Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
1997 RCA Special Edition
2004 Sony Release
(1980)
Following the immense success of Star Wars in 1977, it was only a matter of time before a sequel came along. That sequel was The Empire Strikes Back, in 1980. George Lucas, of course, claims that the original trilogy was in fact written as one film, but split into three because of length. The success of the first film had exceeded all expectations, and allowed Lucas to finance all the subsequent films himself, putting him in sole command of the franchise. He also chose not to direct The Empire Strikes Back, due to other production roles, and therefore gave the directorial assignment to Irvin Kershner.
The return of composer John Williams to the sequel was also inevitable. Williams’ score for the first film is credited by many as being the one that brought back symphonic film scores, and, with the score selling over 4 million copies, it was easily the best selling of all time. For The Empire Strikes Back, Williams would reunite with the London Symphony Orchestra, where many of the orchestra’s players had performed the recording of the original score. With approximately 40 minutes more music than the score of the first film had, there were reportedly some problems in the assembly of the score. Nevertheless, the crew eventually succeeded. The two new main themes that Williams composed for the film were debuted by the composer in a performance with the Boston Pops Orchestra (of which he was Principal Conductor at the time). Whilst the soundtrack of the film was immensely successful, it never managed to beat the preceding film’s soundtrack in record sales.
Whilst much of the thematic material from the previous score was carried over in to his one, Williams created several new themes for The Empire Strikes Back. Of these, the most notable is the imperial march, a brilliant piece that perfectly matches Darth Vader and the evil galactic empire. Also of course, is the theme for Jedi Master Yoda, which is probably one of the most memorable from the whole saga. And finally is the theme for Han Solo and Princess Leia.
Much like the other Star Wars scores, The Empire Strikes Back is so well known a detailed analysis would be unnecessary. With the exception of “Duel of the Fates” from The Phantom Menace, this score certainly features the best action music of the Star Wars films. The best cue is “The Battle of Hoth”, a fifteen minute long piece, a thrilling piece that wonderfully compliments the battle. There’s numerous other highlights that the score has to offer, most notably the music for the cloud city and the music for Dagobah, both of which introduce some great new ideas.
As for which album to buy, there are many available. Both the 1997 Special Edition Release by RCA and the 2004 Sony release feature the complete score, but only the 1997 release contains the detailed liner notes. If you already have the 1997 release, there isn’t really any reason to get the 2004 one, unless you’re looking for slightly improved sound quality. Regardless however, make sure you get one of them, because honestly, how could this music get any better?
Purchase from Amazon: 1997 RCA Special | 2004 Sony (UK)
Purchase from Amazon: 1997 RCA Special | 2004 Sony (USA)
Track Listing
Disc 1 (62:41)
20th Century Fox Fanfare (Alfred Newman, 1954) (0:21)
Main Title/Ice Planet Hoth (8:08)
3. The Wampa’s Lair/Vision of Obi-Wan/Snowspeeders Take Flight (8:48)
4. The Imperial Probe/Aboard the Executor (4:24)
5. The Battle of Hoth (Ion Cannon/Imperial Walkers/Beneath the AT-AT/Escape in the Millenium Falcon) (14:48)
6. The Asteroid Field (4:15)
7. Arrival on Dagobah (4:52)
8. Luke’s Nocturnal Visitor (2:35)
9. Han Solo and the Princess (3:26)
10. Jedi Master Revealed/Mynock Cave (5:44)
11. The Training of a Jedi knight/The Magic Tree (5:15)
Disc 2 (61:42)
1. Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme) (3:02)
2. Yoda’s Theme (3:29)
3. Attacking a Star Destroyer (3:04)
4. Yoda and the Force (4:02)
5. Imperial Starfleet Deployed/City in the Clouds (6:03)
6. Lando’s Palace (3:53)
7. Betrayal at Bespin (3:46)
8. Deal with the Dark Lord (2:36)
9. Carbon Freeze/Darth Vader’s Trap/Departure of Boba Fett (11:50)
10. The Clash of Lightsabers (4:17)
11. Rescue from Cloud City/Hyperspace (9:08)
12. The Rebel Fleet/End Title (6:26)
Credits
Music Composed, Conducted & Produced by John Williams
Orchestrations by Herbert W. Spencer
Performed by The London Symphony Orchestra
Awards
Academy Award for Best Original Score (nominated)
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (nominated)
BAFTA Award for Best Music (Won)
Grammy Award for Best Score (Won)
Insert Notes
None included on the 2004 Sony album. The 1997 RCA special edition does include extensive notes however.
All images and artwork are Copyright © RCA (1997) & Sony Classical (2004)
