Where are all the inspirational movies? Now, more than at any time in recent memory, there should be a wave of optimistic films to lift us up, out of all the dread, gloom, and rancor.
Over the course of his unparalleled career, John Williams almost always managed to convey the exhilaration of being alive, even in the darkest thrillers. Everyone remembers his theme for the great white, but it’s the swashbuckling third act that made “Jaws” a monstrous hit.
Not that everything has to be a march, necessarily, but how about a few interludes of light and beauty? Must these be totally absent from the movies these days? Is the best in life really reflected in the hip, the dark, the badass, and the ironic? Must the pace always be relentless?
The 1970s was far from the most hopeful decade. In the wake of Vietnam, Watergate, and all the political and social unrest of the 1960s, who could have predicted that a young generation of filmmakers would embrace imagination, wit, and adventure? After a hot afternoon of sweating it out on a gas line, the American public was hungry for affirmation and escape. They could still find it in a darkened theater, and these movies became enormous moneymakers.
But then, as usual, the Man got a hold of it and squeezed hard. A corporate mindset took root and bled everything of its fun and turned the world into a bleak thrill-ride.
There was plenty of grit in American movies of the 1970s, to be sure. But at some point, you’ve got to look away from all the crime and conspiracy, the dystopias and divorces, the horrors, real and supernatural, and celebrate the simple pleasures of biking to a friend’s house, sitting in a park with the sun on your face, or standing on a lawn in your bare feet.
Who knows, maybe it’s just not practical to expect any kind of soul, patience, or reflection anymore, with all the smartphones and computers. And the tighter deadlines for composers, and the ability to manipulate films virtually until the day they are released.
Does anyone watch the birds or the snow or the clouds, or even dream? Or breathe? Or is that considered boring? All I’m asking for is a little poetry, or even a smile.
Even when the movies weren’t the best, John Williams put his stamp on the music, so that you felt you were actually watching something ennobling. He’s one of few who still knows how to convey that life is worth living.
Happy birthday, Maestro. Now at work on a violin concerto for Anne-Sophie Mutter, John Williams turns 89.
The Reivers (1969):
The Fury (1978):
Jaws 2, for crying out loud (1978):
The Rise of Skywalker (2019):