John Williams has scored some of the most iconic blockbuster films in history, many of those by Steven Spielberg. The role of a film’s score is to support the film but Williams’ mastery of composing these scores elevated certain moments of the film beyond what they would have been without it. Villains became more evil, nature got scarier, and emotional moments were more charged than ever before and it wasn’t because of the acting, or the lighting, or the dialogue – it was the incredible compositions of John Williams that elevated these scenes in the minds of the viewers and molded a good movie into a part of our collective societal consciousness.

Star Wars Main Theme

The signature opening theme of the original 1977 Star Wars film remains, arguably, the most recognizable film theme in history. It would probably be possible to write an entire book analyzing the compositional triumph that was thesoundtrack of Star Wars. But it was all summed up with the theme music – it was bold, heroic, and larger than life. The theme for an adventure movie like Star Wars had to make some sonic leaps, but somehow, Williams kept it cohesive throughout with the use of consistent elements like major key tonality, brass-heavy orchestration, and recurring motifs.

E.T. – Flying Theme

Theflying scene in E.T. is the culmination of the film and needed a fitting sonic backdrop. The climax of the film is meant to inspire wonder and hope and Williams’ composition certainly reflects that. Williams uses ascending melodic intervals in the theme that rise first by a fifth, then by an octave, then by a minor sixth. This expansion of intervals gives a sense of lift and progression akin to flying. The melody also incorporates smaller intervals in parts, noting the complexity and perhaps the confusion of those witnessing the event from the ground might be feeling. Summing up a film exploring concepts of alien life can be a tricky subject to broach through music, but Williams, as always, absolutely nailed it.

Jaws Theme

The JAWS film franchise iscelebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2025, and still today, people dissect the film’s simple yet effective theme music. The Jaws theme relies heavily on two notes (E and F) which have since become somewhat a sonic shorthand for impending danger. The simplistic two-note motif reflects the very nature of a shark – primitive, calloused predator with a relentless and unstoppable drive. Williams has proven his ability to create soundscapes that perfectly encapsulate the complex emotions within Spielberg’s films, but his ability to do it with such a simplistic motif really shows what a genius he is. 

Hedwig’s Theme – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Hedwig’s Theme has become synonymous with the Harry Potter film franchise. Williams often relies on full orchestras for his sound, but with this theme, he branched out and used a celesta, which was further electronically manipulated to create a sound that was otherworldly. The celesta, much like the main character in the film, just didn’t fit in with a traditional orchestra, but does have a somewhat magical sort of sound that sets the tone for the entire Harry Potter universe. 

Theme from Jurassic Park

In the early 1990s, Williams was tasked with capturing the awe and grandeur one might experience when witnessing dinosaurs for the first time – something thought to be impossible. He accomplished this through the use of soaring, hymn-like melodies often described as “gentle religioso cantilena lines,” which means a smooth flowing melody that builds to a grand crescendo, which is timed perfectly to the moment the dinosaurs are revealed in theJurassic Park theme. 

Schindler’s List Theme

We know that Williams can compose a score for heroic blockbuster films, but he can also create delicate highlyemotional scores such as in Schindler’s List. The centerpiece for that theme was a solo violin that is played with vibrato, conveying a deep sense of sorrow, which fits into the film’s setting impeccably. Other instrumentation is brought in to surround the solo violin and deepen the emotional complexity and tension of the score. Williams makes use of the sad keys like D minor to significant effect in the theme as well. 

The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme) – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

I was not exposed to a lot of heavy music in my childhood due to a multitude of factors, but when I heard themusic that accompanies Darth Vader when he first appeared on screen, I thought it was the heaviest thing I’d ever heard.  The orchestration uses a strong minor key tonality (G minor, specifically) with dissonant chords and minor chord variations to evoke a menacing atmosphere – a perfect backdrop for one of the most iconic evil villains of all time. 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Main Theme

It has been said that if contact is ever made between humans and extraterrestrials, it will likely be via sounds that are foreign to us. So, how does one go about creating a score for a film about this sort of encounter? Well, in the score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a five-note motif was composed by John Williams for this exact purpose. Transformation in this motif via tempo, tone color, and register changes is used to reflect different states during the film (fear, hope, curiosity, etc). These transformations allow Williams’ score to take on the role of a narrator or an unseen character in the film. Perhaps on some deeper plane, this could allude to the idea that an alien presence might already be among us, guiding us even though we cannot see it – perhaps it is more about us coming into contact with the untapped sections of our own brains… or maybe it’s just a highly effective, brilliant composition to a highly cerebral film. 

Furthermore, the score blends tonal and atonal elements to create a sound that is not only ominous and mysterious, but touches on something deeper, a clashing or blending of two very different worlds – “human vs. alien” or “known vs. unknown.”