A Música de John Williams

A true masterpiece about the life and extrordinary work of a true legend, one of the very few of his kind still alive today. This documentary was so well made that even if it was 7 hours long it would still not be enough to honor all the incredible work the great maestro John Williams has done over so many decades on so many films. This world would not have been the same without the music that he has wrote over the years. Our parents grew up listening to it and so did we and I hope that the next generations will keep John's music to their heart. People like John Williams are great examples of talent and humanity and I hope that he is in good health and mind to keep up the amazing work, so that he receives more Oscar nominations. I wish the same for the people behind this documentary to get this to the Oscars 'cause a film about one of the people with the most Oscar nominations in the world, clearly would be Oscar-worthy.

This is a wonderful film. It isn't so much a documentary more a celebration of the music, life and humanity of John Williams. The celebration doesn't dwell on biography or deep musicological analysis but rather gives a guide to how this artist has for decades captured the essence of story, the heart of emotion in music.

The excerpts of him conducting in the scoring sessions are wonderful, and throughout what comes through is his joy and his love in making music and moreover enabling others to make music. There is something truly humbling about seeing the partnership between Williams and Spielberg, they speak with one united voice. Spielberg in his imagery and narrative and Williams in music and emotional core. They also clearly adore each other and to see two artists who have such a deep personal and professional bond is wonderful to watch documented.

I do wish this had been longer, a deeper dive I go his work and his process - but that is just greed! This is as good a celebration of the man as you will watch and makes you want to re-watch some movies just to hear those scores in their entirety.

The film made me think about joy so much. The joy the music brings as Chris Martin says 'nobody had a bad day because they listened to a piece by John Williams' and what a legacy that is to leave to the world.

We all have our favourite scores. Mine are the final Star Wars with the magnificent finale revelling in all those themes, and I have some that pop up fleetingly here like his work on Hook, which is always worth revisiting, a flawed film but an almost perfect score.

For me, Williams is up there with Mozart, as being a composer who understands instinctively our emotional response to a story, but more than that here his musical work goes beyond 'the brief' and has often lifted a movie above and beyond what it may have been without him.

He also genuinely comes across as a lovely man who cares deeply for his craft and for music, he has been and continues to be an inspiration not just for musicians and composers but for all of us who treasure creativity, craft and care.

A brilliant celebration.

I saw this film as the first red carpet event of the AFI film festival of 2024. Introduced by Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, who produced the film, they expressed their devotion and dedication to John Williams. John Williams certainly deserves that dedication - filmgoers and music lovers will definitely agree with Messrs. Howard and Spielberg. The documentary details how Williams got his start in the film industry as well as his personal life which had a tragedy that I was not aware of until seeing this film. We learn how Williams came up with the score to films such as "Jaws", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Star Wars" and many others. There are also funny anecdotes of Spielberg's initial reaction to Williams' score of "Jaws" and Spielberg's quip about Williams' composing the score to "Schindler's List", which adds a bit of levity to otherwise emotionally devasting story. I also learned about the Boston Pops musicians' snobbish reactions to Williams' direction as well as many more interesting facts about this absolute musical genius. I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in filmmaking as well as music.

I was inspired by this documentary. We shouldn't be too quick to invite AI into our lives. We should marvel at human skill, creativity and recognise that craft takes time and unlocks so much. AI is not special, what people can achieve with imagination and experiences is.

I found this film entertaining and insightful and validated what I fear. Human craft is at risk with further progression of technology.

I loved the journey down memory lane of great films and tv, and the music that added so much inspired emotion. Took me back to so many great childhood memories, but also motivated me to revisit pieces I haven't seen for a long time, and others I've never seen.

Amazed at how wide John Williams resume spans, and feel privileged to have been invited to know more about his life and family and those that have worked alongside him and how in awe they have all been of him.

So glad I watched this.

Like most of us, I have loved John Williams music since being aware of it in the original Star Wars. I also spend many hours listening to the soundtrack with headphones on, while holding the album cover.

I loved this documentary, but it felt like it was scratching the surface of such a brilliant man's work, I wish it was a multi-part 90 minute series (similar to the recent Beatles documentary) with each film/episode being focused on his early life, work and then each decade of work from the 70's onwards. I could devour hearing about his process and work for hours and hours. Maybe Disney will release an extended version in the future from cut footage.

Thank you sir for bringing so much joy to our lives.