Williams' Jedi score is a fitting conclusion to the Classic Trilogy's musical journey....
Written: May 11 '05 (Updated Apr 01 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: The complete (and then some) score to Episode VI; nice packaging.
Cons: If you have 1997's 2-CD set, it's the same music; no liner notes!
The Bottom Line: If you don't own the '97 Special Edition soundtrack, this version of the Jedi contains all the music in a new package. No liner notes, though.
alexdg1's Full Review: Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi by Origina...
On 21 September 2004, coinciding with the long-awaited release of the Star Wars Trilogy DVD collection, Sony Classical published a revamped version of each soundtrack album for Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Each 2-CD set features:
• Dramatic 3-D lenticular image on the front card that matches the DVD slipcover art.
• All-new movie poster foldout, created especially for the 2004 release, with each soundtrack CD set containing a poster for the film.
• Screen savers with images previously available only in Japan as rare book covers for The New Jedi Order and Clone Wars book series.
Newly remastered using Sony Music's DSD (Direct Stream Digital) technology, the two-disc set of the soundtrack from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - featuring five-time Oscar-winning composer John Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra - has never sounded better.
However, Sony Classical didn't include a booklet of comprehensive liner notes; both the 1993 The Star Wars Trilogy: The Soundtrack Anthology box set and the 1997 Special Edition albums (from which these 2004 re-issues are derived) have booklets with detailed program notes by film score experts that provide listeners with insights into each track and how Williams' music fits into the specific scenes of each Episode.
OVERTURE:
With the critical and commercial success of the Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back scores, and riding on the wave of his popularity with his music for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and E.T.: The Extraterrestrial (1982), composer John Williams turned his attention to the final installment of George Lucas' trilogy set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...." And just as the creator of the Star Wars saga was building Return of the Jedi on the foundation of characters and situations established in the previous films, Williams was hard at work weaving a musical tapestry using not only new material but incorporating musical threads from the scores of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
Both Lucas (as executive producer and co-writer of the screenplay with Larry Kasdan) and Williams had a tough job ahead of them. Not only did Lucas have to tie up all the loose story plots left over from the second act of a three-act story arc (Would Luke and Leia rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt? Was the Rebel Alliance going to prevail over the Empire? Would Luke Skywalker finish his training and become a Jedi? Was Darth Vader really Luke's father?), but once again he had to give audiences a film that would satisfy their need to see something even more astounding than what they had seen in '77 and '80. He also wanted to explore the relationship of humanity and machines, and he was particularly interested in the concept of how a heavily technical military power could be defeated by a seemingly primitive and inferior opponent. (This has been a philosophical leitmotif running through most of Lucas' films and stems from his interest in such things as anthropology, racing cars, and the tragedy of the Vietnam War.)
These were all story points that maestro Williams had to address in his score for Jedi, and once again he had to create new themes to highlight not only new additions to the cast of heroes and villains, but to underscore changes in the relationship between major characters. At the same time, he had to maintain musical unity and coherence with the previous material composed for Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, thus blending old and new themes to create a seamless and satisfying new score.
THEMES AND VARIATIONS:
For Return of the Jedi, Williams wrote four major new themes:
1. Jabba's Theme, a tuba-based motif that goes well with the bloated slug-like gangster. Mostly used in Jedi's first act, it also made cameo appearances in Episode IV: A New Hope'sSpecial Edition and in Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
2. The Emperor's Theme: Unlike Vader's flashier, more strident and anti-heroic Imperial March which represents the Jedi-turned-Sith Lord's power and ambition, Emperor Palpatine's theme is brooding, dark, and quietly menacing. With its minor key and wordless male chorus, it reflects the Sith Lord's dominion over both the galaxy and Darth Vader. Like Jabba the Hutt's theme and Yoda's from Empire, it has been featured prominently in the current prequels' scores, particularly cleverly disguised as a wordless children's choral victory song at the end of The Phantom Menace.
3. Luke and Leia: Once Lucas decided to resolve the tricky triangle of Han, Leia, and Luke by making the latter twins, Williams composed an appropriately sweet and warm theme reflecting the relationship between brother and sister. Sweeping in its own way, it is one of Williams' most beautiful "love" themes in the Star Wars saga.
4. The Ewoks' March: Williams' music for the teddy bear-like forest dwellers of Endor reflects the duality of the Ewoks; they're cute, furry, and seem about as threatening as, well, a teddy bear. Although skittish and technologically behind the galaxy at large, the Ewoks are still highly intelligent and will fight to the death if push comes to shove. (Incidentally, Lucas had wanted to set the "Endor" sequences on the Wookiees' home world to explore his Vietnam War parallel of primitive-freedom-fighters-defeat-technologically-superior-antagonists, but eventually switched from big Wookiees to small Ewoks for budgetary reasons and because the Wookiees were comfortable with technology.)
As expected, such existing leitmotivs as The Force/Ben's Theme, Princess Leia's Theme, the Rebel Fanfare, Yoda's Theme, Han and Leia's Love Theme and The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) return, and mixed in with new exciting action cues (Sail Barge Assault, Speeder Bike Chase) are cues from the score of A New Hope, mainly quotations of the battle music written for the Battle of Yavin; there's even a tiny cameo by the Death Star motif. As befits the climactic chapter of the Star Wars saga, Jedi's score is action-packed and sweeping, ending the Trilogy on an almost operatic note.
THE ORCHESTRA:
Replicating the outstanding success of previous collaborations for such films as Superman: The Movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Monsignor, and, of course, the previous Star Wars Episodes, John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra teamed up once again to portray, in music, the final battle between good and evil.
THE 1997/2004 SPECIAL EDITION: The last of the Special Edition re-releases, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi premiered in early March of 1997, with the soundtrack album released simultaneously (but not, to the disappointment of some fans, before). As in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, Jedi had always had scenes that Lucas had always fretted about because of budgetary restraints or because the technology at the time of filming (1981-82) was not quite capable of bringing some of his ideas to life. With advances in digital cinematography and CGI techniques, Lucas was able to fix or add scenes, although not to the extent of the changes in A New Hope. (A few additional tweaks were made for the 2004 DVD set, including the controversial switching of "old" Anakin -- played by the late Sebastian Shaw -- with "young" Anakin as portrayed by Hayden Christensen.)
Two of the "tweaks" were significant as far as the score is concerned. The first was the dropping of the original "Lapti Nek" Galactic Pop song in Act I and its replacement by a more elaborate musical number, "Jedi Rocks." This selection of "source" music (that is, music that is heard not only by the audience but also by the characters) was composed and arranged by Jerry Hey. Energetic and more rockin' than 1983's "Lapti Nek," it underscores a more elaborate dance number involving Jabba's dancing girls, Rystall, Greata, and Lyn Me, as well as Max Rebo's band and Joh Yowza.
The other musical tweak was the removal of 1983's The Ewok Celebration music written for the visual coda on Endor. Lucas now shows a galactic "Victory Celebration" as it takes place on Endor, Tatooine, Naboo (on the 2004 DVD) and Coruscant (seat of the Empire's power). This cue, recorded in late November 1996, was the first new music John Williams had composed for the Star Wars saga, predating even 1999's Episode I score by at least two years. It's a wonderful cue, starting out with a chanting voice that calls the galaxy to rejoice at the fall of the Empire, building to a triumphal blend of orchestra and voices that heralds the fall of Emperor Palpatine...and the return of the Jedi.
As in the previous Special Edition re-releases of the Star Wars Trilogy scores, the musical cues (from Alfred Newman's iconic 20th Century Fox Fanfare to the new Victory Celebration) are presented in their entirety and in the same sequence that they appear in the film. There are 27 tracks in all, 15 on Disc 1 and 12 on Disc 2.
THE MUSIC: Reflections of a Long-Time Fan
Considering that there are more than two hours' worth of score in this 2004 2-CD set, I'd like to discuss just a few of my favorite tracks and/or themes. (A complete track list appears at the bottom of this review.)
CD 1, Track 2: Main Title/Approaching the Death Star/Tatooine Rendezvous: In keeping with the Saturday afternoon serial structure of the saga, John Williams gets things started with the familiar Main Title he first introduced in Episode IV and has used in all subsequent Episodes to underscore the "crawl" that sets up each film's story. After the audience learns that Luke Skywalker is mounting a rescue mission to save Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt and that the Empire is building a new Death Star, the music segues to a quiet yet eerie transition as a huge Imperial Star Destroyer approaches the incomplete battle station over the Sanctuary Moon of Endor and launches a shuttle and its TIE fighter escort. Darth Vader's presence aboard is revealed by Williams' use of the Imperial March, which is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with new variations and orchestrations, ranging from tense-and-quiet quotations to fuller and more strident renditions.
The track continues with Vader's theme morphing into a weird, almost atmospheric section that was supposed to underscore a deleted scene in which the Dark Lord made a fleeting Force link with Luke; this music segues to Tatooine as R2-D2 and C-3PO make their way to the palace of Jabba the Hutt. It starts out with a light and almost playful mood as the Laurel-and-Hardy like pair of robots discuss their mission to deliver a message from Luke to Jabba and the fact that "Lando Calrissian and poor Chewbacca never returned from this awful place," as 3PO remarks, then ends in an ominous mood when they reach the front gate of Jabba's fortress-like home.
CD 1, Track 7: The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assault: As a long-time listener of Star Wars music, I have to say that I have an affinity for John Williams' action-oriented music, and this track is one of his best. Beginning with another quiet but menacing section based on Jabba's Theme, it takes off with a series of tense orchestral "hits" as the heroes and villains prepare for the showdown at the Pit of the Carkoon. Here Williams uses the heroic Luke's Theme and the Rebel Fanfare -- along with thematic material borrowed from A New Hope -- to underscore the Rebels' fight with Jabba's minions (including the bounty hunter Boba Fett) and Leia's garroting of the vile Hutt in his sail barge's luxury quarters. The track ends on a glorious note of brass fanfares as our heroes escape from Jabba's exploding craft aboard a stolen skiff.
CD 1, Track 8: The Emperor Arrives/The Death of Yoda/Obi-Wan's Revelation: Because Return of the Jedi had to tie up all the loose ends of the previous two films, the beginning of its second act had to introduce the movie's main problems: whether the two Sith Lords could turn young Skywalker to the dark side of the Force, if Luke could find out the truth about his father Anakin, and who the Jedis' "other" hope was.
This long (10:57) track covers three important scenes: the arrival of Emperor Palpatine on the new Death Star, which features a trumpet solo (not used in the film's final score) and interchanges between the familiar Imperial March and the eerie, brooding new theme for the Emperor. The Death of Yoda, in contrast, features the Jedi Master's calm theme in a warm yet fragile rendition as he reveals to Luke that "sick have I become. Old and weak." Williams gives the theme enough strength to underscore Yoda's revelation that Vader is indeed Anakin Skywalker, and that the only step Luke needs to become a full Jedi Knight is to confront the Dark Lord. In this cue, little snippets of Vader's theme and the Force motif are interwoven with Luke's theme, then Yoda's theme is reprised in a somber manner as he fades, giving way to a mournful melody as Luke watches his Master join with the living Force.
The Force Theme returns after a moody interval when Obi-Wan Kenobi appears to Luke to explain to Luke the truth about Anakin and the "other Skywalker" Yoda spoke of: his twin sister, Leia, whose theme from A New Hope is quoted briefly. The music ends with a segue to the Rebel armada massing near the planet Sullust for the final battle with the Imperial Fleet.
CD 1, Track 13: Jabba's Baroque Recital (source music): One of the biggest disappointments I had with both the 1983 Polydor original recording and its 1993 update was the absence of many cues from the Return of the Jedi score, including this wonderful little fugue heard in Jabba's Palace in Act 1 of the movie. As the title implies, this short cue is composed in the style of the Baroque period, giving it an opulent flavor befitting Jabba the Hutt's power and influence as a criminal overlord.
CD 2, Track 10: Victory Celebration/End Title: Although John Williams had composed an Ewok celebration song to accompany the coda for the 1983 version of Episode VI, George Lucas' decision to change the visuals to include the festivities on Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant called for a revision of the score, so the composer came up with the first new Star Wars music in 13 years and wrote Victory Celebration, which eschews the Ewokese song and trades it in for a glorious mix of instrumental and vocal melody which peaks with the appearance of the spirits of Ben Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker, then segues to an "iris out" to the end credits music, which not only features Luke's Theme and the Rebel Fanfare, but also Parade of the Ewoks, Luke and Leia, a reprise of Luke's Theme, and finally a brief intermingling of the Rebel Fanfare and the Throne Room motif from A New Hope, ending the score with a satisfying, glorious conclusion.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Soundtrack
CD 1
1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare (with CinemaScope extension)
2. Main Title/Approaching the Death Star/Tatooine Rendezvous
3. The Droids Are Captured
4. Bounty For a Wookiee
5. Han Solo Returns
6. Luke Confronts Jabba/Den of the Rancor/Sarlacc Sentence
7. The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assault
8. The Emperor Arrives/The Death of Yoda/Obi-Wan's Revelation
9. Alliance Assembly
10. Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor
11. Speeder Bike Chase/Land of the Ewoks
12. The Levitation/Threepio's Bedtime Story
13. Jabba's Baroque Recital (source music)
14. Jedi Rocks (source music, composed by Jerry Hay)
15. Sail Barge Assault, Alternate (Bonus Archival Track)
Total Running Time: 1:13:17
CD 2
1. Parade of the Ewoks
2. Luke and Leia
3. Brother and Sister/Father and Son/The Fleet Enters Hyperspace/Heroic Ewok
4. Emperor's Throne Room
5. The Battle of Endor I
6. The Lightsaber/The Ewok Battle
7. The Battle of Endor II
8. The Battle of Endor III
9. Leia's News/Light of the Force
10. Victory Celebration/End Title
11. Ewok Feast/Part of the Tribe (source music)
12. The Forest Battle (Concert Suite)
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