martytdx's Full Review: Star Wars: A New Hope by Original Soundtrack
Favorite Soundtrack(s) of All Time Write Off
This review will actually touch on two ‘types’ of soundtrack, and the best within each category – orchestral soundtrack (score) and compilation soundtrack. Orchestral score is just that – a soundtrack completely (or mostly) devoted to a symphony or orchestra providing your ‘typical’ soundtrack. The Compilation is a collection of songs recorded by various artists for that movie or taken from previously released albums.
Best Orchestral Score - Star Wars
I’m sure that you remember it.
The drums followed by the fanfare of horns and then a moment of silence before the music began which would forever change the old Twentieth Century Fox Intro into nothing more than ‘that music’ associated with the greatest soundtrack of all time.
I don’t know how George Lucas got John Williams to buy in to what was originally thought to be a marginally successful movie, but luckily he did. Williams’ compositions are both brought out and excellently support the film, achieving both a life of their own and as a dramatic backdrop for one of the most under-rated movies of all time.
The London Symphony Orchestra played this piece magnificently, drawing on all of their expertise in every niche of instrumental variety to bring it to life. One of the oldest and most talented symphony orchestras in the world, they help bring Williams’ and Lucas’ dreams into vibrant reality. For the man to create this masterpiece based on only a screenplay and cobbled-together ‘working score’, John Williams set about creating this magnificent piece of music. In fact, according to the liner notes of the album, George Lucas has originally put together this ‘soundtrack’ comprised of a variety of classical composers, including Holst and Dvorak, thinking that only a set of classical pieces would suffice to score his film. Friend Steven Spielberg disagreed and introduced Williams and Lucas. The rest is movie – and music – history.
Not only was the original score brilliant, but the re-release of the Special Editions expand on their greatness, restoring some of the music which was lost from that classic film’s captivating score. From the opening notes of the title piece, you knew that this was something more than your typical science fiction film. As the titles faded, the score begins to play heavy with brass as the beginning of the movie reels you in (can’t you just feel the evil of the large Star Destroyer chasing after the more helpless Blockade Runner). Williams never stops from that point, offering us softer, compelling pieces (Princess Leia’s Theme) which are beautiful as well as more vibrant music which raises the emotions to a feverish pitch perfectly matched to the film itself (The Death Star/The Stormtroopers).
Williams is able to move between emotions and setting with ease, from the quirky walk in the desert for our droid friends (The Dune Sea of Tatooine/Jawa Sandcrawler). You can feel the heartstrings being pulled for Obi-wan ‘Ben’ Kenobi during Ben Kenobi’s Death just as much as you get the urge to jump into a fighter pilot’s seat during Tie Fighter Attack. He not only does the heavy, symphonic pieces to address the action, but is equally able to pull off the sweeter, more innocent orchestral movements with similar aplomb. Not to mention that he even manages to through in a jazz-reggae-dixieland combination in Cantina Band, a unique piece that is completely set apart from the rest of the film, but shares a perfect niche within the score as a whole.
Williams’ work is arguably one of the finest compositions of all time, particularly for a movie. Unlike most movies, I could remember exact scenes based on the music alone after the first time I saw it – the movie was forever intertwined with the music. And yet I can listen to the music in the car and hear so many other levels, a vast source of music that lives beyond the celluloid, as well. Williams’ success here – and with the subsequent Star Wars films, as well as dozens of other – is testament to his ability to create something so familiar and so unique that it makes you look back and remember everything about the subject it embraced. Without words, he describes danger, fear, love, hatred, evil and good, action and peace. Without him, Star Wars would have been a good film but it would have only been ‘Star Wars’ – I truly believe that John Williams was the final ingredient which made the movie the cultural phenomena it is today.
Interestingly, even though Williams himself has become known as a master that newer composers attempt to emulate, he also borrowed some of this themes from older pieces, particularly Holst’s The Planets, probably in part to Lucas’ suggestions. The influence of Mars: The Bringer of War is apparent in Main Title. Just as it the film has had an influence in almost every sphere of our culture, so has this music. There is no one who doesn’t know that mesmerizing fanfare of the intro, or heard the Imperial March played at a sporting event.
-----Additional In addition to William’s brilliant version, there was also a Moog (synthesizer)version by the Electric Moog Orchestra (what - multiple people on synthesizers?). The version is extremely interesting, as the electronic component makes it much different from the full ‘real’ orchestra in the official film score. I don’t think that it is available any more, but if you can get a hold of a copy, it is well worth checking out, if for nothing else but entertainment value.
The runner up in this category would have to be Dances with Wolves, a fantastic score by John Barry. This is another example of how the music and film can be perfectly intertwined to present a perfect complement to each other.
Best Compilation Soundtrack - Forrest Gump
If you are a classic rock music lover, you will LOVE this album. But even if you aren’t, this album presents some of the greatest of the 70’s music scene to complement what was a brilliant film. The directors found many of the songs that epitomized the passing years of lovable Forrest’s life, and this soundtrack lovingly encompasses that feeling.
From the 50’s and the early childhood of Forrest, Elvis sings Hound Dog through the turbulent years of Vietnam (Blowin’ in the Wind by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan’sRainy Day Women #12 and 35) and throughout the time into the present, this 2-disc set not only represents a great soundtrack in and of itself, but also a great look at the spirit behind it, as told by the gently clueless Forrest.
Kind of a longer-term Woodstock of music, the Forrest Gump soundtrack relives all of those steps from innocence to controversy to times of heartbreak and loss, giving a soundtrack that deftly matched each step perfectly. The Mamas and the Papas, Jefferson Airplane and Three Dog Night are joined by an eclectic but well-matched group of other artists from the time periods covered. Willie Nelson’s On the Road Again works perfectly with Against the Wind by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band and a dozen other songs you would have never thought to put together with them.
The album finishes the instrumental piece Forrest Gump’s Suite by Alan Silvestri, a touching finale to a great album of music.
----AdditionalDazed and Confused, Parts I & II Taking pot-smoking rebellious teens’ spirits on the last day of school in 1976, this soundtrack seeks out and finds the greatness which lay in the music of the 70’s rock music. Providing not only a good historical record of that year, but of the feelings behind it, the songs contained here are not necessarily the greatest music of the decade, but a darn good look at what made 1976 what it was, particularly for a group of kids who were adjusting to what life had to throw at them. There was rebellion in the air, beer in the cooler and love in the streets - and this soundtrack lovingly encompasses those feelings.
Although this would have been better served as a double album, the combination of the two present a great look back at 70’s rock and a time of rebellion. Featuring songs like Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, School’s Out, Low Rider and Right Place, Wrong Time, it shows off the typical last day of school partying and growing up that students did at those parties, as well as a number of other funny scenes – such as Matthew McConaughey as a pot-smoking dropout from the south (big stretch, I know). And who can forget the eternal Peter Frampton to signify that time in a youth’s life?
Although not as diverse as Forrest Gump, this is another essential soundtrack for any night of partying in the back yard and reliving past times.
This review was done as part of the Greatest Soundtrack of all Time write-off organized by monical2me. Other participants include: awoolcott - End of Days
Bijou - The Matrix
bops_mom - The Lion King
bmcnichol - Grease
CjsMommy - Stand By Me
Cynthia411 - Grease
dad2nat - Footloose 15th Anniversary Edition
elvisdo - Transformers: The Movie
frainke - Titanic
frazzledspice - Saturday Night Fever
gracef - The Big Chill (Remastered)
ImAmes - Titanic
jenni1396 - Grease
jennifer_gibbons - Nashville
KateTPZ - A Star Is Born
keithpruitt - Coal Miner's Daughter (Remastered)
kristinafh - Purple Rain
kurt_messick - Alladin
levda - St. Elmo's Fire
lucky43560 - Grease
monical2me (organizer) - Armageddon
protoguy - The Matrix
qurt29 - Grease
ritalee76 - Romeo & Juliet (1996)
SamuraiX47 - Conan the Barbarian
scott29 - Boogie Nights
Shanny21 - The Matrix
tlimjoco - The Umbrellas of Cherbourq
Please go check out their reviews as well to get their opinions...
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