Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (soundtrack)

Overview

The musical score for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars saga's sixth installment, was recorded over five days at Abbey Road Studio with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices starting on February 3, 2005, with one morning allocated specifically for vocal recording.

Reception

The musical score for Revenge of the Sith has received mixed to generally positive reviews. Rob Theakston of AllMusic said, "Revenge of the Sith holds a place on the mantle with some of the classic scores that made Williams a legendary film composer. It's also a fine closing masterpiece to a series of movies filled with some of the most important musical moments in modern cinematic history." Danny Graydon of Empire called it "a triumphant climax to a modern music masterpiece." Specifically pointing out "Battle of the Heroes" and "Anakin's Dark Deeds", Graydon said, "The operatic finale of this score emboldens the tragic, doom-laden atmosphere of the saga’s pivotal moment, yet is typically brisk and exciting, deftly utilising themes from the entire series."

Film music scholar Royal Brown was less enthusiastic about the music and its relation to the overall film series, saying, "By the time we get to Revenge of the Sith it's not as fresh as it was. Not because Williams is doing anything wrong, but because he's pretty much locked into a particular requirement for this particular kind of movie." Filmtracks.com provided a similar consensus in its editorial review describing that when "compared to its peers, Revenge of the Sith is, despite its great strengths in its individual cues of immense melodrama, the weakest of the six scores when compared amongst each other." Morag Reavley of BBC Music said that the soundtrack "strikes back with all the familiar notes. They just don't sound quite as startling any more."

Track listing

All music composed by John Williams.

Star Wars: A Musical Journey

Star Wars: A Musical Journey is a bonus DVD included with the soundtrack album. The DVD, which runs just over an hour long, contains a collection of music video clips from the Star Wars film series set to selected themes from Williams' scores. Each clip features an optional introduction by actor Ian McDiarmid, and the music has been remastered in Dolby 5.1 surround sound. This program served as the foundation for Star Wars: In Concert, almost containing an identical soundtrack.

Star Wars: A Musical Journey contains the following chapters. Each video consists of clips from the movies that seemingly fit the music score composed by Williams:

1. "A Long Time Ago" —
   "20th Century Fox Fanfare" / "Star Wars Main Title"
2. "Dark Forces Conspire" —
   "Duel of the Fates" (from The Phantom Menace)
3. "A Hero Rises" —
   "Anakin's Theme" (from The Phantom Menace)
4. "A Fateful Love" —
   "Across the Stars" (from Attack of the Clones)
5. "A Hero Falls" —
   "Battle of the Heroes" (from Revenge of the Sith)
6. "An Empire is Forged" —
   "The Imperial March" (from The Empire Strikes Back)
7. "A Planet that is Farthest From" —
   "The Dune Sea of Tatooine" / "Jawa Sandcrawler" (from A New Hope)
8. "An Unlikely Alliance" —
   "Binary Sunset" / "Cantina Theme" (from A New Hope)
9. "A Defender Emerges" —
   "Princess Leia's Theme" (from A New Hope)
10. "A Daring Rescue" —
    "Ben's Death" / "TIE Fighter Attack" (from A New Hope)
11. "A Jedi is Trained" —
    "Yoda's Theme" (from The Empire Strikes Back)
12. "A Narrow Escape" —
    "The Asteroid Field" (from The Empire Strikes Back)
13. "A Bond Unbroken" —
    "Luke and Leia" (from Return of the Jedi)
14. "A Sanctuary Moon" —
    "The Forest Battle (Concert Suite)" (from Return of the Jedi)
15. "A Life Redeemed" —
    "Light of the Force" (from Return of the Jedi)
16. "A New Day Dawns" —
    "Throne Room" / "Finale" (from A New Hope)

Cue List