Happy Birthday Mr Williams!

I have just spent two minutes on local radio singing the praises of the marvellous JW. And he is marvellous – how many other 80 year olds have two Oscar nominations this year? OK, Tintin and Warhorse are not necessarily two of my favourite scores (although the main title of Tintin is knockout and better than every note of The Artist put together), but hey, this man is the most nominated individual in the history of the Oscars, with 37 nominations since 1968, and five wins. And marvel ye all at the astonishing consistency, imagination and versatility of the man. When I think of him, it’s the big adventure scores that come to mind: Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter; but don’t forget his disaster movies that preceded those – The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are probably the reason he got the gig to do Jaws, resulting in his first Oscar for original composition (he got one for his adaptation work on Fiddler on the Roof, of all things, in 1972)and the first full score he wrote for Spielberg, resulting in the most enduring director/ composer relationship in Hollywood, even more so (significantly more so) than Herrmann and Hitchcock or those Johnny come latelies, Burton and Elfman. Then there are his sci-fi (always with a twist or two) scores: Close Encounters, E.T (Oscar), AI, Minority Report; the dramas – JFK, Saving Private Ryan, Empire of the Sun, Born on the 4^th of July, and, of course, Schindler’s List (another Oscar, thank you); and the comedies – Home Alone, The Witches of Eastwick, Hook (is Hook a comedy?), Far and Away (I know, I’m the only person who likes that film). And then out of the blue, after he’s turned 70, he comes out with the score for Catch Me If You Can – the sheer jaw-dropping genius of which is that it doesn’t sound like a John Williams score. Still inventive after all those years. And of the one’s I have mentioned (the man has 139 scoring credits in IMDB) every film I have mentioned so far got him at least an Oscar nomination. Well, except Far and Away….

It’s been an astonishing career, and not over yet: he’s working on Spielberg’s bio-pic of Lincoln as we speak. Talented, yes; innovative, certainly; important, beyond a doubt. But perhaps above all – what a work ethic! The dedication of this composer, the sheer hard work required to churn out so much topnotch film music for more than 50 years - I take my woolly hat off to you, Mr W, which in this blasted freezing weather is a mark of my thoroughly genuine respect for everything you have done for the art and craft of the film music that I love so much.