Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors of all time, and as he’s partnered with undoubtedly the greatest film composer ever, John Williams, many of his films are some of the most memorable of all time. With tomorrow’s theatrical release of Jurassic Park into theaters, we’re looking back at their best collaborations.
Steven Spielberg first partnered with John Williams on his very first theatrically released film, The Sugarland Express. At the time, Williams was much more of an established artist having already won an Academy Award for Fiddler on the Roof. Spielberg did everything in his power to get a meeting with the composer, and time has told how that worked out. There are only two films in Spielberg’s storied career that haven’t featured John Williams as composer. Prior to The Sugarland Express, Spielberg directed a made-for-TV film, Duel. The only other Spielberg directed film is The Color Purple. At the time Spielberg joined the production of the film, composer Quincy Jones had already been attached to the project.
10. ‘Lincoln’ (2012)
When it was announced that Steven Spielberg would be directing a movie about Abraham Lincoln, most Spielberg fans thought it made so much sense that it was a surprise that it hadn’t happened before. If you could pin Spielberg’s directing down to two elements, it would be his ability to bring out the most human elements and his major set pieces. Lincoln obviously lent itself to that.
Though the film as a whole can’t compare to Spielberg’s best work, Lincoln features one of the best acting performances in any of Spielberg’s movies from Daniel Day-Lewis in the titular role. Lincoln also featured several other very good performances. Spielberg did a very solid job at making us see the human element of Lincoln. While we didn’t need to be persuaded on how good of a president Lincoln was, Spielberg showed just how Lincoln manipulated the politics in a way that most people just don’t know.
While Lincoln doesn’t have a “theme” track like many of the other movies to come, “With Malice Towards None” is the highlight of the score. The track has a classic Williams beauty. While this and the rest of the Lincoln score aren’t as original of some of the rest of Williams’ work, Williams provides a very presidential and very Williams-esque feel throughout that fits Lincoln perfectly.
Lincoln often gets flack for being too inside-baseball political, but that shouldn’t deny how good a film it actually is. Led by its stellar performance, Lincoln is a very good film that fits Spielberg perfectly.
9. ‘Catch Me if You Can’ (2002)
Of all the films to make this list, Catch Me If You Can is the most different from the rest. It has less of the Spielberg flair we’ve come to know and love, but it’s still a really good movie.
Catch Me If You Can is not a unique Spielberg film because it’s based on a true story, nor because it’s unbelievable. The fact that the film has both elements is what makes the story so intriguing. As Frank Abagnale Jr. was once on FBI’s Most Wanted list, you know the movie will end after he gets caught, but it’s more about watching it play out. The performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, and Christopher Walken take it from a really good story to an immensely fun one to watch.
The Catch Me If You Can theme is a change of pace from most of Williams’ themes. This theme has a very light, Jazzy feel to it. Coupled with the terrific animated opening credit sequence, the score gives a very different feel to this film from the beginning. Even though it’s not his usual style, the Jazz style is a familiar one to Williams. Early in his career, Williams was a pianist in Jazz-legend Henry Mancini’s band.
The only major flaw Catch Me If You Can has is that it is probably about 45 minutes too long. Spielberg has many long movies, and rightly so, but this time the end didn’t come soon enough.
8. ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (1977)
Spielberg has made plenty of science fiction films throughout his career, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, his first sci-fi film, is still one of his best.
Close Encounters came out the same year as Star Wars, and it’s arguably the better film. Regardless of which one you prefer, it’s definitely stood up just as well. Led by one of the best performances of Richard Dreyfuss’ career, Close Encounters takes a fantastic look at one of man’s favorite topics: the U.F.O. Spielberg wisely left the aliens to the very end of the film. He often uses the human emotion of wonder beautifully. Our wonder matches the wonder of the characters.
John Williams did something masterful with Close Encounters. While the music throughout is one of Williams’ finest, the theme that really stands out is “Wild Signals,” the theme of how the aliens communicate. This theme was more total collaboration between Williams and Spielberg than is typical between composers and directors. Most film scores give the necessary feel to a film, but “Wild Signals” was sound that played as almost another actor.
Close Encounters got even better with Spielberg’s special edition released in 1980, three years after the initial release. The special edition features extra scenes. Most notably is the scene where Spielberg takes us inside the spaceship.
7. ‘E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982)
Five years after Close Encounters, Spielberg delved into sci-fi again and made the best sci-fi film of his career: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
Spielberg is known for his use of the human element, and it’s interesting that this is at its most prevalent in a story about aliens. E.T. is about way more than aliens. It paints a beautiful picture of childhood friendship and love, wonder of what lies above, death, and having to say goodbye. The film doesn’t take it at all easy on the emotions – it’s very moving. The fact that we really don’t know anything about where E.T. comes from is to the film’s credit. We wonder just as much as the characters themselves.
John Williams’ score and the E.T main theme are as wondrous as the film itself. The “Flying Theme” brings a sense of flight while at the same time presenting a very youthful feel. I never saw this film as a child, but the theme itself still gives me a nostalgic feeling about my childhood. It’s also one of the best known movie themes ever. Most movie theme medleys include bits of this theme (as well as several others from this list).
E.T. will forever be known as one of the best alien movies of all time. Its touching story makes an impression on those who see it.
6. ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993)
It’s hard to look at the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and remember that it came out 20 years ago.
Jurassic Park‘s strongest quality is of course the special effects on the dinosaurs, and they look just as good today when watched on the most recent Blu-ray conversion. (Note: purchase on Amazon gives you a ticket to see it in theaters.) We’re very excited to see how the good 3D conversion is. We’re typically not fans and would have rather seen it re-released in remastered 2D, but you can bet we’ll be in our seats tomorrow night happy to see it on our big screens – and for the first time for some of us. Will you be going to the theater to see it again? Let us know in the comment section!
John Williams, master of so many grand themes, created a theme that is as grand as any other he’s ever written. It holds up to the likes of the themes from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Superman. Jurassic Park‘s theme is as adventurous as the film, and every time we hear it we want to go on an adventure.
Jurassic Park is without a doubt the premiere dinosaur movie of all time, and it’s one of the better monster movies, too.
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