The Story Behind One Of Most Iconic Movie Themes
Almost always when you have an iconic movie, part of what makes it so is the music. I’m not talking about a song like “My Heart Will Go On” from Celine Dion (“Titanic”). Those tend to go from being popular, to overexposed, to a punchline in a matter of months. No, I’m referring to the musical score. The best ones get in your brain and stay there to the point that in just a couple of notes, you immediately recall the film. Here are just a couple of examples:
Seriously. Just one second of that and I’m immediately 7 years old again watching those words come across the screen and being transported to “a galaxy far, far, away.”
And this one? You’re looking for your leather bomber jacket, fedora, whip and searching for lost treasure, right? Okay, one more.
Yup, in just a few notes you’re reminded of a red cape, blue tights and the belief that a man could fly. Anyway, what do all three of these have in common? John Williams as composer. When it comes to iconic movie themes, he’s the GOAT. And it all got started with a little movie from the Summer of 1975 that scared the world from even thinking about going in the water for a swim: “Jaws.” There may be no more iconic theme than that one. Yesterday, I came across this from director Steven Spielberg talking about this music, and I was fascinated.
https://twitter.com/JamesL1927/status/1584553004979699719
How great is that? Spielberg was actually laughing at first. He thought Williams was playing a joke on him. Of course, the music of “Jaws” played a much bigger role that most. In case you didn’t know, for most of the production, they filmmakers could not get the mechanical shark to work properly. Therefore, to create tension intended for a 25-foot ocean predator, Williams’ music and its changing tempos let you know that danger was lurking. For this reason, perhaps there’s never been a better marriage of movie and music than this.
