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Lists that rank some of cinema's most delightful productions: musicals.

Music on the Big Screen

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Soundtracks

All of John WIlliams's Scores from Best to Worst

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Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

The score from The Empire Strikes Back, composed by John Williams, was recorded in eighteen sessions at Anvil Studios over three days in December 1979 and a further six days in January 1980 with Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, Williams had also worked with the London Symphony Orchestra for the scores to the films The Fury, Superman and Dracula. The score won another Academy Award nomination for Williams. Again, the score was orchestrated by Herbert W. Spencer, recorded by engineer Eric Tomlinson and edited by Kenneth Wannberg with supervision by Lionel Newman. John Williams himself took over duties as record producer from Star Wars creator George Lucas.
The soundtrack was first released in the U.S. as a 75-minute double LP five days before the film's premiere but the first Compact Disc release ran only half the length of the 2 LP set. Re-recordings of the score even included music that was not on the original CD soundtrack.

Star Wars: A New Hope

John Williams' score for Star Wars was recorded over eight sessions at Anvil Studios in Denham, England on March 5, 8–12, 15 and 16, 1977. The score was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with Williams himself conducting. The score was orchestrated by Williams's frequent associate Herbert W. Spencer, who also orchestrated The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The score was recorded by engineer Eric Tomlinson and edited by Kenneth Wannberg, and the scoring sessions were produced by Star Wars director George Lucas and supervised by Lionel Newman, head of 20th Century Fox's music department.
The film premiered on May 25, 1977 and by late summer a disco version of the film's theme by Meco became America's number one song. In 2005, the American Film Institute named the original Star Wars soundtrack as the most memorable score of all time for a US film. In 2004, it was preserved by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry, calling it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Jurassic Park Score

Jurassic Park is the twelfth project on which renowned composer John Williams worked with Steven Spielberg. He composed, conducted and produced the film's score. John Neufeld orchestrated most of the cues, with Alexander Courage entirely orchestrating three and Conrad Pope partially orchestrating two others.
MCA Records released a soundtrack album for the film on May 20, 1993. Also produced by Williams, this album includes most of the film's major cues, sometimes edited together into longer tracks and often containing material that was unused in the film. Several passages are also repeated in different tracks.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

The soundtrack to Raiders of the Lost Ark was released by Columbia Records in June 1981. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Orchestrations were done by Herbert W. Spencer with additional orchestrations done by Al Woodbury.

Jaws

The original soundtrack for Jaws was released on LP 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 by Royal Scottish National Orchestra 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. In 2005, it was ranked No.6 in AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores, a list which compiles the greatest American film scores.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

The Return of the Jedi score was recorded at the Abbey Road studios in January and February 1983. Again, John Williams conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and served as producer. Orchestrator Herbert W. Spencer, engineer Eric Tomlinson, music editor Kenneth Wannberg, and record supervisor Lionel Newman again reprised their respective duties. The score won another Academy Award nomination for Williams. Return of the Jedi, which is the original trilogy's longest score, was only released on a single-LP instead of a double-set like the Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back soundtracks before it.

Superman: The Movie

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: Music from the Original Soundtrack is an album containing John Williams' score for the 1982 Steven Spielberg film of the same name.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released on 30 October 2001. The film's score was composed and conducted by John Williams. The soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Score at the 74th Academy Awards. The film introduces many character-specific themes that are used in at least one sequel as well, although most of the themes are only used again in Chamber of Secrets. These themes include two themes for Voldemort, two themes for Hogwarts, a Diagon Alley theme, a Quidditch theme, a flying theme, a friendship theme, and the main theme. This main theme can be found in all of the films although not usually in its unaltered state.
The soundtrack was certified gold in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association on 14 December 2001. It was also certified gold in Japan for 100,000 units by the RIAJ.In 2002, the soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Score at the 74th Academy Awards in which Williams took part in conducting the ceremony. However, Williams lost to Howard Shore's score to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Indiana Jones Trilogy

Schindler's List

Schindler's List is the original soundtrack, on the MCA label, of the 1993 film Schindler's List starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes and Caroline Goodall. The original score and songs were composed by John Williams, and features violin player Itzhak Perlman.
The album won the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for "Best Original Score" and the Grammy Award for "Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media". It was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Theme from Schindler's List is one of the most recognized contemporary film scores, particularly the violin solo. Many high-level figure skaters have used this in their programs, including Katarina Witt, Irina Slutskaya, Johnny Weir, and Yulia Lipnitskaya.

Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace

The soundtrack to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released two weeks before the film in May 1999, and was composed by John Williams. In anticipation of the long-awaited film, the soundtrack was certified Platinum in the U.S. and Gold in the U.K..
Three formats were available, and a new one was released in February 2012:
The original album released on compact disc to accompany the film. This release is a single disc containing 17 tracks from the score. Each track is edited by Williams to present the score as one would hear it in a concert suite.
This album was also available on a two disc vinyl LP set through specialized retailers such as Star Wars Insider.
The Two-Disc Ultimate Edition released by popular demand. This set presents the score predominately as heard in the film. Although not exactly what is heard in the film, this set was meant to be listened to as one would hear the score in the film, but is not the complete score

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Science fiction adventure about a group of people who attempt to contact alien intelligence. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) witnesses an unidentified flying object, and even has a "sunburn" from its bright lights to prove it. Roy refuses to accept an explanation for what he saw and is prepared to give up his life to pursue the truth about UFOs.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film, written and directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an everyday blue collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with an unidentified flying object.
Close Encounters was a long-cherished project for Spielberg. In late 1973, he developed a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science fiction film. Though Spielberg received sole credit for the script, he was assisted by Paul Schrader, John Hill, David Giler, Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins, and Jerry Belson, all of whom contributed to the screenplay in varying degrees. The title is derived from UFO-ologist J. Allen Hynek's classification of close encounters with aliens, in which the third kind denotes human observations of actual aliens or "animate beings." Douglas Trumbull served as the visual effects supervisor, while Carlo Rambaldi designed the aliens.
Made on a production budget of $18 million, Close Encounters was released in November 1977 to critical and financial success, eventually grossing over $337,700,000 worldwide.

UFO sighters finally meet the aliens that obsessed them.

Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

The soundtrack to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released by Sony Classical on May 3, 2005, more than two weeks before the film's release. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. Williams also composed and conducted the scores for the saga's other five films. Shawn Murphy recorded the score. Ramiro Belgardt and Kenneth Wannberg served as music editors. Thus, Kenneth Wannberg served as music editor for all six Star Wars scores.
A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film's theme, "Battle of the Heroes", featuring footage from the film. In the U.K., "Battle of the Heroes" was released as a CD-single and reached No. 25 in the UK Singles Chart in June 2005.
The soundtrack also came with a collectors' DVD, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, at no additional cost. The DVD features 16 music videos set to remastered selections of music from all six film scores, set chronologically through the saga.
This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the soundtrack to Steven Spielberg's 1989 film of the same name. It was released by Wea in 1989. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by a studio orchestra.
The official album only contains key moments from the film's score and is out of print. The expanded edition was officially released by Concord Music Group in a box set with the soundtracks of the other Indiana Jones films on November 11, 2008. Williams' arrangement of the Königgrätzer Marsch, the German military march that is played during the Berlin book burning scene, does not appear on the soundtrack.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The soundtrack to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a score release of the film's music, first released on CD & LP in 1984 and reissued on CD in 2008.
Numerous cues from the film were missing from the soundtrack's initial LP issue due to the inherent length limitations of a single LP. After the release of an extended Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack album in 1995, there was some hope of a more complete release of the Temple of Doom score. This was eventually realized in November 2008 by the Concord Music Group as part of a five-CD boxed set that also included the soundtracks for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on 25 May 2004. The film's score was composed and conducted by John Williams. It introduced two major themes: "Window to the Past" and "Double Trouble", although neither were featured in the series's other films. Two other notable themes were used to represent the Time-Turner and Sirius Black's hunt for Harry. The soundtrack was performed at Abbey Road Studios in London. It charted at No. 68 on the Billboard 200 and also charted at No. 3 on the Top Soundtracks Chart.
The album was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the Year.

Home Alone

When bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother (Catherine O'Hara) makes him sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters mistakenly leave for the airport without Kevin, he awakens to an empty house and assumes his wish to have no family has come true. But his excitement sours when he realizes that two con men (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) plan to rob the McCallister residence, and that he alone must protect the family home.

Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas family comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, a boy who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation. Kevin initially relishes being home alone, but soon has to contend with two would-be robbers played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. The film also features Catherine O'Hara and John Heard as Kevin's parents.

A boy defends his home against inept burglars.

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the original score on the DreamWorks Records label, of the 1998 Academy Award, and Golden Globe Award-winning film Saving Private Ryan starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Giovanni Ribisi and Tom Sizemore. The original score was composed by John Williams and performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
The score won the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.

Hook

Hook is a musical album by 	 John Williams.

Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones

The soundtrack to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was released by Sony Classical on April 23, 2002. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. Shawn Murphy recorded and mixed the score. Peter Myles and Kenneth Wannberg served as music editors. Williams himself produced the recording sessions.
Four different album covers were featured with Anakin and Padme, Jango Fett, Yoda, and the theatrical poster. For a limited time, the CD shipped with a bonus CD-ROM featuring a PC screensaver and a total of four alternative covers. A Target-exclusive edition featured the bonus track "On the Conveyor Belt".

Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun is the soundtrack, on Warner Bros. Records, of the 1987 film Empire of the Sun, directed by Steven Spielberg. The original score was composed by John Williams and recorded in September-October 1987.
The album is a 54-minute selection of music from Empire of the Sun. The order of the track listing does not follow the chronology of the film.
The album won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.
A version of the track "Jim's New Life," performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra, was included on the 1995 album Williams on Williams: The Classic Spielberg Scores. A Boston Pops Orchestra version of "Cadillac of the Skies" is on Disc One of the 1999 double album John Williams Greatest Hits 1969–1999.
A limited edition, 2-disc edition of the Empire of the Sun soundtrack, produced and remastered by Mike Matessino, was released by La-La Land Records in 2014. This edition of the soundtrack runs twice as long as the original album.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets original motion picture soundtrack was released on 12 November 2002. The score was originally slated to be composed and conducted entirely by John Williams, but due to scheduling conflicts with the scoring of Steven Spielberg's film Catch Me If You Can, composer William Ross was brought in to adapt Williams's music and conduct the scoring sessions with the London Symphony Orchestra.
From what can be heard in the soundtrack, there are six new themes, representing "Fawkes the Phoenix", "The Chamber of Secrets", "Gilderoy Lockhart", "Dobby the House Elf", "The Spiders", and "Moaning Myrtle".
Upon its release, the soundtrack was available in one of five different collectible covers. Each cover featured a different character or characters packaged above the main cover featuring Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
The soundtrack was a Grammy Award nominee for the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 2003. It charted on the Billboard 200 at 81 and also charted at 5 on the Top Soundtracks Chart. In Japan, the album was certified gold by the RIAJ for 100,000 copies shipped to stores.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park Score

Like its predecessor, The Lost World: Jurassic Park was scored by famed composer John Williams, orchestrated by Conrad Pope and John Neufeld, and recorded in Los Angeles. Notably, Williams didn't write a stereotypical sequel score, but instead developed a wildly different style for the different location, cast, and darker tone of the second Jurassic Park film.
The original soundtrack album — released by MCA Records on April 30, 1997 — features over seventy minutes of the film's music, including some material that was unused in the film's final cut. The single disc is packaged in a paper case that opens to reveal dioramas of jungle scenery and dinosaurs from the film.

The Star Wars Trilogy: Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi

List of All of John WIlliams's Scores from Best to Worst, ranked by the combined opinions of 837 people as of August 2022. Add your votes to this ultimate ...