Jump to content

Where do you rank the score for "The Last Jedi"?


John

Where do you rank the score for "The Last Jedi"?  

108 members have voted

  1. 1. Where do you rank John Williams' music for "The Last Jedi" among his previous 'Star Wars' scores?

    • It's his best Star Wars score.
    • It's his second best Star Wars score.
    • It's his third best Star Wars score.
    • It's his fourth best Star Wars score.
    • It's his fifth best Star Wars score.
    • It's his sixth best Star Wars score.
    • It's his seventh best Star Wars score.
    • It's his eighth best Star Wars score.


Recommended Posts

Thank you, James, for pointing out what I had been thinking deep within my heart. In the end, Star Wars is Star Wars. I cannot pick a favorite movie, nor can I pick a favorite score. And also, yeah FREEDOM!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nah, Across The Stars is a good theme, but there's stuff in those scores that appeal to me more than it does. The Force's theme alone is far superior to it. And yes, you have the freedom to like whatever you want. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, Jerry said:

Thank you James for pointing out what I had been thinking deep without n my heart. Star Wars is Star Wars. I cannot pick a favorite movie, nor can I pick a favorite score. And also yeah FREEDOM!

Empire and Empire :devil:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2. Februar 2018 at 12:27 PM, Bryant Burnette said:

All I know is, I can't get the score for The Last Jedi out of my car.  It gets better every time I listen to it, and I liked it just fine the first time through.

 

Yes, but is it good for your soul, though?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not Thor humor, it's an allusion to Thor at his most serious.

 

Thor humor is logic like:

"Unreleased cues from completely unreleased scores? - Hell, yes!

Unreleased cues from partly released scores? - What the hell?!"

You know it's funny, because...:folder:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
6 hours ago, Dieter Stark said:

It's his worst Star Wars score.

 

Even if you really think that - such a blunt statement doesn’t accurately describe what it is: a score that puts nearly all other contemporary scores to shame when it comes to Williams’ orchestral mastery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a hard time ranking the others relative to each other, but TLJ easily sits in last place for me. My chief problems with it are:

  • The numerous moments when the score could just has easily have been replaced with its own temp track (Yoda's theme at the end of his scene, Rey's theme in the "following Luke" montage, the verbatim quotes from the TFA Snoke material and end credits in "Revisiting Snoke", the Force theme before the end credits, etc.). I know the majority of the score doesn't do this, but there are enough moments for it to feel like an unpleasant pattern. For a film that's so explicitly intent on letting the past die, it sure elicited the most backward-looking Star Wars score we've gotten so far.
  • A lot of the quieter underscore. It's just vaguely irksome to me. Not sure why. I'm thinking of stuff like "Who Are You?" and "The Cave."

On the other hand, it gave us the delightful "Canto Bight" and some pretty terrific action music. I really like the way most of the third act is scored in general. And the orchestra sounds better to me than in TFA. But to say that the competition is fierce would be an understatement. The 7 scores that precede TLJ are among my top favorites. I'd have to be over the moon about this score for it to even compete, and I'm not. There are specific parts that I'm over the moon about, but there are a lot of others that are frankly disappointing to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think this is my favourite cue of the score (the OST track is micro-edited but it keeps the ante up all the same). I love the dark and brooding buildup to Snoke's eventual demise, and then Williams gets his chance to use the Force theme in the style of the statement that got cut out of The Force Awakens (instead of Burning Homestead). Everything after it is very reminiscent of the prequels and I love it!

 

The strings are super busy, chugging along and constantly switching places as those punchy brass hits cut through. Top notch percussion, drums and xylophone (I think). Triumphant Rey's theme, and a cool fanfare as the fight ends. 

 

Probably my most listened to cue of the score.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really enjoy that track, although I will point out that this instance of the Force theme (while effective) is actually just a direct quote of one that was used in TFA - it was for when Rey and Kylo are grappling with their lightsabers slicing the ground. The version that was replaced by Burning Homestead is rather different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Datameister said:

I really enjoy that track, although I will point out that this instance of the Force theme (while effective) is actually just a direct quote of one that was used in TFA - it was for when Rey and Kylo are grappling with their lightsabers slicing the ground. The version that was replaced by Burning Homestead is rather different.

 

Interesting, I never picked up on that. Has anyone tried to make a list of all such quotes? It sounds like maybe there are more of them than I realized.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Smeltington said:

 

Interesting, I never picked up on that. Has anyone tried to make a list of all such quotes? It sounds like maybe there are more of them than I realized.

 

I might give it a shot at some point - see my other post above for a few more examples off the top of my head. These definitely stick out to me in comparison to Williams' previous Star Wars MO. Each trilogy is of course going to have its own sonic identity, but neither ESB nor AOTC repeated material from their predecessors (other than the obvious main titles and credits). This is a very different sort of middle score.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's too bad it seems to be so pervasive throughout different parts of the score... that plus the presence of bits of concert arrangements seems to be the biggest difference compared to repeated material in earlier Star Wars scores.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

I must say that you have such a neat way with words, Nick. You're posts find a way to be insightfully delicious to read and yet are all in all fun in nature. Just wanted to let you know I enjoy reading what your comments. 

 

Yo, man, I appreciate it. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't really rank the Star Wars scores.  Empire is excellent, and probably takes the top spot for me, but, beyond that, things are pretty even overall.  There is something special about all of them, TLJ notwithstanding.  But, I will note that, unlike TFA, TLJ did not blow me away at first listen.  And, unlike say TPM or ROTJ, it does not blow me away with repeated listenings.  

I have come to understand Williams's approach with the score, and, like I have said before, appears to be a score focused mostly on overall craftsmanship, not unlike some of John's concert works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I enjoy many small, musical moments throughout TLJ score but my overall regard for the score is not nearly as high as for other SW scores. It is also the most self-referential of all the SW scores and at the same time the least interesting in terms of new thematic material. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, artguy360 said:

I enjoy many small, musical moments throughout TLJ score but my overall regard for the score is not nearly as high as for other SW scores. It is also the most self-referential of all the SW scores and at the same time the least interesting in terms of new thematic material. 

 

^ I agree with all of this and rank them thusly:

 

SW

ESB

TPM

ROTJ

TFA

ROTS

AOTC

TLJ

 

There's not a single one I dislike, but my love for some is much greater than for others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TFA and TLJ are the worst for me. Always thought that since 2015 and 2017. The originals are much more Mussorgskian in spectrum and variance in describing the palettes of adventure, and Dvorakian in craft and structure. The prequels were somewhat as interesting and breathtaking, noteworthy at least, but nothing beats SW and ESB, SW being the pinnacle of music (unless you, say, enjoy the more ordinary harmonic forms of Beethoven or something, then that can be very good. Beethoven was the best inventor but his music can sound outdated. Would be nice to hear a Beethoven in the film and fantasy era.)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I meant best composer, not inventor. But yes, Beethoven hits the fine dynamic, not the fine point. The fine points were developed after Beethoven. Although some would argue that classical harmonic phrasings are better, I will happily disagree about one single way of looking at it. Sure, Beethoven's phrasings are considered by many people to sound outdated, many times over. Best composer I think though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's strange hearing such contradictory arguments on a John Williams forum: I understand it's fine to defend Beethoven, and your wording is lovely, but you all can do a much more rational job at it than this. He birthed a pinnacle aspect of music interpretation, as well as adopted many others, but thousands after him have enormously evolved how great-and-simple music can sound. That's the definition of modern. At least be a little more honest and open-minded in your descriptions.

 

Also I keep forgetting that some of you are classical theists. "Praise be to the perfect man" or whatnot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John Williams has said that he reads Beethoven before going to bed.  

Beethoven remains relevant because he did something no one else has quite done since.  Subjectively, you may like the sweeping gestures of Romanticism and Modernism.  But, objectively, it is very hard not to give Beethoven his due as an immortal.  There are two things you can fault Beethoven for, his writing for voice and some of his orchestrations.  You may think his harmonies are just par for the times, but there was something titanic there that is not replicable, nor ever unfashionable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.