John Williams and Contemporary Film Music

• There seems to be the idea that everything has been written on John Williams, because he is such a widely famous film composer. Yet, this is not true at all, since academic studies of his work are rather few. Moreover, when discussed critically if not academically, the take on Williams’s work is often oversimplified if not prejudiced. On the other hand, the stylistic influence of Williams’s work on contemporary scoring has also been overstated by fans and favourable critics. The use of big orchestras and dense sound textures is actually the only thing that contemporary mainstream Hollywood composers such as Hans Zimmer seem to have inherited from him, certainly not Williams’s leitmotivic, symphonic, and classical-Hollywood sounding style. This chapter aims at defining Williams’ contribution to contemporary scoring in its fair terms. It surveys Williams’s career in terms of his revival of the musical style and repertoire of Hollywood’s Golden Age and  compares Williams’s style with the general style of mainstream contemporary film music. Williams has continued to be an active protagonist of film scoring in the last fifteen years – a period of great stylistic and industrial change – and he still is, being a permanent reference point for film music that strives for higher standards. This chapter argues that the main reason of Williams's prolonged success is a well-balanced mix of versatility and strong musical personality, the latter element being most notably reflected in his memorable musical themes.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Filmvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Studies on Film (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Musikvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Musicology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

John Williams; film music; Hollywood; film technique; sound design

Film Studies

Filmvetenskap

Musikvetenskap

Musicology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)