Debuting on Disney Plus this week, Music by John Williams is a loving documentary backed by the maestro’s most influential friends that spans the entirety of his career. It features interviews with many of the directors he has worked with, the likes of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ron Howard, Chris Columbus, J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and many more. Veteran DVD/Blu Ray special features producer and frequent Spielberg collaborator Laurent Bouzereau has produced a slick and accomplished documentary that feels larger in scale than his usual content.

Williams’ story started as a child when his father was a session musician working on studio scores in the 40s and 50s. He often brought a young John with him to studio backlots to see him work. This led John to do the same work once he became older, working as a pianist on many productions through the late 50s/early 60s. Eventually, through the necessity of the productions that had composers that fell through or left for other projects, John got opportunities to compose in their stead.

Through the 70s, John emerged as a composer of certain demand through his work on Fiddler on the Roof and Irwin Allen’s disaster films like Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno. But it was his fateful meeting with Spielberg and the subsequent scoring of Spielberg’s Sugarland Express that changed the trajectory of his career. John’s Jaws soundtrack made him a very wanted man. And Spielberg’s insistence that Williams should score his friend George Lucas’ film instead of A Bridge Too Far arguably changed film history with one of the most recognizable fanfares in the world.

The documentary itself garners value from not only the massive amount of video footage available but the actual compositions of Williams as well, being able to dissect the musical pieces and their placement in the films effortlessly. The vault of media surrounding Williams or created by him has given Bouzereau a daunting job of discerning it all into a cohesive narrative, but he does well.

Multiple talking head interviews are peppered in throughout, but not in a way where they dominate the narrative, to Bouzereau’s credit. This is important to note as the sheer volume and quality of people who want to talk about this man is immense, and the temptation to just fill the film with them talking must have been tremendous. But the final product, Music by John Williams is a fun and informative. It’s a poignant portrait of a man who has helped shape popular culture for decades through his music.