Popular Post crumbs 14,304 Posted May 21, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 21, 2020 Happy 40th Anniversary to one of John's greatest ever film scores, The Empire Strikes Back. Easily the strongest trio of new themes for any sequel score -- The Imperial March, Han Solo and the Princess and Yoda's Theme, capped off with the greatest end credits suite of Williams' career. You can't overstate the immense legacy of this score; music that remains as stirring today as the day it was released. Bravo, Maestro. Masterpiece. SingeMoisi, Martinland, Will and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ludwig 1,120 Posted May 21, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 21, 2020 And the saga's first actual love theme! (No, really.) Will, Jurassic Shark, Falstaft and 4 others 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,988 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 My first ever cinema trip. I didn't see a thing of course because I was in the womb. I thought it was probably Return of the Jedi but that was released in Poland in February 1985 (!) which is a month after my birth. And it definitely wasn't the original because Yoda was in it. I know because my mum thought I looked like when I was born (not sure how to take that) 😆 Anyway, it does explain why I have such a soft spot for certain score. When I first heard some of Williams' music from this film around the age of 10 or 12 I experienced chills like never before (or since, for that matter). Karol BrotherSound and Smeltington 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 First viewings of the original trilogy are all pre-memory for me, but we had the 1990 VHS releases in my home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karelm 2,903 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 I will never forget that experience of seeing it in May 1980 being in line that wrapped around the theater. The film itself made a huge impact and opened so many more questions about what happens next, Luke's identity, why Ben lied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,033 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Haven't seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstrox 6,647 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Like Stu, all of the OT is pre-memory, but as a kid really the first two movies bored me, and Star Wars was only Return of the Jedi. It wasn't until the special editions when I was 12 that I fell in love with the trilogy - and Empire has been my favorite Star Wars movie since that time. I'm happy to say that my kid enjoyed Empire when we watched it a few weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Edmilson 7,395 Posted May 21, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 21, 2020 The Battle of Hoth is amazing, one of the best action music I've ever listened. 15 minutes of excitement! BrotherSound, Remco, Smaug The Iron and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 4 hours ago, Disco Stu said: First viewings of the original trilogy are all pre-memory for me, but we had the 1990 VHS releases in my home That tape was the first time I watched it. It's good but I think people are too hung up on it these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstrox 6,647 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 We had the OT spread out on various home-taped VHS tapes, recorded at SLP speed and accompanied by two other random movies each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Well, I first watched ROTJ (the first time I saw any of the SW trilogy, although I saw the second Ewok movie before all of them) taped off the telly and some bits were trimmed such as Leia and the Ewok scene, presumably for runtime. So when I got the FOX videos, I was surprised by the new stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstrox 6,647 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 A few new surprises... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demondm810 399 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 32 minutes ago, Gruesome Son of a Bitch said: Well, I first watched ROTJ (the first time I saw any of the SW trilogy, although I saw the second Ewok movie before all of them) taped off the telly and some bits were trimmed such as Leia and the Ewok scene, presumably for runtime. So when I got the FOX videos, I was surprised by the new stuff. Haha same for me, I remember being amazed Leia chokes Jabba to death because that had been cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bellosh 3,398 Posted May 21, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 21, 2020 'The Clash of the Lightsabers' Basically 1:38 to the end you have that beautiful rendition of Yoda's Theme segueing into Lando's Palace theme followed by fantastic treatments of Han Solo and the Princess with a mixture of fanfares throughout. This cue is one of JW's greatest. Arpy, SingeMoisi, crumbs and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Falstaft 2,132 Posted May 21, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 21, 2020 I know this score better than practically any other piece of music, and yet it still astonishes me anew on every listen. Not just the big themes and set-pieces, but the dialogue underscore, the atmospheric cues. And the sculpting of tension and payoff, not just over scenes but through the whole soundtrack, is simply incredible. Even what some might deem musical "flaws," like the unrelenting use (overuse?) of the Imperial March, are dramatically and structurally fitting. Can't lavish enough superlatives on this score. 9 minutes ago, Bellosh said: This cue is one of JW's greatest. Feel like that could be said of each and every cue in ESB! Bellosh, Ludwig, Will and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellosh 3,398 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 5 minutes ago, Falstaft said: Feel like that could be said of each and every cue in ESB! It's true. That score is all killer, no filler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post phbart 609 Posted May 21, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 21, 2020 These days I watched an HD scan of an original 35mm theatrical print of ESB. Grain, dirt, cue marks, everything a theatrical print from 1980 should have. The sound was from the optical print as well. Surprisingly, it gave me a perfect 4 channel (LCR and mono surround) configuration when decoded with Dolby Pro-Logic. What a great time I had revisiting my favorite SW film that way! I can imagine how it felt to actually watch it on an actual big screen. Now let's hear the OST properly, shall we? Unlucky Bastard, rough cut and Smeltington 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 . Smeltington 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,626 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 I saw it on the Disney Cruise theater in March. The music mix was so great it puts all other SW movies to shame. (ANH has the Ben Burrt destroyed mix and in RotJ the music is a bit muffled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Arpy 4,145 Posted May 22, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2020 This score was Williams' soul on fire, every drop of creative sweat seems to have been poured into it. Everytime I listen to The Battle of Hoth Medley, or The Asteroid Field, or Rescue From Cloud City my mind is constantly engaged, and blown by just how it all pieces together like each moment was inevitable - theme after theme, hints of another theme here, the droid motif weaving in and out there, it all makes sense. It's a score I can point to and say 'that's the power of film music right there, that's how it works its magic'. This is perhaps one of the greatest Star Wars scores and none since have matched it in its endearing quality or intensity. Falstaft, Martinland, crumbs and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 3 hours ago, phbart said: These days I watched an HD scan of an original 35mm theatrical print of ESB. Where did you get this?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manakin Skywalker 4,891 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Þekþiþm said: Where did you get this?? Probably the Grindhouse print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 1 minute ago, Manakin Skywalker said: Probably the Grindhouse print. I can't find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phbart 609 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Þekþiþm said: Where did you get this?? A friend got it from a private torrent tracker. It's quite a large file, enough to fit a BD-25 disc. He said it's been around for some five years now, or more. I got it earlier this year but only watched it recently. 13 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said: Probably the Grindhouse print. I guess so. This website says it is, as they don't mention any other version available. https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k80/ Too bad the 4K restoration they're working on will take quite a while. Glad to see SW and Jedi 35mm 4K are out already. Been downloading for days now (around 70 GB for EACH file ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manakin Skywalker 4,891 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 20 minutes ago, phbart said: I guess so. This website says it is, as they don't mention any other version available. https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k80/ Too bad the 4K restoration they're working on will take quite a while. Glad to see SW and Jedi 35mm 4K are out already. Been downloading for days now (around 70 GB for EACH file ). I'm on the SWT forums all the time watching the progress (and even helping out with some projects). Progress is actually going well for 4K80 and hopefully shouldn't be too long a wait now. The Grindhouse version as I mentioned is the only publicly-available scan at the moment that I'm aware of; it looks alright but since it's a raw scan obviously it needs a lot of work. ~70 GB isn't too bad for a 4K film, especially if you have a huge collection of them on your PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post crumbs 14,304 Posted May 22, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2020 I think between the new Disney 4K remasters and the existing technicolor print scans, there should be enough material to make a truly definitive presentation of the original films now. Such a shame they smeared DNR all over the Empire 4K remaster though. I'll never understand why these studios feel obliged to wipe all the grain away from these remasters, when consumers can just enable noise-reduction filters on their TVs if it bothers them so much. Films should look like films, not wax museums. Martinland, Unlucky Bastard and Mattris 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manakin Skywalker 4,891 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, crumbs said: I think between the new Disney 4K remasters and the existing technicolor print scans, there should be enough material to make a truly definitive presentation of the original films now. Such a shame they smeared DNR all over the Empire 4K remaster though. I'll never understand why these studios feel obliged to wipe all the grain away from these remasters, when consumers can just enable noise-reduction filters on their TVs if it bothers them so much. Films should look like films, not wax museums. I made my own edits using them. Well, for Star Wars and Jedi anyway. Still waiting on 4K80 before I can do my Empire edit. I just finished my ANH project yesterday actually; it looks pretty nice but could use a bit better CC on a few shots. I also added some grain plates to help them look a little more consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,304 Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 There's also apparently issues with the HDR on the ESB 4K, with the non-HDR version looking badly washed out (at least in the screenshots I saw, it was borderline monochromatic). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manakin Skywalker 4,891 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 4 minutes ago, crumbs said: There's also apparently issues with the HDR on the ESB 4K, with the non-HDR version looking badly washed out (at least in the screenshots I saw, it was borderline monochromatic). I think the 2K version on the standard Blu-ray disc (non-HDR) looks pretty alright; certainly better than the 2011 Blu-ray release. It is a bit on the less-saturated side though, and some shots are a bit muddy. The DNR obviously is the worst issue plaguing all the new sets, which of course TESB suffers from pretty bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phbart 609 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, crumbs said: Such a shame they smeared DNR all over the Empire 4K remaster though. I'll never understand why these studios feel obliged to wipe all the grain away from these remasters, when consumers can just enable noise-reduction filters on their TVs if it bothers them so much. Films should look like films, not wax museums. They pobrably tried to match it with the all digital prequel look. I also think they made these new masters with streaming in mind. Taking out the grain makes it easier to compress the video with lower bitrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manakin Skywalker 4,891 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 11 minutes ago, phbart said: They pobrably tried to match it with the all digital prequel look. I also think they made these new masters with streaming in mind. Taking out the grain makes it easier to compress the video with lower bitrates. I think Matt Wood (or someone else) said recently that these were actually made with 3D in mind since these scans were done before the Disney merger. Less grain is great for 3D releases; not for standard releases though. Speaking of which, I'm currently refining a few aspects of my edits. Here is a quick screenshot of a test grain plate... what are your guys' thoughts? Too much grain? Not enough? Perhaps a different size or type of grain? (Ignore the color, I didn't do any correction yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phbart 609 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Hard to judge from a 6,1" screen. I'll be at work in a few hours, and I'll take a look at it on a much bigger screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 55 minutes ago, crumbs said: There's also apparently issues with the HDR on the ESB 4K, with the non-HDR version looking badly washed out (at least in the screenshots I saw, it was borderline monochromatic). Sounds like what they did to ID4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,304 Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Manakin Skywalker said: speaking of which, I'm currently refining a few aspects of my edits. Here is a quick screenshot of a test grain plate... what are your guys' thoughts? Too much grain? Not enough? Perhaps a different size or type of grain? (Ignore the color, I didn't do any correction yet). Personally, the grain looks a little artificial/digital to me. What did you use to generate it? There's lots of consumer-level software which can replicate grain based on different film stocks, so I'd match it to the stock used for each film (SW77 was shot on Eastman Color Negative II 100T 5247/7247 film, After Effects actually has this stock as a preset). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manakin Skywalker 4,891 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 5 hours ago, crumbs said: Personally, the grain looks a little artificial/digital to me. What did you use to generate it? There's lots of consumer-level software which can replicate grain based on different film stocks, so I'd match it to the stock used for each film (SW77 was shot on Eastman Color Negative II 100T 5247/7247 film, After Effects actually has this stock as a preset). I'm well aware, and that Eastman grain plate is actually what I typically use. However for this test I was rendering it in Resolve, using a Fuji grain plate (not digitally generated, it's an actual film scan). I'll perhaps make my own custom grain plate using the Eastman preset and import it into Resolve to see if that looks better. crumbs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post crumbs 14,304 Posted May 23, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 23, 2020 Some anniversary album covers I created for the occasion... in higher resolution than 600x600 Enjoy! Hoth Version: Retro Version: Would be nice if the music owners felt inclined to make this release a reality... Bayesian, Holko, Cerebral Cortex and 3 others 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerebral Cortex 3,357 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Great job, Crumbs. These are both awesome but that first one is especially gorgeous. Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmilson 7,395 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Yeah, the first one is beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toni112007 3 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 How about we get full complete score of TESB for the 40th anniversary with the film mixes in as well? Never gonna happen, sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,626 Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 yeah I hope this thread was THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: 40th Anniversary Complete Remastered Score Album Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rick 1,155 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 FYI! This will be in theatres this weekend for the 40th anniversary! https://www.cinemark.com/movies/star-wars-episode-v-the-empire-strikes-back-40th-anniversary-comeback-classics?rclick=0&layout=b&showDate=2020-09-24 https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/empire-strikes-back-40th-anniversary-65158 Not sure about any other theatre chain. My older son and I are going tonight, first time seeing it in the theatre since the SE days in 1997. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce marshall 1,315 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 I was at the Northern California premiere - a benefit screening before the theatrical run. It cost $$$ but I couldn't bear to stand in line or hear spoilers. Yes, I was a fanatic! My fandom lasted until the uber disappointing JEDI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,507 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 1 hour ago, ATXHusker said: FYI! This will be in theatres this weekend for the 40th anniversary! It's been all over UK cinemas, for the last few weeks. Have fun. 1 hour ago, ATXHusker said: My older son and I are going tonight, first time seeing it in the theatre since the SE days in 1997. Give me regular reports, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Sítrónu 494 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 On 6/3/2020 at 4:16 PM, King Mark said: yeah I hope this thread was THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: 40th Anniversary Complete Remastered Score Album I only saw THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: 4 on the forum's main page and thought sth. like "4-Disc INTRADA release coming in November". ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverTrumpet 638 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Did anyone ever put together an isolated score edit of the movie? Is that illegal to ask on the forums here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,319 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Like 25 years ago you could download isolated scores to sync to the movies. The Star Wars scores are hugely popular. Fans for done everything imaginable with them There's also this https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25291-restored-isolated-score-star-wars-saga-unused-music-restored-to-picture/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuartalHarmony 542 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 A question that’s bugged me for years: what theories are there for why Yoda’s Theme is used in the chase through Bespin? Almost any other theme would make more narrative sense - it’s not like the chase is Yoda-related in any meaningful way - and many other themes would have worked well musically at that point. Maybe JW just felt the other new themes were getting a good airing and he wanted Yoda’s to get more air time? Seems odd reasoning to me though. Thoughts? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Guernsey 2,280 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Empire will always be the answer to the question "what would you pick if you could have only one more remastered/Mike Mattesino-magic score?" I also love the idea of (when my lottery win comes through...) having a top notch orchestra and conductor record the whole score, not as a "film music re-recording", but performed and recorded like a ballet by Prokofiev or an opera by Shostakovich or a tone poem by Richard Strauss. Not to supplant the brilliantly performed original recording, but interpreted as a great piece of musical art by a conductor bringing his own ideas. My fantasy choice of conductor and orchestra would probably be Esa-Pekka Salonen with the LA Phil probably recorded by the engineers that BIS (my favourite classical label) use. Oh and it's a great film... seeing it performed with live orchestra last year (which feels like a decade ago) at the Albert Hall was an absolutely thrilling experience. jwalk713 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,319 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 1 hour ago, QuartalHarmony said: A question that’s bugged me for years: what theories are there for why Yoda’s Theme is used in the chase through Bespin? Almost any other theme would make more narrative sense - it’s not like the chase is Yoda-related in any meaningful way - and many other themes would have worked well musically at that point. Maybe JW just felt the other new themes were getting a good airing and he wanted Yoda’s to get more air time? Seems odd reasoning to me though. Thoughts? Mark I think he just thought it sounded good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce marshall 1,315 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 Didn't MM work on the RCA SE? I'm happy with that one! JW has always been flexible with leitmotives. Ben's death was scored with Leias theme and it was perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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