10 Extraordinary Partnerships Between Composers and Directors

[h2]2. John Williams and Steven Spielberg[/h2]

The most significant and iconic union between director and composer in American cinematic history, one cannot examine the work of Steven Spielberg without giving great attention to John Williams’ contributions, and I would argue the same is true the other way around. Williams and Spielberg have emboldened one another their whole careers, constantly challenging the other to step up their game and deliver the best material possible. Many of the most memorable moments in Spielberg’s films would be nothing without Williams’ music – think E.T.’s escape, or the Close Encounters finale, or any given action sequence in any Indiana Jones film – and Williams, in turn, would not have the inspiration or opportunity to write such staggeringly beautiful music – like Schindler’s List – were it not for Spielberg’s talents as an immersive, thoughtful storyteller.

And while both men have been accused of being repetitive in their work, I find such criticisms largely groundless. Spielberg and Williams have ‘played it safe’ on occasion – 2011’s War Horse comes immediately to mind – but they have also been stylistically inventive and playful in ways most blockbuster film talents rarely are. Take a film like Catch Me If You Can, where Spielberg explored a period and film genre he had never visited before, and thus gave Williams license to write a very different – and extremely effective – jazz score. When the two work together, one can always sense the ways in which they need each other, all the aesthetic and narrative elements that can only be achieved by working in tandem.

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