|
Not only does Revenge Of The Sith mark the final
instalment of George Lucas' Star Wars epic, it also
signs off an extraordinary body of work from John
Williams, the big daddy of film composers. While
even the most die hard of Star Wars viewers might be
forced to admit that the series has been more shaky in
its new guise, few would disagree Williams has kept a
high pedigree with the music he has provided.
For starters, there's the exhilarating main theme,
one of the most instantly recognisable pieces of music
around and still sounding fresh and vital in its 21st
century guise. What follows is a score revealing
Williams' closest influences from the classical music
of the last century, brought up to date with a few
surprises.
Anakin's Dream reveals the mark left by master
orchestrators Stravinsky and Britten, even Holst,
whose Planets suite can often be detected in the
background. The heavy lower strings are pure Williams
though, and the whole atmosphere is appropriately
mysterious.
Williams remains a thrilling writer of battle
music, and gets the chance to flex his muscles in the
Battle Of The Heroes, sweeping arpeggios from the
strings culminating in a savage D minor chord, as
heard on the film's trailer. The same key provides a
base for Anakin Vs Obi-Wan, the lightning brass
flashes answered by thunderous percussion, the
widescreen potential obvious.
Meanwhile some of the quieter moments have a truly
eerie atmosphere. The noise opening Palatino's
Teachings is extraordinary, a kind of low bass voice
that could either have been doctored or produced by
someone in the grip of a rare throat infection. Either
way, it's very uneasy music!
As you might expect the majority of the music
associated with Anakin comes from the same dark side,
though often with a tinge of sadness introduced by
Williams, who achieves some profoundly elegiac lines
from the strings. When the new Darth Vader's familiar
theme appears it has latent power, but often seems
unresolved.
The following Immolation Scene invites comparisons
with Wagner in the title, but its lush string chords
inhabit a more direct harmonic language. Ending with a
lengthy perusal of the main themes before the title
music, the soundtrack reaches a satisfying
conclusion.
A bonus DVD with film extras heightens the
desirability of this release, bringing the curtain
down on one of the most impressive and inspirational
sequences of music spanning well over 25 years. It's
an incredible achievement by Williams, who has managed
to provide some spine tingling music, no matter what
kind of script he has had to deal with.
Comments
|
 |
| 
FILM:
more