Search - John Williams :: Jaws 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Jaws has a Close Encounter with Superman and Indiana Jones..

Jeffrey Arnold | Lemoore, ca United States | 06/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always felt that the great John Williams was on a roll from 1975 through 1984. From Jaws to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, you ABSOLUTELY could not find a film composer with a greater talent for motifs than good ol' Johnny Williams. Jaws 2's soundtrack is right smack in the middle of this awesome run of heavily-thematic scores, and is a fine example of Williams' talent.



What is most interesting to me regarding "Jaws 2" is that the score, unlike the film, surpasses the original score, much like "The Empire Strikes Back" surpassed "Star Wars." When listening, you get the feeling that he was genuinely enjoying himself. Once that surprise settles in, you'll begin to catch tidbits of phrases that had just appeared in Close Encounters, and the brassy bits hint at what is to come with the Indiana Jones scores. It's all here; a sort of cross-section of Williams' prime era canon. The "Menu" theme occasionally sounds like Lex Luthor's Theme from the then-upcoming Superman film, and, strangest of all, for all of you diehard Williams fans (and I am one),the Main Theme from Jaws 2 sounds VERY much like Christian Bale's character's theme from "Empire of the Sun," which was released in 1987! Take a moment, think about it, it will click!



The one tragic thing about this score is that, for most fans, it is unaccessible. Having a limited release, if you weren't among the few who knew of its existence, then you were stuck in that unfortunate boat, the same one in which many listeners who search for Williams' "Dracula" score find themselves in: you're just floating out there, with a bunch of greedy, slimy collector scum who picked all of the copies up and are now charging RIDICULOUS prices for the cd. They circle the boat, with their little dorsal fins out, waiting for you to bite the bullet and give in to their outrageous demands. To illustrate this, I actually had to pick up an old LP version on Ebay in order to finally hear this nice score. I only spent three bucks.



What would be excellent is if a two-disc set could be released, disc one being Jaws, and disc two being Jaws 2. Unfortunately, since this film didn't have Spielberg's name plastered on it, it's always been the red-headed stepchild, and the soundtrack has been cajoled along with it. The score does not deserve to be forgotten; I tell you, Williams is in his prime here, on this soundtrack.



Good luck to all of you out there, in finding a copy for a decent price. I got lucky, with a bit of a compromise. But at least I got to enjoy the great music."

Would have been 5 stars, except for lack of order.

Jason Pratt | Dyer, TN United States | 08/08/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A superior score to a movie which has been, in my opinion, needlessly villified--the director pretty obviously loved the original film and did his best to create a homage to the elements within it, successfully in my opinion. Not quite so successfully as James Cameron did with Ridley Scott's _Alien_; but then again Cameron has his own pretensions and happened to be talented enough to cash the checks his ego was writing. I detected only a fondness and respect for the first film, in the story-structure and directorial aspects of the second film. They make for a good bookend piece.None of which says anything about this score, but it seems normal to review the movie too, when talking about this score.In short, this is more pure John Williams, expounding and developing thematic material which he designed for the first movie. Is it superior to the first movie's score? I don't think so, but it stands very well on its own merits. (The disc is, admittedly, superior to the hack-job of the official soundtrack to the first movie; but then again, it also takes its tracks entirely out of sequence. On the other hand, there are useful and informative liner notes within the jacket, which also help put the music back in its proper order.)"

Superior to the original Score!

Greg Hirst | Casper, WY USA | 06/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The original JAWS music, while brilliantly effective in the film, was a somewhat empty listening experience. It was simple, moody music, with only one thing going on at any one time.JAWS 2 is more of an action score, with more excitement and layered themes than the original. The moments before the attacks are not just suspenseful, the are actually creepy; dark and chilling, more like what Speilberg himself was expecting at first before Williams gave him the main theme. There are more attacks in this film, and they are more choreographed and spectacular, which works much better as far as music goes, giving the music more time to build, develope, and explode. And as one reviewer mentioned, none of the tracks sound the same, which is true. While most of the attacks contain the main 2-note theme somewhere in them, they are rich in action and tension, with the horns and strings and percussion all doing their own thing but working beautifully together, much like the best of David Arnold's action music. And they are all remarkably different from one piece of music to the other.So while JAWS 2 was an inferior movie, its more conventional, spectacular, action-driven approach makes for a far more exciting and reccommendable score."