Ivan Radford | On 17, Nov 2024

Director: Laurent Bouzereau
Cast: John Williams, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Chris Martin
Certificate: 12

Baaaa dum. Baaaa dum. The opening to the Jaws theme is as instantly recognisable as the man who wrote it: John Williams. Perhaps the most iconic of all film composers, he has given cinema an unrivalled collection of musical accompaniment, with a back catalogue that’s as prolific and versatile as it is identifiably his. Music by John Williams, then, is the inevitable title for this documentary about him and his work.

Directed by Laurent Bouzereau – who has worked on making-of films for Steven Spielberg projects – it’s a comprehensive portrait with all the behind-the-scenes access a film fan could hope for. Spielberg, naturally, is the primary contributor, and we get a whistlestop tour that runs from Jaws to Indiana Jones. Together, Spielberg and Williams – now 92 years old – give an accessible and effective demonstration of why his music is not just impactful but integral to their movies’ magic: we get a snippet of The Last Crusade both with and without the soundtrack, to highlight its storytelling contributions, and a fun anecdote about Spielberg thinking Williams’ idea for Jaws was a joke.

It’s the moments when Williams is at the piano that the documentary is at its best, with the composer himself offering a dissection of the five-note motif from Close Encounters of the Third Kind – and a glimpse of pages and pages of rejected alternative phrases for the movie that didn’t set the right mood. We could do with more of seeing the genius in action, with more details about how he composes and what inspires him, but he’s so unassuming that perhaps he wouldn’t even want to do that.

Instead of technical insight, though, we get some heartfelt intimacy, as we learn about Williams’ personal life – from growing up in a family of music lovers to his focus on work meaning that he didn’t see his children very much. Most poignant of all is the moving revelation that his busiest and highest profile period – beginning with Close Encounters – closely followed the death of his wife at just 41.

Talking heads from the music and movie industries pop up in rapid succession, including Chris Martin, Ron Howard, Chris Columbus and – of course – George Lucas. Incorporating both their fondness of his work and love of jazz, the resulting observations highlight not just the uniqueness of Williams’ work, but also the significance it still holds as orchestra-led in an increasingly electronic age. Partway through, we hear how Ke Huy Quan excitedly recalls that his character in Temple of Doom has his own theme – and his pure joy captures precisely the impact that Williams music has both on and off screen. What a treat for film music nerds.

Add to Watchlist