Do you *really* think Williams' SW PREQUEL Trilogy is as good as Shore's LOTR?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Only on JWfan!

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

The House of Reps will need to vote on it. Then it shall be passed on to the Supreme Court.

[indy4 155]

The Order 66 sequence is probably the noblest (and simultaneously tragic) music from those films, but that's more thanks to the mythology of it and what it represents than the way it's actually executed in the film. And of course the much beloved moment when Qui-Gon is cutting through the blast door....

For me, It Can't Be (my favourite ROTS cue) trumps both.

Yeah the whole build-up of that cue is fantastic. That and Lament are the top pieces from RotS for me. And to think JW's initial instinct at the spotting sessions was to go with march-type bellicose music for the Order 66 scene. I am glad they opted for the much more fitting point of view of accenting the tragedy rather than the action.

Wait, really? When did he say this?

[Incanus 5,722]

The Order 66 sequence is probably the noblest (and simultaneously tragic) music from those films, but that's more thanks to the mythology of it and what it represents than the way it's actually executed in the film. And of course the much beloved moment when Qui-Gon is cutting through the blast door....

For me, It Can't Be (my favourite ROTS cue) trumps both.

Yeah the whole build-up of that cue is fantastic. That and Lament are the top pieces from RotS for me. And to think JW's initial instinct at the spotting sessions was to go with march-type bellicose music for the Order 66 scene. I am glad they opted for the much more fitting point of view of accenting the tragedy rather than the action.

Wait, really? When did he say this?

In The Making of the Star War: Revenge of the Sith: Chapter 10: The Saga Is Now Complete:

They then tackle a series of scenes that begins with Anakin leading hundreds of clone troopers into the Jedi Temple, then segues into the murder of various Jedi throughout the galaxy. Williams suggests marching sounds and music. Listening to the temp track for the scene taking place on Cato Neimoidia, Lucas comments, “I really like the fact that it goes into this choir,” as Plo Koon is blasted out of the sky. “It’s certainly the way to go,” Williams agrees, and asks, “How close are we to the killing of the children?” Lucas says that they’re not far off, as Barton stops the movie. The director explains that the music during that scene should continue into the scene with Padmé in her apartment. “Let’s keep the chorus with an orchestration, or just strings,” he says. “It’s almost as if she’s watching the murders [as they] happen. She’s crying because Anakin’s turned to evil.” “I like the idea that she’s intuiting what’s happening,” Williams says. Lucas’s son, Jett, plays a Padawan who is gunned down by stormtroopers. His father says, “I want to connect the death of Jett to this whole Jedi tragedy; it’s also an echo of the children being killed. It’s really one piece of music right up to here. This little action scene is part of the lamentation.”

Williams nods his understanding.

It would be interesting to know what this scene was temp tracked with. ETandElliot's suggestion of the Immolation from Schindler's List is actually quite a good candidate. The Jedi Temple steps scene is of course tracked with march music but I think the sentence above refers to the Order 66 scene. Interestingly the Lament or similar music was to go on into the scene with Bail and the young Padawan killed by the stormtroopers but this was obviously changed when they reached the final film.

[indy4 155]

Oooh, thanks for posting!

[Ricard 2,245]

So I finally spent 16+ hours listening to both trilogies, something I hadn't done in a long time, and I conclude that, as different as they are (with their respective qualities and flaws), I enjoy them both equally

Current results are 20/20... Someone please break the tie!

[Jay 37,417]

Did you listen to the OSTs or CRs for LOTR?

Did you listen to the OSTs or custom made fan edits for SWPT?

[Ricard 2,245]

LOTR Complete Recordings vs. the most complete available fan edits of the SW prequel scores. As I said, 16+ hours in total.

[Ludwig 1,120]

So I decided to vote after all. The way I interpret it, the question is asking about both how these two groups of scores work in the films and how they stand on their own. Both work well in the films (even though LotR are, needless to say, superior films) but away from the films, I find the prequels more satisfying as a listening experience. Yes, LotR is more thematically rich and more ingenious for the way the themes seem to express perfectly their association in the films. (What did Williams have to work with anyway, empty shells like Qui-Gon and Padme?). But Williams is always more unpredictable and, for me, forms a more enthralling dramatic arc. As music, that is.

For those reasons, my vote goes to the prequels. Williams wins! (for now)

[gkgyver 1,646]

75% of the prequel scores are aimless orchestral meandering. An expanded version of AotC is especially grating on the nerves. Even in TPM, true highlights are far in between. The mickey-mousing is as satisfying as listening to a washing machine for me.

[Quintus 5,399]

There's a heck of a lot of meandering in Shore's Complete Recordings too, gkgyver.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

*bitch slaps*

How dare you?

[Ricard 2,245]

The way I interpret it, the question is asking about both how these two groups of scores work in the films and how they stand on their own.

I judge them based on how they work as stand alone musical works. I don't care much for either of the two film trilogies.

75% of the prequel scores are aimless orchestral meandering. An expanded version of AotC is especially grating on the nerves. Even in TPM, true highlights are far in between. The mickey-mousing is as satisfying as listening to a washing machine for me.

That's how I used to feel about LOTR and some of the prequels' underscore, but listening to 'Clones' has become a gratifying experience for me lately. I agree about the "washing machine" effect in much of the prequels' mickey-mousing scoring (and Williams' post-'80s action scoring for that matter).

[filmmusic 1,845]

This is a bit difficult to vote.

I like bits of the Star Wars prequels better than LOTR (anakin's theme, Love theme, Duel of the Fates, the chorus piece in 1 & 3, Immolation Scene, Lament), but if I would have to consider the overall score, I'd prefer LOTR.