To get you in the mood for tonight’s broadcast of John Williams’ Violin Concerto No. 2, on PBS’ “Great Performances,” here’s a throwback to Williams conducting selections from “Star Wars,” on “Previn and the Pittsburgh” (aired on March 26, 1978) – back when “Star Wars” was still fresh, and back when PBS was still PBS.
Interesting to find that Williams had already done considerable tinkering in his concert arrangement of the “Throne Room and End Title” music. It was perfect in the movie, John! A lot of vim in the performance, though. The diptych opens with “Princess Leia’s Theme.”
Anne-Sophie Mutter – the former Mrs. Previn – will be the soloist on tonight’s broadcast of the Violin Concerto No. 2, again with Williams conducting. The concert was filmed at Tanglewood in July. The program will also feature Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performing music by Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, and Jesse Montgomery.
The show airs here at 9:00 PM EST. Consult your local listings. You’ll find an interview and promos here:
Previn interviews Williams in 1988 (pictured), and Williams is in an unusually candid mood. The two were old friends, of course, who had already known one another for 30 years. I’d never actually never seen it before, and it’s terrific. Maybe Williams’ best interview.
Personally, I can’t believe that the designation was made on account of a Dad-worthy pun. The first “Star Wars” opened on May 25, 1977, surely a more appropriate anniversary? But any excuse to celebrate “Star Wars” is fine by me, I suppose, as long as I don’t have to celebrate anything released after 1983.
Until yesterday, I was completely unaware of artist Christopher Shy, but he is one extraordinarily talented individual. Pictured are just a few of his “Star Wars” paintings. The one that employs the original Ralph McQuarrie designs is a hoot!
Check out his Facebook page for further original interpretations of Godzilla, “Ghostbusters,” Superman, “Star Trek,” “The Thing,” “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” and many more. Also, make it a point to visit his website, artofronin.com. This will take you directly to a gallery of his work:
While you’re at it, why not also spin some of John Williams’ “Star Wars” music? Williams’ original score is a postmodern masterpiece, with echoes of Korngold, Holst, Stravinsky, and William Walton, bound together, permeated, and propelled into delirious transcendence by his stirring, soulful, indelible themes.
Generally speaking, I enjoy listening to the soundtrack albums in the form they were originally released. It’s nice to have the music note-complete, as has become the fashion on CD , but there was a certain artistry to the arrangements, layouts, and development of commercially-issued soundtracks of the LP era that made them special experiences unto themselves.
That said, “The Empire Strikes Back” is one of the few note-complete film music recordings that I can listen to straight-through without getting fatigued. In that regard, it must be my favorite of the “Star Wars” scores.
The original “Star Wars” soundtrack, from 1977, holds great nostalgic significance for me. I spent countless hours writing, drawing, and dreaming to that music. “Star Wars,” to great extent, introduced me to orchestral music, and it changed my life. But, also for me, “The Empire Strikes Back” is the standalone masterpiece, if taken on a purely musical level.
Here’s how it was originally heard on LP, back in 1980:
Here it is, note-complete, as on CD – unfortunately with the tracks posted separately, allowing plenty of opportunities for interpolated YouTube ads:
May the Fourth be with you, indeed!
Certainly, I wouldn’t want to be without the music for either of the first two films. And by “first two,” I’m speaking in terms of release dates, NOT the geek-pedantic episode numbers. The title “A New Hope” is, quite simply, not in my vocabulary.
Whatever your bliss, I wish you a happy Star Wars Day. Just keep your midichlorians off this page!
None other than Santa himself was kind enough to sit in for me for last night’s discussion of “Santa Claus Conquered the Martians,” and I don’t think Roy has ever laughed so hard. During the course of what might kindly be termed an autopsy, it gradually emerged that George Lucas stole everything from this cult camp masterpiece (including the spiderweb viewports, a Yoda-like mentor, the Wampa snow beast, and the Jedi mind-trick) to create “Star Wars.” Okay, maybe he also borrowed a little from “Metropolis” and Akira Kurosawa, but what are they next to “Santa Claus Conquered the Martians?” Am I joking? Share the pain – watch the movie – and then soothe the burn with this revelatory analysis.
We’re off next Friday for Christmas, but we’ll be back on Sunday, full of merriment, to end the year on a low note – 20,000 leagues, to be exact – and a 2020 discussion of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (1954).
Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner is live-streamed on Facebook most Friday and Sunday evenings at 7:00 EST.
The most enduring holiday specials all teach kids important lessons. For instance, in the case of the “Star Wars Holiday Special,” kids were taught the important lessons that dirty old men need their alone time with Diahann Carroll, that Harvey Korman saved his best material for Carol Burnett and Mel Brooks, that on Kashyyyk a little Art Carney goes a long way, that Jefferson Starship has nothing to do with space, that Bea Arthur singing pseudo-Kurt Weill in a cantina on Tatooine is a far less interesting concept than turning Red Foxx loose on a Jawa sandcrawler, that tedium is a fact of life (but that doesn’t mean one should seek it out), and that even a television special spun off of the highest-grossing film of all time can fail horribly. At everything.
Join Roy Bjellquist and me, as we find ourselves at that strange crossroads in the Twilight Zone where, on November 17, 1978, “Star Wars” collided with the variety show format. Han Solo and Chewbacca attempt to circumvent an Imperial blockade in order to get to the planet of the Wookiees in time to celebrate Life Day. Then all the Wookiees put on red robes (because there wasn’t enough money in the budget for full-body fur) and Princess Leia sings an uplifting Life Day song. Halfway into the two-hour slog, the whole thing gets interesting for about ten minutes as a Moebius-inspired animated interlude introduces the world to Boba Fett. Then it’s back to the black hole.
Our discussion, no doubt, will take on the character of good cop, bad cop. Roy is such a nice guy, there’s bound to be a nostalgic glow about his observations. I, on the other hand, have got my quill warmed up in Satan’s inkwell. There will be no prisoners taken on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Spew your misery in the comments section and reclaim your childhood, as we live-stream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
I don’t think I ever anticipated a movie as much as I did “The Empire Strikes Back.” And, thankfully, no movie ever so completely fulfilled my expectations.
The second of the “Star Wars” films (referred to as Episode V by the insufferable) opened nationally on this date 40 years ago. In the spring of 1979, I remember, I created my own countdown calendar, which hung in my bedroom for a year. I anticipated the sequel’s release by inserting a new, hand-crafted number every morning, first thing, as I hopped out of bed.
As was the case for so many young people, “Star Wars” was a watershed experience for me. Every week, as a matter of course, my parents would allow me to tag along to the movies on Friday night. In May 1977, I was still a little over a month shy of my 11th birthday, at the height of my comic book phase, and I really only knew about “Star Wars” from having flipped through the first issue of the Marvel adaptation. What I saw did not impress me. I was more into Spider-Man and Captain America (and Devil Dinosaur and Super-Villain Team-Up). So I was astonished when we arrived at the box office and found that the showing had already sold out. I don’t recall that ever having happened before.
I can’t remember what we saw in its place, but the next week, we were able to get in, and the experience changed my life. The sublime special effects, myriad creatures, swashbuckling set pieces, mystic mumbo jumbo, devil-may-care exuberance, and, most significantly, the glorious music, were more vibrant and intoxicating than any of my primary-colored comics. We purchased a souvenir booklet on the way out, and I pored over that thing again and again. I won’t even tell you how many times I saw “Star Wars” in the movies.
It was a surprisingly long time (to me) before I finally convinced my parents to buy me the soundtrack. As a 2-LP set, “Star Wars” was an investment. I think that may have been a factor, as several times they tried to appease me with cheap knock-offs. (I even had a version for Moog.) Finally, they caved, and I was able to wallow in the full splendor of the London Symphony Orchestra. I probably listened to that record more than any other. I know over the years I managed to wear out two copies. But by then I was able to replace them myself, using my own allowance.
1977 to 1984 was a great time to grow up. All the movies I loved best in those days had music by John Williams. The soundtrack to “The Empire Strikes Back,” like the film itself, managed to equal, if not top the original. Yoda’s theme, the music for Han and the Princess, the Imperial March, all so artfully developed, expanded and deepened what had come before, into what for me is still one of the most satisfying film scores I have ever heard. It’s commonplace now for note-complete scores to be issued in collectors editions. “Empire” is one of the few I can listen to from beginning to end and not feel fatigued. It’s just so successful as MUSIC.
My best friend and I got on line for the 7:00 premiere, on May 20, 1980, at the theater with the biggest screen and the best sound system we could find, as soon as we possibly could. Fortunately, my uncle is a complete science fiction freak, so he was only too willing to drive. He was as crazy with anticipation as we were. I think everyone must have been. The line wound up snaking around the block.
Those were the days when it was exciting just to be able to sit in the movies and watch the trailers. My friend and I were pumped whenever we happened to encounter the PREVIEW for “Empire.”
The film itself pushed the series in directions that paralleled my own development, as a boy on the cusp of his teens. It tapped into extremely relevant concerns and longings, in its themes of friendship, romance, and adventure. From a pop cultural standpoint, Imperial Walkers, Yoda, Boba Fett, and Lando Calrissian would all enter the lexicon. And the Darth Vader paternity revelation was nothing short of seismic.
So sad that the original versions of these films are no longer available to the general public, and that their creator spent so many years retooling them to try to keep atop an ever-cresting wave of special effects technology. The movies were beautiful and inspiring as they were. Now much of the original craftsmanship — the models, matte paintings, and sound effects, the music, in some cases even the actual performances — has been altered or replaced using digital means. George Lucas has stated repeatedly over the years that the original elements are too far gone at this point to allow for a decent restoration. In this, I have always suspected he has not been entirely forthcoming.
I was happy to learn this week, then, that in 2010, when the Library of Congress selected “The Empire Strikes Back” as worthy of inclusion in the United States Film Registry, it politely declined Lucasfilm’s offer of a pristine copy of its latest bastardized “Special Edition,” opting instead to preserve the copyright deposit print of the film’s original theatrical release, already in its holdings. Thank you, Library of Congress, for this mighty blow against the Empire. May the original trilogy someday again be made available to the audience who first fell in love with it.
End credits to “The Empire Strikes Back”
The original trailer (before everything became so self-serious):
