaws
Film · 1997
The Making of 'The Lost World'
Film · 1997
The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'
Film · 1996
The Making of '1941'
Film · 1996
E! True Hollywood Story
Series · 1996
The Making of 'Jaws'
Film · 1995
The Hollywood Soundtrack Story
Film · 1995
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Series · 1992
The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
Film · 1989
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
Film · 1983
Star Wars: Music by John Williams
Film · 1980
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
Film · 1980
SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back
Film · 1980
The Kennedy Center Honors
Series · 1978
The South Bank Show
Series · 1978
The Royal Variety Performance 1977
Film · 1977
Previn and the Pittsburgh
Series · 1977
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Series · 1973
60 Minutes
Series · 1968
Playhouse 90
Series · 1956
The Oscars
Series · 1953
Montage: Great Film Composers and The Piano
Film
Live at the Shrine! John Williams and the World Premiere of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary
Film
Monty and the Movies
Film
All About Alfred
Film