Why John Williams’ JAWS 2 score is an underrated masterpiece
Everyone knows that John Williams’ iconic score for Jaws is one of the most recognizable film scores in motion picture history, but his score for Jaws 2 is just as much a masterclass as the original. We’ll break down notable musical compositions from the film and discuss what makes the music of the first major blockbuster sequel stand out as one of Williams’ most undervalued and underrated film scores.
Just when you thought it was safe to put down the headphones… the maestro strikes again! Jaws 2 (1978), the first sequel to Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking blockbuster, has enjoyed a healthy fan following just as strong as its predecessor over the last 45 years. Part two of the iconic shark saga not only brought audiences back to Amity Island, but it also brought back the sound of those two familiar ominous orchestral notes written by the musical genius, John Williams. With most of the original key crew members who had worked on Jaws (1975) returning to work their magic on the sequel to the most successful film in history at the time (except for director Steven Spielberg), it was no surprise that Williams also returned to bring his musical talent to the second act of what is arguably the gold standard for shark movie franchises.
By Jaws 2’s release in the summer of 1978, Williams was now a household name and a legend in the film industry courtesy of his iconic film scores for Jaws and Star Wars (1977). Jaws was a tough act to follow, but Williams managed to deliver a film score that is guaranteed to pull at the audience’s heartstrings. While not packing quite the same sinister punch as the first Jaws, William’s score for Jaws 2 has garnered a legacy all its own for being among his career best film scores, likely contributing to the sequel’s lasting appeal among the fanbase decades after its release. It’s unfortunate that despite being such a stellar film score, the music of Jaws 2 is sometimes disregarded in favor of Jaws among the mainstream simply because of the commonly accepted belief that “the original is always the best one”.
Joh Williams conducting and recording original JAWS score in 1974.
It’s no secret that a good portion of what made Jaws an instant classic was John William’s chilling score. As the most hardcore fans and film buffs know, the mechanical shark used during the production of Jaws proved unreliable and troublesome, hence the shark’s notable lack of screentime in the film and the reliance on William’s iconic shark theme, combined with editor Verna Fields’ editing and Steven Spielberg’s impeccable staging to suggest the shark’s presence. With a more reliable mechanical shark fabricated for the sequel, Jaws 2 takes the opposite approach by revealing the shark within the first five minutes, not to mention the shark has far more screentime for its second outing. With the shark’s visual presence increased tenfold, the sequel, and by extension William’s new score, feels like a different kind of beast, so to speak.
In contrast to Jaws, which one could easily describe as a true suspense thriller, Jaws 2 is a much lighter film in terms of tone and atmosphere, relying more on fast paced action sequences to create suspense. Moreover, the sequel focuses primarily on teenagers as the shark’s victims, and as such the film has gained a reputation for being categorized within the vein of teen slasher flicks like Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980), which likely remains part of its appeal among younger audiences even today. Between the inclusion of younger characters and a much brighter color palate, coupled with the audience’s relative ease in knowing what the shark already looks like from the experience of the prior movie, the filmmakers find a healthy equilibrium between suspense and pure fun that most audiences can enjoy without constantly feeling on edge, the latter of which Jaws excels at, and Willam’s new score for Jaws 2 neatly reflects that equal balance.
Jaws 2 is often credited as the first major blockbuster sequel, but also has the importance of being John William’s first of many sequels, and it effectively established his approach to revisiting material he had already composed for a prior film while at the same time composing new themes for new characters and/or ideas, as he would do for his other blockbuster franchises, namely Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park. Given the shark’s greater presence in the second film, it comes as no surprise that Williams reuses his iconic shark theme from the first film, albeit with a noticeably different orchestration. Remember that Jaws 2 for the most part is more of an action movie than a suspense thriller, and the shark motif heard throughout the film is appropriately more action oriented than suspense driven. For most of the shark’s appearances, particularly during the film’s many action sequences, the shark theme is played at a much faster tempo and utilizes more dramatic brass instrumentation, and while still sounding threatening, it doesn’t have the same sinister and ominous quality as some of the more memorable slower and more imposing stringed and piano renditions of the motif in Jaws, more fitting for that film’s more subtle, slow-burn approach to implying the presence of the unseen shark during the first act.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Williams utilizes new and more lively music to reflect the film’s lighter tone, providing a contrast to the suspenseful shark music. As mentioned earlier, most of the movie’s focus is on its teenage characters, as the audience gets a glimpse into the more cheerful side of an otherwise dark story. Williams effectively lightens the mood during the sequences with our teen cast by introducing a simple, but catchy sailing motif that allows younger audiences to connect with the teens and share in their joy. It’s a playful and uplifting melody that is heard as the kids spend nearly most of their scenes hanging out on their sailboats, tossing water bombs at each other, having picnics, racing to see whose boat is the fastest, and generally just having a good time on their summer vacation. Aside from one or two pieces throughout all of Jaws, there was a stark absence of any lighter music of this frequency in the first movie, giving Jaws 2 its much lighter feel in part through William’s music.
What also makes the music of Jaws 2 truly stand out against its predecessor is that it nearly serves as an inversion of the music from the original. With Jaws, what you see (and hear), is what you get, as Williams makes it very evident when to expect the shark though his simple two note motif combined with similarly eerie and ominous cues, keeping the audience on edge through almost the entirety of the movie. This time however, Williams frequently misleads the audience throughout the picture by inviting us to relax and enjoy the tranquility or excitement of the moment through more peaceful or lively music only to ease us back into the reality of the threat that the shark poses, reminding us that this is, after all, a suspense thriller. In simple terms, unlike the first film, Williams does not immediately make it obvious when to expect the shark until it is warranted.
There are several moments in the film where this tactic of misdirection by the composer plays out to great effect. Take the opening sequence, where we see two divers discover the wreck of the sunken Orca, Quint’s boat from the first movie, only to be attacked by the shark shortly thereafter when they encroach on its territory. Rather than open the film with the expected shark theme as he had done on the first movie, Williams introduces us to the relative beauty of the undersea world with a tranquil harp section combined with a slightly suspenseful undertone, indicating the dual nature of what lies beneath the ocean surface. The music informs us that this is a wondrous spectacle to behold, while at the same time subconsciously warning us of the inherent dangers of entering a realm where we don’t belong. In other words, the maestro is telling us that the ocean is a beautiful place, but it can also be deadly to humans.
This idea is once again reflected later in the film during a sequence where a group of divers enter the water in search of lobster. At this point in the film, the shark has been offscreen for quite some time, so the viewer fully expects that if the shark is going to reappear, the timing is just too appropriate for anything else to happen. However, Williams initially uses musical cues that don’t necessarily hint that the shark is nearby, instead utilizing light strings mixed with slightly cautious woodwinds, encouraging the audience to take in the experience of exploring the ocean floor with the divers as our guides while advising caution of what else might be out here. The tension begins to build as a lone diver breaks away from the group and wanders on his own into the corral and seaweed. The orchestra goes into a subdued but ominous coda of the harp section from the film’s opening scene as he descends further into the corral forest. Right on cue, the shark appears seemingly out of nowhere, and the orchestra goes from relative quiet to a sudden explosive jolt. The music then goes into a frantic and queasy movement as fast and heavy upward brass alternates with some light synthetic screeching sounds as the frightened diver suffers an embolism during his mad dash to the surface with no air, and the audience can almost feel their stomach churn courtesy of these unsettling sounds combined with what plays out on screen.
As the film’s second half begins, and the attention shifts toward the sailing teens, the audience knows that the kids are destined to cross paths with the shark. Once again, Williams initially subverts the audience’s expectations of doom by sending the sailing party off with rousing fanfare as the teen entourage leaves port for their ill-fated day out on the sea, instead indicating that we’re in for a grand and fun-filled adventure. Consisting of exhilarating brass, strings, and woodwinds, this exuberant piece follows the kids during the first part of their voyage as they make their way past the lighthouse and further out to sea. It isn’t until the shark reappears and begins to pursue the unsuspecting kids that Williams allows the music to take its expected more foreboding tone. The orchestra goes into a threatening piece that commences with dramatic and choppy notes as we get a brief montage of ariel shots of the various catamarans and sail sloops. The strings then start to perform a fast, but soft rendition of the shark theme before transitioning into a heavier brass section. The shark motif gradually becomes louder as the crescendo builds before coming to an abrupt conclusion, and the audience now has no doubt of the impending danger that awaits ahead while the teens themselves remain blissfully unaware that they’re sailing toward a rendezvous with terror.
Another departure (perhaps an improvement) from the music of Jaws is how Williams concludes the sequel with a happier sendoff. In contrast to the first movie’s closing, which uses a mellow rendition of the film’s heroic motif as Brody (Roy Scheider) and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) swim back to shore, Jaws 2 ends on a much more uplifting and victorious note. More so than the first film, Williams provides the viewer with a greater sense of relief that the shark is undeniably dead and that our heroes have lived to sail another day. Beginning shortly after the shark has been liquidated, this moving sonata opens as a string section performed first by cellos as Brody paddles Sean (Marc Gilpin) and Jackie (Donna Wilkes) to their friends waiting on Cable Junction, transitioning to lush violins as the camera pulls out into a wide shot of our survivors reunited after this harrowing ordeal. The symphony then becomes more uplifting as woodwinds transition into a set of triumphant brass chords, signaling Brody’s victory over the shark, before settling back into a softer version of the sonata’s first movement, all while we get a beautiful panoramic shot of the ocean waves gently crashing as the camera slowly pans up to the sun setting on the horizon as the piece concludes. Before the picture fades to black, we’re treated to an extended and cheerful final suite of the sailing motif which closes out the film as the cast credits roll, the orchestra ultimately culminating to a classic “happy ending” note, leaving the audience hankering for more.
Words by J.M. kemp
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