My Top 10 John Williams Film Scores

John Williams is a Legend. Do you even know how many of the movies you've enjoyed over the years have been touched by his musical genius? From Jaws, to Star Wars, and (insert another lesser known movie), I firmly believe that these movies wouldn't even be half the successes they are if it weren't for the work that man and his team put in to ensure that every note served to elevate the scenes they played in.

Like I said earlier, though, he's got a lot of great work to sift through . . . so I thought I'd challenge myself and list my top ten best scores from his career. The real challenge was not making the whole list a Star Wars rehash, but I had to really think about which of his amazing pieces of work transported me straight into the scene of the movie it corresponded to. Maybe your own list wouldn't be so different if you really thought about it huh? Let's start:

1. The Force Theme (Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope)

Yes, this isn't supposed to be a Star Wars list, yet my very first pick is . . . you guessed it a Star Wars track! It's just so magnificent! Otherworldly, and haunting but in a good way, and with each crescendo this feeling swells in your chest and you think . . . yes, there truly is an energy in our world, and its captured in this song. I hear this and I'm watching Tatooine's spellbinding binary sunset. I'm watching the sun's last rays glint along the high rises on Coruscant. I'm awestruck and diminutive amongst the old trees of Endor. I just . . . love this so much!

2. The Basket Game (Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark)

Yes its got its problematic themes (grave robbing, theft of historical items, general misogyny of the time), but I adore Indiana Jones. Well, I adore Harrison Ford- but especially as Indy! And "Basket Game" is such a fun, quick, exciting piece of music that brings to my mind's eye Indy and Marion's dash through the market. The whole movie was just a lot of fun, and I do really need to get a physical copy of this movie soon . . .

3. Main Themes (Hook)

Hook! This isn't a movie I watch a lot, and it's my third favorite version of Peter Pan (no offense at all to Robin Williams, I thought he was fantastic . . . but my heart does belong to the 2003 remake), but it was an undeniably fun and beautiful movie, with a fantastic soundtrack! The main theme is so exciting and . . . sparkling, in a way! Combining a whimsy and energy reminiscent of the Lost Boys, but grounded with a promise of excitement and something far more grand than any game they could come up with. Even though this wasn't the corresponding track, I always think of the feast scene, with those wonderfully vibrant and colorful desserts . . .

4. Across The Stars (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of The Clones)

I don't care what ANYONE says, it was the prequels that first introduced me to Star Wars and I'll love them for that regardless. Though I will say I didn't much care for the Anakin and Padme pairing, I cannot deny the heartfelt beauty of this track, it's so . . . sonorous and rich and just a tad dramatic, but that's these two in a nut shell. But there's an added tone of melancholy to it, as well, not very obvious but subtly threaded through . . . which could be me projecting based on what we know of course . . . but I always think it adds something extra, like putting a little salt on something sweet to really enhance it.

5. Jurassic Park Suite (Jurassic Park)

You don't understand how much I love this movie. I don't care how badly they try to sink the legacy of this prehistoric kingdom with those Jurassic World sequels, Nothing will ever sway me away from it, I LOVE IT. So of course the original theme song for this franchise would be on this list! The majesty of its arrangement, like the herald pterodactyls sing, glory to the Tyrannosaurus Rex! The commanding force of the horns, the subtler "growl" of the violins, it all just-! Whoo, deep breath . . .

6. Main Title/The First Victim (Jaws)

I! LOVE!! JAWS!!! Honestly as soon as I thought about this movie I really thought to myself, "Well I could put the whole soundtrack for this one in its own list!" I didn't realize Star Wars had competition until I really thought about how very, very much I love this little murder fish and the preppy island it terrorizes. I mean the whole soundtrack is just so fun and atmospheric . . . so unapologetically nautical, with its little flute moments and violins that crest and ebb like waves upon the shore. Without a doubt though, the top song would be the actual theme of this movie. It's just so absolutely iconic, I mean the menacing build up- what were they on in the studio that day?!

7. Duel of The Fates (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace)

This absolutely needs no explanation. If you think of Star Wars and I told you to pick a soundtrack song that wasn't the main theme, or The Force Suit, or the Imperial March- or even the Cantina Song! Then . . . you're automatically picking this song. Maybe you don't even know the name, but you can for sure say, "Oh that song they played during the Darth Maul battle." Sure, yeah, a little disrespectful, but you know it. We all know it! No one will ever forget it!

8. Adventure on Earth (E.T. the Extraterrestrial)

LOVE! I LOVE!! E.T. holds . . . so much of my childhood in his fleshy little palms. It's one of my most beloved, my most rewatched films (and it's now on Tubi, at least for summer 2023), I have the DVD, I'm searching for the candle that best resembles the forest in its ride at Universal . . . I just adore everything about it. And this song? Well . . . I think everyone with even passing knowledge of the film knows this song. That big high flying moment in the film, watching a little boy have an adventure greater than he could have anticipated when he tried catching that "coyote" . . . this song is bliss. Every time I watch this, I want so badly to be in that California forest, crisp air in my lungs and the thick of the moonlight cutting through branches to stripe my whole body, knowing that out there is something wonderful waiting for me.

9. End Title (Jaws)

That slow, relieved, start . . . the gradual, victorious rise . . . this is one of the best ending tracks in a movie ever. I was one of those kids who watched all the BTS footage offered in the extras menu (or the second disc) of a DVD, the "making of" documentaries being my absolute favorite extra. And, besides the Orca sinking story, my favorite is of one of the producers or some such telling the story of being in the theater watching this and how everyone just sat at the end of the movie and stayed until every last credit played through. Then they all clapped, and . . . when I hear this song, I think of everyone in their seats just sitting there, buzzed and stressed and knowing they all witnessed a masterpiece . . . that silent elation, the relief watching Hooper and Brody finally walk onto shore, with this beautiful song sending them all off.

10. Cantina Band (Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope)

"Oh she wouldn't really put the Cantina Band-" You're DAMN RIGHT I did! Turn it up!! Wasn't there a Vine like, "you get 10 million dollars but you have to listen to the Cantina Band song for a year", and I'd do it for two years and half the money because this is a certified hood classic. I mean, beyond it's catchy vibe and silly perfection it's just . . . walk with me:

You're working in a cantina- a place typically known to hold many bar fights and/or shootouts in the Star Wars universe as far as I can tell- on Tatooine- a planet known as, let's be honest, a desert skug hole filled with all sorts of hardassed, suspicious people . . . and you choose to play this song? Knowing that a fight could break out at any minute and people could start blasting AND this could very well be the last thing someone hears before they get blasted?! That level of disrespect is breathtaking, and I firmly believe it should be lauded at every opportunity. Plus, it also makes for a kickass exit song.

Well! I hope you enjoyed this list, and chime in with your favorite John Williams film score down in the comments below. Stay cool out there, and be well!