Jump to content

The Rise of Skywalker - COMPLETE SCORE Discussion - SPOILERS ALLOWED!


Jay

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, Pando said:

 

Sorry, this paragraph gave me a headache. Here's my deOCD'd output:

 

Ep I: The Phantom Menace - 2:30, 2 CDs
Ep II: Attack of the Clones - 2:10, 2 CDs
Ep III: Revenge of the Sith - 2:15, 2 CDs

 

Ep IV: A New Hope - 1:32, 2 CDs
Ep V: The Empire Strikes Back - 2:05, 2 CDs
Ep VI: Return of the Jedi - 2:40, 2-3 CDs

 

Ep VII: The Force Awakens - 2:56, 3 CDs
Ep VIII: The Last Jedi - 3:03, 3-4 CDs
Ep IX: The Rise of Skywalker - 3:46, 3-4 CDs

 

Total: 22 hours 57 minutes of music, 21-24 CDs

 

1c5G9eg.jpg

 

As a fan of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, you made my day; LOL!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hah, there's more music for TROS than the first two scores combined. :lol:

 

And TFA is only 14 minutes longer than ROTJ, despite the surplus of alternates/revisions and JW spending nearly a year writing it. Puts things in perspective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

Now let's talk price! How many mortgages would I need?

 

My guess, compared to the price of the Harry Potter set, would be between $130 and $200. That max figure may be an overestimation, though. However, it is MORE than worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, crumbs said:

And TFA is only 14 minutes longer than ROTJ, despite the surplus of alternates/revisions and JW spending nearly a year writing it. Puts things in perspective.

 
So, how soon should we start the Kickstarter to book the LSO to record all the interesting bits that never made it to the sessions? 😜

 

(Let’s have them do the alternate “Trip to Earth” from Superman while they’re at it, too.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, the complete box for the Star Wars saga, containing every minute of music recorded by JW, would be 24 discs of scores + 1 disc for Galaxy's Edge and the Solo material. Roughly 23 hours of music. Plus a 150-page booklet, with a detailed description of each track, when they appear on the films and what themes were used.

 

Sounds great! Can we expect it for Christmas 2027 (50th birthday of ANH)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just can’t imagine the entire Star Wars series would ever be put out as single release. Mike Matessino mentioned that this would be a Disney release (rather than Intrada, etc.) if and when it actually happens. Perhaps it might be sold as a single collection after the fact, like this 28 CD box of the Disney Legacy Collection releases:

 

image.jpeg
 

The biggest single Disney release I could find is a 10 CD set released in Japan only. Otherwise, doesn’t look like Disney goes past 4 or 5 discs per set. So, my money’s on individual releases.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Surely any such release would be the jewel in the crown of Disney Records releases? They would make a fortune!

 

Just look at the luxurious treatments they've afforded lazy vinyl reissues of the OSTs. It's well overdue the complete scores got the same treatment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just noticed for the first time (after maybe   close to 100 listens..?) that in ‘The Speeder Chase’, at 0:23, with the ascending strings run, there are freaking bongos playing along!

 

What was Shawn Murphy thinking? I hope that with an eventual expansion, MM will do a new mix of all three scores that will highlight the fact that these scores have much more color to them than some may think!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is so true. I remember hearing The Jedi Steps and Finale at the Concertgebouw and being shocked at how colorful it was, even more so than any other SW piece that was played that day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Remco said:

I just noticed for the first time (after maybe   close to 100 listens..?) that in ‘The Speeder Chase’, at 0:23, with the ascending strings run, there are freaking bongos playing along!

 

Tabla drums (from India). They are quite a bit more resonant than bongos.

 

1 hour ago, crumbs said:

TFA is dreadfully mixed and The Speeder Chase is probably the worst mixed track in TROS.

 

It's also hacked up with audible microedits in several places (apparently done after recording!) that made it much shorter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, BrotherSound said:

So, my money’s on individual releases.

 

My money's on them not bothering to release anything other than more vinyl and endless re-issues of the demasters with ever-worsening artwork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Remco said:

I just noticed for the first time (after maybe   close to 100 listens..?) that in ‘The Speeder Chase’, at 0:23, with the ascending strings run, there are freaking bongos playing along!

 

I noticed the Tabla drums on first listen; a nice touch considering the desert setting.

 

4 hours ago, Pando said:

It's also hacked up with audible microedits in several places (apparently done after recording!) that made it much shorter.

 

Really? Where? I never noticed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, JohnnyD said:

 

 

 

 

Really? Where? I never noticed.

I thought he was talking about how it is used in the film.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, JohnnyD said:

Really? Where? I never noticed.

 

At 2:54, right where the violin trill starts. The last timpani hit is muted 2 beats before that, but then listen to the entire hall reverb tail, it gets abruptly cut off at the edit point.

 

2 hours ago, The River (Fal) said:

I thought he was talking about how it is used in the film.

 

No, I'm talking about the released soundtrack (below).

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That might just be a performance edit from takes recorded maybe on different days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's no less than 19 edits in that OST track but, as @Holko points out, there's no way to tell whether those are performance or microedits.

 

I believe the original cue (as written in early 2019) was far longer though, but it's unknown whether its extended form was recorded. The cue itself must have been one of the earlier recorded cues though, because it sounds totally different to other parts of the OST (it's far drier than the rest of the soundtrack, almost as excessive as TFA).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Remco said:

I just noticed for the first time (after maybe   close to 100 listens..?) that in ‘The Speeder Chase’, at 0:23, with the ascending strings run, there are freaking bongos playing along!

 

What was Shawn Murphy thinking? I hope that with an eventual expansion, MM will do a new mix of all three scores that will highlight the fact that these scores have much more color to them than some may think!

Never noticed the bongos - but there they are! I don't think that's a mixing issue, rather mixed quietly as to fill out the sound of the accompanying parts. If the bongos were any louder I think it might sound a little overwhelming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TROS is such a difficult score to talk about. My appreciation for the score is marred by how poorly treated it is in the film, the sound mix, the micro-edits, the tracking, and the lack of opportunities for standout musical moments in the film and sound edit in stark contrast to TLJ which had so many made for awesome music moments that JW made the most of. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's only made things worse knowing JW was personally disappointed at the treatment of his score. He must have wondered why he bothered coming back in the first place, with the two hatchet jobs Abrams pulled on him.

 

I sincerely hope the two never collaborate again. Abrams has zero respect for Williams' process and zero understanding of the role his music plays.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, crumbs said:

He must have wondered why he bothered coming back in the first place, with the two hatchet jobs Abrams pulled on him.

?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Holko said:

At the time of "coming back" there was only one hatchet job.

But at the time of wondering there was two.

2 hours ago, Arpy said:

Never noticed the bongos - but there they are! I don't think that's a mixing issue, rather mixed quietly as to fill out the sound of the accompanying parts. If the bongos were any louder I think it might sound a little overwhelming.

There were some in the Podrace cues as well that were mixed out later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, crumbs said:

I have also found that bizarre. I cannot recall a single quote from Williams mentioning Rian Johnson, not even a reference to his name. He was at pains to mention JJ's name when reciting TFA anecdotes at concerts, but it just became "Disney" and "Kathy Kennedy" whenever the subject of Episode 8 came up. But I'd love to see the two work together again, especially if RJ gets another stab at SW (sadly that appears dead in the water, along with all the other cancelled SW projects).

 

The obvious assumption is that Williams didn't like the film or collaborating with him, but I think the score he delivered would prove otherwise (but I accept this isn't a widely shared opinion... maybe after TROS people will finally understand why TLJ fans raved about the big musical moments Johnson afforded Williams, while JJ and his sound team treated the scores like polyfilla).

 

Come to think of it, I never read a single comment from Williams about Alfonso Cuaron either, and that film yielded one of his best scores in decades.

 

It's not much, but there's this in the JW signature edition of 'The Rebellion is Reborn':

 

"With the eight installment of the Star Wars films, director/writer Rian Johnson has graced us with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He's produced an exciting new extension of the now iconic saga that reintroduces Daisy Ridley, etc. etc. ... ... As Luke Skywalker intones towards the end of the film, "The Rebellion is Reborn," and all Star Wars fans, including myself, can rejoice!"
 

And for HP3:

 

"It was a joy to team up with film director Alfonso Cuarón on this adventure, and I must say I had a particularly good time setting music to this story which resulted in such an entertaining and enjoyable film."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being a certified armchair psychologist, it's obvious that smooth projects go smoothly and as such there's not much to talk about, but all that JJ gushing is clearly an overreaction to try and not let the deep set overwhelming resentment slip out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Come to think of it, I never read a single comment from Williams about Alfonso Cuaron either, and that film yielded one of his best scores in decades.

He said something positive about the film's visual style in an obscure interview.  

It's possible that the experience wasn't positive for Williams despite yielding a great score.  Between having to abandon many of the themes/general style of the previous scores and the alleged "wrong cut" incident.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

JW is the consummate professional. He survived 60 years of Hollywood craziness, so it's more than likely he's well above these kind of things. As someone apt once said, "It's called show business, not show show."

 

Which makes JW's public comments about JJ constantly changing the edit, and the music being borderline inaudible underneath sound effects, all the more intriguing.

 

Judging by the treatment of the score in TROS, nobody was paying attention to him.

 

26 minutes ago, Holko said:

Being a certified armchair psychologist, it's obvious that smooth projects go smoothly and as such there's not much to talk about, but all that JJ gushing is clearly an overreaction to try and not let the deep set overwhelming resentment slip out!

 

This makes sense. By all accounts TLJ was a flawless production; on schedule and under budget. Johnson is a studio's dream director. It might be as simple as JW not having anything interesting to discuss. He didn't constantly rewrite cues due to reshoots/re-edits, it seems like his first attempt at most cues landed the exact tone Rian was after, Johnson gave him half a dozen purely musical moments to take center stage with the orchestra, and the sound team revered his work and treated the score with reverence in their mix.

 

In other words, the polar opposite of what he dealt with under Abrams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, crumbs said:

on schedule

Weeeeeeeell Rian *did* push back on the completely unreasonable original schedule hat wanted it out in May. But then had it in the can 3 months before the new deadline instead of tinkering until the last second.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/30/2020 at 2:15 AM, Fabulin said:

I think Galaxy's Edge should be considered a part of the cycle, as a prelude to IX.


Since we’re dreaming anyway, how about that on a bonus disc including the Bill Ross arrangements for Galaxy’s Edge, ‘Adventures of Han’, and the Solo demos? 😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, crumbs said:

Which makes JW's public comments about JJ constantly changing the edit, and the music being borderline inaudible underneath sound effects, all the more intriguing.

 

Wait is this in the Dudamel interview? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/29/2020 at 7:27 PM, BrotherSound said:


The 1997 special edition release is the one that has the raw Main Title takes. Even though it’s all the same cue, there must have instructions from the podium to take out instruments and the pickup beat between takes, as well as some major differences in the mixing. 


I’m glad it was able to be included then, but I suspect it wouldn’t happen now: it sounds like John Williams is much more involved with approving expanded releases than at that time. Anyone know if he signed off on those releases (or the Anthology box set, for that matter)?

 

Oh yes, the earlier 90s expanded edition had unreleased music (and alternates of some description IIRC) and was beyond anything I'd ever imagined would happen, then the late 90s expanded expanded edition had even more and was also amazing. The expanded expanded expanded edition should really be quite something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, JohnnyD said:

 

I beg to differ...

 

 

 

I only wish that this featurette was included in home video like there was for Episode VII (Blu-Ray) and IX (iTunes and Disney Plus) (except no 360 degree video format). Then again, I can always watch it via YouTube on Apple TV.


Oh, I forgot about this one! For anyone keeping track (cc @Jay @Falstaft @crumbs), despite the onscreen “Peace and Purpose” title, the cue starting at 4:10 of Scoring the Last Jedi is the unused insert 9M85A Luke Looks. The ending would have overlapped the “march”.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Wait is this in the Dudamel interview? 

@crumbs where are you getting this info about Williams' disliking TRoS' handling from?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, crumbs said:

I have also found that bizarre. I cannot recall a single quote from Williams mentioning Rian Johnson, not even a reference to his name. He was at pains to mention JJ's name when reciting TFA anecdotes at concerts, but it just became "Disney" and "Kathy Kennedy" whenever the subject of Episode 8 came up. 

 

Not for nothing but he did name drop him at the Hollywood Bowl 2017...funnily the only time I recall him subbing Rian in for Kennedy in the classic "I don't want anyone else writing music for Daisy" story, and also in this version he says yes right away instead of hemming and hawing :lol: oh John

 

 

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.