Originally posted by: Mojo_LA
Re: Lightsaber fight music
Adywan, remember that sometimes the ABSENCE of music can be just as powerful. Not having music during the ObiWan/Vader fight makes the moment feel more real because it has not been "movied up." In all the Star Wars films, despite the long and powerful score, Lucas has always found moments to leave the music out, making it that much more effective.
Personally, I think taking a part of the movie that has no music and adding it is an example of "doing something because I can." Again, consider that the music is left out of that scene FOR A REASON.
Also, consider how powerful the musical score is that is about to follow; when Luke sees Ben die and screams, it's one of the best musical moments in the film. Again, the absence of music preceeding it "clears the pallete" if you will and makes the cue more emotional.
Re: Lightsaber fight music
Adywan, remember that sometimes the ABSENCE of music can be just as powerful. Not having music during the ObiWan/Vader fight makes the moment feel more real because it has not been "movied up." In all the Star Wars films, despite the long and powerful score, Lucas has always found moments to leave the music out, making it that much more effective.
Personally, I think taking a part of the movie that has no music and adding it is an example of "doing something because I can." Again, consider that the music is left out of that scene FOR A REASON.
Also, consider how powerful the musical score is that is about to follow; when Luke sees Ben die and screams, it's one of the best musical moments in the film. Again, the absence of music preceeding it "clears the pallete" if you will and makes the cue more emotional.
It's called music spotting. Knowing where the music comes in and goes out is as important as the music itself. Star Wars was a well spotted film. The movie is 121 minutes and there is about 84 minutes of music in it. Compare that with The Empire Strikes Back, which is 124 minutes long with about 118 minutes of music composed (much of the Empire score was dropped after it was written and recorded). Return of the Jedi had more music composed than the final films running time! The prequels, as much of a mess musically as they are, also continue the trend of having wall-to-wall music. It's just one other aspect of Star Wars that makes it stand out as it's own, superior film.
Star Wars and Empire are also the only two films in the series not to have music during the light saber fights. Williams composed a lot for the duel in Empire, but only a tiny bit is heard in the final film. It's never been clear who's choice it was to drop the music (Kershner? Lucas?) but the scenes do play better without it. After that, all of the sword fights in the films have been scored. It's an interesting dichotomy.
And as noted, "Ben's Death and TIE Fighter Attack" is one of the finest examples of film scoring. It comes in at just the right time, punctuating the death of Ben and Luke's (and the audiences) shock and then covers one of the most exciting sequences in the film. The proper use of music is one of the reasons this sequence (and the original film) was so successful.
For more on music spotting, check out the editorial in the new Film Score Monthly magazine which came out just today.
Neil