May the Fourth Be with You!

The original “Star Wars” opened on May 25, 1977. But if you think fandom would allow historical accuracy to get in the way of a good pun, you must be a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder.

For this “Star Wars Day,” I had planned to share my observations concerning the recent John Williams biography by Tim Greiving (published by Oxford University Press in September, but I received my copy for Christmas) – which, providentially, I just happened to finish reading (it is, after all, 600 pages).

Alas, I’m still emerging from the fog of an illness that had me shivering through the weekend, so I’ll be holding off until ORTHODOX STAR WARS DAY, May 25th, the day fans should be celebrating anyway.

There’s a lot to hash over (as you can see from my double-sided notes in the photo), and not all of it is positive. For one thing, I’d be surprised if Oxford University Press even proofread the thing. But some of it is: for as much as I know about John Williams, I still learned a lot.

I’ll try my best to be kind, because it is quite an achievement, and if the guy loves John Williams, he’s a friend, but I’d be soft-peddling if I didn’t say the book is also teeth-gnashingly frustrating to read. It astonishes me that it doesn’t seem to have been the experience of a lot of other reviewers.

You have been forewarned… now anticipate!

In the meantime, try not to drink too much Bantha milk, fanboys.