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Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: (John
Williams) And so, the saga concludes. For now, at least. The hysteria that
surrounded the releases of
The Empire Strikes Back,
Return of the
Jedi, and
The Phantom Menace may have declined in the post-2000
era of
Attack of the Clones and
Revenge of the Sith, but the
Star Wars universe still commands respect from both cult and
mainstream audiences worldwide. By far the darkest chapter of the six films,
Revenge of the Sith is also the most graphically violent, earning the
Star Wars film an uncharacteristic PG-13 rating. Innumerous
beheadings, impalings, and unsightly dismemberment are aplenty in this
conclusion to the prequel trilogy, marking the rise of the Galactic Empire
and the fall of the Jedi. By the end of
Revenge of the Sith, the
table is set for the 1977
Star Wars original, with the last scenes of
the film previewing everything from the moisture farm on Tatooine to the
construction of the first Death Star. For composer John Williams, the saga
has elevated his career to the ultimate level of stardom, with his themes
for the films lingering in the lives of people who haven't seen a
Star
Wars film in the theatre for twenty years. The thirty-year culmination
of musical ideas from Williams is assembled in
Revenge of the Sith,
and with upwards of three million dollars and 18 days over which to record
with the renown London Symphony Orchestra, the score promises to be as
engaging and monumental as those that came before it. Difficulty arises when
you attempt to compare music for the
Star Wars films to your average,
everyday film score; like the
Lord of the Rings trilogy recently by
Howard Shore, you have to evaluate Williams' music for these
Star
Wars projects against those that came before in the series. Without a
doubt, regardless of the criticism you are about to read,
Revenge of the
Sith is a continuation of high quality from Williams that puts other
modern film scores to shame. But with this in mind, Williams' score for
Revenge of the Sith, as a member of the saga's overall musical
tapestry, presents several complications and deviations from the established
norm.
The most general statement that anyone could make about
Revenge of the Sith is that Williams has truly changed direction with
the format of thematic development heard in the first four films and, to a
lesser degree, in
Attack of the Clones. In the classic trilogy,
Williams would develop ideas for characters, locations, or scenes that would
smack you across the face with the clear existence of their arrangements.
Lengthy battle, chase, or conversation pieces would receive a concert
arrangement of a sub-theme or motif that would number at least four in
quantity from each film. Existing in the comfortable world of George Lucas'
cartoonish style of presenting the saga, Williams made his themes, rhythms,
and motifs transparent, giving each idea a larger-than-life quality that led
to every small cue --whether it was the escape from Cloud City or rebel
fleet preparing to go into hyperspace-- maintaining a memorable idea that
could be hummed by the listener long after the score had departed from the
room. When
The Phantom Menace revived the saga in 1999, Williams made
a concerted effort to continue this presentation of ideas. Despite criticism
leveled against
The Phantom Menace at the time for its apparent
weaknesses (and its awful editing in the film), in retrospect you can hear
that Williams was attempting to extend the concert suite type of development
while struggling with the demands of Lucas' ever-heightening pace of action.
With "Duel of the Fates," "Anakin's Theme," and the "Flag Parade" theme
joined sometimes in concert performances by Jar Jar's theme, there was
little shortage of material for the public to identify with from the film.
Then along came
Attack of the Clones, for which Williams decided to
change his methodology. Rather than elaborating upon three or four primary
themes, motifs, or rhythms, he condensed them into "Across the Stars," one
extremely powerful and effective theme. And it worked, if only because the
theme remains one of the most poignant of Williams' entire career, and his
usage of the theme was dominant in a significant number of cues throughout
the score. Additional motifs exist throughout
Attack of the Clones,
but not with the kind of clarity we've come to expect from a
Star
Wars score.
Instead of those memorable old cartoonish themes for asteroid
fields and furry little Ewoks, we are now hearing Williams tackle the more
weighty drama of the
Star Wars galaxy with an emphasis on
scene-specific underscore of a less obvious nature. In
Revenge of the
Sith, he provides one new theme in a concert arrangement, one rhythmic
motif for a new villain, and several motifs and underdeveloped, unconnected
ideas for individual moments in the film. You could listen to
Revenge of
the Sith on album, enjoy it from start to end, but come away with only
themes from the previous scores in mind. Williams has made it clear in
interviews that his intention was to quote previously existing themes in
this score moreso than in any of the others, so the score would act as a
bridge between the trilogies. "In
Revenge of the Sith, there are
three or four pieces of new material," Williams says. "A couple of them are
lamentations; they accompany some very dark turns in the action. And there's
also a kind of fun piece, which includes a lot of percussion, for Grievous."
The primary piece he doesn't mention is "Battle of the Heroes," a piece he
wrote for the lightsaber battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the
climax of the film. This will be the only music you'll hear from the film at
concerts, and is a choral piece on the scale of "Duel of the Fates" that
propels the Jedi to their destruction with the same percussively bombastic
nature. As Williams touched upon, the action music in
Revenge of the
Sith is based around the highly percussive and extremely rapid theme and
rhythm for General Grievous, the robotic badguy also hunting Jedi in this
installment. It entertains with its pomp and ability to push trumpet players
to the limits of their ability to perform as many distinct notes in a short
a time as possible. But some of the sub-themes in
Revenge of the Sith
are the kickers... the ideas that appear only once per cue on album and beg
for extended arrangements. Two are lamentations and two mark Anakin's
transformation into a Sith Lord and, interestingly, in their major
presentations on album, these ideas do not cross into each other's
territory.
Thus, the end result for Williams in
Revenge of the
Sith is a score that introduces several outstanding --sometimes
spectacular-- ideas but does not follow through with them to a level that
will stick in the minds of average movie-goers. Moreso than in previous
scores from the prequel trilogy, Williams quotes the classic themes in
Revenge of the Sith. "In this film more than any of the other five,
there are references to earlier scenes," Williams states, "which seem to me
and to George to be part of the way we want to tell the story, musically."
As with the other prequel scores, this does not include significant
statements of the original
Star Wars theme itself (outside of the
traditional opening and closing, of course). Prevalent in
Revenge of the
Sith are the two other famous themes from the series: the "Force Theme"
and "Imperial March." Their battles in this score are significant, with the
"Force Theme" receiving more large-scale treatment than Vader's budding
theme. Now is perhaps the time to mention, however, that the album for
Revenge of the Sith is hardly complete. Fifteen cues out of 41
recorded by the LSO for the film are presented on album; history has taught
us in the past that all of the major arrangements of new ideas will be
presented on these albums, however sometimes a strong statement of previous
themes will be struck from the final product due to its redundancy (such as
the performance of the "Force Theme" when Anakin leaves his mother in
The
Phantom Menace). While it's vital to remember this important fact
while making general declarations about the score based on the album alone,
the 72+ minutes of music presented on album do show Williams' clear intent
on supplying individualized underscore for specific scenes rather than more
general concepts. As the album progresses, seemingly unrelated musical ideas
are offered one after another, almost always superior in quality but serving
as a minor shock for listeners who expect either continuity in their
Star
Wars music, or at least enough development of each idea to reach a
naturally satisfying conclusion.
Despite the plethora of interesting new ideas from cue to cue
in
Revenge of the Sith, it's hard not to be disappointed with its
lack of focus and a coherent, overarching spirit. When shown the film for
the first time, Williams admits, "My God, so much? I'm not going to be able
to write all that... it goes from scene to scene, battle to battle, and
fight to fight. I have to confess it's always a little bit daunting when I
first see these things." The "scene to scene" part of that statement is
telling, because it is perhaps a clue to indicate why
Revenge of the
Sith ended up so disjointed. Additionally, Williams reveals, "I'll study
the film and try to pick a spot that's a logical starting point for what I
think I need to do, either thematically or from a textural point of view,
and work out toward the latter part of the film or the beginning part. I
really may jump around a little bit." In this case, Williams seems to have
started with the Anakin/Obi-Wan battle and written "Battle of the Heroes"
first before working backwards. The same philosophy makes sense in
The
Phantom Menace, for which Williams could work back from "Duel of the
Fates," as well as the climactic statements of "Across the Stars" which
Williams likely penned with the two major statements near the end of the
film in mind and similarly worked backwards. But in
Revenge of the
Sith, the "Battle of the Heroes" theme is not integrated --and even
rarely hinted at-- in earlier cues. The continuity factor is seemingly
missing. By the end, it's the "Force Theme" that maintains the most power in
the score. As for other specific themes and their usage in the score, we're
once again limited by the album. But a quick rundown of each new cue in
Revenge of the Sith, as well as some disclosure about which themes do
and do not appear in the major cues of length chosen for inclusion on the
album might give you an idea of where Williams was heading with the score.
Off the bat, as mentioned before, the
Star Wars theme itself is
curiously restrained in the prequel trilogy outside of the customary
performances, appearing only once in underscore form during the last minute
of the finale here.
That title theme is the source of some discontent in
Revenge of the Sith, for Williams elected not to re-record it
specifically for this film. Instead, a reported combination of recordings
from the previous two scores' sessions would be mixed to make the title cue
for
Revenge of the Sith. For true fans of the music from the saga
--those who can identify which title performance belongs to which film based
on their subtle variations-- this is a considerable disappointment. The end
of the title sequence is cut short this time as well, launching immediately
into frenetic action over the "Force Theme" that once again required
Williams to remind the trumpet players to clearly distinguish each of their
rapidly succeeding notes. Ever since the space battle in
The Phantom
Menace, this action material in the prequels has exhibited a remarkable
ability to produce an amazing ruckus without really going anywhere or
developing anything new. For "Anakin's Dream," in which he has premonitions
of Padme's death, Williams begins with the most substantial performance of
"Across the Stars" before the tension of the moment toils in a crescendo of
dissonance. After his dream, several faint hints are made; first, there were
questions about whether Williams would ever re-use the theme heard twice in
Return of the Jedi for the death of a Jedi (first as Yoda dies and
finally as part of the huge choral finale during the saber duel), and its
most structured reference (and even questionable at that) exists here. More
interesting is the premonition of Vader's later entrance scene in bass
strings and subsequent performance of the Force theme by low woodwinds. With
much of the score for
Revenge of the Sith brooding and rumbling in
the depths of the dark side, Williams' use of the lowest range woodwinds is
substantial throughout the entire score. On album, the next cue is "Battle
of the Heroes," the aforementioned new concert piece for the film. Its theme
is very deliberate, with unconventional thematic pacing; you seemingly have
three different sections of performances all operating at different paces,
which could either be considered a brilliant move by Williams or a hindrance
to your enjoyment of the piece (or both, perhaps). The piece starts with a
rapid string rhythm augmented by brass and features the choir performing at
a more drawn-out parallel with the theme while trilling trumpets and horns
race over the top. The inconsistent pacing of the different sections comes
together for an ultra-dramatic performance of the "Force Theme" as an
interlude and, even after several repetitions, the base rhythm is more
memorable then the slower, static theme. As the primary identity for the
film, the theme disappoints.
In "Anakin's Betrayal," we hear the first of Williams'
intriguing sub-themes. With a full adult choir performing extended wordless
vocals over the full ensemble, several moments in Williams'
Hook are
recalled. The lament culminates in an awesome crescendo of mournful power
before respectfully bowing out. The "fun" music for Williams exists in
"General Grievous," a piece that jumps along with some of the same character
and pacing as the "Knight Bus" piece from
Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban, but with the funk meter turned down to a more appropriate
level. An excellent percussion base (recorded separately from the rest of
the ensemble and mixed in) forms a rhythmic splash of short brass
flourishes, cymbal crashes, and constantly fluttering woodwinds that make
the "Asteroid Field" theme sound like a picnic. Without a prevailing theme
out of all that sound, however, the cue isn't really coherent enough to call
a concert piece, and despite its ambitious rhythms, it leaves you with
little to remember it by. In another twist of the unexpected, however,
Williams offers an approach in "Palpatine's Teachings" that you wouldn't
predict. Instead of laying the "Emperor's Theme" on heavily in this cue,
Williams begins with over a minute of deep male throat singing followed by
extremely low woodwind meanderings. In latter stages, the cue begins to form
a muted battle between the Force theme and Imperial March, with rumblings
that serve the inner battle of Anakin well. After several minutes of ominous
bass string solos, a sudden quoting of a Coruscant fanfare from
The
Phantom Menace unfortunately breaks the mood at the end. A return to the
standard frenetic action music heard in two previous cues marks "Grievous
and the Droids." Once again, so much noise and so little organization in
rhythm or motif causes the cue to slip by with little notice; strangely,
none of the unique percussion established for Grievous in his first cue is
reprised here. Another superior moment of underscore for tension is shifted
back in "Padme's Ruminations," a cue notable for its droning, synthesized
bass. A wailing female voice performs no clear theme, but it doesn't have
to; the emotional grip of the score, so weighty in its sorrow, gets the
point across with superb power. After an eerie distant reminder of the
"Across the Stars" theme, Williams pulls out a variation on a theme we heard
in
Return of the Jedi during the moments of Vader's taunting right
before the final duel. This slowly developing bass string and woodwind motif
is also reminiscent of the opening organ motif in
E.T.: The
Extra-Terrestrial.
One of the film's major curiosities exists in the actual use
of the "Battle of the Heroes" theme in "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan." The duel,
complete with tolling bells and rapid trumpet notes over rolling percussion,
is broken up in rhythmic progression by several note-for-note regurgitations
of the Cloud City duel cue in
The Empire Strikes Back during which
Vader hurls equipment at Luke before smashing the shaft window. The
intention of Williams and Lucas was obviously to draw parallels between the
two duels (and represent how history tends to repeat itself in this saga),
but while any inclusion of the Imperial March is usually most welcomed, the
"Battle of the Heroes" theme sounds more appropriate in context to
surrounding underscore and is, frankly, much more exciting. The sudden
shifts back to the score to
The Empire Strikes Back hinder the flow
of the cue until the last minute of the duel incorporates the Force theme
into the "Battle of the Heroes" rhythm with great effectiveness as Obi-Wan
does what he is forced to do. The "Anakin's Dark Deeds" cue is splendid
piece in which Williams wanders off to another dark corner for a fresh
sub-theme. Opening with light choral tribute to Howard Shore's Middle Earth
in
The Lord of the Rings, the cue escalates into a level of rhythmic
action equal to "Duel of the Fates" (with slight hints of that theme) as
Anakin begins slaughtering the newly perceived enemies of the Republic. A
new thematic idea in the latter half of this cue culminates in an
outstanding crescendo and we're left once again with a fantastic, singular
theme in a minute of music that yearns for a more complete arrangement.
Similarly, the introduction of the new archvillain in "Enter Lord Vader"
leads to maybe the best new sub-theme introduced in the entire score. Rather
than reverting to the Imperial March --quite a curious move-- Williams
instead conjures a forceful fanfare for Vader's announcement, driven by very
strong snare outbursts and heavily overlayed brass. One brief, partial
reference to the Imperial March is all we hear to tie the character to his
eventual musical identity, and we're left waiting for a gong strike (as in
the original
Star Wars) that never comes. The cue ends with a dying
"Force Theme" performance yielding to the only obvious use (in low ranges)
of Emperor's theme on the album.
The last of the interesting new underscore cues comes in the
form of heavily layered strings performing an adagio of lament in "The
Immolation Scene." Once again, a unique sub-theme is presented before, after
two minutes, Williams refers back to the bass string motif from
Star
Wars as Luke jumps in his speeder to return to the homestead and find
his family slaughtered. The last of the choppy action music makes an
appearance in "Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious," punctuated by the now
typical snare rips followed by a cymbal crash that Williams has
overpopulated the prequel trilogy with. The weakest underscore cue on the
album, this track leads to a faint echo of "Across the Stars" and subtle
references of lamentations heard previously in the score. The last
two cues on album are a source of interesting controversy for fans of the
saga's music. Both represent the manifestation of the bridge between the old
and new trilogies, and in both cues, Williams makes some odd choices. For
"The Birth of the Twins and Padme's Destiny," Williams pulls 90 seconds from
his
Harry Potter scores for the birthing sequence. Without any
thematic reference to existing themes in the saga, the cue tingles with
magic but very well may not be weighty or dramatic enough for the gravity of
the event. The cue shifts to the direct quoting of the funeral sequence for
Qui-Gon in
The Phantom Menace. Williams may be using this cue in one
of three ways: to tie the prequel trilogy in a neat package, to establish
the theme as a general funeral representation rather than one for Qui-Gon
specifically, or for Qui-Gon himself (the story calls for the appearance of
Qui-Gon as a ghost at this juncture, but whether that made it into the film
is in question as of yet). The second controversial cue is the last one, "A
New Hope and End Credits," which features two minutes of score for the
finale before launching into a whopping 11 minutes of end credits suites. As
it would make sense, Williams provides sensitive performances of the two
infants' themes, first Leia's theme and then the
Star Wars title
theme for Luke in low-key, loving fashion. Williams then returns to the
"Binary Sunset" cue from
Star Wars on Tatooine, which is where the
cue starts to go awry. After a solo horn introduces the "Force Theme," the full
orchestra provides a somewhat underpowered performance of the second verse
of the theme... underpowered considering the magnitude of the event and its
position as the last minute of the six films thus far. A very poor key
change into the standard title theme performance will make you cringe.
The selection of music for the lengthy end credits exists
as a sore point in
Revenge of the Sith. Williams chose to provide the
concert arrangements of Leia's Theme and the Throne Room finale sequence
from
Star Wars bracketing a reprise of the "Battle of the Heroes"
concert arrangement. The performance of Leia's theme, and especially the
transition from it into the "Battle of the Heroes" theme, is well executed,
but that doesn't explain why five minutes of the "Throne Room," as well as
its coordinated conclusion to the entire track is heard here. Was there no
inspiration to write a new arrangement? No time? There has been much
incredible music described above in this review, but Williams' choices
thematically are open to a considerable number of questions. While these
questions pertain to most of the score, the final two cues are the real
curiosities. Why would Williams neglect to even hint at the "Luke and Leia"
theme from
Return of the Jedi in the birthing cue? He is certainly
knowledgeable and forthcoming about his abilities to weave themes together;
whether it's the hints of Leia's theme in the concert arrangement of "Han
Solo and the Princess" from
The Empire Strikes Back, the
incorporation of Jabba's theme into the start of the racing sequence in
The Phantom Menace, or the translation of the Emperor's theme into
the song at the end of that same film, Williams is the master at subtle
references. "Part of music for films that's very important is the melodic
part, which is an opportunity for a composer to create a melodic
identification for a particular character or a place, so that when you see
that person, or that person is suggested even by someone's thought, that
theme can be played and it's a link for the audience," Williams reminds us.
"It's an aural identification, which provides an additional magnetism for
the viewer. So in terms of atmosphere, identification of melody, action,
choreographic timing elements in the music, it's really part of the corpus,
the body of what a film is." If Williams really believes in maximizing this
identification, then the lack of new, highly developed thematic material, as
well as the end credits suites for
Revenge of the Sith, are a
contradiction to that statement. What's frustrating about this score is that
Williams does introduce so many flourishing and engaging new sub-themes for
the film, whether it's on the lamenting half or the half that represents the
rise of evil. No fewer than four new strong ideas go without full
realization, and although this makes
Revenge of the Sith a very
strong collection of underscore cues, its whole is unsatisfying.
The ultimate in thematic opportunities was missed with the
end credits here; with 11 minutes to work with, Williams could have reminded
us of so much more, providing a minute or two from several more prominent
and relevant themes from both trilogies. As we all know, his ability to use
one theme as counterpoint to another simultaneously is strong, and yet, he
did not even try to make a sweeping summary of the saga as he could have.
All three themes from
The Phantom Menace were reprised in
Attack
of the Clones --including the "Flag Parade"-- and none of them receives
treatment in the major cues provided for the album to
Revenge of the
Sith. Nothing is quoted from "Yoda's Theme" or "Luke and Leia," and, in
at least what we have here, no use of the Death Star motif from
Star
Wars is available as we see Governor Tarkin overseeing its initial
construction. The theme for the Emperor is surprisingly sparse, even
though his meteoric rise is witnessed in this film. Only a complete album
release will reveal Williams' attempts to incorporate more melodies in his
shorter cues not heard on Sony's initial 72-minute album. That album
includes a 70-minute DVD on which actor Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine) introduces
16 music videos of major themes from the six films (listed below). Williams
summarizes, "I was very impressed with this film, particularly the last
third of it or so. The links that George has put into it really make the
connections to the characters of Darth Vader, and the mother and the child;
the familiar part of the mythology is so expertly woven together at the end
of this film, and, I think, particularly beautifully shot." Unfortunately,
Williams seems to have become entranced by the beauty and emotions of
individual scenes in
Revenge of the Sith and forgotten the days when
the saga's music was defined by robust development of each new idea or
sub-theme into something larger than life... something memorable at every
turn. Now, his music for the sixth film is almost lost in the era of
spectacular special effects, and the cohesion of the storyline elements of
the music is diminished. Compared to its peers,
Revenge of the Sith
is, despite its great strengths in individual cues, the weakest of the six
scores when compared amongst each other. In the end,
The Phantom
Menace revealed itself as the most characteristic
Star Wars score
of the prequel trilogy, while
Attack of the Clones features the best
theme and single cue ("Across the Stars"/"Finale"). Although its dramatic
underscore is the best of the trilogy,
Revenge of the Sith is, in the
tapestry of the
Star Wars universe, the glittery but badly frayed
edge.
Music as Heard in Relation to Film Scores in General: *****
Music as Heard in Relation to Other Star Wars Scores: ****
Music as Heard on Album: ****
Overall: ****
| Bias Check: | For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.72 (in 63 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.67
(in 299,177 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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