Published on Apr 4, 2000
The late ’70s – early ’80s can be considered John Williams’
Golden Period. Not only because of his output, but also because of
the outstanding quality of his work.
Jaws,
Star Wars,
Close Encounters Of the Third Kind,
Superman: The Movie among the many. After garnering so much
popular success and critical acclaim, one would think Williams
might have found it easy to drop the ball here and there. To not do
his best on a score or two. Who would have noticed?
Perhaps his biggest chance for mediocrity came with this
soundtrack. After the massive triumph of the
Star Wars: A New Hope score, Williams could have just
rehashed the old score right back into this one. Simply use the
same themes over and over and allow the work to stagnate. Again, I
repeat: who would have noticed? By giving this score the old music,
he would have appeased the fans and done the job that director
Irvin Kershner and producers Gary Kurtz and George Lucas
wanted.
Instead, Williams uses the music from the first film as a
springboard for the score to
The Empire Strikes Back. He takes the already-established
themes for Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, the Rebels, the Force and
adds to their ranks with new themes and motifs. All of this work
suggests the growth of the saga from a simple good vs. evil story
to a more complex and dynamic fable.
The three new themes Williams writes are “Yoda’s Theme,” “Han
Solo And The Princess,” and “The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s
Theme).” Of these, the most recognized and popular is “The Imperial
March.” If you remember, Williams wrote a small motif for Vader for
the
A New Hope score – which I hope gets reintroduced sometime
during the prequels, so it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
However, it cannot compare to the atomic blast that is “The
Imperial March.” It came to embody the villany of the Empire and of
all its members. So famous and popular it has become that it exists
outside of the movie just as much as it does inside – becoming a
staple of college and high school marching bands.
As if to contrast the bombast and pompocity of “The Imperial
March,” Williams creates a gentle and quiet theme for the Jedi
Master, Yoda. With it, he melds the Force Theme to musically embody
the character that this powerful creature posseses. First presented
playfully in “Luke’s Nocturnal Visitor,” it doesn’t attain its
complete figure until “Jedi Master Revealed.” From then on,
Williams often unites Yoda’s, Luke’s and the Force Theme for much
of the Dagobah training sequences. This is done to musically
represent Luke’s training in the Force. The only time Yoda’s Theme
becomes as loud or as glorious as “The Imperial March” is in “Yoda
And The Force,” where the Jedi Master proves his powers by lifting
Luke’s ship from the swamp.
The third new theme is “Han Solo And The Princess,” which is the
love theme of the movie. Unlike the wide-eyed and innocent theme
for Princess Leia in the first movie, this one serves to point out
the growing feelings between the two characters. Williams begins
using it early on “The Ice Planet Hoth,” as Han plans to leave. It
makes its full appearance later on and becomes prominent during the
Cloud City sequence. Its greatest appearances, though, occur in
“Carbon Freeze” and “Departure Of Boba Fett,” where the two
characters are separated by the Empire’s scheming. Here, the theme
turns almost tragic, as if to lament this separation, when we know
so well their growing desires for one another.
Along with these new themes, Williams creates motifs for some of
the other characters and places. He gives a low, menacing, almost
growl-like, bassoon motif to the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. He
provides R2-D2 and C-3PO with an amusing and playful motif.
Finally, he gives Bespin’s Cloud City and its caretaker, Lando
Calrissian, a small march that denotes the tranquil state of the
place. With these pieces, Williams sets about to expand the musical
landscape of the Star Wars universe.
First up, Williams provides some great action music. It starts
with the herculean piece, “The Battle Of Hoth.” Here Williams
continues to mix in the themes with the action pieces to signal the
appearance of characters and events taking place onscreen. The
muisc moves from desperate to triumphant and heroic before
returning to desperate once again. Then, Williams delivers one of
the most popular and fun pieces with “The Asteroid Field.” While
I’ve never been its biggest fan, I do recognize why it’s so
well-liked by fans. It’s action music taken to a new level as the
wind and brass sections give it a sense of urgency and drama. The
same can be said for “Hyperspace” – the final action piece of the
movie. Its pulsating rhythm depicts the same desperation the Rebels
have as they try to outrun the Imperial forces.
Secondly, Williams creates some good music to score the more
dramatic moments in the movie. In “The Magic Tree,” the music
becomes ominous as Luke battles an image of Darth Vader. That’s
Luke’s, Yoda’s and Vader’s Themes that play, symbolizing the main
conflict of the saga. “Rescue From Cloud City” marks the end of the
lightsaber duel and, using a very dramatic version of “The Imperial
March,” signal Vader’s revelation to Luke. During “Hyperspace,”
Williams cuts into the action with another weird take on “The
Imperial March,” to signal Vader’s telepathic messages to Luke.
Finally, “The Rebel Fleet,” ends with a sad rendition of the Force
Theme – going against its triumphant use in the Throne Room scene
of
A New Hope, to signal the unresolved conflicts and loose
ends that are left.
Once again, RCA Victor goes all out for a
Star Wars release. You’ll find the same great liner notes by
Michael Matessino. There’s also some cool pictures. Most
importantly, though, the music is in sequence and digitally
remastered to sound louder and clearer than ever before. The same
attention to detail that went onto the
Star Wars: A New Hope soundtrack goes onto this one as
well.
The Empire Strikes Back proved to be a turning point for the
saga that was based on Saturday morning serials. No longer would
people would consider it just a straight fantasy flick. I still
remember seeing it when I was five years old – and being
thunderstruck by all the images and scenes and characters and
locales. It was the first movie I saw and I still remember it –
though I could not understand it.