John Towner Williams 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 scores in 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 92 years old.
Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 1995 Disney animated film Pocahontas. It was released by Walt Disney Records on May 30, 1995, on CD and audio cassette. The soundtrack contains songs from the film, including each instrumental song, written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, and conducted by David Friedman. The main songs feature vocals by Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Jim Cummings, David Ogden Stiers, and Bobbi Page. The soundtrack features two hit singles; "Colors of the Wind" performed by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams, and the film's love theme song "If I Never Knew You" performed by American singers Jon Secada and Shanice. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
The BFG is a 2016 fantasy adventure film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and based on Roald Dahl's 1982 novel of the same name. The film stars Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill in her film debut, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall and Bill Hader. In the film, a ten-year-old orphaned girl named Sophie befriends a benevolent giant dubbed the "Big Friendly Giant", who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, directed by Robert Zemeckis and featured film score composed by regular Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri, who conducted the London Symphony Orchestra. The musical score was heavily influenced on Carl W. Stalling's music composed for Looney Tunes. Apart from Silvestri's score, the film also features performances of "Hungarian Rhapsody", "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Amy Irving as Jessica Rabbit, "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" by Charles Fleischer as Roger Rabbit, and a choral version of "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!" performed by the Toons.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the soundtrack album to the 2016 film Rogue One directed by Gareth Edwards, which is the first instalment in the Star Wars anthology series. Originally, Alexandre Desplat was hired for the film score but was replaced by Michael Giacchino during the film's post-production. Giacchino scored the film within a span of the month, despite the tight schedule, and had incorporated John Williams' themes from previous Star Wars films into the score, having minor elements, while most of the themes were newly composed. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on December 16, 2016, coinciding with the film's theatrical release.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is the soundtrack album to the 2018 film of the same name directed by Ron Howard, which is the second instalment in the Star Wars anthology series. The score is composed by John Powell, with the Han Solo's theme conducted and composed by John Williams, whom he had collaborated for several Star Wars films, was included in the album. Williams further composed several demos, that were not included in the soundtrack but was released in the deluxe edition. Besides composing the original themes, Powell also incorporated Williams' music from Star Wars films.
The Wolverine (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2013 superhero film of the same name, directed by James Mangold. Featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine, the film is the sixth installment in the X-Men film series, the second installment in the trilogy of Wolverine films after X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and a spin-off/sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). The film's musical score is composed by Marco Beltrami, who previously scored Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma (2007).
Music from the Motion Picture: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is the soundtrack for the 2011 animated action/adventure film The Adventures of Tintin directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, based on Belgian cartoonist Hergé's comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. The film score is composed by John Williams, which is the first time he had composed the score of a film since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) as well as his first score for an animated film. The score was released on 21 October 2011 by Sony Classical Records. Williams received a nomination for Best Original Score at the 84th Academy Awards for his work in the film.
Lincoln (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2012 biographical historical drama film Lincoln, based on the Doris Kearns Goodwin's 2005 biography Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, a semi-biographical novel that covers the final four months of United States President Abraham Lincoln's life. The film is directed by Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay written by Tony Kushner and featured musical score composed by John Williams, Spielberg's frequent collaborator. The orchestral score was recorded at Symphony Center, Chicago by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. It was released by Sony Classical on November 2, 2012.
War Horse (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2011 film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg's norm collaborator John Williams composed and conducted the score for the film, the second score composed the same year by Williams for Spielberg after The Adventures of Tintin. The score featured a 90-piece orchestra performing the orchestral music and was recorded during March and April 2011. It was released on 21 December 2011 by Sony Classical Records, four days prior to the film's release. The soundtrack was also released in German in February 2012, to accompany with the dubbed release of Gefährten in Germany.
Incredibles 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2018 film Incredibles 2, the sequel to Pixar's The Incredibles (2004). The film is directed by Brad Bird and featured musical score composed by Michael Giacchino, who also worked on the predecessor. The recording of the score began during mid-2017 and continued till May 2018, at the Sony Scoring Stage in California. The soundtrack album was released digitally, alongside the film, on June 15, by Walt Disney Records and in CDs on June 29. The soundtrack featured Giacchino's scores as well as vocalised theme songs for Mr. Incredible, Frozone, and Elastigirl featured in the credits. The digital release also featured bonus versions of the theme songs sung by Disney's a cappella group, DCappella, and their version of the track "The Glory Days" from the predecessor.
Maleficent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album composed by James Newton Howard for the 2014 film Maleficent, based on the Disney villain character Maleficent from the animated film Sleeping Beauty (1959). The film is a live-action spin-off of Sleeping Beauty, and is loosely inspired from Charles Perrault's original fairy tale. Directed by Robert Stromberg, the film stars Angelina Jolie in the titular character.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the score album to the 2011 film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series, starring Tom Cruise, and the sequel to Mission: Impossible III (2006), the film is directed by Brad Bird and featured musical score composed by Michael Giacchino, who scored for Mission: Impossible III (2006), and also for Bird's previous animated films, The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007). Varèse Sarabande released the soundtrack on December 13, 2011.
Bridge of Spies (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the Steven Spielberg-directed historical drama film Bridge of Spies, released by Hollywood Records, alongside the film on October 16, 2015. It is the second Spielberg film not to be scored by John Williams after The Color Purple (1985). The film was scored by Thomas Newman, who replaced Williams in March 2015, due to health complications. The score was critically acclaimed and received nominations for Academy Award for Best Original Score and BAFTA Award for Best Film Music in 2016.
The Post (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2017 film of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film's musical score is composed by Spielberg's regular collaborator John Williams, in his twenty-eighth collaboration with the director, and is a combination of traditional instrumentation and orchestration. The album was released digitally by Sony Classical Records on December 22, 2017, and was released in CDs on January 12, 2018, coinciding with the film's limited and wide theatrical release in the United States. The album received positive reviews and earned several nominations at award ceremonies, including Critics' Choice Movie Award and Golden Globe Award for "Best Original Score".
Ready Player One is a 2018 American science fiction action film based on Ernest Cline's novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Cline. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a reboot of the Planet of the Apes film franchise. The film's original score was composed by Patrick Doyle, and was released by Varèse Sarabande on August 9, 2011.
Strange World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2022 animated film Strange World produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The original score is composed by Henry Jackman in his fifth scoring assignment for Disney film, after Winnie the Pooh (2011), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Big Hero 6 (2014) and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Jackman referenced most of James Horner and John Williams' electronic and symphony orchestral score for big-budget films, to create a "larger-than-life and fantastical, but organic" score suiting the world. He relied on orchestral music and harmonies, with exception for electronic and synth-infused score in few sequences.
Pete's Dragon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2016 film of the same name directed by David Lowery. The album featured three original songs written for the film, as well as four existing tracks, and recorded by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, St. Vincent, Leonard Cohen, Bosque Brown, The Lumineers, Lindsey Stirling, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and Okkervil River. It also featured a new rendition of "Candle on the Water", the only song that was used from the 1977 original film, and also consisted 20 tracks from the original score composed by Daniel Hart. The album was released by Walt Disney Records on August 12, 2016.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2023 film of the same name, composed by John Williams and conducted by Williams and William Ross. Recorded during June 2022 and February 2023 at the Sony Scoring Stage, and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony, the score was digitally released by Walt Disney Records on June 29, 2023, followed by a physical CD and vinyl LP release on August 9, 2023. A version of "Helena's Theme" for violin and orchestra, featuring Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist, was released as a single on June 22, 2023.
