wowbobwow

Continuing this exploration of the sequel trilogy, here's a pair of Last Jedi covers I started back in January and only just got around to finishing.
 
Special thanks to @Holko and @Chewy for design suggestions.
 

 

 

I always noticed that Yoda Strikes Back is much shorter than the sequence in the film, so for fun I attempted to edit the footage to the music as accurately to how I think the scene originally was as I possibly could. I guarantee it is probably not very accurate.
 
Yoda Strikes Back Re-Edit
 

I have a new side channel for anyone interested, in which I will be uploading my edits of unused music restored to the films:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkKHiCC2NdURVf8ECqfiEhA
 
EDIT: Let's see how long I can keep it up before YouTube removes it.

So, I’ve added a few seconds before and after the deleted bit to provide better context how it would have fit: 

And here’s the raw original scene without music, including with Vader dialog still spoken by David Prowse and some very squeaky droids wheeling about: 
 
This footage ended up being repurposed for the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, for which James Earl Jones recorded new dialog.

Thank you!
 
I've got one for Phantom Menace:

 
And there's one on the way for Attack of the Clones...

 
But it's not easy finding hi-res art for the later films

What a great score massacred by a terribly mediocre director.  Abrams and his acolytes like Alex Kurtzman are not good storytellers.

What a great score massacred by a terribly mediocre director.  Abrams and his acolytes like Alex Kurtzman are not good storytellers.

I hated The Rise of Skywalker and loved the score.  The score has become the soundtrack to my non-existent head canon version episode IX haha.

Yeah, I always took this as an homage to Kubrick (as A.I. was originally a Kubrick project) since this piece was featured prominently in 2001.

Yeah, I always took this as an homage to Kubrick (as A.I. was originally a Kubrick project) since this piece was featured prominently in 2001.

Yeah, I always took this as an homage to Kubrick (as A.I. was originally a Kubrick project) since this piece was featured prominently in 2001.

Yeah, I always took this as an homage to Kubrick (as A.I. was originally a Kubrick project) since this piece was featured prominently in 2001.

Timpanists are never late.  They play precisely when they mean to!

This feels like it's from an alternate reality, where the show is actually good.

I mean, Khan looked kind of like a Knights of Ren.
 

Timpanists are never late.  They play precisely when they mean to!

It wasn't an error, it was an artistic liberty.
I will say though, if it is an error.. it's one that works out pretty darn well.

Wow, thanks everyone! Really glad you liked the suite.  'Preciate the critique as well, @wowbobwow.
 
Haha agreed, @crumbs. Great idea about adding TROS themes! I just might do that. 
 
@Quintus I don't know about that...is that even possible? Haha, but thank you for the VERY high compliment! 

Neat arrangements.  Well done!  I can tell you're quite skilled and you have a ton of passion for the material.
 
If you're looking for critiques: your medley doesn't feel like it has continuous momentum from front to back.  It works married to the video but would distract me listening to it on its own.  At times feels like the piece starts, then stops, then starts again etc. It has to do with the repetitive change up in the piece dynamics (pretty frequently a piece enters into the medley at a quiet dynamic until it develops into a louder dynamic).  It hampers the flow.

Not many directors are in the market to purchase what Williams is selling.
 
To be completely honest, I doubt very many people are asking JW to score their films.
 
First, he's too expensive. 
 
Second, he will take his time. They can't do a hack job with him. They will have to give him the film months in advance in and give him time to write the score.
 
Third, he will not do demos for you? Are you fucking kidding. Williams obviously reached that milestone decades ago but obviously nobody is going to dare ask JW to write demos before he is hired.
 
Fourth, You cannot reject a Williams score. You will have to take what you get. He will make changes for sure but for the most part, he's written what he's written.
 
Fifth, His score will most definitely not be a wallpaper. He is NOT going to give you suites to edit into your film as you want. He's going to honest to god score it with individuals cues for individual music.
 
Sixth, his music will not disappear into the background. It will most definitely make its presence felt and will affect the scenes it is in.
 
Seventh, it will likely be a "bigger" score than these film-makers are used to. There will be multiple themes etc. which will have to be placed right and the score will have to be properly handled.
 
Eight, you will likely hear the score proper on the day you record it.
 
For all the reasons, I think newer film-makers are intimidated. They want gutter trash trailer music garbage soundscape suites that they can demos of, play on set, cut the movie to and then apply in the background as needed. No headache. Who's going to do a spotting session? And wait for the score for months? Without demos? And who's going to do a complex edit of getting the score in and potentially re-editing the movie, and redoing the mix etc. etc.
 
Basically, it is beyond the skill, capability or ambition of these film-makers to actually work John Williams to create a score for their films.

I'm not great at articulating these things, but here's a go.  His output is consistently good.  I've seen Prisoners, Enemy, Blade Runner 2049, Arrival.  Blade Runner 2049 has been the best of the revivals, along with Twin Peaks and Mad Max -- if you ask me.  I haven't caught Sicaro or his works prior to Prisoners but I've been meaning to. 
 
What attracts me to his work is his visual style, the work he gets out of the artists he surrounds himself with, and am engaged by the themes he likes to tackle -- especially Enemy, which deals with the shadow self of the main character taking control of his life, and Blade Runner, which deals with a man caught between the world of the artificial and the world of the natural.  He's able to create effectice visceral moments, like the scene in Prisoners where Jake Gylenhaal is driving through rain in traffic while disoriented or the scene in Arrival where Amy Adams & crew first encounter the extraterrestrial.  Perhaps most importantly his movies respect the audience and their intelligence.

Maybe the Vietnam War idea is not so bad after all. I can imagine an older Ford flying on a helicopter with some american soldiers over the forests in Nam, with Fortunate Son playing on the background, as Indy needs to find some ancient relics amidst the ravaging war.
 
This could be Williams first rock n roll score, with a more proeminent participation of electric guitars!
 

Well, there's no way there's not going to be a scene with Indiana Jones walking by a movie theater with "JAWS" on the marquee.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  I think it's pretty awesome we can debate about different releases of a soundtrack!

Well, there's no way there's not going to be a scene with Indiana Jones walking by a movie theater with "JAWS" on the marquee.