A disconcerting thought occurred to me the other night, as I was driving up to my folks’ late Wednesday, after having completed production work on this week’s “Picture Perfect.” We are now as far away from the original “Star Wars” (released in 1977), as “Star Wars” was from “Gone With the Wind” (released in 1939)! I am always thinking thoughts like that, and it’s like getting my brain pinched in a collapsed telescope. It would have been possible, then, in 1977, that Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, had they lived, could have come back for a belated sequel to one of the most beloved classics in American cinema.
I’m not saying I would have wanted that, but it is something to ponder, with the impending release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” on December 18. Can this film possibly live up to the hype? Of course, the bar has been set pretty low after the prequels. But come on, the Millennium Falcon is back, John Williams is doing the music, and George Lucas is in no way involved. Who doesn’t want to see a 70 year-old Han Solo brandish a sidearm at least one more time?
Clearly, this could rapidly degenerate into obsessive geekdom, so allow me merely to point out the fact that this week on “Picture Perfect,” we will begin a multi-part musical retrospective of the “Star Wars” movies. Part one will focus on the film that started it all.
“Star Wars,” as it was known when it was first released in theaters on May 25, 1977 (later to be retitled “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”) provided a fun and fantastic escape to a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Things became a lot more serious and jargon-heavy as the saga progressed. We’ll try to shrug off some of that ponderousness and remember what it was like to first encounter the wonder of John Dykstra’s Oscar-winning special effects (before they were replaced, retroactively, with CGI), and John Williams’ fresh and heroic music, credited with singlehandedly reviving the fortunes of the orchestral film score. “Star Wars” went on to become the best-selling orchestral soundtrack of all-time.
Now, there are two options when it comes to listening to a classic soundtrack originally released during this era. The first is to enjoy it in the form it was originally issued, in which composer and music editor took cues from different parts of the movie and arranged them into musically satisfying sequences on the album. The second is to listen, as many prefer today, when soundtracks are released note-complete, to everything presented chronologically, even if some of the cues are mere fragments, as it is heard in the film. Fortunately, because of the continued interest in “Star Wars,” the music has been reissued several times, so that it can be enjoyed either way.
Since I personally first obtained this soundtrack on vinyl, I have a preference for the form in which I first encountered it (though I’m certainly happy to own the complete score, as well). The double-LP contents no longer seem to be commercially available. Therefore, I am happy to present this rare opportunity to enjoy the music as countless did when the album was released, back in 1977.
Williams’ Academy Award-winning score, while adored by millions, has been criticized by some for its at times derivative nature, with suggestions of Holst, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Korngold, Dukas and Walton, among others. I tend to think of it as being brilliantly post-modern, hand-in-glove with Lucas’ cinematic approach, which draws on any number of western, swashbuckler, war, and samurai motifs. Influences abound – intentionally, I think – but at no time can the composer be mistaken for anyone other than John Williams.
I hope you’ll join me as we listen to the London Symphony Orchestra, having the time of its life, on the original soundtrack to “Star Wars,” tonight at 6 ET, with a repeat tomorrow morning at 6; or that you’ll listen to it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.
