Category Archives: Star Wars

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Up first (in terms of dates): 14 years ago today, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, launched into theaters and (correct me if I’m wrong) is considered the weakest film in the prequel trilogy, largely due to the clunky, unnatural, and at times downright awkward “romantic” moments between a teenaged Anakin Skywalker (now played by Hayden Christensen) and an adult Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman).

I was happily oblivious to all of these flaws when I saw this movie in the theater (I was only thirteen at the time, what did I know about good or bad dialogue? I was just excited to see Star Wars in the movie theater). But now that I’m older, I (somewhat reluctantly) have to agree that this isn’t the best entry in the series (Hayden Christensen’s acting isn’t THAT bad though).

Episode II takes place about ten years after Episode I and the extremely Force-strong boy from Tatooine has grown up into an exceptionally moody Padawan, still mentored by the ever-exasperated Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). A state of civil war is brewing in the Republic, as the Separatist movement, led by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), threatens the peace. The Jedi are oblivious to the fact that Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is actually the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and that he has been manipulating galactic events for years. Anakin has grown to view the chancellor as a trusted advisor, and is also struggling with his growing feelings for the now-Senator Amidala.

For all the movie’s flaws, how cool is it that Christopher Lee plays a former Jedi?? And how awesome is it that Yoda is revealed as a bad-ass fighter! (It’s CGI-ed to death but it’s still pretty cool I think).

The Clone Wars themselves are only mentioned twice in the original Star Wars film (Luke: “You fought in the Clone Wars?” and in the Leia recording: “…Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars…”) but we really knew nothing else about them. Now this movie was allegedly going to show us what the Clone Wars were all about, which excited many. Unfortunately, while there are some pretty impressive moments (the revelation that the clones are the predecessors of Storm troopers comes to mind, along with the impressive-as-always lightsaber battles), the story is really bogged down by way too much CGI, a weird as heck romance subplot, and a shade too much politics.

Musically though, the film is great. John Williams returned once again to score the film and I firmly believe his music made the film better than it might have been otherwise. One of my favorite moments comes at the end of the film (right before the scene showing Anakin and Padme getting married in secret): the Jedi are watching the clone troopers arrive on Coruscant and Yoda sternly reminds them all that the fight is far from over because “begun, the Clone Wars have” and then, you hear IT, a clear refrain of the Imperial March (aka “Darth Vader’s theme”). Williams only used a clear rendition of that theme once in The Phantom Menace (when Yoda tells Obi-Wan “grave danger do I fear in his training”), but Anakin’s “good” theme was otherwise built on a rendition of the March placed in a major key (the original is in minor). Now though, as the clone ships land (clearly an early version of Star Destroyers), the camera pans over the assembled troopers and a loud rendition of the Imperial March plays, and there is no mistaking it. The Jedi don’t know it yet, but the final seeds have been sown for their annihilation.

(Incidentally, if anyone was curious: Yoda trained Dooku, Dooku trained Qui-Gon, Qui-Gon trained Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan trained Anakin).

Have a good day!

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A Random Thought on “The Force Awakens”

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Property of Disney

So considering Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out almost two months ago, I’m fairly certain we’ve all seen it at least once by now (I’ve seen it twice myself). As I eagerly began to discuss the film with my friends, I began to notice a trend in the comments people were making about John William’s score. To get to the point, a lot of the people I talked to didn’t think it was very good.

I know everyone can have their own opinion, but I feel this is something I should address, so here goes: I don’t believe that Williams’ score for The Force Awakens is any weaker than the earlier Star Wars scores. I do admit that Williams hasn’t created the equivalent of “The Imperial March” from The Empire Strikes Back…but I don’t think the film called for such a musical statement.

Here’s my take on the music (and the film in general): As we are being introduced to a new generation of Star Wars characters, The Force Awakens was very much about “passing the torch.” Rey is now flying the Falcon, Kylo Ren is the new bad guy, etc. In that vein, a good chunk of the characters and situations are echoes of what was found before: The First Order is an echo of the old Empire, the Resistance is the Rebellion, etc, and so on. Because all of these things and characters are “echoes” of the original, it makes sense that the music would not be as intense as before, not yet at any rate. Keep in mind that “The Imperial March” was not introduced until The Empire Strikes Back. I firmly believe that Williams has a few musical surprises up his sleeve (unfortunately we have to wait until the end of 2017 to find out what they are.)

The Empire Strikes Back or, Everyone has a Theme! Part One: Leitmotif and “The Imperial March”

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The Empire Strikes Back
Released: May 21, 1980
Director: Irvin Kershner
Music by: John Williams
*All music is the property of Lucasfilm

The Empire Strikes Back is considered by many to be the greatest movie of the original Star Wars trilogy and it’s no wonder. The film contains battles both on land (Hoth) and in space (the Millennium Falcon vs. Star Destroyers), a terrifying villain (Darth Vader), moments of comedy (C3PO) and one of the biggest twists in the history of film. It also features a gorgeous score composed and conducted by John Williams, a film composer who has been working in Hollywood since the 1950s and is solely responsible for some of the greatest film scores of all time.

For his work on The Empire Strikes Back, Williams began with the musical themes he had established for the original Star Wars and used it as a starting point for the sequel. Two themes were already set in stone:

Luke’s Theme/The Force

Leia’s Theme

As the role of Darth Vader was being greatly expanded from his first appearance, Williams concluded that Vader would need a theme to match. This lead to the creation of “The Imperial March,” a theme that is now synonymous, not just with Star Wars and Darth Vader, but with anything evil in nature.

Darth Vader’s Theme/The Imperial March

These themes, and how they are used, derive from a technique created for opera, known as leitmotif. Leitmotif was made popular by the Romantic composer Richard Wagner in his famous series of “Ring” operas.

Leitmotifs, by nature, are meant to evoke a particular character and are played whenever a specific character is seen on stage OR when they are mentioned by another character. This happens a great deal with “The Imperial March”, and not just in The Empire Strikes Back.

Starting with The Phantom Menace, echoes of “The Imperial March” are heard towards the end of the film when Yoda (reluctantly) gives Obi-Wan permission to train Anakin. (specifically: when Yoda says “Nevertheless, grave danger do I feel in his training”)

The theme grows stronger in Attack of the Clones, but again is heard primarily at the end of the film when the Clone fleet is seen landing in Coruscant, announcing the start of the Clone Wars.

Finally, in Revenge of the Sith, the theme is finally heard in full when Anakin turns to the Dark Side and is dubbed Darth Vader by the new Emperor Palpatine. (The theme can be heard in snippets throughout the latter half of the film, but fully comes out when Vader is being placed into his armor, particularly when the mask slips into place).

Part Two will explore the theme of Han and Leia’s love and the theme of Yoda. Until next time!

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The Empire Strikes Back Part Two!: Han and Leia in Love and Yoda!!

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*All music shown is the property of Disney and Lucasfilm, I own nothing.

“I love you….I know…” One of the most remembered lines from the Star Wars universe came moments before Han Solo was frozen in carbonite by the evil Darth Vader. Leia finally realizes that she loves the scoundrel of an ex-smuggler and he reveals that he’s known it pretty much all along.

(On a side note, Han’s response was a complete ad-lib by Harrison Ford, as they had tried numerous takes using the generic “I love you too” and it just wasn’t working out.)

The music heard immediately before this line (when Han and Leia share a brief kiss) is the culmination of a theme that has been building since early in the film when the two are seen arguing in the ice caverns of Hoth.

Musically, this love theme is remarkably similar to Leia’s original theme (as heard in the first film):

Notice that both begin with large leaps from the first note to the second, using a pickup note. Both can also be divided into two sections, with the second section featuring a leap as well. The primary difference is that whereas the love theme drops down a whole step after the initial leap, the original Leia theme keeps going up. It’s almost like an inversion of the original theme, where the music now moves downward instead of up.

Of course Empire Strikes Back is also where we get to meet Yoda, the diminutive (size matters not!) and slightly eccentric Jedi Master who reluctantly agrees to train Luke in the ways of the Force. Yoda’s theme, a quiet melody for woodwinds, is first heard after Yoda is walking back to his hut and inviting Luke to follow. Of course at this point we have no idea that this is actually Yoda (or maybe we do, but Luke certainly doesn’t).

The theme is a perfect match for the ancient Jedi Master. It exudes a quiet confidence, the exact opposite in fact of the “Imperial March.” This theme really comes out in full when Yoda demonstrates what the Force can do when he successfully raises Luke’s sunken X-Wing from the swamp.