Ranking: John Williams

I should note that I like the Superman score well enough, but not enough to put it in a top 10 list. There's also a couple of John Williams scored films I haven't seen/don't remember the scores well enough so do comment if I've missed a favourite out.

Hon. Mention: Empire of the Sun and The Phantom Menace

Both are rather underrated examples of John Williams' ability to craft movie musical magic. The former because despite being a decent success both critically and commercially at the time, it's somewhat underrated/forgotten nowadays. The latter because as we all know, most attributes of The Phantom Menace are so irredeemable that its few merits become lost among them. Regardless, both films feature solid examples of John Williams' style, in particular the 'Cadillac of the Skies' scene in Empire of the Sun and the 'Duel of the Fates' in The Phantom Menace.

Hon. Mention: Return of the Jedi

Another overlooked Star Wars film, this one more unfairly so since I do think it contains some of the best moments of the trilogy, and Ewoks are awesome. Anyway it's solid work by Williams as usual, and one of the few good things about the revised editions of the trilogy besides George Lucas' tinkering and trolling is the changing of the ending song to Return of the Jedi (although it does still sting a bit to see Sebastian Shaw replaced.

(I've also always wondered what exactly was going on in Alec Guinness' mind when they filmed these sorts of scenes. He probably cared very little for the whole concept of Force ghosts)

10. Saving Private Ryan

Not one of my personal favourites of Speilberg, but I can't deny that it has quite an amazing, rousing theme tune., even if the way it's utilized in the film isn't exactly the best. It's 'Murica at its most overt, certainly, but given Speilberg's style of direction here, I'd say it's well-warranted.

(Note: a re-watch of Catch Me If You Can, Empire of the Sun or The Patriot could put it above SPR)

9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Alternating between tense, brooding posturing and some rather serene-sounding playfulness, this soundtrack perfectly encompasses the enjoyment derived from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a science-fiction sweetie film masquerading as something more intense.

8. The Harry Potter series

One signature theme, and he only really did the soundtrack for the first three films, but it's still an instantly identifiable, iconice piece of music that perfectly fits the magical world of wizardry.

7. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

The point in the list where I start to really love my choices, and hate the act of ranking. The main theme is extremely whimsical and endearing, and works extremely well in captivating the audience in very specific moments. The best use of the score though, is of course in that heartwarming and moving ending. I dare you to watch to that scene and not have tears well in your eyes when that swelling music comes on.

6. Star Wars

I'll get onto the best of the series in a bit, but with mainly one defining score alone, Williams created an entire legacy. So what if it's a bit derivative of the Kings Row score? The only thing that does is give me an excuse to push it down the list a bit.

5.  Jaws

Few other film scores have as much ability to strike the fear tenor in one's heart than Williams' in a minimalist, but extremely effective, alternating pattern of notes that exudes the threat of the shark without the shark ever being scene. Speilberg's masterful direction is often credited with the brilliance of the horror and suspense generated by implication, but equally crucial is Williams' iconic work in his unique take on the horror theme, which cemented Williams/Speilberg as a great partnership.

4. The Empire Strikes Back

Where Star Wars was iconic, The Empire Strikes Back takes it up several notches and crafts a cascade of masterpieces in its various setpieces. Particularly great are the expanded 'Imperial March' and the ones which resonate through Han Solo's piloting of the Millennium Falcon, and the final duel.

3. The Indiana Jones series

When you think adventure, you think ol' Indy and Harrison Ford at his very best. When you think adventure music, it's easily this great theme which comes to mind, as every time it comes onscreen, regardless of the quality of the action/adventure scene, you're right in the mood to see what's next.

2. Schindler's List

I'm going to insert here this fantastic montage of a great film (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTeLwCV9WzpnOPAb0NgKesA), set to John Williams' extremely moving and haunting score which is used to brilliant effect. It fits the tone of the film perfectly with its bleak and unsparingly tragic tone to evoke the horrors of the Holocaust, but with a melodious and beautiful touch which brings with it some modicum of hope.


1. Jurassic Park

The special effects of Jurassic Park are great. But even if they were downright terrible, the film would probably still work because of John Williams' work as a composer. His music singlehandedly instills so much wonder and glee in the viewer, that quite frankly I could just close my eyes and wallow in the splendour of it, and be every bit as excited as Dr Alan Grant.