Composer John Williams stops after Indiana Jones: Remember his other scores, winning 5 Oscars?
John Williams, who has worked on 75 movie soundtracks, is stepping away from Hollywood in order to focus on his music.
He explained his decision to Associated Press: "At the moment I’m working on 'Indiana Jones 5,' which Harrison Ford – who’s quite a bit younger than I am – I think has announced will be his last film. So, I thought: If Harrison can do it, then perhaps I can, also."
The latest installment of 'Indiana Jones,' released in June 2023, is likely the composer's final soundtrack.
Incredibly, Williams has won 5 Oscars and 25 Grammys, as well as a host of other major awards. He is the second most nominated person ever, after Walt Disney.
Williams won his first Oscar for 'Fiddler on the Roof' (1971). The movie was adapted from a Broadway musical, and the plot mixes family problems with political tensions.
His next Oscars - beside many nominations - would be for the scores of Steven Spielberg films. First, there was 'Jaws' whose 'tadam-tadam-tadam-tadam' we all remember as an iconic tune in movie history.
Many of us will also remember the soundtrack of 'Star Wars.' It attests to the power of John Williams' compositions. He won the Oscar in 1978.
Williams also scored the wonderful 'E.T.' (1982). The composer found the task of making a strange alien sympathetic through his music to be a daunting one.
Nevertheless, director Steven Spielberg loved all of his compositions for the movie, and he even edited one of his scenes so it could better fit Williams' music.
Williams experimented greatly on the 'E.T.' soundtrack as he wanted to capture the dichotomy of childlike wonder and terrifying danger. The composer has always innovated, and he has gone on record saying that he would love to see what music will be like a hundred years in the future.
This is another film score that many people will remember. 'Schindler's List' (1993) was perhaps the most difficult collaboration between Spielberg and Williams. This sobering movie gives a raw and emotional account of the Holocaust.
Williams, seen here speaking at the Shoah Foundation, famously told Spielberg that he needed a better composer for the film. Despite the pressure Williams felt, he won another Oscar for this soundtrack.
'Schindler's List' features violin sequences and the song 'Oyfn Pripetshik', which Spielberg's grandmother often sang when he was young.
Williams lent his talents to the first three Harry Potter movies because he was friends with director Chris Columbus. Even though he was not involved with the subsequent films, his 'Hedwig's Theme' was used throughout the series.
Williams, seen here at a Harry Potter event at Universal Studios, was asked to return for the final film, but unfortunately, scheduling conflicts meant that this was, ultimately, impossible. Nevertheless, many generations of fans associate the film series with his music.
Despite mixed reviews for his work on 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998), he won a Grammy for his soundtrack, while 'Hymn to the Fallen' was played on several radio stations across the USA.
Williams and director Steven Spielberg made the decision to leave the action scenes in the movie unscored.
Spielberg and Williams are frequent collaborators. Apart from the longevity of this partnership, what is surprising is the many different genres the pair have worked on. What is more, Spielberg, in the sleeve notes of the 'Jurassic Park' OST, declared that: 'I call it an honorable privilege to regard John Williams as a friend'.
Williams won many awards, including a stunning number of 25 Grammys. In 2016, the American Film Institute celebrated Williams by giving him a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Apart from his glittering awards, John Williams has earned the respect of his peers. Harrison Ford, at a celebration of 'Star Wars' in California, took the opportunity to state: 'It is a special honour for me to be able to congratulate John on his 90th birthday. I told John on another occasion that we had the chance to be together, and that music follows me everywhere I go. And you know what, I’m happy about it'.
As John Williams bows out from the world of movies, all we can do is thank him for scoring our favourite films. His musical genius will be missed in Hollywood!
However, there is still hope he will return. As the 90+ composer made the surprise announcement of his 'resignation' to Associated Press, he added a hint that he may return to movies again in the future.
Williams has a career of 60 years behind him. He did not just make film scores but also documentaries and other programs on TV. For example, NBC commissioned him to make a music package for their news and sports shows in 1985. Some of this package is still used today by the network.
Since the 1980s, Williams has worked with orchestras. In 2020, he worked with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. This was the first time he worked outside the USA as a conductor.
He famously worked with the Boston Pops Orchestra until 1993, though he nearly quit in 1984 when some players audibly hissed while sight-reading his new composition. After receiving personal apologies from the players involved in the incident, he decided to stay on.
Williams's continuous work includes a piano concerto and collaborations with other musicians, based on his album - 'A Gathering of Friends'.