John Williams is responsible for many, many memorable film soundtracks. Among them are the soundtracks to every single Star Wars movie and every single feature film Steven Spielberg directed (with the exception of The Color Purple, Duel, and Twilight Zone: The Movie).
One that's been left out up till now: When Vader breaks free of the Dark Side in RoTJ, the music switches from an "evil victory is imminent" rendition of the "Emperor's Theme" to a kick-in-the-gut minor chord version of the "Jedi/The Force" theme.
Not to mention the tragically underused Luke and Leia theme in Return of the Jedi, which may very well be the best music in the entire saga.
The Battle of Hoth (part 1, part 2) is almost 15 minutes of sheer awesome. Highlights include the anthem for Humongous Mecha (part 1, 4:02-7:40), some preposterously heroic music when Luke pwns the AT-AT with the grenade (part 2, 2:45-3:40), and what can only be described as a gleefully malicious version of the Imperial March (3:40-4:10). Good times.
The entire last forty-five minutes in Return of the Jedi, three quarters of an hour of continuous, uninterrupted WIN!
The first half of the track Final Duel/Into the Death Star, the part of the film when Luke snaps and goes all-out against his father. The mournful male vocals combined with the tragic strings nearly make the music a tearjerker without any context whatsoever. The tune was tweaked into the song for the opening screen of Knights of the Old Republic.
The very avant-garde "Chase Through Coruscant" from Episode II. It's like a nightly news theme on speed, combined with electric guitar and percussion that can be charitably described as insane.
That repeating motif when Lando, Wedge and the other group leaders check in perfectly captures the determination of the Rebellion at that moment.
"The Battle of Yavin". Swirly, Lock and Load Montage style strings at the beginning, total non-stop badassery for the rest of the track. Then there's the ending (8:05-8:29). Only John Williams can packs so much HSQ into so small a time.
Say what you want about the prequel trilogy, Episodes II and III have brilliant ending themes. Episode II has the first prolific use of the Imperial March as a major foreshadowing, dovetailing into an awesome rendition of "Across the Stars". Episode III has three minutes of no dialogue which lets John Williams flex his arms like he wants to, cycling from Padme's funeral theme, to Leia's theme, to a small snippet of Harry Potter-esque music, before launching into the Force theme over a Binary Sunset to create one of the most awesome bookends ever.
No mention of the ending theme is complete without the extended end credits on the soundtrack which includes an amazingly bittersweet rendition of the Throne Room theme from A New Hope that perfectly captures the mix of despair and hope that the end of the movie conveyed.
The chilling and sad "Order 66 theme". "The Immolation Scene" was another amazing, tear-inducing piece of music. YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!!! The Revenge of the Sith soundtrack was one whole emotionally charged Crowning Music of Awesome. The opening credits where Anakin and Obi-Wan are flying together as friends and triumphant heroes, Grevious's choral theme, the eerie, gutteral music playing during the Mon Calamari ballet as Palpatine begins to ensnare Anakin with whispers of the power of the Dark Side...all wonderful
"That's no moon..." Especially brilliant since it's the Darkest Hour of ANH, and Williams could have scored it with something soul-crushingly hopeless. Instead, we hear an incredibly rousing version of the Rebel Fanfare to remind us that Our Heroes aren't licked yet...
The main theme threaded throughout that cue isn't the Rebel Fanfare, it's the Imperial March. (Not the later and more famous "Darth Vader's Theme" Imperial March, which Williams didn't compose until Empire Strikes Back — the lesser-known Imperial March from the first Star Wars movie.)
"TIE Fighter Attack", aka "Here They Come!" It earns that exclamation mark.
During the Death Star battle score for ANH, it's noticeable that the music changes from scary/foreboding to confident and heroic at the moment Luke turns off his targeting computer and trusts the Force. That's the hinge point of the movie and the music (literally) underscores it.
In one early interview, George Lucas said he had very high expectations when he made Star Wars in the mid-1970s. The only thing that exceeded his expectations was the music.
ROTJ has all the best themes of the original trilogy, such as 'Leia's News/Light of the Force'. Starts off with Luke and Leia's theme, rolls into the love theme, and then the EPIC force theme at the cremation. But pretty much the whole of the second half of ROTJ has awesome music.
Afterwards "Victory Celebration" is just...amazing. People often call it the only good change made in the Special Editions.
'The Tractor Beam/Chasm Crossfire (especially the second part) is one of my favorites. Starts out with some cool spooky music, then eventually translates into an amazingly uplifting version of the main fanfare, interspliced with Leia's theme and some other great stuff. Combined with one of my favorite scenes (the bottomless pit, AKA the "I think we took a wrong turn" scene) it's just pure awesome.
The music that plays as the newly-christened Darth Vader marches on the Jedi Temple. Sadly, it is absent from the soundtrack (although the theme appears in part in Love Pledge and the Arena.
Padme's Ruminations where Padme looks across Coruscant at the Jedi Temple from her apartment and Anakin in the Temple seems to look back. Featuring the only use of the One-Woman Wail in Star Wars music.
For Steven Spielberg
The Sugarland Express, the first ever collaboration between John Williams and Steven Spielberg which was then cemented with their second collaboration in Jaws.
Spielberg reportedly assumed the unusually simple theme was a joke when Williams first presented it to him. But just try to forget it.
The Flying Theme.) from E.T.: The Extraterrestial. It's particularly neat in how it times up with the bicycle flying "against" the moon; it's like you can hear the wheels turning.
Christian Bale (at a very young age) singing "Suo Gan" (a Welsh lullabye) in Empire Of The Sun, just as the Japanese Kamikaze pilots were about to take off for their mission. You'll cry at about the same moment the Japanese characters in the film start crying because of the sheer gallantry of it all.
The sheer joy in this piece, "Exsultate Justi" as it played in the end when Jim makes it back to now-abandoned internment camp with virtually no hope for him in sight, but in spite of that (or because of that), he still rides his bike around the inside of the buildings like the little kid that he is.
That's nothing. The Lost Worldtheme is just as epic and twice as badass.
And Journey to the Island from the first film — probably just as recognizable as the main theme itself, and a lot more awesome.
When Spielberg asked John Williams to write the music for Schindler's List, Williams tried to beg off, saying "I'm not good enough for this." Spielberg's reply was simple, and quite true: "Anyone who is better is dead." (Itzhak Perlman performed the violin solo.)
Steven Spielberg's comedy 1941 was a critical and box-office failure but John Williams' march for the film is probably one of his best ever! It's fun, bombastic and patriotic at the same time. Spielberg even said it was his favorite march of Williams, even more than "Raiders March"! Practically every junior high and high school band learns this great piece of music.
Everything else
The Accidental Tourist features the rare Williams score that isn't derivative from other composers like Ligeti, Stravinsky, or Copland.
Oh hey, since we're on the topic of Superman, may we present, his love theme.
Smallville ends with Clark Kent running out onto the Daily Planet's roof, ripping open his shirt to reveal the S-shield beneath as he prepares to take flight, the camera focusing on that iconic symbol all while that classic Superman theme song plays ever so magnificently in the background and into the end credits.
A very effective use is in the helicopter scene that begins with a growing sense of urgency as Lois faces greater and greater peril until Clark Kent appears. When he realizes he has to change, the growing musical swell that climaxes when he rips open his shirt to reveal his chest symbol is a classic of the superhero film genre.
Not to mention John Ottman's use of said theme, as well as his own music, to create a soundtrack that is pretty much non-stop heartwarming and tearjerking for Superman Returns.
A leading example is when Lois Lane's family is trapped in Luthor's sinking ship. The music begins with a mournful dirge as the trio are pulled under to their inescapable doom. Just when the tragedy becomes too much, two red boots appear on the door window and the Superman March blasts out with full thunder as Superman saves the day!
In addition to the main fanfare and "Can You Read My Mind?", there is a really moving musical moment after young Clark Kent tells his mother Martha that he's leaving Smallville to pursue his destiny up north. It's called leaving home, and starts a minute-and-a-half into that track.
Much less well known, but just as awesome as all of the above, is the nine-minute piece from The Towering Inferno that accompanies Paul Newman and Steve McQueen rigging explosive charges to the burning skyscraper's water tanks. One of the greatest examples of music used for a rising tension/countdown effect.
One of the most beautiful and magical piece of Harry Potter music was the cue heard on Diagon Alley but for some reason wasn't included on the soundtrack album released. Here it is.
We all know John Williams can compose music for virtually everything, but did you know that he also composed a score for a Western film? (Even better, a John Wayne film?) Check out this rousing score from The Cowboys.
