BLUMENKOHL 1064 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 As far as music that accompanies the opening scenes of Star Wars movies go, everyone basically will pick "Rebel Blockade Runner/Imperial Attack" as the best there is. And it may be.But I'm not so sure. I always thought the music accompanying the opening scene of Return of the Jedi was better. It's a little more subtle, it builds and builds, it introduces the new big theme of the movie very gently. There is also a finality to it, the basses are more prominent, there is a tinge of sadness. By the time you're in the next scene on Tatooine the music has completely hit it home that this is the last chapter of the saga. Of course, by the time the shuttle lands, Vader's theme has gained ground, and yet it is a deserved blast of the theme. John Williams has given us such musical "foreplay" teasing us with the music as it all builds to the final "The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am!" that something that should come across as cheesy is well-earned. Of course "Imperial Attack" has one of the coolest moments in film music, as the escape pod...err escapes. But Jedi also has something up its sleeve, I would offer the music that accompanies the commander walking towards the shuttle as one of the most compelling passages of underscore Williams has written. You almost want to *gulp* for the commander, there is a hell of lot of tension and nervousness there, with a dash of sinister. I'm recalling this mainly from the music, not having watched the Star Wars movies in years, which I think brings me to the next point about this track: it manages to tell a memorable story out of a scene that would otherwise be considered a simple daily procedure for the Empire. Also, you just don't get musical story telling like that these days. With this track, you can hear Vader's Shuttle angling down towards the Hangar bay. Wonderful stuff! Discuss! Disagree! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Farewell to Kings 3573 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 and it contains unused music, I love how the Imperial March plays after Vader/The Commander walks off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 860 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Musically it continues Vader's ominous / evil presence from Empire and gives the Emperor's pending arrival a sense of dread. There is a sense of mystery as you don't know who is on the shuttle when you first see it, part of it lies in the music and the images on screen as we do not see Vader's command ship, just the standard Star Destroyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1163 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 It sure is wonderful stuff. I've always said, Jedi is one of the most underrated scores.The second best of the series, followed by TPM, original is fourth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5394 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 His Jedi score is almost criminally underrated and this cue is an absolutely brilliant showcase of Williams' absolute understanding of the tone and intention of these movies. The Imperial statement is probably the best in the entire trilogy and I completely agree with Blum's assessment of the swelling strings underscore as the commander nervously approaches the shuttle - it is Williams at his peak , in the zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneBuckFilms 201 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I for one LOVE this opening for Jedi's scoring.It gets plenty of love from me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datameister 1651 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Definitely a great opening. But all three original films have excellent opening cues. (Even the prequels generally do, too, though it's certainly more in line with Williams' stylistic preferences of the 2000s.) ANH is unrivaled in its sheer enthusiasm and excitement, but ESB brought a more eerie vibe, with all the fantastic music for Hoth, and then ROTJ is great for the reasons described above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewdog1 50 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Also, you just don't get musical story telling like that these daysAmen to that. The main reason why I can't get into modern scores as much anymore.And yes, the opening of Jedi is just one musical orgasm for the ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paleo 29 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 It was always my favorite intro music; I love how mysterious and serious it is. Jedi in general is a very enjoyable score; it was the only one I absolutely had to buy in the Special Edition version... for the other two classic scores the Anthology was quite satisfying (I bought the SEs for these much later). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Farewell to Kings 3573 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 ESB brought a more eerie vibe..not in the alternate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff 0 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Although ESB is my favorite overall, the immediate music after the opening scroll is better in Jedi, IMO. I like some of the unused Hoth stuff almost as much. I would rate the opening of ANH third in this category. I kind of like the opening of RoTS better than AotC or TPM, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy 2236 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I like the use of the "Into the Trap" motif. Does that motif have a name? Or is it just a restructuring of the Emperor's theme? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6478 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 This is the first Star Wars music I ever heard. My favorite part is still when the commander approaches the shuttle and Vader exits.I like this version of the main title as well. The brass sounds excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5394 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 It does. In fact RotJ's opening crawl is my favourite of all the versions, purely because of the awesome brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 6867 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Of all six scores, ROTJ is the one I listen to the least. For some reason.Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Farewell to Kings 3573 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 My favorite version of the main title has to be either ESB or ANH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 5 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I like ESB's the best (original version, although the eerie rescore is cool too). ROTJ is great, and the arrangement is wonderful, but it does slightly feel like it's going through the motions. And as statements of TIM go, I prefer 'The Emperor Arrives'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent B 321 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 A lot of the music from Jedi is pretty good but still doesn't beat Empire Strikes Back.By the way I thought the real title(s) were Main Title / Vader's Arrival? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy 2236 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I like ESB's the best (original version, although the eerie rescore is cool too). What is the eerie rescore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datameister 1651 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 He's referring to the film version. Williams originally wrote a LOT more score for...well, the whole film, but especially the opening on Hoth. The SE releases include the original version first, then later include the alternate material that was used in the film, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy 2236 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Ah, gotcha. I thought perhaps there was another take of the main title march for ESB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2067 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I consider ROTJ to be the greatest score ever written. Every minute is gold. And I do agree with those menacing strings before we see who is in the shuttle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1971 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Absolutely agreed. Just one of the many reasons why ROTJ is my favourite Star Wars score. It's probably the most mature, haunting and nuanced one of the lost. There's a sense of wariness and longing to it that really hits my heart strings. Some might call that 'going through the motions' but I think it adds a powerful new dimension to the film. It's Star Wars grown up (though ESB came close). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUMENKOHL 1064 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 On another note, is that a development of the "commander's nervous walk towards the Vader's shuttle" around 1:39 in the Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor track? They sound similar. Some sort of "nervousness" motif perhaps? Or my imagination running wild at 2:30 AM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artyjeffrey 20 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Every time I listen to that opening track, I swear I can hear the shuttle as it drops from the star destroyer, even though my brain knows it isn't really there. Much like how I can always hear Chewie when I listen to the Throne Room track. Shows what a nerd I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent B 321 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Shows what a nerd I am.Nah not really. A lot of times when I listen to film scores, especially ones I really like such as the Star Wars ones I always visualize in my head the scenes that the music is playing for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4974 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I always loved the Bartok-inspired motif played by muted trumpets before the shuttle enters the Death Star--great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 860 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 On another note, is that a development of the "commander's nervous walk towards the Vader's shuttle" around 1:39 in the Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor track? They sound similar. Some sort of "nervousness" motif perhaps? Or my imagination running wild at 2:30 AM?It may only be a coincidence or just a case of Williams' style but "Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor" has a similar feel to it. Not as dramatic a statement but somewhat similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2445 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 It may only be a coincidence or just a case of Williams' style but "Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor" has a similar feel to it. Not as dramatic a statement but somewhat similar.That's always been one of my absolute favorite tracks from ROTJ, even in its Anthology "Faking the Code" version which lacks the solo low brass lament somewhere in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 860 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Are you talking about the missing brass from the Tie Fighter fly by of the throne room tower?Yeah I was actually disappointed that was missing from the Anthology, believe it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 31058 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Why wouldnt we believe that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 860 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Because I don't get picky like some people do whenever a snippet here and there are left off of albums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wojo 2445 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Are you talking about the missing brass from the Tie Fighter fly by of the throne room tower?Sure. I never bothered to watch the movie that closely to what is happening while those notes are onscreen.I like having the different versions of the scores presented by the Anthology and the SE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Brigden 5 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 It may only be a coincidence or just a case of Williams' style but "Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor" has a similar feel to it. Not as dramatic a statement but somewhat similar.That's always been one of my absolute favorite tracks from ROTJ, even in its Anthology "Faking the Code" version which lacks the solo low brass lament somewhere in the middle.+1The opening as the shuttle leaves the ship and goes into hyperspace is amazing. It's one of the best cues of the score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Farewell to Kings 3573 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Absolutely agreed. Just one of the many reasons why ROTJ is my favourite Star Wars score. It's probably the most mature, haunting and nuanced one of the lost. There's a sense of wariness and longing to it that really hits my heart strings. Some might call that 'going through the motions' but I think it adds a powerful new dimension to the film. It's Star Wars grown up (though ESB came close).are you referring to the empty sound? the real echoey sound that is in "The Levitation"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1971 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Absolutely agreed. Just one of the many reasons why ROTJ is my favourite Star Wars score. It's probably the most mature, haunting and nuanced one of the lost. There's a sense of wariness and longing to it that really hits my heart strings. Some might call that 'going through the motions' but I think it adds a powerful new dimension to the film. It's Star Wars grown up (though ESB came close).are you referring to the empty sound? the real echoey sound that is in "The Levitation"?I'm sorry, but I've got no idea what you're on about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Crichton 4 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 It's a great opening but if you want to hear Williams at his dramatic best go for the aforementioned Shuttle Tydirium Approches Endor. Chillingly great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 7533 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 To qoute Percy, himself, "Main Title/Approaching The Death Star" gets "all my love", because it has always been my favourite of the three "main titles". The visuals that it supports are ashtonishing in their simplicity - the Imperial cruiser rumbling overhead; the shuttle Tydirium emerging from the docking bay flanked by two T.I.E. fighters and flying off to camera left. If you listen hard, on a good 5.1 system you can hear the T.I.E. fighters' engines behind you in the shuttle cockpit. Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trumpeteer 271 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I agree with what's been said so far. I've dissected the opening music to Return of the Jedi, and I believe its unique sound details Luke's solo mission to bring down the Sith. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that only one trumpet playing most of Luke's theme? A solo trumpet, for the lone Jedi, the one person who can take down the Emperor. The opening of The Empire Strikes Back is very militaristic, more like a march than the original Star Wars theme, which is just a full-on orchestral orgasm of the highest magnitude. I wonder if John Williams and his orchestrating team had these ideas in mind when figuring out how to present the opening titles in the original three films.As for using the Imperial March before the Imperial officer says "Inform the commander that Lord Vader's shuttle has arrived," it cheats us out of the surprise of who is arriving, and that line has very little significance. Yes, it could be argued that it is "The Imperial March," but it really only applies to Vader. It's the only quibble I have with the opening. It could have delayed the suspense a little bit longer. It's awesome to see a reprise of a Star Destroyer flying over the screen.And the music playing as the commander walks to the shuttle is truly bone-chilling. I always get goosebumps.I always thought the music accompanying the opening scene of Return of the Jedi was better. It's a little more subtle, it builds and builds, it introduces the new big theme of the movie very gently. What is that "new big theme of the movie?" There are only three new themes in Jedi (Emperor, Ewoks, Luke & Leia), and I don't hear them in the beginning of the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10254 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Yeah, sometimes I think Blumenkohl is a gluesniffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 6227 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 It's an awesome cue. I love the Gerhardt recording.Of all six scores, ROTJ is the one I listen to the least. For some reason.The highlights, and there are lot of them, are brilliant, but the Endor stuff tends to drag a bit. That makes the score as a whole a slightly uneven experience for me, so I play not not as often as I should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 7533 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 It's an awesome cue. I love the Gerhardt recording.Of all six scores, ROTJ is the one I listen to the least. For some reason.The highlights, and there are lot of them, are brilliant, but the Endor stuff tends to drag a bit. That makes the score as a whole a slightly uneven experience for me, so I play not not as often as I should.Agreed. There is a lot to recommend this score, but it is less effective then either "Star Wars" (I'll have no truck with all this "A New Hope" bollocks!), or "The Empire Strikes Back", due in no small part to it sounding like it was recorded over the 'phone from a toilet in downtown Los Angeles.For me, the best parts are the quieter passages such as "Brother/Sister, Father/Son" (the brass heard over the shot as the camera pans down from the Death Star to the shutle, and then further down to the landing platform is spine-tingling); the electronic tones heard as Luke enters Jabba's palace; "Faking The Code" (marvellous!); the errie strings heard as Luke's and Vader's lightsabres clash; the final part of the piece that ends with the establishing pan shot of the rebel hanger; the piece that begins right after C-3PO says "here we go again". These are just some of my favourite pieces, I'm sure that you all have yours.P.s, does anyone really prefer "Jedi Rocks" to what was originally written? I mean; really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6478 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 No, and I also like Lapti Nek.ROTJ is the most exotic of the trilogy. There's so much stuff going on thematically as well, I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Farewell to Kings 3573 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 The Levitation/Threepio's Bedtime story is my favorite cue, its just so lonesome, and haunting sounding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 7533 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 The Levitation/Threepio's Bedtime story is my favorite cue, its just so lonesome, and haunting soundingYes, yes, yes! It's a lovely piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF1_freeze 109 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I always thought the music accompanying the opening scene of Return of the Jedi was better. It's a little more subtle, it builds and builds, it introduces the new big theme of the movie very gently. What is that "new big theme of the movie?" There are only three new themes in Jedi (Emperor, Ewoks, Luke & Leia), and I don't hear them in the beginning of the film.Don't forget Jabba's Theme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarbas 1 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Indeed ROTJ have a great score... among the amazing musical moments I love The Dark Side Beckons, Shuttle Tydirium, Alliance Assembly and many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Farewell to Kings 3573 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 does anyone really prefer "Jedi Rocks" to what was originally written? I mean; really?I like the bass, its better withought the vocals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5394 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I always thought the music accompanying the opening scene of Return of the Jedi was better. It's a little more subtle, it builds and builds, it introduces the new big theme of the movie very gently. What is that "new big theme of the movie?" There are only three new themes in Jedi (Emperor, Ewoks, Luke & Leia), and I don't hear them in the beginning of the film.Don't forget Jabba's ThemeLovely, barely heard bridge on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff 0 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I always thought the music accompanying the opening scene of Return of the Jedi was better. It's a little more subtle, it builds and builds, it introduces the new big theme of the movie very gently. What is that "new big theme of the movie?" There are only three new themes in Jedi (Emperor, Ewoks, Luke & Leia), and I don't hear them in the beginning of the film.Don't forget Jabba's ThemeI would also consider the Forest Battle and the Rebel fleet (the one with that sense of imminent danger - I'm not sure what it's called) to be "themes." There are also a few other melodies in various tracks that I think are substantial enough to be more than just motifs (Rancor pit, Sail Barge Assault, victory celebration/Ewok celebration). Of course, if you're just talking about the "flagship" type of themes, then I agree with the three or four already mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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