I don't hate Spielberg (though he's been pretty bad for the last decade), he's a very good director, but John Williams elevated his movies to the next level (except for The Color Purple).
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shareYou can make a pretty convincing argument that both elevated each other's careers.
Comparing John Williams to a guy like Jerry Goldsmith, its pretty obvious that Williams has received way too many accolades. The Spielberg/Lucas machine is made for high publicity. If you want to talk about elevating work to a higher level, Goldsmith is the man. He was extremely versatile, he's done horror/sci-fi/noir/sports/thrillers/animation/drama/fantasy, about the only genre he didn't do was westerns. He did brilliant work with synth scores as well as large orchestras. He can be subtle as well as epic. Williams is really really good, but he's not the true master that Goldsmith was.
Actually, Jerry Goldsmith DID compose several great scores for MANY Hollywood Westerns: Rio Lobo (a John Wayne classic!), 100 Rifles, Hour of the Gun, Bandolero, The Wild Rovers, Stagecoach (the 1966 version), and my personal favourite, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (just to name a few). So, yeah, Jerry could do it ALL!
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