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Your favorite musical moment in SW


Ozzel

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Of the five Star Wars films so far, what is your single favorite moment where on-screen action combined with JW's score blend so perfectly that it still gives you spine tingles every time you see it? Was it Luke gazing forlornly at the binary sunset in ANH? Or the Falcon negotiating the asteroid field in ESB? Or perhaps the final moments of Luke and Vader's saber duel in ROTJ...

For me, Qui Gon slicing through the blast door at the beginning of TPM, with the Force theme rising to a heroic pitch, right before the droidekas rolled in, is that moment. Spine tingles galore. Perhaps it is the memory of the anticipation and excitement I felt seeing TPM for the first time, which makes that early action scene so special for me.

So what is that moment for you? Please leave the Fox fanfare and main titles out of your answer. I am sure we all get tingles for those...

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Uncle Owen: "Luke, I'm shutting down for tonight!" You hear a French horn playing the theme of the Force.

Somehow that moment is what Star Wars is all about.

There are many more but I can only name one.

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Alex Cremers

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Actually, just prior to the Battle of Hoth, when Luke and Dack are getting into their speeder and you listen to that little fanfare. It was both heroic and intimate, and I've always marveled at how Williams could just throw in that little theme, which other composers would've been very proud to have as the main titles in other films.

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OH this guy wanted a more specific moment.

OK then .....

I would go with the Throne Room assault by Luke on Vader when he goes ape shit after "Evil Daddy" mentions his sister.

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ROTJ, a flute plays the force theme when Vader says to Luke "Obi-Wan...has trained you well."

Justin -Who was just listening to that bit. :P

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That's easy.

In ESB, when Leia, Chewie, Lando and the droids are escaping from Cloud City. Just as R2 opens the door the strings play the most beautiful rendition of Han and Leia's love theme. In the middle of it is this great crescendo that just gives me the shivers every time. The moment follows through to the next scene as the strings play the single note before Vader jumps out at Luke.

That's about one minute of sheer film beauty.

A close second would be Luke and Vader's final duel. Great choice on the chorus.

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The moment follows through to the next scene as the strings play the single note before Vader jumps out at Luke.

Musically, that part always reminds me of the opening of Close Encounters. Not knocking it at all, just mentioning it.

Neil

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Indysolo goes:

In Star Wars , when the Falcon first goes into hyperdrive and we cut immediately to the Death Star.

Neil

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What about the music, Neil? Can you tell us more?

---------------

Alex Cremers

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Binary Sunset and The Dark Side Beckons. Oh, and when Vader appears in the Rebel base during the Battle of Hoth and the Imperial March comes in with that great string underscore.

Marian - who hasn't listened to these scores in ages. :cry:

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What about the music, Neil? Can you tell us more?

Yes, it's real good. :P

It's actually a powerful rendition of the "Death Star motif" that perfectly punctuates the transition.

Neil

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Great replies, folks, keep 'em coming. You can name your second favorites, too. I realize it's very tough to pick just one.

My second would have to be at the end of ROTJ when Luke lights Vader's funeral pyre, the horns do the Force theme, the camera pans up to X-wings launching fireworks. Awesome. I'm getting tingles just thinking about it. Hell, any rendition of the Force theme always gives me tingles.

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I would have to say in ROTJ the cue called "Light of the Force" when Luke sets ablaze the funeral Pyre, Bringing an end to Darth Vader. The Rendition of the Force theme is absolutely breathtaking...

Brings Tears to my eyes at how beautiful it is... :cry:

Matt C

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Hahaha... Ozzel...thats funny we said the same thing at the same time hahahah

Matt C

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Pick just one moment? Well, it has to be one from these: Yoda lifting the X-Wing, the little fanfare when Artoo opens the door in Bespin, like Trumpeteer mentioned, and also in Ep.II (nobody has mentioned the prequels so far) when Anakin witnesses his own mother passing away. Well, just the moment after that, with the strings and all (save the mother's moan when she dies).

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[quote="Marian Schedenig

Marian - who hasn't listened to these scores in ages. :cry:

:P

Jeff -- who will listen to the original trilogy during his road trip in two weeks

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OK, prequel moments.

In TPM, JW's use of percussion and harp during the tense seconds Qui Gon and Darth Maul were separated by the laser wall. In AOTC, when Jango launches the torpedo at Obi Wan's fighter in the asteroid field and the action cue kicks in immediately. Brilliant to not use any music up until then.

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My absolutely favourite Star Wars musical moment is the glorious fanfare that is played right at the end of the "Sail Barge Battle" cue in Return of the Jedi. The motif is played twice and never heard from again. It's funny because it would make a wonderful complete theme in any other movie. I'm just surprised that Williams wrote this wonderful theme/motif and never used it again! Brilliant!!!

-Erik-

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I would have to say in ROTJ the cue called "Light of the Force" when Luke sets ablaze the funeral Pyre, Bringing an end to Darth Vader. The Rendition of the Force theme is absolutely breathtaking...

No no no no no! I mean, that cue is beautiful, but it's basically taken from the orchestral suite from the first score (which is great of course). But my complaint is, that alternate cue on the CD is soo much better. Actually, that's one of my favourite moments too. I'd love to have that in the movie instead of the replacement cue.

Marian - who thinks they made the right choices with the other alternates.

:P Starship Troopers (Basil Poledouris)

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Ohh I don't know, so many good moments. Love dark side beckons and rescue from cloud city.

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There are two moments for me that tie for first place. The first comes from Return of the Jedi with "The Emperor's Death". The combination of the Emperor's Theme and the Force Theme, the rising trumpets and chorus, followed immediately with the descending moans from the chorus as the Emperor falls . . . . *shudder* . . . genius.

The second moment comes from The Empire Strikes Back with "Carbon Freeze". As Han is lowered into the chamber, the orchestra swells with Han and Leia's love theme, Leia finally tells Han "I love you" to which Han replies "I know". That moment for me is Star Wars.

Anthony, who clearly loves the more soaring and operatic moments

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Another great moment is in ANH when Luke see's his aunt and uncle. A great climax of orchestra to a great rendition of the Death Star Motif. 8O

Justin -Who loves so many momeny throughout the saga. :angry:

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There's a lot for me too.

Off the top of my head....

In TPM, I loved the part where Darth Maul enters through those big doors, and the eventual climbing of the Duel of Fates from soft strings, to raging choir with booming brass horns, and percussions.

AOTC- the end where the Vader's Theme intermixes with Across the Stars, it was just so sweeping,and beautiful.

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Boy.....this is a pretty damn tough choice.

All of you have great ones, but I gotta go on my own for this one:

ESB.

Luke is at his lowest point. He's weak, he's frazzled, he just learned who his real father is, and he's in intense pain. He's about to plummet to his death. He has no where to go.

He closes his eyes and calls to Leia. The most dramatic version of the Force theme is heard and we see Leia, bewildered. She hears Luke calling to her. They must go back for him. And they do.

That moment ALWAYS gives me chills. I don't know if it's the actual scene, or the music, or both, but holy crap, it's just friggin' amazing.

Second choice would be when Luke goes after his father for the final lightsaber duel in the Star Wars series and overpowers him. The male choir is used phenomenally in an almost religious sounding piece.

And third would be when Vader decides that his son is more important to him than his Emperor, grabs the old bastard and tosses him down the Core. I can only imagine how incredible this must've been to see for the first time in theaters. Chills galore, I presume.

Fourth would be the Binary Sunset. I think that moment perfectly captures what Star Wars is all about.

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I am kind of in love with the whole Battle of Hoth track (yes, the whole thing not just the battle)... I also like the Binary Sunset cue... hmm... what else? actually I could probably mention all music from the Original Trilogy :-/

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Star Wars, A New Hope. The death of Ben witnessed by Luke who's going "Noooooooooooooo!!!!". A very emotional, dramatic rendition of Princess Leia's Theme (dunno why but it works) crushes even the most heartless viewer. But there is no time to mourn because the impact of blaster shots are all over the place.

No funeral, no long pathetic death scene. Here was this great man and now he's gone, like it didn't mean zilch, zero! How Star Wars can you get.

Of course, him returning as a ghost wasn't so Star Warzy. But hey...that's me.

----------------

Alex Cremers

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And third would be when Vader decides that his son is more important to him than his Emperor, grabs the old bastard and tosses him down the Core. I can only imagine how incredible this must've been to see for the first time in theaters. Chills galore, I presume.

You're right Kevin, this moment is just so wonderful... this redemption is Star Wars for me. This is what it's all about. And Williams with the us of the theme of the Force played by the trombones with the strings surrounding it and then the male chorus, and the solo ending with a rendition of the force theme at the harp... this is magical.

My absolutely favourite Star Wars musical moment is the glorious fanfare that is played right at the end of the "Sail Barge Battle" cue in Return of the Jedi. The motif is played twice and never  

heard from again. It's funny because it would make a wonderful complete theme in any other movie. I'm just surprised that Williams wrote this wonderful theme/motif and never used it again! Brilliant!!!

Erik, you're wrong. This motiv can also be heard when Lando comes out of the death star: we can hear this motiv, with an intervallic mutation at the end, played twice as fast.

You can compare it on the SE released of Return of the Jedi,

- Sail barge: Disc 1, track 7 at 5:02

- Death Star: Disc 2, track 8 at 5:32

Philippe - who has :angry: to the Star Wars score a long time ago...

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Well, there are a lot of special cues and scenes in Star Wars, but if i had to choose one...

Maybe I'd say the scene when Luke watches the funeral pyre for Darth Vader as it's burning; wow, i saw that moment in video (well, i'm from the Jurassic Park age :angry: ) but i felt like in a cinema: i could only look at the tv, feeling the great music for that unique images.

Well, from the prequels i'd say the cue "duel of the fates" when darth maul appears in front of quigon and obi wan...wonderful

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I found one for TPM besides Darth Maul appears at the door. We all now that brass is kicking butt.

It's another one with Darth Maul this time jumping off his speederbike attacking Qui-Gon. It is Williams at his most super. A full blown orchestrated climaxing que repeating a theme that's only been used once not too long before. It is truly a musical highlight and one of the few cinematographic moments found in TPM. You'll find none of the sort in AotC.

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Alex Cremers

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I love the 30 second goofy music that Williams uses as Luke is taking 3PO and R2 into his room to get cleaned... just kidding. I don't know if I can narrow down a "favorite" but here are a couple that I LOVE that have not been mentioned...

From the Original Trilogy:

Sail Barge Assault/Return of the Jedi (depending on what release of the score you are listening to)... The tense strings as Luke and company are about to be tossed into the almighty Sarlacc and then R2 shoots Luke his lightsaber and the Star Wars theme bursts forth. Terrific. I often use this music in the car when I am waiting at a red light and I try to time it so that when I get a green light the Star Wars theme explodes and I floor it!!

From the Prequels....

Hard to describe, but during the end climactic battle there is a transition from the Naboo battle to the lightsaber duel in the reactor shaft. As the camera is panning down (or up?) the shaft all you hear is the chorus of Duel of the Fates (Koraaaahhhhh!!) and lightsabers swinging and clashing. Very exciting! Sorry if I was a tad vague in describing this one, but its been a WHILE since I've seen Episode 1.

Prequel honorable mention...

The Finale of Episode II, I love the transition from The Imperial March to the Love Theme. Wonderful blend of Original Trilogy music and Prequel music! I also love the ESB-style ending.

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Has anyone ever cued up the Arena music with the actual Ep. II scene? It's absolutely awesome!

As for the other films:

Star Wars:

The French horn solo in Binary Sunset and the Throne Room fanfare.

The Empire Strikes Back:

The brass section when Luke throws the granade into the AT-AT and Han and Leia's theme when Han is frozen in carbonite.

Return of the Jedi:

Leaving Tatooine and the chorus in the final duel (not sure about the track titles).

The Phantom Menace:

The Force theme when Anakin leaves his mother and Qui-Gon's funeral.

- Marc, who couldn't choose.

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Erik, you're wrong. This motiv can also be heard when Lando comes out of the death star: we can hear this motiv, with an intervallic mutation at the end, played twice as fast.  

You can compare it on the SE released of Return of the Jedi,

- Sail barge: Disc 1, track 7 at 5:02

- Death Star: Disc 2, track 8 at 5:32

Philippe - who has :angry: to the Star Wars score a long time ago...

They are two different motif's. They start off with the same two notes and end with the the same 3 notes but the Sail Barge Fanfare is a 12 notes fanfare. The Death Star Explosion is only 6 notes. There are some similarities but they aren't the same theme.

-Erik-

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Has anyone ever cued up the Arena music with the actual Ep. II scene? It's absolutely awesome!

I want to do this, can you tell me at what moment on the DVD to cue the CD?

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Well, I don't have the DVD right now, but if I'm not mistaken, you can just start track 12 from the CD when the love theme comes in just before they enter the arena. It will then play together, until about the moment Padme jumps onto the back of that creature Anakin is riding.

That shot of the creatures coming out of the gate and advancing on our heroes with that pounding march playing is awesome!

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Erik, I was going to reply to your interessting post... I wrote a rather long answer, with quotations and all... that took me almost 30 minutes to find that when I clicked the submit button, it showed me "invalid session".... arghghghghghgh

I have to do it again... I'll do it tomorrow, it's 2:00 am here...

but this conversation has made me find some links in the Indy's trilogy motiv... I'll try to rewrite this tomorrow. Sorry...

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Erik, I was going to reply to your interessting post... I wrote a rather long answer, with quotations and all... that took me almost 30 minutes to find that when I clicked the submit button, it showed me "invalid session".... arghghghghghgh

I have to do it again... I'll do it tomorrow, it's 2:00 am here...  

but this conversation has made me find some links in the Indy's trilogy motiv... I'll try to rewrite this tomorrow. Sorry...

Well, I'll be looking forward to it and I hope you prove me wrong because I'm obviously missing something here. I'm be back tomorrow to read your post.

-Erik-

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Well, I don't have the DVD right now, but if I'm not mistaken, you can just start track 12 from the CD when the love theme comes in just before they enter the arena. It will then play together, until about the moment Padme jumps onto the back of that creature Anakin is riding.

That shot of the creatures coming out of the gate and advancing on our heroes with that pounding march playing is awesome!

I did the exact same thing and the music has an awesome effect on the scene. I wish somehow the music could be reincorporated in the movie.

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Oh, my favorite Star Wars musical moment is without a doubt the dark Side Beckons, but there are so many priceless musical gems throughout the saga.

Binary Sunset

The fanfare of the Asteroid Field when TIE Fighter smashes against the asteroid

The Millenium Falcon Taking off after the Sail Barge Assault

Yoda lifting the x.wing

Into the trap from ROTJ

Anakin leaving his mom

Qui-Gon cutting through the blast doors

The entrance in the Arena, with a full rendition of Across the Stars

The Arrival of the Emperor

Death of Shmi

Anakin riding the swoop

The Invasion of Theed

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Well its a short que but responsible for bringing some of the magic into Star Wars:A New Hope. Booooom!!! After The Death Star is destroyed lushious warm strings are celebrating and at their highest peak we return to Luke and hear those famous words: The Force will be with you, always.

If that climatic moment didn't give you some goosebumps then you are at the wrong forum, my friend.

----------------

Alex Cremers

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The Emperor's Death". The combination of the Emperor's Theme and the Force Theme, the rising trumpets and chorus, followed immediately with the descending moans from the chorus as the Emperor falls . . . . *shudder* . . . genius.  

Here here! :)

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Well, I don't have the DVD right now, but if I'm not mistaken, you can just start track 12 from the CD when the love theme comes in just before they enter the arena. It will then play together, until about the moment Padme jumps onto the back of that creature Anakin is riding.

That shot of the creatures coming out of the gate and advancing on our heroes with that pounding march playing is awesome!

I did the exact same thing and the music has an awesome effect on the scene. I wish somehow the music could be reincorporated in the movie.

I know. Moments like this make me think Williams was the only one involved in the movie who really had a clue of what they were doing.

Take the Conveyor Belt sequence for instance. Lucas has explained that he felt the sequence was needed to add some action to the movie, as the originally planned and shot trial of Padmé and Anakin would slow things down (Ep. II DVD). I certainly agree with him, but if you then look at what they came up with, it's just nothing more than a fun action sequence. I imagine Williams looked at it and thought "That's a nice popcorn bit, I'll write some cool building, bumbling music to go with it."

So he did, and then during the final mix, the sound editors felt it didn't create the proper atmosphere for the danger the heroes were in. Right. So they drop the music, and use music from all over, making the scene a mess. I think Williams must have thought of the Conveyor Belt sequence as just a fun ride, while the people who had to make the final decisions (Ben Burtt again?) thought it was some sort of centrepiece or something. Whatever. I'm ranting now.

Then with the Arena sequence, again. It's this cool fight with crazy action and cool beasts and everything, so Williams writes this awesome march, which occurs nowhere else in the film. Everything looks mega-cool, and then Burtt comes in and says, "Meh, I want the audience to feel like they're there. I'll make the sounds of the crowd replace the music." Not really an awful idea, if it wasn't for the fact that the music written for the scene was so powerful and intense, it really makes you grab hold of your bucket of popcorn, lean back, and get this "Here we go" feeling.

I also think the scene drags a little long now. That last bit before the music comes back up, where Obi-Wan fights the creature, that's where I always get the feeling it's taking too long.

Although I must add, that I do not really know what Lucas's input in all of this was. It's easy to blame someone like Ben Burtt for this, but Lucas is the director, and he most have had some sort of conversation with Williams about the music he wanted for each scene.

Also, if you watch one of the documentaries on the Ep. II DVD, you see the sound crew in the final dubbing stage, and they're working on the Conveyor Belt sequence. Someone (I don't know who, because I still don't have the DVD at hand and I can't check it) says that the percussion isn't really strong enough for the scene. As far as I could tell, the bit of music heard there is unrealeased, and it may not be strong enough for that particular bit, but the track is building; it is going somewhere.

These ideas do have a reason, they do come from somewhere. They're just not thought through. Sure, the podrace in Ep. I was great without music, it's really awesome, but that doesn't mean it will work everywhere. I don't know who exactly is responsible for the dumb-ass decisions that have been made in the prequels in the way they handled the score, but someone obviously bullocked things up.

- Marc, who lent a friend his Ep. I and II DVD's before Easter, but still hasn't had them back. Poor me.

:) The March Of The Villains from Superman: The Movie

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The already mentioned examples are all great.

The Emperor's theme during Anakin's confession of the Tusken slaughter gives me chills every time.

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Nobody's mentioned Luke leaving Dagobah in TESB. The way the main theme, Yoda's theme, and the Force theme are all interwoven into such a beautiful and woodwind-powered piece. It's the second half of "Lando's Palace".

I'd have to go with "Sail Barge Assault/Return of the Jedi", too, as another favorite. "Tusken Homestead" the entire track in the movie. "Clash of Lightsabers" is an awesome track, even though it could've been better with the build-up left in.

One of my favorites is a part that was cut out of TESB. It's during the duel between Luke and Vader in the carbon freezing chamber. In the official cut, there's no music. However, you can take the music written for that scene on the "Carbon Freeze" track and cue it up perfectly with the movie. The end result is quite moving. The "Carbonite" theme scoring the duel heightens its dramatic effect. Likewise, the second part that was cut out, the part that contains Yoda's theme, is just as good, in a more adventurous kind of way.

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I'm really surprised that nobody's mentioned my absolute favorite moment.

At the end of ROTJ, Luke is dragging Vader's body to the ship they're going to take off the disintegrating Death Star. Vader asks Luke to take his mask off, and there's a shot of the two of them, totally alone in this cavernous hanger, father and son. The Imperial march is played by a lone harp, almost in time to a flashing light on a wall in the background.

The mere thought of that moment still gives me chills. Man, the word genius just isn't sufficient for Williams, a new word has to be invented for him.

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I'm really surprised that nobody's mentioned my absolute favorite moment.

At the end of ROTJ, Luke is dragging Vader's body to the ship they're going to take off the disintegrating Death Star. Vader asks Luke to take his mask off, and there's a shot of the two of them, totally alone in this cavernous hanger, father and son. The Imperial march is played by a lone harp, almost in time to a flashing light on a wall in the background.  

The mere thought of that moment still gives me chills. Man, the word genius just isn't sufficient for Williams, a new word has to be invented for him.

I also think Williams used a similar approach for anakin's theme intentionately. :thumbup:

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Of course it would ahve to be in ANH when Luke realizes that his Uncle and Aunt may be dead, and he jumps into his landspeeder. The cue goes into when he finds them dead. Never ceases to move me.

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Several of my favorite moments were already mentioned, but what about this one: Anakin and Padme on this ... chariot? ... whatever... and then the music builds, the love theme swells enormously, the gate opens, and out of the darkness behind the gate, we roll into this vast arena... the combination of music and visuals in this scene is breathtaking.

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