When the original Star Wars trilogy was re-released in its 20th Anniversary special edition in 1997, new 2-disc editions of John Williams's classic scores were released as well, featuring nearly every minute of music written for the trilogy. The three albums are amongst my favorite soundtracks, with the first pretty much accomplishing perfection. Ever since, these three albums have been released in different forms with different covers and booklets, but musically it's the same album.
The same cannot be said for the prequel trilogy. While the scores for the prequels aren't as magical as the original trilogy, they're still better than most scores out there. It's too bad theither available albums are disappointing.
The only one of the three prequels to receive more than one album is The Phantom Menace, but that's been pretty much a travesty. George Lucas did so much last minute editing of Episode I that there wasn't time for Williams to redo his score. As a result, it was chopped up and heavily edited to match Lucas's changes, particularly the third act which is a mess. There was such an outcry from fans for a more complete release that Sony (who owned the release rights at the time) released an "Ultimate Edition" of the score in 2000. The result; the score was presented as heard in the movie, complete with butchered edits. It was pretty much a mess.
The same editing technique was used for Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but nowhere near as exstensively.
Still, there has yet to be a really satisfying release of the scores for the prequel trilogy.
With the new trilogy about to debut, I think it's time for this to be rectified. I believe all three scores should be released as complete editions as recorded for the movies, especially The Phantom Menace, before George Lucas cut it up. I think it would be interesting to hear how John Williams originally intended his scores and a be get an idea of what the first movie was almost like.
I'm not sure who currently owns the rights to the prequel scores. I know 20th Century Fox still owns distribution rights for the original six movies but I thought I read somewhere that Disney now owns all the soundtracks. If so, hopefully someone at Disney sees an opportunity (especially for a nice profit) and pushes to release complete editions of John Williams's fantastic scores. That's something I'd happily pay to get!
I mean, come on! It's Disney! How could they not pass up an opportunity like that?
Showing posts with label soundtrack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soundtrack. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Friday, May 15, 2009
Soundtrack Review: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Jerry Goldsmith)
Despite the film itself being a disappointment, Jerry Goldsmith's score is not, going on to become known as the definitive Star Trek movie score. Goldsmith's score is completely memorable, establishing timeless themes, including a main theme that would not only represent the Enterprise, but also be later used a the theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation, cementing its place as the definitive Star Trek theme.
Goldsmith's score is very diverse and innovative, as it is heard in many different forms from majestic and stately (Track 2 - Main Title & Track 4 - Total Logic) to romantic (Track 6 - The Enterprise). In addition to a main theme, he always created two other very memorable leitmotifs for the film. The first we are introduced to is the theme to represent the Deltan navigator Ilia and her romance with Will Decker (Track 1 - Ilia's Theme). The theme remains Star Trek's only love theme. Goldsmith spreads it throughout his score, particularly at the film's climax (Track 15 - Vejur Speaks & Track 16 - The Meld). It remains a highlight of the score.
The second theme is the Klingon theme (Track 3 - Klingon Battle). The theme perfectly represents Star Trek's most popular alien villains, and would later be used to represent the herocis of Lt. Worf in Goldsmith's TNG scores. While composers for both later movies and later series would try to create a theme of their own for the Klingons, no theme remains as successful or popular as the theme originally crafted by Goldsmith.
Goldsmith's score for the longer, effects-driven sections of the movie are some of his finest writing, mixing the right amount of suspense, mystery and drama that was otherwise lacking in the movie itself. Goldsmith's innovation of what would become known as the "Blaster Beam" (heard at the beginning of Track 3 - Klingon Battle and most of "the Cloud" portions of the score) is a trademark of Goldsmith's ability to come up with new and different sounds to enhance the universes he has been assigned to musically represent.
Goldsmith's theme is a classic, and while it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1979, it's a shame that it did not receive the Oscar itself as it truly deserved. Jerry Goldsmith set a very high standard that would not be easy to live up to. This is truly a great, epic score that unfortunately was far superior to the movie it represented. Whether it's fair or not, every Star Trek score to-date is compared to this Goldsmith gem.
(of 5)
Track Listing
1. Ilia's Theme (3:03)
2. Main Title (1:24)
3. Klingon Battle (5:28)
4. Total Logic (3:44)
5. Floating Office (1:04)
6. The Enterprise (6:00)
7. Leaving Drydock (3:31)
8. Spock's Arrival (2:01)
9. The Cloud (5:00)
10. Vejur Flyover (4:59)
11. The Force Field (5:04)
12. Games (3:42)
13. Spock Walk (4:21)
14. Inner Workings (3:03)
15. Vejur Speaks (3:51)
16. The Meld (3:10)
17. A Good Start (2:27)
18. End Title (3:16)
Goldsmith's score is very diverse and innovative, as it is heard in many different forms from majestic and stately (Track 2 - Main Title & Track 4 - Total Logic) to romantic (Track 6 - The Enterprise). In addition to a main theme, he always created two other very memorable leitmotifs for the film. The first we are introduced to is the theme to represent the Deltan navigator Ilia and her romance with Will Decker (Track 1 - Ilia's Theme). The theme remains Star Trek's only love theme. Goldsmith spreads it throughout his score, particularly at the film's climax (Track 15 - Vejur Speaks & Track 16 - The Meld). It remains a highlight of the score.
The second theme is the Klingon theme (Track 3 - Klingon Battle). The theme perfectly represents Star Trek's most popular alien villains, and would later be used to represent the herocis of Lt. Worf in Goldsmith's TNG scores. While composers for both later movies and later series would try to create a theme of their own for the Klingons, no theme remains as successful or popular as the theme originally crafted by Goldsmith.
Goldsmith's score for the longer, effects-driven sections of the movie are some of his finest writing, mixing the right amount of suspense, mystery and drama that was otherwise lacking in the movie itself. Goldsmith's innovation of what would become known as the "Blaster Beam" (heard at the beginning of Track 3 - Klingon Battle and most of "the Cloud" portions of the score) is a trademark of Goldsmith's ability to come up with new and different sounds to enhance the universes he has been assigned to musically represent.
Goldsmith's theme is a classic, and while it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1979, it's a shame that it did not receive the Oscar itself as it truly deserved. Jerry Goldsmith set a very high standard that would not be easy to live up to. This is truly a great, epic score that unfortunately was far superior to the movie it represented. Whether it's fair or not, every Star Trek score to-date is compared to this Goldsmith gem.
(of 5)Track Listing
1. Ilia's Theme (3:03)
2. Main Title (1:24)
3. Klingon Battle (5:28)
4. Total Logic (3:44)
5. Floating Office (1:04)
6. The Enterprise (6:00)
7. Leaving Drydock (3:31)
8. Spock's Arrival (2:01)
9. The Cloud (5:00)
10. Vejur Flyover (4:59)
11. The Force Field (5:04)
12. Games (3:42)
13. Spock Walk (4:21)
14. Inner Workings (3:03)
15. Vejur Speaks (3:51)
16. The Meld (3:10)
17. A Good Start (2:27)
18. End Title (3:16)
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