Chinese name: Star Wars Trilogy
English name: Star Wars trilogy
Alias: Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars
Resource type: MP3!
version: 4CD set collector's edition
release date: 1991
album artist: soundtrack
region: United States
language: English
introduction:
album introduction:
in p>1977, when George Lucas' Star Wars was born, Not only is the film itself recognized as a landmark work in the film history, but even its original music has surpassed the status of mere accessories and become one of the most classic orchestral masterpieces in contemporary music. From the splendor of Star Wars, the gloom of The Empire Strikes Back, and the sensual aestheticism of The Samurai Return, we can trace back to the tension of contradictions in The Ghost Threat, the soul-stirring of Attack of the Clones, and the solemn sorrow of Revenge of the Sith. john williams, a film music master who is good at creating theme melodies, wrote the longest and most beautiful stroke in his creative career ...
Ⅰ.
since the advent of audio films, film music has been in an embellishment position for a long time. Even in the fifty or sixty years known as the golden age, there are few works that can exist independently of the film. Coupled with the impact of popular culture such as TV, in order to reduce the production cost and cater to the appreciation taste of ordinary audiences, small-scale orchestral music with a large number of modern music elements has gradually occupied the mainstream of original sound creation. John williams, who was engaged in jazz and musical creation in his early years, happened to be one of the main promoters of this trend. Dramatically, when this modernization trend reached its climax in the 197s, john williams created Star Wars with an unprecedented return attitude, which revived the classical orchestral arrangement tradition in the field of film soundtrack creation.
When the film Star Wars was released in 1977, the CD technology had not yet come out. In that year, its soundtrack only released vinyl records and tapes. It was not until 1986 that Polydor Records released its CD version for the first time. John williams wrote and conducted 16 pieces of music played by the London Symphony Orchestra, which were divided into upper and lower parts in several versions, with a total length of nearly 74 minutes. Although this soundtrack has been complained by many movie music fans from song selection to production, it does not affect the popularity of the work itself.
As a work that won the Golden Globe Award, Oscar and Grammy's Best Film Score, the charm of Star Wars even conquered many large orchestras specializing in classical music, and Philharmonia Orchestra, an American country, was one of them. In December of the same year when the film was released, under the leadership of conductor Charles Gerhardt, they re-played six pieces of music composed by john williams, and released vinyl records together with another work by John, close encounters of the third kind. Compared with the rough production of the first edition, this 33-minute condensed version of Star Wars is more worthy of the classic status of the work itself. In 1989, RCA Record Company produced its CD version with digital technology, which further improved the sound quality. So far, this CD with Dolby surround mixing is still the best of all Star Wars records.
In p>1993, the "Star Wars" trilogy was first introduced in the form of a suit. Among the four CDs, apart from the soundtracks of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the samurai, there is also a collection of the soundtracks of these three films. Although each record has added some previously unreleased tracks, it did not attract applause as expected because of the heavy traces of these tracks serving the rhythm of the picture and the mistakes in arrangement.
In p>1997, on the occasion of the 2th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, in order to warm up the upcoming Star Wars Prequel, director George Lucas restored and edited the original version. In the same year, in order to cooperate with the release of this special edition of Star Wars, RCA Records took the opportunity to launch a special edition of the original sound. Although there are still two CDs, it is nearly half an hour more than the first edition in 1977. Among them, there are some never-released cadenza passages, as well as some different replacement tracks, which set a record of the most complete tracks in all the original soundtracks of Star Wars. After 2 years of waiting, fans finally have a chance to enjoy the wonderful music of Star Wars completely.
At the end of last year, in order to cooperate with the release of the Star Wars trilogy DVD, Sony Classical Records Company once again put the original soundtrack of Star Wars on the market as a collector's edition. Although the cover and packaging have changed, and gimmicks such as screensavers have been added in CD-ROM format, the tracks included are exactly the same as the special edition released by RCA Records Company in 1997, so it has not caused greater repercussions.
Ⅱ. The Empire Strikes Back
The magnificent brass music has undergone a 18-degree reversal in the hands of john williams, and the oppressive theme of Darth Vader has become the soul voice of the "Star Wars" series.
With the success of a series of music works with strong personal style, john williams firmly ranked among the "masters of music" in the late 197s, and made a magnificent style of music, which permeated all his works. In particular, the theme song he created, even if it is enjoyed separately from the film, will not damage its artistic value at all. Therefore, when Lucas continued to set off his "Star Wars" storm on the screen in 198, john williams naturally became the only person to create the soundtrack. The theme melody in sequel to the movie usually inherits a lot of melody genes from the previous one, so the possibility of surpassing it is very small. This law was broken by john williams in The Empire Strikes Back, and the majestic sound mixed with contradictory horns excavated more profound spiritual connotation.
In p>198, the soundtrack of The Empire Strikes Back, which was released for the first time with the release of the film, was quite similar to Star Wars. It was also composed by john williams and conducted by the London Symphony Orchestra. It also released only vinyl records and tapes, and also included about 74 minutes of music, but the total number of tracks changed slightly from 16 to 17 paragraphs. In 1986, when Polydor Records first released its CD version, it was seriously shrunk. Of the original 17 pieces of music in the vinyl record and tape version, only 1 pieces have been preserved, and the total time of the tracks has dropped sharply to 41 minutes. Even the beautifully made pamphlets in the vinyl record have disappeared. Therefore, the CD version of the original sound is not as popular as the vinyl record and tape version.
The Empire Strikes Back once again won john williams the Golden Globe Award and the Oscar for Best Film Score. Although it failed in the end, it won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Works and Best Film Score Album. Nowadays, more and more people have re-examined and found that john williams's Imperial March (the theme of Darth Vader) is the core movement to master the whole Star Wars story, and it is also the most thought-provoking work of all Star Wars theme music. Also in 198, shortly after the original soundtrack of The Empire Strikes Back was released, conductor Charles Gerhardt led the American national Philharmonia Orchestra to score twice, reinterpreted 12 pieces of music specially written by john williams for this film, and put them on the market in the form of vinyl records. In 1989, when RCA Records released the re-recorded Star Wars and The Return of the Samurai at the same time in the form of a CD, it did not make this 45-minute recording public. It was not until 1992 that Varese Sarabande Records Company, which was rising in the field of film soundtrack production and distribution at that time, did not become a relic of the sea. Compared with Star Wars, the re-recorded Empire Strikes Back has many flaws in recording quality and performance level, especially the original brilliant brass music in Empire March is exhausted due to lack of sufficient momentum.
in p>1993, RCA recorded the soundtracks of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Warrior as a set for the first time. In addition to three independent soundtrack CDs, there is also a collection of music works of trilogy. Although some previously unreleased tracks have been added to each record, only the part of The Empire Strikes Back is satisfactory. The 18-minute-long music adds almost all the main melodies that have been mistakenly ignored, rather than trivial minor movements, which fully makes up for many regrets caused by the original sound of the first CD version of the film in 1986.
When Star Wars celebrated its 2th anniversary in 1997, after Star Wars, director George Lucas also restored and edited The Empire Strikes Back, making it reappear on the screen with a special edition. RCA Records took advantage of this opportunity to release a special edition of the original sound for the first time. Although the track of The Empire Strikes Back in the previously released Star Wars trilogy soundtrack set is relatively complete and the standard is perfect, the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back has added 16 minutes of new tracks and some different alternative soundtracks, which not only makes Star Wars fans feel a little interesting in comparing the nuances of the music, but the effect is not the same as that of the special edition of The Star Wars soundtrack.
after a lapse of seven years, Sony Classical Records Company took advantage of the DVD release of the Star Wars trilogy to convert the original sound of the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back into the original sound of the collector's edition for distribution. Without adding any new music paragraphs, the record company focused on the manufacture of some minor gimmicks, not only replacing the new cover and packaging, but also adding some contents other than music in CD-ROM format, which is quite suspected of changing the soup without changing the medicine.
Ⅲ. The return of the samurai
john williams found another way, and the colorful brass music was finally replaced by the understated strings, and the first round of Star Wars story ended peacefully in the delicate and peaceful new century movement.
After time's tempering, john williams's attainments in creating film music, especially in creating theme melody, have gradually reached the level of perfection. In 1983, when George Lucas invited him again, john williams's March complex had become a household name. Both the Star Wars series itself and john williams are under great pressure from fame. After two classic themes, one bright and one dark, john williams, who abandoned modern music elements for many years and promoted classical orchestral writing techniques, made a bold attempt for the first time in his most eye-catching masterpiece. The new century genre, which combines tradition and modernity, rooted the joy and serenity of the past in the theme melody of Princess Liya. Although it failed to take the lead, it made the most unique human poem in Star Wars.
When The Return of the Warrior was released in 1983, the future of traditional vinyl records began to be questioned. The newly released CD (that is, CD) directly threatened the leading position of vinyl records in the commercial market because of its advantages of easy preservation. Therefore, although the original soundtrack of "The Return of the Warrior" on vinyl and magnetic tape was first published, the music made by john williams and the London Symphony Orchestra for three times was taken out of context more seriously, and only 11 pieces of music were included, with a total length of less than 45 minutes. Starting from this soundtrack, people find that every once in a while, there must be a newer and better version of the soundtrack of the "Star Wars" series, which makes up for some defects in the previous version from the track content.
From the magnificent epic chapter to the beautiful nature of Jasper, the biggest controversy caused by Return of the Warrior is that it doesn't seem to have a theme melody that is particularly weighty like the previous two films. Although he also won the Golden Globe Award, Oscar and Grammy nomination for best film score, he got nothing. This is also the first time since john williams composed music for the "Star Wars" series. Objectively speaking, the core movement "The Theme of Princess Leia" written by john williams for "The Return of the Warrior" is not as verve as other themes, but its delicate and graceful style is just like a little red among the evergreen trees, exuding a unique style. Conductor Charles Gerhardt realized this at that time, and led the American national Philharmonia Orchestra to re-record the score composed by john williams for the third time. This new version of the vinyl record has greatly improved the track arrangement and audibility compared with the original version. In 1989, RCA Records produced its CD version with digital technology. After Dolby surround mixing, the melody charm of the work itself has been fully exerted and widely praised by fans.
In p>1993, it was an important moment for Star Wars music fans. The soundtrack of the Star Wars trilogy, which was first released in the form of a suit, satisfied people's desire to hear more tracks in the film. Among them, the original sound of "Return of the Warrior" and the related tracks included in the soundtrack collection of three films added 53 minutes of music. The only regret is that the limited music that can really be enjoyed independently, most of which need to be matched with the detailed paragraphs of the picture, has not achieved the expected sensational effect.
Twenty years after the release of Star Wars, George Lucas also began to prepare for the completion of his Star Wars myth. He completely restored and edited the "Star Wars" trilogy and made it into a special edition for global distribution. During this period, RCA Records also reissued the original music created by john williams for three "Star Wars" films in the name of a special edition. In this edition, Return of the Samurai, like the other two films, contains the most comprehensive repertoire ever. The contents of the two CDs reached 148 minutes, setting a record for the original soundtrack of the "Star Wars" series. These tracks not only have wonderful movements that have not been released before, but also contain some new songs created by john williams for the added plot, which are of great collection value.
last year, the old Star Wars trilogy released a DVD set to promote revenge of the Sith, the final episode of the Star Wars trilogy. Sony Classical Records Company, which got the original soundtrack copyright, conveniently released the original soundtrack of three "Star Wars" films, including The Return of the Warriors. This version has only changed the cover and package, and added some behind-the-scenes information in CD-ROM format, and the tracks are completely copied from the previous special edition, so its appeal is limited. In order to facilitate the preservation, Sony Classical Records Company not only released three separate "Stars" this time.