Disney’s John Williams Documentary Explains the Origin of His Iconic Star Wars Theme

Disney’s new documentary covering the life and work of composer John Williams, Music by John Williams, is a detailed tribute to one of music’s most beloved on-screen icons. John Williams’ film scores are known throughout the film world for their orchestral sophistication and emotional complexity, making the New York native the musical inspiration for directors such as Stephen Spielberg, George Lucas, Oliver Stone and Ron Howard. While Star Wars is undoubtedly John Williams’ best-known soundtrack, its credits read like a who’s who of blockbuster films: Jaws, Close Encounters, Jurassic Parkand many others. His four Oscars for Best Original Score are unparalleled.

But then again, it’s his famous score for the Star Wars franchise for which Williams is best remembered. Music by John Williams notes that in 1977, when Williams composed the theme for the first Star Wars film, the science fiction genre was relatively in its infancy. The science fiction music accompaniment of the time was characterized by a synthetic sound, emphasizing the otherworldliness of the genre.then the Williams orchestra Star Wars The arrangements, which harken back to the golden age of Hollywood cinema, were originally seen as antiquated in the face of a new musical and cinematic era.

How John Williams Got the Star Wars Job

Williams was nominated for George Lucas by Spielberg

John Williams wrote the soundtrack for Steven Spielberg’s film Jaws in 1975, and also composed the music for Violinist on the roof (Norman Jewison, 1971) and received an Oscar for both, So he was already an established and respected talent in Hollywood circles when George Lucas called. Spielberg made the nomination, recommending Williams’ symphonic approach to film music, knowing that Lucas, like him, was drawn to old-fashioned film scores rather than the new wave of popular music dominated by theme songs.

For Lucas, all Star Wars The project was somewhat risky, so moving away from the electronic music idioms of science fiction represented just another gamble. Placing the composition in the experienced hands of John Williams minimized this riskhowever, given his excellent track record. Originally, Lucas intended to use well-known classical music, following in the footsteps of 1968 2001: Space Odyssey, which successfully integrated Strauss’s symphonic poem “Also Sprach Zarathustra” as its theme. However, it was John Williams who convinced Lucas to opt for an original soundtrack.

Where John Williams found his musical inspiration in Star Wars

Williams convinced Lucas to have an original soundtrack

Having persuaded Lucas to allow him to compose original music for Star Wars, Williams set about creating a full orchestral score that deliberately ignored the film’s science fiction credentials.: “The film’s music is very non-futuristic” he said later, according to The Library of Congress: “The films themselves showed us characters we hadn’t seen before, unimaginable planets, and so on, but the music was emotionally familiar..” Rich in leitmotifs, and very indebted to Wagner, the Star Wars the soundtrack is lushly orchestrated and colorful; it is also closely linked to character development and narrative lines.

Williams’ score covers the film’s 121 minutes – but it’s the opening theme that is his most famous achievement, prompting Lucas himself to comment Music by John Williams: “Hearing this for the first time is like having a baby.” Featuring a huge tutti orchestral chord, the theme alone re-established symphonic cinema music in large-format filmsand led a new wave of film composers to rethink their modernist approaches. Williams’ score was so iconic that it appears in all 10+ iterations of the Star Wars franchise, and is as important to the character in the series as Luke Skywalker or Yoda.

Star Wars Score Critical and Public Reception Explained

The Star Wars soundtrack was a huge success

Initially, Star Wars reviewers couldn’t understand why Lucas turned to symphonic and romantic music rather than the modernist and atonal electronic music then in vogue.. Even classicists who appreciated orchestral music suggested that Williams borrowed from the likes of Wagner or Holst. Williams would revisit this musical snobbery a few years later when he was appointed to direct the Boston Pops, resigning just weeks later, citing the orchestra’s failure to recognize him as a serious classicist.

Whatever their opinion, Music by John Williams tells us that Star Wars the song was as resounding a success as the film itself. Lucas released a 74-minute double LP in 1977, and by July it had sold 650,000 copies, grossing an impressive $9 million. It would sell more than 4 million copies and become the best-selling symphonic album in history. In turn, John Williams’ best picture theme won him his third Oscar, a Golden Globe and three Grammy Awards, fully justifying George Lucas’ tribute to him at the 2016 AFI Awards: “Music is the magic dust of films. He elevated music to the level of popular art that would stand the test of time.“

SOURCE: Library of Congress