John Williams’s new documentary, Music by John Williams, explores how a middle-aged artist, struggling to break through in his profession, evolved into the most celebrated composer of his age

New documentary Music by John Williams , from Five Came Back, explores how a middle-aged artist, struggling to break through in his profession and grappling with being a widower while raising three teenage children.

In the mid 1960s , Williams had been toiling for nearly a decade in Hollywood as a piano player and increasingly frequent composer.

In 1972 , he won his first Oscar for the score to Fiddler on the Roof .

The composer abandoned music to focus on consoling his family while grieving.

His wife Barbara died in 1974 after a brain aneurysm caused her death at the age of 41 .

Barbara also felt the need to get back to her own work as a performer.

Inevitably, Williams picked up his composer’s pen and found refuge in his work.

The composer's first collaboration with Spielberg was the Goldie Hawn chase comedy The Sugarland Express .

The pair made Jaws in 1975 , and Williams ’s dread-filled score earned him his second Oscar .

The next year , when Williams was offered a choice between working on A Bridge Too Far or Star Wars , it was Spielberg who talked him into taking a chance on Lucas .