Revenge of the Sith

It’s hard to believe that it is now 2005 and that the final installment of George Lucas’ prequel Star Wars Trilogy is only a few short weeks away from opening day. As I glanced over the reviews I wrote for The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, I noticed the dates of each soundtrack’s release. Was it really six years ago that we stood in line, eager with anticipation for the first Star Wars film since 1983’s Return of the Jedi? Has it really been three years since all we heard about were the advances in high definition cameras that had been used to shoot Attack of the Clones?

The first two films in prequel trilogy have been derided on their artistic merit by both critics and fans alike, but they have still pulled in their fair amount of cash at the box office. To be honest, I wasn’t sure that Lucas could do much to get me excited anymore. But with my first viewing of the film’s trailer coming around the same time the word was made official of Revenge of the Sith’s PG-13 rating, I actually found myself transported back to a long time ago where, as a little kid, Star Wars really fired up my imagination. What’s so special about the PG-13 rating? Well, for years George Lucas has hinted that, despite the kiddie-friendly Phantom Menace film, the sequels would grow ever darker, ultimately coming to a head in Episode III. Even with Attack of the Clones, a film that finally got it for the most part, there was still the question of whether George would truly provide us with the darker film for the final installment that he had been promising all along. With Revenge of the Sith being rated PG-13, things are looking good for a dark Star Wars film that will correctly portray the galaxy being torn apart by violence that would end up as the world in which A New Hope introduced us so many years ago. Also pointing the way in a more sinister direction is John Williams markedly non-conventional (at least in the realm of Star Wars) approach to the score.

The prequel scores have had their own style, ever since The Phantom Menace. With Williams having had over twenty years to mature in his craft, it would seem that he would never capture that elusive sound that so marked the original trilogy. What was left from those days was a juicy buffet of themes, which Williams tastefully, but judiciously used. With Revenge of the Sith being the last part of the story before turning around and continuing in A New Hope, Williams uses the opportunity to bridge the gap between not only those two films, but the entire two trilogies as well. Almost every major theme from the entire Star Wars saga has some quote or another here, with the Force Theme being the most noticeable of the originals. While that would seem to be a good thing, in practice, the themes are seemingly tossed in at random. There’s hardly any flow to the music at all. Whether or not this is Williams’ fault, or just a glaring production error on the disc (similar to what plagued the original Phantom Menace soundtrack), it can be hard to tell at times. However, part of what made the original Star Wars scores so wonderful was the sense of operatic construction. They were composed in a way that almost allowed them to stand on their own musical storytelling abilities. This has not been the case with the modern scores, and Revenge of the Sith is even more disjointed that what we have gotten so far.

In between recognizable themes are the scant pieces of new material that comes with the new film. It’s rather depressing in a way as these pieces sound a bit underdeveloped with no chance of another sequel coming along in three years to flesh out some of the themes. Of these, "Battle of the Heroes" will be the most recognizable, but trying so hard to be a "Duel of the Fates" killer, it comes out far less memorable than that piece. It comes as somewhat of a surprise that its primary usage in the actual score is generally better than what is provided as the concert arrangement. It’s powerful and full of energy, but there’s nothing in it that makes it particularly memorable, and it’s not as fun to hum.

Darkness draws its black curtain around every aspect of this score, and the mood is quite heavy throughout and rarely lets up. "Palpatine’s Teachings" and "Padme’s Ruminations" are especially dark, even more so than anything in The Empire Strikes Back (the darkest Star Wars film and score of the originals). So much so that it almost feels completely out of place in the musical universe of the trilogies.

The cue that is clearly meant to be a standout is the "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" track. For this climactic (and anxiously anticipated) duel, Williams turns to re-hashing the Vader/Luke duel from Empire. For the most part it works, but those familiar with the original piece will have an interesting time adjusting to the new portions of the cue. I can see how it would be effective, but as a first listen, it’s a cue that will definitely take more than a few listeners by surprise. Sadly, it’s the only cue on the whole soundtrack to feature any reference to the "Imperial March". Not even "Enter Lord Vader" has it (it does have a low-key performance of the Emperor’s theme, however). For a film that purports to be about the rising of the Empire, it’s amazing that this is the case. Even Attack of the Clones had a full-blown performance of it at the end of the cue. There’s even a perfect place for it during the "End Credits" (more on that in a bit), but Williams doesn’t use it. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the "Imperial March" isn’t in the film, as it could very well have been left out of the selected cues for this album, but it’s quite disappointing to not have it anywhere.

The score picks up steam as it nears the end. The culmination of key themes and musical signatures deftly put one in the mood to see what happens (even though the majority of us already know the adventures of Luke Skywalker backwards and forwards). It’s just as effective as the ending sequence to The Empire Strikes Back, although (again) without that same expert flow that was found in that score. Then disappointment hits in a major way with the "End Credits" as they consist of nothing more than the concert arrangement of the titles from A New Hope, though poorly edited to keep it running for the incredibly long list of credits.

So there you have it. Not a bad score, but definitely not what a lot of people were probably expecting. The biggest thing to get past would be the whole re-hash feel of it all, but it is Star Wars after all, and countless albums have proven that there is still a market for music that most people know already. Perhaps one day we will see the release of the proper album treatments of the three prequel scores, one that will show the whole story of what Williams is trying to accomplish with these new films. Until then, however, this is what you’ll have to make do with.