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What follows is my version of the Visual Soundtrack for Star Wars — or as I like to call it:
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STAR WARS — A MUSICAL JOURNEY
(Visual Soundtrack Series)
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THE PHANTOM MENACE
Overture – The Main Crawl
1. Invasion!!
2. The Underwater City
3. Flight from Theed!
4. The Slave Boy
5. The Pod Race on Boonta Eve
6. The Capital, The Queen, and The Vergence in the Force
7. The Battle of Theed
8. The Duel of the Fates
9. A Funeral and Celebration
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ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Overture – The Main Crawl
1. Assassination!!
2. Flight Through the Undercity
3. The Jedi and the Senator
4. The Shroud of the Dark Side
5. Return to Tatooine
6. The Petranaki Arena
7. The Attack of the Clones
8. The Battle of the Wizards
9. Across the Stars
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REVENGE OF THE SITH
Overture – The Main Crawl
1. Rescue!!
2. A Sith Legend
3. Twilight of the Republic
4. The Jedi and the General
5. The Revenge of the Sith
6. The Birth of the Empire
7. A Terrible Truth
8. The Lava Planet
9. Victory and Death
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A NEW HOPE
Overture – The Main Crawl
1. Rebellion!
2. The Desert Planet
3. The Moisture Farmer
4. A Hive of Scum and Villainy
5. The Death Star
6. A Princess in Peril
7. Flight of the Falcon
8. The Battle of Yavin
9. Victory Celebration
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THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Overture – The Main Crawl
1. Ambush!
2. The Battle of Hoth
3. The Princess and the Scoundrel
4. A Jedi Master
5. Flight Through the Asteroid Belt
6. The Training of a Jedi Knight
7. A City in the Clouds
8. Confronting the Dark Lord
9. Rescue from Cloud City
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RETURN OF THE JEDI
Overture – The Main Crawl
1. Arrival!
2. The Pit of Carkoon
3. Yoda’s Twilight
4. The Rebel Alliance
5. The Forest Moon
6. Into the Trap
7. The Battle of Endor
8. The Emperor Confronts Luke
9. The Return of the Jedi
A Trailer for the Prequle Trilogy -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T-zHNzrNN0&t=23s
When I opened the Revenge of the Sith soundtrack and found the bonus disc — Star Wars: A Musical Journey — I was ecstatic! The idea (which I’d slightly misunderstood at the time) of watching the entire 1–6 film saga with nothing but music was, and still is, something I find incredibly compelling. John Williams’ music has always represented the peak of film score composition to me — his own version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, for lack of a better analogy.
(Not to say other composers haven’t followed suit in their own ways. Howard Shore’s Middle-earth scores are definitely up there as well — and yes, they also have their own “musical journey” planned.)
So you can imagine my utter disappointment when I finally got the chance to pop in the DVD and watch “The Musical Journey” for myself. Even at 13, I could tell that while it was enjoyable and perfectly serviceable, the concept could’ve been so much more than a glorified highlight reel.
Fast-forward about 10 years to the announcement of The Force Awakens. I was just starting to get into videography and photography professionally, and this idea inevitably came back to me — mostly because I discovered a fan soundtrack called Symphony for a Saga. The creator had a very similar idea (albeit a different take), and I’m deeply grateful for their work because it was the first real, tangible proof that this concept could be realized.
Still, it wasn’t quite enough to light the fire. I figured, if it ever happened, it would be done by someone more skilled… or maybe even by Disney themselves.
But I did start to dabble — asking myself:
What would this actually look like? What would it be?
The best way I can describe it: a Visual Soundtrack. In that sense, sound effects become a kind of pseudo-percussion within the orchestration, and dialogue — if used at all — functions more like lyrics in a song: purposeful and concise.
Now I can already hear some of you asking — and believe me, I asked the same thing —
“Isn’t that what a film already is?”
Partly, yes. But what I eventually discovered was this:
What I had been envisioning was Star Wars as a silent film.
And that actually isn’t surprising. Even as a kid, I remember Lucas saying in interviews, “These movies are more like silent films. The dialogue isn’t as important as how it looks, how actors emote.” At the time, I didn’t think he was lying — but I did think it was just an excuse for the awkward dialogue. (Maybe it was — but now, looking back, I honestly believe he just didn’t care in the traditional sense. He was doing something different.)
It was however during Covid ( and after the release of ROS) I decided I would try to bring this to fruition. So over the last 3–5 years, I’ve had a few versions of this project nearly finished — but something always felt off. Either I was taking too many liberties, trying to retell the whole saga in an abridged form using the official soundtracks (not the full scores), or I felt I hadn’t made it distinct enough to justify its existence.
Then, a few months ago, I finnally got my hands on Project 77 and an old copy of Empire Strikes Back: Despecialized Remastered Edition. Both had isolated score tracks from the LaserDisc collector’s editions.
Now, I know many of you are already aware that music-only tracks exist. But what fascinated me was that they were offered — officially( albeit this one time) — as a way to experience the film in a different light. (Aside from The Last Jedi and these LaserDisc-sourced versions of the Original Trilogy, there are no other official releases of isolated scores. They generally don’t exist.
So I sat down and watched all three OT films like this — music only.
And suddenly, everything made sense.
I can say without a doubt — and this isn’t a criticism of the actors, but rather a reflection of what Lucas was attempting (and what Williams absolutely achieved) — this is the best way to watch Star Wars, as a silent film.
Finally, I understood why Williams’ scores resonate so deeply. Why these films sometimes feel like more than just standard cinematic experiences.
The way Williams crafted the music — scene to scene, note by note, motif by motif — even the silences — it all meant something. Not just in the usual way you hear it in a traditional film mix. But when you watch the trilogy like this, you realize:
John Williams composed the music as if Star Wars were a silent film.
Now, there’s hearing that idea and understanding it — and then there’s actually watching it and experiencing it.
And once I did… I finally understood what I’d been chasing all these years:
A Visual Soundtrack, based around the isolated scores from the films.
And that also meant: preserve the compositions as closely to their original intent as possible. Aside from minor cuts for pacing or flow, extensive reworking should be avoided. The edit should be seamless — you shouldn’t notice the changes until after the experience is over.
I say all of this because it’s been a long road getting here. And as it usually happens, it’s the simplest of ideas that elude us for the longest time.
As it stands now, all six films are finished and nearly ready for final polish and export. But of course, there’s one small — okay, huge — problem: copyright. (And yes, I should’ve seen that coming a mile away. I work with film and music — of course YouTube isn’t going to let me post this. Duh.)
Still, I didn’t want the work to go completely unseen. So I thought I’d share it here.
When I have Them all out and ready to watch in about 2-3 weeks I will update again, however I wanted to put this out there and see what others thoughts and opinions were! Im excited to hear them and see what people think. I’m also excited to put this idea to bed at long last!
