This is an absolutely phenomenal piece of music. It’s obviously iconic – you only ever have to mention the word “shark” and it springs to mind – but it’s also f***ing brilliant as a work in its own Rite.
The “sample” (more like copy) – from the very beginning of The Augers of Spring (Dances of the Young Girls) – appears at around the 0’40” mark, but the whole thing smacks of Stravinsky. It has the same trick of being grating and lovely at the same time. Hearing this, it’s almost a shame that the tune’s been so overshadowed by the unforgettable film it belongs to.
Don’t forget about the end of Side 1 of ‘Orpheus’ – Stravinsky seems to come back to this theme often. So you can’t blame Williams for ripping it off. Stravinsky didn’t have to deal with copyright law so he could rip himself off. 🙂