Indy scores JAWS composer John Williams 54th Oscar nod
John Williams, he’s the Oscar-winning composer of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), JAWS (1975), Star Wars (1977), Schindler’s List (1993), and the 91-year-old legend has just scored his 54th nomination for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Not that it is the first time the man with the hat has gained the bearded composer and longtime collaborator of Steven Spielberg an Oscar-nomination, as he was also nominated for Raiders of the Lost Ark, back at the 1982 Academy Awards, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, leaving Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as being the only film in the series to not be nominated for its score.
We take a closer look at the Oscar wins by John Williams, who incredibly has not won an Oscar for 30 years!
Fiddler on the Roof wins Best Score (Adaptation) (1972)
John Williams accepted his very first Oscar, for Fiddler on the Roof at the 1972 Academy Awards.
JAWS wins Best Original Score (1976)
John Williams didn’t have far to walk to collect his Oscar for Jaws at the 1976 Academy Awards, as he was the Musical Director for that year’s show. Many of those playing in the orchestra pit that day had also played on Jaws. Making it an even more special occasion.
Star Wars wins Best Original Score (1978)
The Force was with John Williams again at the 1978 Academy Awards, trading in scoring duties on the film with the golden android C3PO for another golden Oscar statue.
E.T. – the Extra-Terrestrial wins Best Original Score (1983)
At the 1983 Academy Awards John Williams had plenty to phone home about with his wonderous and magical score that brought an unconventional alien not just to life, but into our hearts.
Schindler’s List wins Best Original Score (1994)
Williams’ emotional and thought-provoking score gives us his final Academy Award to date, it is interesting to note that Goldie Hawn (who was in Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express, which was the first film Spielberg and Williams collaborated on) read out the nominees, and also read them out the year that Williams won an Oscar for Jaws.
Amazingly, in his second year of being nominated for an Oscar, in 1970, Williams received two nominations. It was no fluke, as it wouldn’t be the only time he would receive multiple nominations in the same Academy Awards, sometimes it would be for scores and other times it would be for Best Score or Best Song.
In 1974 and again in 1996 he was nominated three times in the same year!
Williams would do the double nomination no less than 11 times, including the repeating his Oscar nomination success in 1973, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2006, 2012.
And the one huge surprise, for me at least, that didn’t make the Oscar nomination list? Jurassic Park (1993), which was released the same year as Schindler’s List. The one year you’d perhaps have expected Williams to do the double Oscar nomination. Alas, life didn’t find a way for that particular memorable score.
To break the complete winning and nominee list down, we have 17 Steven Spielberg films, ten about wars spanning The American Civil War to World War One, World War Two and Vietnam, six Star Wars films, four directly or indirectly about American Presidents, three directed by Oliver Stone, four Indiana Jones films, two disaster movies (three if you count Jaws as part of the genre) and one that made you believe a man could fly.
All over a period of 60 years, which makes it kind of easy to take his greatness and his seemingly ever-present music for granted. We shouldn’t, because one day all we will have are those recordings and a host of yet to be made films and film going experiences that will be poorer for him not having scored them.
All the John Williams Oscar-nominations and wins
Valley of the Dolls - Best Original Score (1968)
Goodbye, Mr Chips - Best Original Score (1970)
The Reivers - Best Original Score (1970)
Fiddler on the Roof – Best Score (Adapted) (1972) WINNER
Images - Best Original Score (1973)
The Poseidon Adventure - Best Original Score (1973)
Tom Sawyer - Best Original Score (1974)
Nice to be Around - Best Original Song (1974)
Cinderella Liberty - Best Original Score (1974)
The Towering Inferno - Best Original Score (1975)
JAWS – Best Original Score (1976) WINNER
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Best Original Score (1978)
Star Wars – Best Original Score (1978) WINNER
Superman: The Movie - Best Original Score (1979)
The Empire Strikes Back - Best Original Score (1981)
Raiders of the Lost Ark - Best Original Score (1982)
Yes, Giorgio: If We Were in Love- Best Original Song (1983)
E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial – Best Original Score (1983) WINNER
Return of the Jedi - Best Original Score (1984)
The River - Best Original Score (1985)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - Best Original Score (1985)
Empire of the Sun - Best Original Score (1988)
The Witches of Eastwick - Best Original Score (1988)
The Accidental Tourist - Best Original Score (1989)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - Best Original Score (1990)
Born on the Fourth of July - Best Original Score (1990)
Somewhere in my Memory - Best Original Song (1991)
Home Alone - Best Original Score (1991)
When You’re Alone - Best Original Song (1992)
JFK - Best Original Score (1992)
Schindler’s List – Best Original Score (1994) WINNER
Sabrina - Best Original Score 1996)
Moonlight - Best Original Song (1996)
Nixon - Best Original Score (1996)
Sleepers - Best Original Score (1997)
Amistad - Best Original Score (1998)
Saving Private Ryan - Best Original Score (1999)
Angela’s Ashes - Best Original Score (2000)
The Patriot - Best Original Score (2001)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - Best Original Score (2002)
AI: Artificial Intelligence - Best Original Score (2002)
Catch Me If You Can - Best Original Score (2003)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Best Original Score (2005)
Munich - Best Original Score (2008)
Memoirs of a Geisha - Best Original Score (2006)
War Horse - Best Original Score (2012)
The Adventures of Tintin - Best Original Score (2012)
Lincoln - Best Original Score (2013)
The Book Thief - Best Original Score (2014)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Best Original Score (2016)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Best Original Score (2018)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Best Original Score (2020)
The Fabelmans – Best Original Score (2023)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Best Original Score (2024)
Williams not only has an impressive Oscar-nomination CV, but he is still the most-nominated person alive (only bettered by Walt Disney) and is the oldest person ever to be nominated for a competitive Oscar. Not bad for someone who was once widely reported to be hanging up his composing baton.
We still think he’s got another JAWS score in him (winks).
Words by Dean Newman
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