22nd May 2005, 3:18 PM
I just watched The Battle of Hoth on my TESB DVD, and let me say... at no time in any of the prequels did Lucas even approach that intense of a scene. John Williams' was at his peak here---every instant of the soundtrack goes hand-in-hand with something in the movie. This as well, I find, was sorely lacking in the prequels. Example:
--The awesome fanfare he wrote for when Han goes into carbon freeze... it's just so powerful, how it builds into a crescendo, precisely on-time for when the carbonite jets encase Han. It gives me goosebumps, it's so fucking good!
--How well his haunting, yet beautiful pieces go hand-in-hand with the scenery on Hoth. At no point in any of the three prequels was I as captivated by the relationship between music and scenery.
--Every single action sequence during The Battle of Hoth... specifically, how he brilliantly captures the hope and joy of the besieged Rebels when "the first transport is away!" and everyone cheers. There is no such musicl-scenery allure in Episode III.
--I still maintain that the Asteroid Field is one of the finest pieces of music every written for a movie. It all comes together so well with the pursuit of the Millennium Falcon.
Williams, while still one of the best out there, didn't have as great of a soundtrack for Episode III. I can't say if this is because he's passed his apex, or if he simply couldn't write beautiful music with a beauty-less movie. At any rate, my underlying point is that the music has an enormous influence on the Star Wars movies. TESB has the best soundtrack of any of the series, followed by (in my opinion) ANH, RotJ, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and way in last, Revenge of the Sith. I triple dog dare OB1 or anyone else to step in and say that Episode III's score can hold a candle to those of the classic trilogy.
--The awesome fanfare he wrote for when Han goes into carbon freeze... it's just so powerful, how it builds into a crescendo, precisely on-time for when the carbonite jets encase Han. It gives me goosebumps, it's so fucking good!
--How well his haunting, yet beautiful pieces go hand-in-hand with the scenery on Hoth. At no point in any of the three prequels was I as captivated by the relationship between music and scenery.
--Every single action sequence during The Battle of Hoth... specifically, how he brilliantly captures the hope and joy of the besieged Rebels when "the first transport is away!" and everyone cheers. There is no such musicl-scenery allure in Episode III.
--I still maintain that the Asteroid Field is one of the finest pieces of music every written for a movie. It all comes together so well with the pursuit of the Millennium Falcon.
Williams, while still one of the best out there, didn't have as great of a soundtrack for Episode III. I can't say if this is because he's passed his apex, or if he simply couldn't write beautiful music with a beauty-less movie. At any rate, my underlying point is that the music has an enormous influence on the Star Wars movies. TESB has the best soundtrack of any of the series, followed by (in my opinion) ANH, RotJ, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and way in last, Revenge of the Sith. I triple dog dare OB1 or anyone else to step in and say that Episode III's score can hold a candle to those of the classic trilogy.
H.R.M. DARVNIVS MAXIMVS EX TENEBRIS EXIT REX DEVSQVE GORONORVMQVE TENDORVM ROMANORVM ET GRÆCORVM OMNIS SEMPER EST