Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Jaws
alt	Movie poster shows a woman in the ocean swimming to the right. Below her is a large shark, and only its head and open mouth with teeth can be seen. Within the image is the film's title and above it in a surrounding black background is the phrase "The terrifying motion picture from the terrifying No. 1 best seller." The bottom of the image details the starring actor and lists credits and the MPAA rating.
director	Steven Spielberg
producer	David BrownRichard D. Zanuck
screenplay	Peter BenchleyCarl Gottlieb
based on
starring	Roy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussLorraine GaryMurray Hamilton
music	John Williams
cinematography	Bill Butler
editing	Verna Fields
distributor	Universal Pictures
released
runtime	124 minutes
country
language	English
budget	$9 million
gross	$470,654,000 }}

''Jaws'' is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town council, which wants the beach to remain open to draw a profit from tourists during the summer season. After several attacks, the police chief enlists the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter. Roy Scheider stars as police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as oceanographer Matt Hooper, Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint, Murray Hamilton as the Mayor of Amity Island, and Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen.

''Jaws'' is regarded as a watershed film in motion picture history, the father of the summer blockbuster film and one of the first "high concept" films. Because of the film's success in advance screenings, studio executives decided to distribute it in a much wider release than ever before. ''The Omen'' followed suit in the summer of 1976 and then ''Star Wars'' one year later in 1977, cementing the notion for movie studios to distribute their big-release action and adventure pictures (commonly referred to as ''tentpole pictures'') during the summer.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, ''Jaws'' appeared at number 48 on American Film Institute's ''100 Years... 100 Movies'', a list of the greatest American films of all time, dropping down to number 56 on the 10 Year Anniversary list. It ranked second on a similar list for thrillers, ''100 Years... 100 Thrills'' and was number one on Bravo's list of ''The 100 Scariest Movie Moments''. The film was followed by three sequels, none with the participation of Spielberg or Benchley.

Plot

During a late night beach party on the fictional Amity Island in New England, a 23-year-old woman named Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie) goes skinny dipping, only to be dragged under by an unseen force. Amity's new police chief, Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), is notified that Chrissie is missing, and deputy Len Hendricks (Jeffrey Kramer) finds her mutilated remains on the beach. The medical examiner informs Brody that the death was due to a shark attack. Brody plans to close the beaches but is overruled by town mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), who fears that reports of a shark attack will ruin the summer tourist season, as it is the town's primary source of income. The medical examiner reverses his diagnosis and attributes the death to a boating accident. Brody reluctantly goes along with the explanation.

A short time later, a boy is brutally killed by a shark at the beach. The boy's mother places a bounty on the shark, sparking an amateur shark-hunting frenzy and attracting the attention of local professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw). Brought in by Brody, marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) examines Chrissie's remains and concludes she was killed by a shark.

A large tiger shark is caught by a group of fishermen, leading the town to believe the problem is solved, but Hooper is unconvinced that the shark is the killer and asks to examine its stomach contents. Vaughn refuses to make the "operation" public, so Brody and Hooper return after dark and discover the dead shark does not contain human remains. Scouting aboard Hooper's boat, they come across the half-sunken wreckage of a boat belonging to local fisherman Ben Gardner. Hooper explores the vessel underwater and discovers a sizable shark's tooth, and also the remains of Ben Gardner, which makes him drop the tooth in a panic. Vaughn refuses to close the beaches, and on the Fourth of July numerous tourists arrive. A prank by two boys involving a cardboard fin causes panic before the real shark enters an estuary, kills a man and causes Brody's son to go into shock after witnessing it. Brody convinces Vaughn to hire Quint, and he and Hooper join the hunter on his fishing boat, the ''Orca'', to kill the shark.

Brody is given the task of laying a chum line while Quint uses deepsea fishing tackle to try to hook the shark. As Brody continues chumming, an enormous great white shark looms up behind the boat; the trio watch the great white circle the ''Orca'' and estimate it weighs and is long while Hooper takes pictures of the shark for research purposes. Quint harpoons the shark with a line attached to a flotation barrel, designed to prevent the shark from submerging and to track it on the surface, but the shark pulls the barrel under and disappears.

Night falls without another sighting, so the men retire to the boat's cabin, where Quint tells of his experience with sharks as a survivor of the World War II sinking of the . The shark reappears, damaging the boat's hull before slipping away. In the morning, the men make repairs to the engine. Attempting to call the Coast Guard for help, Brody is stopped by Quint, who destroys the radio with a baseball bat. After a long chase Quint harpoons another barrel to the shark. The men tie the barrels to the stern, but the shark, after Quint harpoons it again adding a third barrel, drags the boat backwards, forcing water onto the deck and into the engine, flooding it. Quint is about to cut the ropes with his machete when the cleats are pulled off the stern. The shark continues attacking the boat and Quint heads toward shore with the shark in pursuit, hoping to draw the animal into shallow waters, where it will get beached and, once unable to swim, suffocate. In his obsession to kill the shark, Quint overtaxes ''Orca'''s engine, causing it to seize.

With the boat immobilized, the trio try a desperate approach: Hooper dons his SCUBA gear and enters the ocean inside a shark proof cage in order to stab the shark in the mouth with a hypodermic spear filled with strychnine. But when the shark attacks and begins destroying the cage, Hooper drops his spear. The shark gets tangled in the cage's remains, allowing Hooper to escape and hide on the seabed. As Quint and Brody raise the remnants of the cage, the shark throws itself onto the boat, crushing the transom. As the boat sinks, Quint slides down the slippery deck into the shark's mouth and is eaten alive. Brody retreats to the boat's partly submerged cabin. When the shark attacks him there, he shoves a pressurized scuba tank into the shark's mouth, then takes Quint's rifle and climbs the ''Orca'''s mast. Brody begins shooting at the scuba tank wedged in the shark's mouth, causing it to explode and blow the shark to pieces.

As the shark's carcass drifts toward the seabed, Hooper reappears on the surface. The survivors briefly lament the loss of Quint, then cobble together a raft from the ''Orca'''s debris and begin paddling to Amity Island.

Cast

Roy Scheider as Martin Brody

Robert Shaw as Quint

Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper

Lorraine Gary as Ellen Brody

Murray Hamilton as (Mayor) Larry Vaughn

Carl Gottlieb as Harry Meadows

Jeffrey Kramer as Leonard "Len" Hendricks

Susan Backlinie as Christine "Chrissie" Watkins

Jonathan Filley as Tom Cassidy

Ted Grossman as Estuary Victim

Chris Rebello as Michael Brody

Jay Mello as Sean Brody

Lee Fierro as Mrs. Kintner

Jeffrey Voorhees as Alex M. Kintner

Craig Kingsbury as Ben Gardner

Dr. Robert Nevin as Medical Examiner

Peter Benchley as Interviewer

Production

Development

Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown, producers at Universal Pictures, heard about Peter Benchley's novel at the same time at different locations. Brown came across it in the fiction department of ''Cosmopolitan'', a lifestyle magazine then edited by his wife, Helen Gurley Brown. A small card gave a detailed description of the plot, concluding with the comment "might make a good movie". The producers each read it overnight and agreed the next morning that it was "the most exciting thing that they had ever read" and that, although they were unsure how they would accomplish it, they wanted to produce the film. Brown claimed that had they read the book twice, they would never have made the film because of the difficulties in executing some of the sequences. They purchased the film rights to Benchley's novel in 1973 for approximately $175,000.

Zanuck and Brown had originally planned to hire John Sturges to direct the film, before considering Dick Richards. However, they grew irritated by Richards's habit of calling the shark "the whale"; Richards was subsequently dropped from the project. Zanuck and Brown then signed Spielberg in June 1973 to direct before the release of his first theatrical film, ''The Sugarland Express'' (also a Zanuck/Brown production). Spielberg wanted to take the novel's basic concept, removing Benchley's many subplots. Zanuck, Brown and Spielberg removed the novel's adulterous affair between Ellen Brody and Matt Hooper because it would compromise the camaraderie between the men when they went out on the ''Orca''.

When they purchased the rights to his novel, the producers guaranteed that the author would write the first draft of the screenplay. Overall, Benchley wrote three drafts before deciding to bow out of the project (although he appeared in the final film, a cameo appearance as a news reporter). Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Howard Sackler happened to be in Los Angeles when the filmmakers began looking for another writer and offered to do an uncredited rewrite, and since the producers and Spielberg were unhappy with Benchley's drafts, they quickly accepted his offer. Spielberg sent the script to Carl Gottlieb (who appears in a supporting acting role in the film as Meadows, the politically connected editor of the local paper), asking for advice. Gottlieb rewrote most scenes during principal photography, and John Milius contributed dialogue polishes. Spielberg has claimed that he prepared his own draft, although it is unclear if the other screenwriters drew on his material. The authorship of Quint's monologue about the fate of the cruiser has caused substantial controversy as to who deserves the most credit for the speech. Spielberg described it as a collaboration among John Milius, Howard Sackler, and actor Robert Shaw. Gottlieb gives primary credit to Shaw, downplaying Milius's contribution.

Casting

Spielberg offered the role of Brody to Robert Duvall, but the actor was only interested in portraying Quint. According to Spielberg, Charlton Heston expressed a desire for the role, but Spielberg felt that Heston was too large a personality, as Spielberg intended the film's primary "star" to be the shark. Roy Scheider became interested in the project after overhearing a screenwriter and Spielberg at a party talking about having the shark jump up onto a boat. Spielberg was initially apprehensive of hiring Scheider, fearing he would portray a "tough guy", similar to his role in ''The French Connection''.

The role of Quint was originally offered to actors Lee Marvin and Sterling Hayden, both of whom passed. Producers Zanuck and Brown had just finished working with Robert Shaw on ''The Sting'', and suggested him to Spielberg as a possible Quint. For the role of Hooper, Spielberg initially wanted Jon Voight. Timothy Bottoms and Jeff Bridges were also considered for the part. Richard Dreyfuss initially passed on the role of Matt Hooper, but after being disappointed by his own performance in a pre-release screening of ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'', a film he had just completed, he immediately called Spielberg and accepted the role, fearing that no one would want to hire him once ''Kravitz'' was released. Because the film was so dissimilar to the novel, Spielberg asked Dreyfuss not to read the book before offering the role. The first person actually cast for the film was Lorraine Gary, the wife of then-studio chief, Sid Sheinberg.

Filming

Three full-size pneumatically powered prop sharks were made for the production: a "sea-sled shark", a full bodied prop with its belly missing that was towed with a 300′ (roughly 100 m) line, and two 'platform sharks', one that moved from camera-left to -right (with its hidden side completely exposing a wide array of pneumatic hoses), and an opposite model with its right flank uncovered. The sharks were designed by art director Joe Alves during the fall of 1973. Between November 1973 and April 1974, the sharks were fabricated at Rolly Harper's Motion Picture & Equipment Rental in Sun Valley, CA. Their construction was supervised by legendary mechanical effects supervisor Bob Mattey and up to 40 effects technicians including Conrad 'Whitey' Krumm, Roy Arbogast, Richie Helmer, and the Wood brothers, Michael and Gary. After the sharks were completed, they were trucked to the shooting location. In early July, the platform used to tow the two "side model" sharks capsized as it was being lowered to the ocean floor, forcing a team of divers to retrieve it. The model required 14 operators to control all of the moving parts.

Principal photography began on May 2, 1974. Location shooting occurred on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, chosen because the ocean had a sandy bottom out to sea and never dropped below thirty-five feet (11 m). This helped the prop sharks to operate smoothly and still provide a realistic location. The film nonetheless had a troubled shoot and went considerably over budget. David Brown said that the budget "was $4 million and the picture wound up costing $9 million". Shooting at sea led to many delays: unwanted sailboats drifted into frame, cameras got soaked, and the ''Orca'' once began to sink with the actors on-board. The prop sharks frequently malfunctioned owing to a series of issues including bad weather, pneumatic hoses taking on salt water, broken shark frames due to water resistance, corroding skin, electrolysis and "non-absorbent" neoprene foam that made up the skin absorbing water causing the shark to balloon, which it did on its original water test. More than a few times the sea-sled model would get caught in the seaweed forests prompting effects divers to search for the lost shark, scaring a few in the process. Contrary to popular Jaws production lore, the shark never sank during its initial water test.

To some degree, the delays in the production proved serendipitous. The script was refined during production, and the unreliable mechanical sharks forced Spielberg to shoot most of the scenes with the shark only hinted at. For example, for much of the shark hunt, its location is represented by the floating yellow barrels. Spielberg also included multiple shots of just the dorsal fin for the ease of filming it. This forced restraint is widely thought to have increased the suspense of these scenes, giving it a Hitchcockian tone.

The scene in which Hooper discovers fisherman Ben Gardner's body in the hull of his wrecked boat was added after an initial screening of the film. After reactions to that screening, Spielberg said he was greedy for "one more scream" and, with $3,000 of his own money, financed the scene after he was denied funding from Universal Pictures. Actor Craig Kingsbury had to press his head into a latex mold to make an exact copy, which was then attached to a fake body and placed in the wrecked boat's hull. The underwater scene was shot in film editor Verna Fields's swimming pool in Encino, CA.

Footage of real sharks was shot by Ron and Valerie Taylor in the waters off Australia, with a small actor in a miniature shark cage to create the illusion that the shark was enormous. Originally, the script, following the novel, had the shark killing Hooper in the shark cage, but during filming one of the sharks became trapped in the girdle of the cage and proceeded to tear the cage apart. The crew found the footage of this incident to be so visually stunning, they were eager to incorporate it into the final film. However, no one had been in the cage at the time, so the script was changed to have Matt Hooper escape, thus providing an explanation for the empty cage.

Although filming was scheduled to take 55 days, it eventually ended on October 6, 1974 after 159 days. Spielberg, reflecting on the extended delay, stated: "I thought my career as a filmmaker was over. I heard rumors … that I would never work again because no one had ever taken a film 100 days over schedule." Spielberg himself was not present for the shooting of the final scene in which the shark explodes. He believed that the crew were planning to throw him in the water when this scene was complete. It has since become a tradition for Spielberg to be absent when the final scene of a film he directs is being filmed.

A fourth shark created out of hard-fiberglass was built in 1976 and placed at Universal Studios in Studio City, CA until it was removed in 1990. It has been on display at the Aadlen Bros. U-Pick Parts yard in Sun Valley, CA since 1992 where it has been affectionately referred to as Junkyard Bruce. It first gained notice in 2002 when it was featured in the E! True Hollywood Story JAWS show. In June 2010, eight years after regaining attention, art director Joe Alves and plastics and rubber specialist, Roy Arbogast (who were both part of the team that fabricated the original sharks in 1974), confirmed its authenticity as a prop that was pulled from the original molds. This was revealed during a segment on NPR.

Reception

Box office performance

''Jaws'' was the first film to successfully use "wide release" as a distribution pattern. As such, it is an important film in the history of film distribution and marketing. Until the release of ''Jaws'', films typically opened slowly, usually in a few theaters in major cities, which allowed for a series of "premieres." As the success of a film increased, and word of mouth grew, distributors would forward the prints to additional cities across the country. Some films eventually achieved a wide release, such as ''The Godfather'', but even that blockbuster had originally debuted in just five theaters.

''Jaws'' was the first film to successfully open nationwide on hundreds of screens simultaneously, coupled with a national marketing campaign—a then-unheard of practice. (A month earlier, Columbia had done the same with a Charles Bronson thriller, ''Breakout'', but the box office was middling at best.) The film became the first to use extensive television advertising. The media blitz "included approximately twenty-five thirty-second advertisements per night on prime-time network TV" between 18–20 June 1975. Universal executive Sidney Sheinberg's rationale was that nationwide marketing costs would be amortized at a more favorable rate per print than if a slow, scaled release were carried out. Sheinberg's gamble paid off, with ''Jaws'' becoming a box office smash hit and the father of the summer blockbuster.

After the release of ''Jaws'', journalists and critics detailed its impact on how films were released in theaters. Peter Biskind wrote, "[The film] diminish[ed] the importance of print reviews, making it virtually impossible for a film to build slowly, finding its audience by dint of mere quality. … In a sense, Spielberg was the Trojan horse through which the studios began to reassert their power." Author Thomas Schatz also wrote on the film's impact: "If any single film marked the arrival of the New Hollywood, it was ''Jaws'', the Spielberg-directed thriller that recalibrated the profit potential of the Hollywood hit, and redefined its status as a marketable commodity and cultural phenomenon as well. The film brought an emphatic end to Hollywood's five-year recession, while ushering in an era of high-cost, high-tech, high-speed thrillers." Following the success of ''Jaws'', major studio films have almost universally been distributed and marketed on a national scale. In addition, when summer was usually a season to dump films likely to be poor performers, the success of ''Jaws'' caused studios to shift their action and thriller films out of winter releases.

When ''Jaws'' was released on June 20, 1975, it opened at 464 theaters. The release was subsequently expanded on July 25 to a total of 675 theaters, the largest simultaneous distribution of a film in motion picture history at the time. During the first weekend of wide release, ''Jaws'' grossed more than $7 million, and was the top grosser for the following five weeks. During its run in theaters, it became the first film to reach more than $100 million in U.S. box office receipts.

''Jaws'' eventually grossed more than $470 million worldwide, and was the highest grossing box office film until ''Star Wars'' debuted two years later. It is currently the 94th highest grossing film of all time. ''Jaws'' and ''Star Wars'' are retrospectively considered to have marked the beginning of the new business model in American filmmaking and the beginning of the end of the New Hollywood period.

Critical reception

The film received universal acclaim. It currently holds a 100% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus stating "Compelling, well-crafted storytelling and a judicious sense of terror ensure Steven Spielberg's Jaws has remained a benchmark in the art of delivering modern blockbuster thrills." In his original review, Roger Ebert called it "a sensationally effective action picture, a scary thriller that works all the better because it's populated with characters that have been developed into human beings". ''Variety'''s A.D. Murphy praised Spielberg's directorial skills, and called Robert Shaw's performance "absolutely magnificent". Pauline Kael called it "the most cheerfully perverse scare movie ever made… [with] more zest than an early Woody Allen picture, a lot more electricity, [and] it's funny in a Woody Allen sort of way". Frank Rich of ''The New York Times'' wrote "Spielberg is blessed with a talent that is absurdly absent from most American filmmakers these days: this man actually knows how to tell a story on screen. … It speaks well of this director's gifts that some of the most frightening sequences in ''Jaws'' are those where we don't even see the shark."

The film was not without its detractors. Vincent Canby, of ''The New York Times'', said "It's a measure of how the film operates that not once do we feel particular sympathy for any of the shark's victims…In the best films, characters are revealed in terms of the action. In movies like ''Jaws'', characters are simply functions of the action. They're at its service. Characters are like stage hands who move props around and deliver information when it's necessary", but also noted that "It's the sort of nonsense that can be a good deal of fun". ''Los Angeles Times'' critic Charles Champlin disagreed with the film's PG rating, saying that "''Jaws'' is too gruesome for children, and likely to turn the stomach of the impressionable at any age." He goes on to say: "It is a coarse-grained and exploitative work which depends on excess for its impact. Ashore it is a bore, awkwardly staged and lumpily written." The most widespread criticism of the film is the artificiality of the mechanical shark.

In 2010, criticism surfaced from an unexpected quarter — conservationists. They credit the film with the so-called "Jaws" effect, which allegedly inspired "legions of fishermen [who] piled into boats and killed thousands of the ocean predators in shark-fishing tournaments."

Accolades

''Jaws'' won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Sound. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''. In 2008, ''Jaws'' was selected by ''Empire'' magazine as the fifth greatest film ever made. Quint was also placed at #50 on ''Empire's'' list of ''The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time''. In 2003, ''The New York Times'' included the film on its list of the best 1000 movies ever made. In 2010, ''Total Film'' selected the film as one of ''The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time''. ''Jaws'' was number 48 on American Film Institute's ''100 Years... 100 Movies'', a list of the greatest American films of all time, dropping down to number 56 on the 10 Year Anniversary list. It was ranked second on a similar list for thrillers, ''100 Years... 100 Thrills''. ''Jaws'' was number one in the Bravo network's five-hour miniseries ''The 100 Scariest Movie Moments'' (2004). Similarly, the Chicago Film Critics Association named it the 6th scariest film ever made. The shark was anointed number 18 on AFI's ''100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains''. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 2005, the American Film Institute voted Roy Scheider's line "You're gonna need a bigger boat" as number 35 on its list of the top 100 movie quotes. John Williams's score was ranked at number six on AFI's ''100 Years of Film Scores''. In 2006, the screenplay of ''Jaws'' was selected by the Writers Guild of America as the 63rd best screenplay of all time.

American Film Institute Lists

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies–#48

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills–#2

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains:–#18 Villain (The Shark)

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes–#35 ("You're gonna need a bigger boat.")

AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores–#6

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)–#56

Inspirations and influences

''Jaws'' bears similarities to several literary and artistic works, most notably ''Moby-Dick'' by Herman Melville. The character of Quint strongly resembles Captain Ahab, the obsessed captain of the ''Pequod'' who devotes his life to hunting a sperm whale. Quint's monologue reveals his similar vendetta against sharks, and even his boat, the ''Orca'', is named after the only natural enemy of the white shark. In the novel and original screenplay, Quint dies after being dragged under the ocean by a harpoon tied to his leg, similar to Ahab's death in Melville's novel. A direct reference to these similarities may be found in the original screenplay, which introduced Quint by showing him watching the film version of ''Moby-Dick'', with his laughter throughout making people get up and leave the theater (Wesley Strick's screenplay for ''Cape Fear'' features a similar scene). However, the scene from ''Moby-Dick'' could not be licensed from Gregory Peck, the copyright holder. In the novel and original screenplay, when the ''Orca,'' like the ''Pequod,'' is sunk by the creature, only the Brody character survives. There is, however, a scene in which the shark rapidly tows the ''Orca,'' which is obviously indebted to the "Nantucket sleigh ride" scene in ''Moby-Dick.'' Some have also noticed the influences of two 1950s horror films, ''The Creature from the Black Lagoon'' and ''The Monster That Challenged the World.''

Critics such as Neil Sinyard have noticed similarities to Henrik Ibsen's play ''An Enemy of the People''. The Ibsen work features a doctor who discovers that a seaside town's medicinal hot springs, a major tourist attraction and form of revenue, are contaminated. When the doctor attempts to convince the townspeople of the danger, he loses his job and is shunned. This plotline is paralleled in ''Jaws'' by Brody's conflict with Mayor Vaughn, who refuses to acknowledge the presence of a shark that may dissuade summer beachgoers from coming to Amity. In the film, Brody is vindicated when more shark attacks occur at the crowded beach in broad daylight. Sinyard calls the film a "deft combination of Watergate and Ibsen's play".

''Jaws'' was a key film in establishing the benefits of a wide national release backed by heavy media advertising, rather than a progressive release that let a film slowly enter new markets and build support over a period of time. Rather than let the film gain notice by word-of-mouth, Hollywood launched a successful television marketing campaign for the film, which added another $700,000 to the cost.

Similar to the fear of showers created by the pivotal scene in the 1960 film ''Psycho'', ''Jaws'' caused many viewers to be afraid to enter the ocean. The film was credited with reduced beach attendance in the summer of 1975.

Although it is considered a thriller-horror classic, the film is widely recognized as being responsible for perpetuating negative stereotypes about sharks and their behavior. Author Peter Benchley stated that he would not have written the original novel had he known what sharks are really like in the wild. Benchley later wrote ''Shark Trouble'', a non-fiction book about shark behavior, and ''Shark Life'', another non-fiction book describing his dives with sharks. Conservation groups have bemoaned the fact that the film has made it considerably harder to convince the public that sharks should be protected.

''Jaws'' set the template for many future horror films, so much so that the script for Ridley Scott's 1979 science fiction film ''Alien'' was pitched to studio executives with the proposed tag line: "''Jaws'' in space."

Music

John Williams contributed the film score, which was ranked sixth on the American Film Institute's ''100 Years of Film Scores''. The main "shark" theme, a simple alternating pattern of two notes, E and F, became a classic piece of suspense music, synonymous with approaching danger (see leading-tone). Williams described the theme as having the "effect of grinding away at you, just as a shark would do, instinctual, relentless, unstoppable." The soundtrack piece was performed by tuba player Tommy Johnson. When asked by Johnson why the melody was written in such a high register and not played by the more appropriate French horn, Williams responded that he wanted it to sound "a little more threatening". When Williams first demonstrated his idea to Spielberg, playing just the two notes on a piano, Spielberg was said to have laughed, thinking that it was a joke. Spielberg later said that without Williams's score the film would have been only half as successful, and Williams acknowledges that the score jumpstarted his career. He had previously scored Spielberg's feature film debut ''The Sugarland Express'' and went on to collaborate with him on almost all of his films.

The score contains echoes of Igor Stravinsky's ''The Rite of Spring'', particularly the opening of "The Adoration of the Earth" and "Auguries of Spring". The music has drawn comparisons to Bernard Herrman's score for Alfred Hitchcock's ''Psycho'' and the ominous music for the off-screen hunter in ''Bambi'', in which the music enhances the presence of an unseen terror, in this case the shark.

There are various interpretations of the meaning and effectiveness of the theme. Some have thought the two-note expression is intended to mimic the shark's heartbeat, beginning slow and controlled as the killer hunts and rising to a frenzied, shrieking climax as it approaches its prey. Others have stated that the music at first sounds like the creaking and groaning of a boat, and therefore is inaudible when it begins so that it never seems to start, but simply rises out of the sounds of the film. One critic believes the true strength of the score is its ability to create a "harsh silence", abruptly cutting away from the music right before it climaxes. Furthermore, the audience is conditioned to associate the shark with its theme, since the score is never used as a red herring. It only plays when the real shark appears. This is later exploited when the shark suddenly appears with no musical introduction. Regardless of the meaning behind it, the theme is widely acknowledged as one of the most recognized scores of all time. In addition, industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor (who composed the soundtrack to David Fincher's ''The Social Network'' along with Atticus Ross) declared the ''Jaws'' score his favorite movie soundtrack, remarking that he saw the film when he was a 10-year old and Williams' music was "added to the fear of the film."

The original soundtrack for ''Jaws'' was released by MCA in 1975, and as a CD in 1992, including roughly a half hour of music that John Williams redid for the album. In 2000, two versions of the score were released: one in a re-recording of the entire ''Jaws'' score performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conducted by Joel McNeely; and another to coincide with the release of the 25th anniversary DVD by Decca/Universal, featuring the entire 51 minutes of the original score. Many fans prefer the Decca release over the Varèse Sarabande re-recording.

Releases, sequels and merchandise

Universal "devised and co-ordinated a highly innovative plan" for the first film's distribution and exhibition. The studio and publisher Bantam designed a logo which would appear on both the paperback and on all film advertising. "Both publisher and distributor recognized the mutual benefits that a joint promotion strategy would bring." Producers Zanuck and Brown toured six cities to promote the paperback and the film. Once the film was released, more merchandising was created, including shark-illustrated swimming towels and T-shirts, plastic shark fins for swimmers to wear, and shark-shaped inflatables for them to float on. The Ideal Toy Company produced a game in which the player had to use a hook to fish out items from the shark's mouth before the jaws closed.

Aristocrat made an officially licensed slot machine based on the movie.

The first Laserdisc title marketed in North America was the MCA DiscoVision release of ''Jaws'' in 1978. A second Laserdisc was released in 1991, before a third and final release came under the MCA/Universal Home Video's "Signature Collection" imprint in 1995. This release was an elaborate boxset, which included the film, along with deleted scenes and outtakes, a new two-hour documentary on the making of the film, a copy of the novel ''Jaws'', and a CD of John Williams's soundtrack. A year after its ''MCA DiscoVision'' release, it returned to theaters for a special 2-week limited engagement. It was also released on VHS by MCA Home Video in the mid 1980s and in 1995 by MCA Universal Home Video as a Collector's Edition featuring a making-of retrospective. MCA Universal Home Video released it on VHS again in 1997 as a THX-certified Special Widescreen Edition featuring a 10-minute special introduction at the beginning of the tape which was shown previously on the 1995 VHS.

''Jaws'' was first released on DVD in 2000 for the film's 25th anniversary. It featured a 50-minute documentary on the making of the film (an edited version of the one featured on the 1995 laserdisc release), with interviews from Steven Spielberg, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Benchley and other cast and crew members. Other extras included deleted scenes, outtakes, trailers, production photos, and storyboards. In June 2005, on the 30th anniversary of the film's release, a festival named JawsFest was held in Martha's Vineyard. ''Jaws'' was then re-released on DVD, this time including the full two-hour documentary produced by Laurent Bouzereau for the LaserDisc. As well as containing most of the same bonus features the previous DVD contained, it included a previously unavailable interview with Spielberg conducted on the set of ''Jaws'' in 1974.

In the 2000s, an independent group of fans produced a feature-length documentary. ''The Shark is Still Working'' features interviews with a range of cast and crew from the film, and some from the sequels. It is narrated by Roy Scheider and dedicated to Peter Benchley, who died in 2006.

The film spawned three sequels, all of which failed to match the success of the original. Indeed, their combined domestic grosses barely cover half of the original's. Spielberg was unavailable to do a sequel, as he was working on ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' with Richard Dreyfuss. ''Jaws 2'' was directed by Jeannot Szwarc; Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, and Jeffrey Kramer reprised their roles from the original film. It is generally regarded as the best of the sequels. The next film, ''Jaws 3-D'', directed by Joe Alves, was released in the 3-D format, although the effect did not transfer to television or home video, where it was renamed ''Jaws 3''. Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr. starred in the movie. ''Jaws: The Revenge'', directed by Joseph Sargent, featured the return of Lorraine Gary and is considered one of the worst movies ever made. While all three sequels made a profit at the box office (''Jaws 2'' and ''Jaws 3-D'' are among the top 20 highest-grossing films of their respective years), critics and audiences were generally dissatisfied with the films.

In February 2010, film website Cinema Blend reported that a source from Universal Pictures has indicated that Universal is "strongly considering" remaking ''Jaws'' in 3-D, following the commercial success of ''Avatar''. The source also reported that ''30 Rock'' star Tracy Morgan was considered to portray Matt Hooper in the remake, which they say could be more comedic and make more use of special effects. The studio has not officially commented upon the rumor.

It has been confirmed by Spielberg that a Blu-ray release is in the works.

Adaptations

The film has been adapted into two video games, two theme park rides at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Japan, and two musicals: ''JAWS The Musical!'', which premiered in the summer of 2004 at the Minnesota Fringe Festival; and ''Giant Killer Shark: The Musical'', which premiered in the summer of 2006 at the Toronto Fringe Festival.

See also

List of killer shark films

References

External links

''Jaws'' at Filmsite.org

JAWSmovie.com - The community for fans of Jaws, Steven Spielberg, sharks and movies

Funchase: The Summer of Jaws

Wildwood 365: Catching up with Joe Jaws

Shark City: A look at Jaws' ongoing impact upon pop culture

1 Category:1975 films Category:1970s adventure films Category:1970s thriller films Category:American thriller films Category:American adventure films Category:English-language films Category:Fictional sharks Category:Films about sharks Category:Films based on novels Category:Films directed by Steven Spielberg Category:Films set in Massachusetts Category:Films shot anamorphically Category:Films_shot_in_Massachusetts Category:Films_shot_in_Australia Category:Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Martha's Vineyard Category:Natural horror films Category:United States National Film Registry films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:1970s horror films Category:Monster movies Category:Giant monster films

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	John Reed
Birth date	February 07, 1969
Birth place	TriBeCa, New York City
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University
Occupation	novelist
Website	''http://www.johnreed.tv''

John Reed (born February 7, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of four novels: ''A Still Small Voice'' (2000), ''Snowball's Chance'' (2002) with a preface by Alexander Cockburn, ''The Whole'' (2005), and ''All the World's a Grave: A New Play by William Shakespeare'' (2008). His fifth book, ''Tales of Woe'' (2010), is a collection of twenty-five stories, chronicling true stories of abject misery.

Biography

Born in 1969 in New York City, Reed is the son of artist David Reed and Judy Rifka. He attended Hampshire College, and received a Masters in Fine Art in Creative Writing from Columbia University. He teaches at The New School.

Reed was an early contributor to, and subsequently an editor with, ''Open City'', a New York literary journal published by Robert Bingham, who later founded the book series.

Works

thumb|left|Reed in Brooklyn reading from his non-fiction ''Tales of Woe'', at the [[MTV|MTV Press/Brooklyn Rail launch party.]]He is affiliated with the ''New York Press'' and ''The Brooklyn Rail''. "Americans are extremely sophisticated in terms of narrative forms," said Reed in an interview. "We see it in commercials, we see it on TV, we see it in movies. But the narrative forms we're talking about are three acts, five acts, depending on how you want to look at it. They're all based on a Christian model of sin, suffering, redemption; which is not a large model."

A Still Small Voice

''A Still Small Voice'' (Delacorte 2000, Delta 2001), Reed’s first novel, is a historical novel based on the life of a girl growing up in Kentucky from 1850-1870.

Snowball's Chance

''Snowball's Chance'' (Roof Books 2002/2003), Reed’s second novel was a controversial send-up of George Orwell’s ''Animal Farm'', and ended in a cataclysmic attack on the “Twin Mills” (reminiscent of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center). It became a bestseller in the field of books by independent literary publishers.

The Whole, or, Duh Whole

''The Whole'', Reed’s third novel, parodied MTV and was released in 2005 by MTV Books (Simon & Schuster). The novel described a gigantic hole that appears in the middle of the country, which engulfs four states.

All the World's a Grave

Reed, in a new work, returns to the overhaul of canonical English writers in ''All the World's a Grave'', fall 2008, Penguin Books. The work, subtitled "''A New Play by William Shakespeare''", is a tragedy in five acts, a "mash-up" constructed of lines drawn from five Shakespeare tragedies and one Shakespeare history; Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo & Juliet and Henry V. In the "literary trick" (as described by Page Six of The New York Post) Shakespeare's lines are rearranged into a wholly new story, in which Prince Hamlet of Denmark goes to war to claim his bride and the daughter of King Lear, Juliet. Upon a triumphant return home, Hamlet discovers that his mother has murdered his father, and married Macbeth. Visited by his father's ghost, and goaded by the opportunistic Lieutenant Iago, Hamlet is driven mad by the erroneous belief that Juliet is having an affair with General Romeo.

References

External links

John Reed's website

All the World's a Grave'', book website.

Kill the beavers!, ''The Daily Telegraph'', November 22, 2002.

John Reed: Saint George and the Damn Truth, ''Moby Lives'', Nove,ber 10, 2003.

John Reed: The Whole, an excerpt, ''Brooklyn Rail'', January 2005.

Dinitia Smith: A Pig Returns to the Farm, Thumbing His Snout at Orwell, ''The New York Times'', November 25, 2002.

Cathy Young: Blaming the Victim, ''Reason.com'', December 3, 2002.

Andrea Scrima: Review of Tales of Woe, Rumpus, November 16, 2010.

Interview with Arthur Phillips on rewriting Shakespeare

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American novelists Category:American humorists Category:Writers from New York Category:Hampshire College alumni Category:Columbia University alumni Category:George Orwell Category:The New School faculty

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
names	John Williams
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	John Towner Williams
born	February 08, 1932
origin	Flushing, Queens, New York, U.S.
occupation	Composer, pianist, conductor
years active	1952–present
spouse	Barbara Ruick (1956–74) (deceased)Samantha Winslow (1980–present) }}

John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the ''Star Wars'' saga, ''Jaws,'' ''Superman,'' the ''Indiana Jones'' films, ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,'' ''Hook,'' ''Jurassic Park,'' ''Schindler's List,'' ''Home Alone'' and the first three ''Harry Potter'' films. He has had a long association with director Steven Spielberg, composing the music for all but two of Spielberg's feature films.

Other notable works by Williams include theme music for four Olympic Games, the ''NBC Nightly News,'' the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, the DreamWorks Pictures production logo, and the television series ''Lost in Space.'' Williams has also composed numerous classical concerti, and he served as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993; he is now the orchestra's conductor laureate.

Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, and 21 Grammy Awards. With 45 Academy Award nominations, Williams is, together with composer Alfred Newman, the second most nominated person, after Walt Disney. John Williams was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 1999 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.

Early life and family

John Williams was born on February 8, 1932, in Flushing (Queens), New York, the son of Esther and John Williams, Sr. His father was a jazz percussionist who played with the Raymond Scott Quintet.

In 1948, the Williams family moved to Los Angeles where John attended North Hollywood High School graduating in 1950. He later attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and studied privately with the Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. In 1952, Williams was drafted into the U.S. Air Force, where he conducted and arranged music for the Air Force Band as part of his assignments.

After his Air Force service ended in 1955, Williams moved to New York City and entered the Juilliard School, where he studied piano with Rosina Lhévinne. During this time, Williams worked as a jazz pianist in New York's many clubs and eventually studios, most notably for composer Henry Mancini. His fellow session musicians included Rolly Bundock on bass, Jack Sperling on drums, and Bob Bain on guitar—the same lineup featured on the ''Mr. Lucky'' television series. Williams was known as "Little Johnny Love" Williams during the early 1960s, and he served as music arranger and bandleader for a series of popular music albums with the singer Frankie Laine.

Williams was married to actress Barbara Ruick from 1956 until her death on March 3, 1974. The Williamses had three children: Jennifer (born 1956), Mark (born 1958), and Joseph (born 1960). Williams' younger son is one of the various lead singers the band Toto has had over the decades. John Williams married his second wife, Samantha Winslow, on July 21, 1980.

John Williams is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi, the national fraternity for college band members.

Film and television scoring

While skilled in a variety of twentieth-century compositional idioms, Williams's most familiar style may be described as a form of neoromanticism, inspired by the same large-scale orchestral music of the late 19th century—especially the compositions of Richard Wagner and its concept of leitmotif—that inspired his film music predecessors.

After his studies at Juilliard, Williams returned to Los Angeles, where he began working as an orchestrator at film studios. Among other composers, Williams worked with Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, and Alfred Newman, and also with his fellow orchestrators Conrad Salinger and Bob Franklyn. Williams was also a studio pianist, performing on film scores by composers such as Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, and Henry Mancini. Williams recorded with Henry Mancini on the film scores of ''Peter Gunn'' (1959), ''Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and ''Charade'' (1963). (Williams actually played the well-recognized opening riff to Mancini's ''Peter Gunn'' theme.) Williams (often credited as "Johnny Williams") also composed the theme music for various TV programs in the 1960s: The pilot episode of ''Gilligan's Island,'' the ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'', ''Lost in Space'' (1965–68), ''The Time Tunnel'' (1966–67), and ''Land of the Giants'' (the last three created by the prolific TV producer, Irwin Allen).

Working at Universal Studios, Williams shared music credit on a number of films, the most notable being ''The Creature from the Black Lagoon'' in 1954. Williams's first major film composition was for the B movie ''Daddy-O'' in 1958, and his first screen credit came two years later in ''Because They're Young.'' He soon gained notice in Hollywood for his versatility in composing jazz, piano, and symphonic music. Williams received his first nomination for an Academy Award for his film score for ''Valley of the Dolls'' (1967), and then was nominated again for his score for ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1969). Williams broke through to win his first Academy Award for his adapted score for the film ''Fiddler on the Roof'' (1971). In 1972 he composed the score for the Robert Altman psychological thriller ''Images'' (recorded in collaboration with noted percussionist Stomu Yamashta) which earned him another nomination in the category 'Best Music, Original Dramatic Score' at the 1973 Academy Awards. During the early 1970s, Williams' prominence grew thanks to his work for now–film producer Irwin Allen's disaster films, composing the scores for ''The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972) and ''The Towering Inferno'' (1974). In addition, he scored Universal's ''Earthquake'' (1974) for director Mark Robson, completing a "trinity" of scores for the highest grossing "disaster films" of the decade. He also wrote a very memorable score to ''The Cowboys'' (1972), a western starring John Wayne and directed by Mark Rydell.

In 1974, Williams was approached by director Steven Spielberg to compose the music for his feature directorial debut, ''The Sugarland Express.'' The young director had been impressed with Williams's score for the movie ''The Reivers'' (1969), and Spielberg was convinced that Williams could compose the musical sound that he desired for any of his films. They teamed up again a year later for Spielberg's second film, ''Jaws.'' Widely considered to be a classic suspense film, its film score's ominous two-note motif has become synonymous with sharks and approaching danger. The score for ''Jaws'' earned Williams his second Academy Award, his first one for an original composition.

Shortly thereafter, Williams and Spielberg began a long collaboration for their next feature film together, ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (''CE3K,'' 1977). In an unusual step for a Hollywood film, Spielberg and Williams developed their script and musical concepts simultaneously, as in the film these entwine very closely together. During their two-year-long collaboration, they crafted its distinctive five-note figure that functions both in the background music and as the communications signal of the film's extraterrestrials. Williams also used a system of musical hand signals in ''CE3K'' that were based on hand signs created by John Curwen and refined by Zoltan Kodaly.

During the same period, Spielberg recommended Williams to his friend and fellow director George Lucas, who needed a composer to score his ambitious space epic, ''Star Wars'' (1977). Williams delivered a grand symphonic score in the fashion of Richard Strauss and Golden Age Hollywood composers Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Its main theme, "Luke's Theme" is among the most widely recognized in motion picture history, and the "Force Theme" and "Princess Leia's Theme" are well-known examples of leitmotif. Both the film and its soundtrack were immensely successful—it remains the highest grossing non-popular music recording of all-time—and Williams won another Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 1980, Williams returned to score ''The Empire Strikes Back'', where he introduced "The Imperial March" as the theme for Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire. The original ''Star Wars'' trilogy concluded with the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'', for which Williams's score provided most notably the "Emperor's Theme", "Parade of the Ewoks", and "Luke and Leia". Both scores earned Williams Academy Award nominations.

Williams worked with director Richard Donner to score the 1978 film ''Superman''. The score's heroic and romantic themes, particularly the main march, the Superman fanfare and the love theme, known as "Can You Read My Mind", would appear in the four sequel films. For the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', created and directed by Lucas and Spielberg, Williams wrote a rousing main theme known as "The Raiders March" to accompany the film's hero, Indiana Jones. He also composed separate themes to represent the Ark of the Covenant, the character Marion, and the Nazi villains of the story. Additional themes were featured in his scores to the sequel films ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984), ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989), and ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (2008). Williams composed an emotional and sensitive score to Spielberg's 1982 fantasy film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. The music conveys the film's benign, childlike sense of innocence, particularly with a spirited theme for the freedom of flight, and a soft string-based, harp-featured theme for the friendship between characters E.T. and Elliott. The film's final chase and farewell sequence marks a rare instance in film history in which the on-screen action was re-edited to conform to the composer's musical interpretation. Williams was awarded a fourth Academy Award for this score.

The 1985 film ''The Color Purple'' is the only theatrical feature directed by Steven Spielberg for which John Williams did not serve as composer. The film's producer, Quincy Jones, wanted to personally arrange and compose the music for the project. Williams also did not score ''Twilight Zone: The Movie,'' but Spielberg had directed only one of the four segments in that film; the lead director and producer of the film, John Landis, selected Jerry Goldsmith as composer. The Williams-Spielberg collaboration resumed with the director's 1987 film ''Empire of the Sun,'' and has continued to the present, spanning genres from science fiction thrillers (1993's ''Jurassic Park),'' to somber tragedies (1993's ''Schindler's List'', 2005's ''Munich),'' to Eastern-tinged melodramas (2005's ''Memoirs of a Geisha'', directed by Rob Marshall). Spielberg has said, "I call it an honorable privilege to regard John Williams as a friend."

In 1999, George Lucas launched the first of a series of prequels to the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. Williams was asked to score all three films, starting with ''The Phantom Menace.'' Along with themes from the previous movies, Williams created new themes to be used as leitmotifs in ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005). Most notable of these was "Duel of the Fates", an aggressive choral movement utilizing harsh Sanskrit lyrics that broadened the style of music used in the Star Wars films. Also of note was "Anakin's Theme", which begins as an innocent childlike melody and morphs insidiously into a quote of the sinister "Imperial March" of the prior trilogy. For ''Episode II,'' Williams composed "Across the Stars", a love theme for Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker (mirroring the love theme composed for the second film of the previous trilogy, ''The Empire Strikes Back''). The final installment combined many of the themes created for the series' previous movies, including "The Emperor's Theme", "The Imperial March", "Across the Stars", "Duel of the Fates", "The Force Theme", "Rebel Fanfare", "Luke's Theme", and "Princess Leia's Theme", as well as new themes for General Grievous and the film's climax, entitled "Battle of the Heroes." Few composers have scored an entire series of this magnitude: The combined scores of all six ''Star Wars'' films add up to more than 14 hours of orchestral music.

In the new millennium, Williams was asked to score the film adaptations of the widely successful book series, ''Harry Potter''. He went on to score the first three installments of the film franchise. As with his ''Superman'' theme, the most important theme from Williams's scores for the adaptations of J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series, dubbed ''Hedwig's Theme'', has been used in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth films (''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' and ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2''), scored by Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper and Alexandre Desplat respectively. Like the main themes from ''Star Wars'', ''Jaws'', ''Superman'', and ''Indiana Jones'', fans have come to identify the ''Harry Potter'' films with Williams's original compositions. Williams was asked to return to the film franchise to score the final installment, ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'', but director David Yates stated that "their schedules simply did not align" as he would have had to provide Williams with a rough cut of the film sooner than was possible.

In 2006, ''Superman Returns'' was completed under the direction of Bryan Singer, best known for directing the first two movies in the ''X-Men'' series. Although Singer did not request Williams to compose a score for the intentionally Donner-esque film, he employed the skills of ''X2'' composer John Ottman to incorporate Williams's original ''Superman'' theme, as well as those for Lois Lane and Smallville. Don Davis performed a similar role for ''Jurassic Park III'', recommended to the producers by Williams himself. (Film scores by Ottman and to a lesser extent Davis are often compared to those of Williams, as both use similar styles of composition.)

In 2008, Williams returned to the ''Indiana Jones'' series to score the fourth film—''The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull''. He received a Grammy nomination for his work on the film. During 2008, he also composed music for two documentaries, ''Warner at War'', and ''A Timeless Call'', the latter of which was directed by Steven Spielberg.

Williams also composed the score to ''The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn,'' the first film in the upcoming ''Tintin'' trilogy based on the comics by Hergé. This film continues his long-time collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, and he will work with producer Peter Jackson for the first time. The film is currently in post production. Williams is also scheduled to score Spielberg's upcoming films ''War Horse'' (2011) and ''Lincoln'' (2012).

Conducting and performing

From 1980 to 1993, Williams succeeded Arthur Fiedler as Principal Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Williams never met Fiedler in person but spoke with him by telephone. His arrival as the new leader of the Pops in the spring of 1980 allowed him to devote part of the Pops' first PBS broadcast of the season to presenting his new compositions for ''The Empire Strikes Back,'' in addition to conducting many Fiedler audience favorites.

Williams almost ended his tenure with the Pops in 1984. Considered a customary practice of opinion, some players hissed while sight-reading a new Williams composition in rehearsal; Williams abruptly left the session and turned in his resignation. He initially cited mounting conflicts with his film composing schedule, but later admitted a perceived lack of discipline in and respect from the Pops' ranks, culminating in this latest instance. After entreaties by the management and personal apologies from the musicians, Williams withdrew his resignation and continued as principal conductor for nine more years. In 1995 he was succeeded by Keith Lockhart, the former associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

Williams is now the Laureate Conductor of the Pops, thus maintaining his affiliation with its parent, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Williams leads the Pops on several occasions each year, particularly during their Holiday Pops season and typically for a week of concerts in May. He conducts an annual Film Night at both Boston Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, where he frequently enlists the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, official chorus of the BSO.

Williams has written many concert pieces, including a symphony; a Concerto for Horn written for Dale Clevenger, principal hornist of the Chicago Symphony; a Concerto for Clarinet written for Michele Zukovsky (Principal Clarinetist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) in 1991; a sinfonietta for wind ensemble; a cello concerto premiered by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 1994; concertos for the flute and violin recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra; and a trumpet concerto, which was premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra and their principal trumpet Michael Sachs in September 1996. His bassoon concerto, "The Five Sacred Trees", which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic and principal bassoon player Judith LeClair in 1995, was recorded for Sony Classical by Williams with LeClair and the London Symphony Orchestra. He is also an accomplished pianist, as can be heard in various scores in which he provides solos, as well as a handful of European classical music recordings.

Williams was the subject of an hour-long documentary for the BBC in 1980, and was featured in a story for ABC's newsmagazine 20/20 in 1983.

In 1985, Williams was commissioned by NBC to compose a television news music package for various network news spots. The package, which Williams named "The Mission", consists of four movements, two of which are still used heavily by NBC today for ''The Today Show'', ''NBC Nightly News'', and ''Meet the Press''. Williams also composed the "Liberty Fanfare" for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, "We're Lookin' Good!" for the Special Olympics in celebration of the 1987 International Summer Games, and themes for the 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2002 Olympic games. His most recent concert work, "Seven for Luck", for soprano and orchestra, is a seven-piece song cycle based on the texts of former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. "Seven for Luck" was given its world premiere by the Boston Symphony under Williams with soprano Cynthia Haymon.

Williams makes annual appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and took part as conductor and composer in the orchestra's opening gala concerts for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003.

In April 2005, Williams and the Boston Pops performed "The Force Theme" from ''Star Wars'' at opening day in Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox, having won their first World Series championship since 1918, received their championship rings. For Game 1 of the 2007 World Series, Williams conducted a brass-and-drum ensemble through a new dissonant arrangement of the "Star Spangled Banner."

In April 2004, February 2006, and September 2007, he conducted the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. The initial program was intended to be a one-time special event, and featured Williams's medley of Oscar-winning film scores first performed at the previous year's Academy Awards. Its unprecedented popularity led to two concerts in 2006: fundraising gala events featuring personal recollections by film directors Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Continuing demand fueled three more concerts in 2007, which all sold out. These featured a tribute to the musicals of film director Stanley Donen, and had the distinction of serving as the opening event of the New York Philharmonic season. After a four-season absence, Williams is scheduled to conduct the Philharmonic once again in October 2011.

Notable compositions

Film scores

{| style="width:100%;" |- valign="top"

The following list consists of select films for which John Williams wrote the score and/or songs.

2010s

''Lincoln'' (2012)

''War Horse'' (2011)

''The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn'' (2011)

''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' (2011) Music composed by Alexandre Desplat. The cues "Leaving Hogwarts" and "Hedwig's Theme" were used from ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'', and another variant of "Hedwig's Theme" was used from ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''

2000s

''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (2008) At the 51st Grammy Awards, John Williams won an award for the Mutt Williams theme

''Munich'' (2005) Oscar nomination, Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition; and Grammy nomination for Best Score Soundtrack Album

''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005) Oscar Nomination, Grammy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA winner

''War of the Worlds'' (2005) Grammy nomination

''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) double Grammy nominations

''The Terminal'' (2004)

''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (2004) Grammy and Oscar nominations (soundtrack)

''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' (2002) Grammy nomination/Adapted and conducted by William Ross

''Minority Report'' (2002)

''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' (2002)

''Catch Me if You Can'' (2002) Oscar nomination

''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' (2001) Oscar nomination and double Grammy nominations

''A.I.: Artificial Intelligence'' (2001) Grammy and Oscar nominations

''The Patriot'' (2000) Oscar nomination

1990s

''Angela's Ashes'' (1999) Grammy and Oscar nomination

''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' (1999) Grammy nomination

''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998) Golden Globe, Grammy, and Oscar nominations

''Stepmom'' (1998)

''Amistad'' (1997) Grammy and Oscar nominations

''Seven Years in Tibet'' (1997)

''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (1997)

''Rosewood'' (1997)

''Sleepers'' (1996) Oscar nomination

''Sabrina'' (1995) double Oscar nominations

''Nixon'' (1995) Oscar nomination

''Schindler's List'' (1993) Oscar, Grammy, and BAFTA winner

''Jurassic Park'' (1993)

''Far and Away'' (1992)

''Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992)

''JFK'' (1991) Oscar nomination

''Hook'' (1991) Grammy and Oscar nominations

''Home Alone'' (1990) double Oscar nominations

''Presumed Innocent'' (1990)

''Stanley & Iris'' (1990)

1980s

''Always'' (1989)

''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989) Oscar nomination

''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989) Oscar nomination

''The Accidental Tourist'' (1988) Oscar nomination

''The Witches of Eastwick'' (1987) Oscar nomination

''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987) Adapted and conducted by Alexander Courage

''Empire of the Sun'' (1987) Oscar nomination, BAFTA winner

''SpaceCamp'' (1986)

''The River'' (1984) Oscar nomination

''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984) Oscar nomination

''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' (1983) Oscar nomination

''Monsignor'' (1982)

''Yes, Giorgio'' (1982) Song only – "If We Were In Love" Oscar and Golden Globe nomination

''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982) Golden Globe, Oscar, and BAFTA winner (soundtrack)

''Heartbeeps'' (1981)

''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981) Oscar and double Grammy nominations

''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) Oscar and double Grammy nominations, BAFTA winner

1970s

''Dracula'' (1979)

''1941'' (1979)

''Superman'' (1978) Oscar nomination and double Grammy nominations

''The Fury'' (1978)

''Jaws 2'' (1978)

''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977) Oscar nomination

''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' (1977) Oscar, Golden Globe & BAFTA winner

''Black Sunday'' (1977)

''The Missouri Breaks'' (1976)

''Midway'' (1976)

''Family Plot'' (1976)

''The Eiger Sanction'' (1975)

''Jaws'' (1975) Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar winner

''The Sugarland Express'' (1974)

''Earthquake'' (1974)

''The Towering Inferno'' (1974) Oscar nomination

''Tom Sawyer'' (1973) Oscar nomination shared with Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman

''The Paper Chase'' (1973)

''The Long Goodbye'' (1973), also title song.

''Cinderella Liberty'' (1973) Oscar nomination

''The Cowboys'' (1972)

''The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972) Oscar nomination

''Images'' (1972) Oscar nomination

''Fiddler on the Roof'' (1971) Oscar winner (score adaptation)

''Jane Eyre'' (1970)

''Storia di una donna'' (1970) His only score written for a foreign movie

1960s

''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1969) Oscar nomination

''The Reivers'' (1969) Oscar nomination

''Heidi'' (1968)

''Fitzwilly'' (1967)

''A Guide for the Married Man'' (1967)

''Valley of the Dolls'' (1967) Oscar nomination (songs written by André and Dory Previn)

''John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!'' (1965)

''The Rare Breed'' (1966)

''How to Steal a Million'' (1966)

''None But the Brave'' (1965)

''The Killers'' (1964)

''Gidget Goes to Rome'' (1963)

''Diamond Head'' (1963)

''Bachelor Flat'' (1962)

''The Secret Ways'' (1961)

''I Passed for White'' (1960)

''Because They're Young'' (1960)

1950s

''Daddy-O'' (1958)

The Olympics

Williams has composed music for four Olympic Games:

"Olympic Fanfare and Theme" – 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles

* Written specifically for the opening ceremonies. In a 1996 re-release, the opening trumpet fanfare was replaced with "Bugler's Dream", a previous Olympic Theme written by Leo Arnaud. This recording has been used as the theme for NBC's Olympic coverage ever since.

"The Olympic Spirit" – 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul

* Commissioned by NBC Sports for their television coverage

"Summon the Heroes" – 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta, Georgia

* Written in commemoration of the Centennial of the Modern Olympic Games. Premiering on July 19, 1996, the piece features heavy use of the brass and wind sections and is approximately six minutes in length. Principal Boston Pops trumpeter Timothy Morrison played the opening solo on the album recording. It has been arranged for various types of ensembles, including wind ensembles. This theme is now used prevalently by NBC for intros and outros to commercial breaks of the Olympics.

"Call of the Champions" – 2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City, Utah

Television themes

For NBC (United States):

* ''NBC News''—"The Mission"

** ''NBC Nightly News''

** ''The Today Show''

** ''Meet the Press''

''NBC Sunday Night Football''

''Amazing Stories''

''Checkmate (TV series)''

''Land of the Giants''

''Lost in Space''

''The Time Tunnel''

Theme for ''Great Performances''

Score for ''Gilligan's Island'' (first season)

Concerti

"Concerto for Flute and Orchestra" (1969), premiered in 1981 by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin

"Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra" (1976 rev. 1998), premiered in 1981 by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra under Slatkin

"Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra" (1985), premiered by the tubist Chester Schmitz of the Boston Pops for their 100th anniversary

"Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra" (1991), recorded by Michele Zukovsky for whom it was written

"Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (The Five Sacred Trees)" (1993), recorded by Judith LeClaire with the London Symphony Orchestra

"Concerto for Cello and Orchestra" (1994)

"Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra" (1996)

"Elegy for Cello and Piano" (1997), later arranged for Cello and Orchestra (2002). Based on a theme from ''Seven Years in Tibet''

"TreeSong, Concerto No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra" (2000)

"Heartwood: Lyric Sketches for Cello and Orchestra" (2002)

"Concerto for Horn and Orchestra" (2003). Premiered with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in November 2003

"Duo Concertante for Violin and Viola" (2007). Premiered at Tanglewood in August 2007

"Concerto for Viola and Orchestra" (2009)

"Concerto for Harp and Orchestra: On Willows and Birches" (2009)

"Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra" (2011)

"La Jolla Quartet: A Chamber Piece for Violin, Cello, Clarinet, and Harp" (2011). Premieres August 2011 at the La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest (Also has worked with Yo Yo Ma)

Celebration pieces and other concert works

"Prelude and Fugue for Orchestra" (1965). Available for download in MP3 at the United States Marine Band website.

"Symphony #1" (1966), premiered by Houston Symphony under André Previn in 1968. Williams reworked the piece in 1988 (performed by San Francisco Symphony during a visit as guest conductor in early 1990s)

''Thomas and The King'' (musical, 1975), premiered in London. Recorded in 1981 by the Original Cast.

"Jubilee 350 Fanfare" (1980), premiered by the Boston Pops conducted by Williams. Piece celebrating the 350th anniversary of the City of Boston

"Liberty Fanfare" (1986), premiered on July 4, 1986 by the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Piece composed for the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty

"A Hymn to New England" (1987)

"Fanfare for Michael Dukakis" (1988). Composed for Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign and premiered at the 1988 Democratic National Convention

"For New York" (Variations on theme by Leonard Bernstein) (1988). Composed for Leonard Bernstein's 70th birthday celebrations

"Celebrate Discovery" (1990). Composed for the 500th anniversary celebration of the arrival of Columbus in America

"Sound the Bells!" (1993)

"Song for World Peace" (1994)

"Variations on Happy Birthday" (1995)

"American Journey" (1999). Portions premiered as accompaniment to a film by Steven Spielberg as part of the Millennium Celebration in Washington D.C. December 31, 1999

"Three Pieces for Solo Cello" (2001)

"Soundings" (2003), composed for the Walt Disney Concert Hall

"Star Spangled Banner" (2007), special arrangement for game 1 of the 2007 World Series played by the Boston Pops Orchestra

"A Timeless Call" (2008). Score to the Steven Spielberg war veteran tribute film shown on day 3 of the 2008 Democratic National Convention

"Air and Simple Gifts", performed by Itzhak Perlman on violin, Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Gabriela Montero on piano, and Anthony McGill on clarinet. Composed for the Barack Obama 2009 presidential inauguration

chamber music piece for the La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest in California

Awards

John Williams has won five Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. He has been nominated for 21 Golden Globes and 59 Grammys. With 45 Oscar nominations, Williams currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person, and is the second most nominated person in the history of the Academy Awards, tied with late fellow film composer Alfred Newman and behind only Walt Disney's 59. Forty of Williams' Oscar nominations are for Best Original Music Score and five are for Best Original Song. He won four Oscars for Best Original Score and one for Best Adapted Score ''(Fiddler on the Roof).''

Williams has received three Emmy Awards and five nominations, six BAFTAs, twenty-one Grammy Awards, and has been inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. In 2004 he received a Kennedy Center Honor. He won a Classical Brit award in 2005 for his soundtrack work of the previous year.

Notably, Williams has won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for his scores for ''Star Wars'', ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', ''Superman'', ''The Empire Strikes Back'', ''E.T. The Extraterrestrial'', ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), ''Munich'' (2005), and ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.'' The competition includes not only composers of film scores, but also composers of instrumental music of any genre, including composers of classical fare such as symphonies and chamber music.

In 2003, the International Olympic Committee accorded Mr. Williams its highest individual honor, the Olympic Order.

In 2010, Williams received the National Medal of Arts in the White House in Washington for his achievements in symphonic music for motion pictures, and "as a pre-eminent composer and conductor [whose] scores have defined and inspired modern movie-going for decades."

AFI

Williams's richly thematic and highly popular 1977 score to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was selected in 2005 by the American Film Institute as the greatest American movie score of all time. His scores for ''Jaws'' and ''E.T.'' also appeared on the list, at No. 6 and #14, respectively. Other Williams scores for the following films were nominated for the list:

''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (2001)

''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977)

''The Cowboys'' (1972)

''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' (2001)

''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981)

''Schindler's List'' (1993)

''Superman'' (1978)

''The Witches of Eastwick'' (1987)

Academy Awards

|- | 1967 | ''Valley of the Dolls'' | Best Score Adaptation | |- | rowspan=2 | 1969 | ''Goodbye, Mr Chips'' | Best Score Adaptation | |- | ''The Reivers'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1971 | ''Fiddler on the Roof'' | Best Scoring Adaptation and Original Song Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1972 | ''Images'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | ''The Poseidon Adventure'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | rowspan=3 | 1973 | ''Cinderella Liberty'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | "Nice to Be Around" (from ''Cinderella Liberty'') | Best Original Song | |- | ''Tom Sawyer'' | Best Score Adaptation | |- | 1974 | ''The Towering Inferno'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1975 | ''Jaws'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1977 | ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1978 | ''Superman'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1980 | ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1981 | ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1982 | ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' | Best Original Score | |- | "If We Were in Love" (from ''Yes, Giorgio'') | Best Original Song | |- | 1983 | ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1984 | ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''The River'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1987 | ''Empire of the Sun'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''The Witches of Eastwick'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1988 | ''The Accidental Tourist'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1989 | ''Born on the Fourth of July'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1990 | ''Home Alone'' | Best Original Score | |- | "Somewhere in My Memory" (from ''Home Alone'') | Best Original Song | |- | rowspan=2 | 1991 | ''JFK'' | Best Original Score | |- | "When You're Alone" (from ''Hook'') | Best Original Song | |- | 1993 | ''Schindler's List'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=3 | 1995 | ''Nixon'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | ''Sabrina'' | Best Original Musical or Comedy Score | |- | "Moonlight" (from ''Sabrina'') | Best Original Song | |- | 1996 | ''Sleepers'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | 1997 | ''Amistad'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | 1998 | ''Saving Private Ryan'' | Best Original Dramatic Score | |- | 1999 | ''Angela's Ashes'' | Best Original Score | |- | 2000 | ''The Patriot'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 2001 | ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' | Best Original Score | |- | 2002 | ''Catch Me If You Can'' | Best Original Score | |- | 2004 | ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 2005 | ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''Munich'' | Best Original Score |

BAFTA Awards

|- | 1975 | ''Jaws'' | Best Film Music | |- | rowspan=2 | 1978 | ''Star Wars'' | Best Film Music | |- | ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' | Best Film Music | |- | 1980 | ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' | Best Film Music | |- | 1981 | ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' | Best Film Music | |- | 1982 | ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' | Best Film Music | |- | 1988 | ''Empire of the Sun'' | Best Film Music | |- | 1993 | ''Schindler's List'' | Best Film Music | |- | 1998 | ''Saving Private Ryan'' | Best Film Music | |- | 2002 | ''Catch Me If You Can'' | Best Film Music | |- | 2005 | ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' | Best Film Music |

Emmy Awards

|- | 1962 | ''Alcoa Premiere'' | Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composed for Television | |- | 1963 | ''Alcoa Premiere'' | Outstanding Achievement in Composing Original Music | |- | 1968 | ''Heidi'' | Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition | |- | 1971 | ''Jane Eyre'' | Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition | |- | 2002 | The 74th Academy Awards | Outstanding Music Direction | |- | 2009 | ''Great Performances'' | Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music |

Golden Globe Awards

|- | 1973 | ''The Poseidon Adventure'' | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1974 | ''Cinderella Liberty'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''Tom Sawyer'' (with Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) | Best Original Score | |- | rowspan=2 | 1975 | ''Earthquake'' | Best Original Score | |- | ''Jaws'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1977 | ''Star Wars'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1978 | ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1979 | ''Superman'' | Best Original Score | |- | | 1981 | ''Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1982 | ''E.T.'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1983 | "If We Were In Love" (with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman) from ''Yes, Giorgio'' | Best Original Song | |- | 1985 | ''The River'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1988 | ''Empire of the Sun'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1989 | ''The Accidental Tourist'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1990 | ''Born on the Fourth of July'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1994 | ''Schindler's List'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1996 | "Moonlight" (with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman) from ''Sabrina'' | Best Original Song | |- | 1998 | ''Seven Years in Tibet'' | Best Original Score | |- | 1999 | ''Saving Private Ryan'' | Best Original Score | |- | 2000 | ''Angela's Ashes'' | Best Original Score | |- | 2002 | ''Artificial Intelligence: AI'' | Best Original Score | |- | 2005 | ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' | Best Original Score |

Grammy awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.

|- | 1962 | ''Checkmate'' | Best Soundtrack Album or Recording or Score from Motion Picture or Television | |- | 1975 | ''Jaws'' | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture | |- | rowspan=3 | 1977 | ''Star Wars'' | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | |- | "Main Title" from ''Star Wars'' | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''Star Wars'' | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture | |- | rowspan=2 | 1978 | "Theme" from ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture | |- | rowspan=2 | 1979 | "Main Title Theme from Superman" | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''Superman'' | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture | |- | rowspan=2 | 1980 | ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'' | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture | |- | 1981 | ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture | |- | rowspan=3 | 1982 | "Flying" (Theme from ''E.T.'') | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' | Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture | |- | "Flying" (Theme from ''E.T.'') | Best Arrangement on an Instrumental Recording | |- | rowspan=2 | 1984 | ''Olympic Fanfare and Theme'' | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | 1988 | ''The Witches of Eastwick'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | 1989 | ''Empire of the Sun'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | 1990 | ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | 1992 | "Somewhere in My Memory" (with Leslie Bricusse) from ''Home Alone'' | Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | rowspan=2 | 1993 | ''Schindler's List'' | Instrumental Composition for a Motion Picture or Television | |- | ''Hook'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | 1994 | ''Jurassic Park'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | 1997 | "Moonlight" (with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman) from ''Sabrina'' | Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | rowspan=2 | 1998 | ''Seven Years in Tibet'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | ''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | rowspan=2 | 1999 | ''Saving Private Ryan'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | ''Amistad'' | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | |- | rowspan=2 | 2000 | "Theme" from ''Angela's Ashes'' | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | 2002 | ''Artificial Intelligence: A.I.'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | 2003 | ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | rowspan=2 | 2004 | ''Catch Me If You Can'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | 2005 | ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | 2006 | ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | rowspan=3 | 2007 | ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | ''Munich'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |- | "A Prayer For Peace" (Theme from ''Munich'') | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | rowspan=2 | 2009 | "The Adventures of Mutt" from ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' | Best Instrumental Composition | |- | ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' | Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media |

See also

Star Wars music

Superman music

Harry Potter music

References

Further reading

External links

John Williams Fan Network

Music by John Williams

The John Towner Touch (1957) (First solo album)

The John Williams Web Pages

Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame

John Williams Music Network

John Williams at Soundtrackguide.net

John Williams on SoundtrackNet

John Williams Discography at SoundtrackCollector.com

The John Williams Collection

John Williams Sheet Music and Scores

Timelines John Williams (Article Part 1 of 6) Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Critical review of Williams's career by Anthony Tommasini at New York Times (2005)

John Williams Fan Site (Chinese language)

John Williams on Pandora

Category:1932 births Category:People from Queens Category:20th-century classical composers Category:21st-century classical composers Category:American film score composers Category:American music arrangers Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Harry Potter music Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Living people Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:United States Air Force personnel Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients

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