Saga "Scoreless" Sections of the Films

ben burtt talks about how every sw movie has a section that is completely scoreless and sound effects only. this topic is about those parts.

ep 1: is obviously the pod race

ep 2: is the conveyor belt scene

ep 3: not sure. the space battle? or the duel?

ep 4: trench run?

ep 5: the duel

ep 6: the speeder bike chase

ep 7: just checked it's the takodana rubble battle. from where they come out of the rubble until they get caught.

 

actually upon review ep 2's scoreless part is the arena monster scenes.

 

Interestingly, both the Arena battle, and the duel in ESB were originally intended to have music, and music was indeed composed for both scenes.

I suppose a better analogue for a scoreless scene in AOTC would be the Bounty Hunter Pursuit in the Asteroid field, where the action is literally carried by sound effects till the end. The sound of the charge releasing, Obi-Wan's alarm, the incredible sonic explosions.

I'm not sure about ESB though, though the part of the duel on the catwalk was definitely intended to be scoreless up until Luke loses.

Edit: And yes, the first 2 trench runs are scoreless.

And I suppose that the Grievous wheelbike chase is scoreless too, which could be ROTS' one.

 

The music goes silent for a bit after Anakin arrives at Palpatine's office to see Mace cornering Palpatine. Just the sound of the force-lightning, symbolic thunder in the background, and Mace and Palpatine arguing.
The music picks up again when Anakin states "You can't... he must stand trial!"

 

beginning of the dooku duel and palps office in ep 3. if there's another i missed it being engrossed in the film.

 

Here's some that I spot-checked:
TPM: the entire scene where Jar-Jar is walking w/ Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan until they jump in the water, when the fake queen orders the real queen to clean up R2 (lol), portions of the podrace, when Obi-Wan watches Qui-Gon duel with Maul (it does have some quiet chants of "Korrra.....raaathamaaaa" in the background if you listen carefully)
AOTC: when Anakin/Obi-Wan/Padme are on the couch discussing the threat to Padme, a small portion of the Jedi Council scene where instructions are given to Obi-wan/Anakin, most of the Dexter diner scene, asteroid chase, the beginning of Dooku & Obi-Wan's conversation, first portion of the arena sequence
ROTS: when Obi-Wan & Anakin are killing the droids in the hangar right after they leap out of their ships, during some more of Anakin & Obi-Wan's antics before they reach Dooku, when Anakin & Obi-Wan are talking right after crash-landing on Coruscant, when Anakin & Obi-Wan talk before Obi-Wan leaves for Utapau, when Palpatine & Anakin talk up until he reveals that he knows the dark side
ANH: when R2 shuts off Leia's message up until the end of the breakfast scene, Imperial round table meeting on the Death Star, Luke training onboard the Falcon, the "she's rich" scene on the Death Star between Han & Luke, when the creature grabs Luke's leg & pulls him underwater, when Luke & Han talk before the Yavin battle, parts of the Yavin battle
TESB: the scene where Leia kisses Luke, when Luke crash lands on Dagobah, the jump scare with Leia onboard the Falcon when its in the "asteroid", when Luke trains w/ Yoda on his back, parts of the duel
ROTJ: when Luke talks to Ghostbi-Wan Kenobi, speeder bike chase
TFA: when Rey first encounters BB8, when Kylo interrogates Poe, when Rey is fixing the gas leak, when Rey impresses Han by fixing the problem with the Falcon up until when BB8 projects the map, when Han implies that he sees through Finn's act up until when Han offers Rey a position with him & Chewy, Finn's duel w/ the storm trooper that calls him "traitor"

 

There are many score-less sections, some longer and some shorter. Some of them are just dialogue scenes, and some are action scenes that are carried over by sound effects (Burtt is referring to those, basically). Since most of the movies are scored wall to wall, those "silent" scenes are significant, as they do provide a nice breather.
I'll list the most significant portions of each movie without score:

The Phantom Menace
-The first "silent" section is Jar-Jar's introduction (a portion of which was originally scored, but the music was dropped). A nice breather after the whole first section of the film.
-The second full scene without music is when the Queen names R2-D2 for the first time. Again, a small breather after the whole first act.
-Severall of the Tatooine street scenes only use background source music, such as the entrance to Watto's shop, and several of the Qui-Gonn vs. Watto scenes.
-The very first section of the dinner table scene. (this is another way of scoring: starting the music in the middle of a scene to give an extra "push" of emotion).
-Most of the podrace sequence goes unscored, and that's the big oportunity for the sound effects in the movie. The music ONLY appears at the very end of the chase, again, to give a final push to the sequence.
-The first part of the Palpatine-Queen scene in Coruscant doesn't have music. The first section of the Senate scene doesn't have music either..
-Virtually all the final battle does have music except for a few sections: the approach of the droid army, the "activate the droids" moment (both were originally scored, but they work better without music) and Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul.

As you can see, almost all the movie does have music, and the onyl significant unscored section is the podrace, which is a wise choice: it makes the action sequence different from the rest of the battles and chases, and it's the only sensible moment to drop the music (you can't have the final battle unscored for example).

 

Attack of the Clones
-No music during the first argument between Anakin and Obi-Wan (in front of Padme), but there is music at the beginning and ending of the scene.
-No music during the Jedi Council scene either (again, another very short moment, a small breather after the chase)
-Dex's dinner only uses background source music
-The very beginning of the conversation between Obi-Wan and the Prime Minister of Kamino isn't scored either.
-The beginning of the conversation between Anakin and Watto isn't scored.
-The Asteroid sequence: this is the first significant "silent" portion of the movie (and the lack of music goes very well with the sound effects of the scene). The music only appears at the very end of the fight.
-The beginning of the conversation between Obi-Wan and Dooku isn't scored either.
-The Arena fight with the monsters isn't scored until the very end. Williams composed a great cue for the scene but it was dropped (and re-used in episode III). I do think the scene works better and feels more "realistic" with only sound effects (there are "drum effects" used).
-A small section of the beginning of the big Clone War isn't scored either (when both armies start attacking each other).

And that's it. There are other "quiet" moments, but they all have music (as does the Conveyor belt scene, by the way). The asteroid scene and the arena fight are the only significant unscored portions.

 

Revenge of the Sith
-Interestingly, there are several "long" moments during the first act which aren't scored (some of which did have music composed and was dropped). These include the whole elevator sequence, the beginning of the Dooku duel (until Obi-Wan is kicked away), the heroes being captured by the ray shield and the beginning of the fight in the command bridge. My guess is that, since the second half of the movie is literally wall-to-wall scored (because it's a huge operatic drama), Lucas decided to compensate the movie with a first act with a very different tone and mode, and that includes having less music. (Also, I feel it ties better with ANH, which is the least scored of the films).

Then, we have several scenes which have small unscored sections:
-After the "happy landing", Obi-Wan and Anakin's conversation is not scored, and neither is Palpatine and Mace Windu's conversation.
-There are a few silent seconds in the war-room scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan, but the music picks-up again soon.
-The are two consecutive scenes which start without music: the conversation between the three Jedi masters ("I don't trust him") and Padme-Anakin ("you're sounding like a Separatist). The next scene, the Opera scene, starts only using source music as well.
-The farewell conversation between Anakin and Obi-Wan is not scored.
-There are a few silent moments at the beginning of the Grievous-Obi-Wan confrontation ("Hello there!" and "I will deal with this Jedi scum myself").
-The beginning of the big reveal of Palpatine is not scored; the music only begins when Palpatine mentions the Dark Side to Anakin.
-The beginning of the motorbike chase on Utapau is not scored.
-After Windu "defeats" Palpatine, the music stops as Anakin enters, and only picks-up again when Palpatine is deformed and apparently weakened.

After that moment, the movie is virtually wall-to-wall scored. The last few silent sections are:
-Padme leaves Coruscant (just the first few seconds).
-Anakin reports to Palpatine that the separatists have been killed (again, just a few seconds).

And that's it. As you can see, there are no unscored moments left for sound effects to shine in this movie: the stakes are higher and the drama is too important to stop the music. The exception is the whole opening act, in which there are several unscored moments, but none of them are big showcases for sound effects.

 

A New Hope
This is the least scored movie of the Saga. About 30 minutes of the film don't have music. This has to do with the year in which it was made, of course (1,5 hours of music was A LOT! back then), and it gives a clearly different feel to the movie. The lack of music makes it sound less elegant, less operatic, less fantastic and more realistic, gritty, rough (which fits the movie, since it lacks Palpatine, Yoda and all the "personal drama" of the other episodes). Nevertheless, the movie is quite heavily scored, compared to other movies!
-The first scene of 3PO and R2 on Tatooine is the first silent scene of the movie, after the big "loud" prologue.
-R2 being observed by the Jawas is also unscored (although it's not clear if it was meant to be. Williams did compose a longer cue for the scene, but the music was composed before the pick-ups were completed for the scene. In any case, it works better with silence).
-After Luke's introduction, the rest of the robot sale scene is unscored.
-All the garage scene doesn't have music until Leia's hologram appears.
-The dinner scene doesn't have music until Luke leaves.
-Owen calling for Luke doesn't have music.
-There are a few moments of "silence" after Ben takes off his hood and before Luke asks about "Obi-Wan".
-Several sections of the scene at Ben's house are unscored (music is used to describe the fate of Luke's father, Leia's message and Luke's refusal to help).
-The first Death Star scene doesn't have music (and actually, most of the Tarkin-related scenes don't have music).
-The entrance to the cantina isn't scored. And the whole cantina sequence is only scored with source music (to great effect!)
-After Alderaan explodes, we have a long section of unscored film: Luke trainning in the Falcon, the chess play, coming out of the hyperspace... The music reapperas as they are trapped by the tractor beam.
-After the Falcon lands inside the Death Star, there is no music as Vader orders to scan the ship.
-All the scene in the control room in which the heroes are divided doesn't have music.
-Most of the trash compactor scene is unscored (the dianoga part and the beginning of the walls converging). Interestingly, this is the only place were music was written and dropped in the whole movie.
-The lightsaber fight was left unscored, and as others have said, it was meant to showcase the sound effects.
-After the dogfight, it was decided by Lucas and Williams that, after "all the music filled three quarters of the movie", a long unscored section was needed. Therefore, there is a 10 minute break, in which the heroes get to Yavin and all the war-plans are made. The music only picks-ups when the final battle begins. This is the longest "scoreless" section in the whole Saga.
-The first two trench runs aren't scored either. Again, it was decided that a breather was needed before the music begins again with Luke's trench run.
-The reunion of the heroes isn't scored.

 

The Empire Strikes Back
This film was originally almost wall-to-wall scored, but several sections of the score were dropped in favour of silence (to create a better, more naturalistic, atmosphere to the Hoth and Dagobah sequences).
Another small detail is that the SE "corrects" some of the music choices made for the original 70mm version of the film, restoring some bits of music where they should be.
-The first scoreless sections comes with Han's arrival at the Rebel base and his conversation with Reekan (all of which was originally scored).
-Again, music is dropped when Luke's absence is noted (the sound effects of the cold wind and Taun-tauns are more effective).
-After Luke leaves the cave, there is no music for several scenes of Han and Luke in the snow and Leia closing the doors (again, it was originally scored).
-The reunion of the heroes and "the kiss" were never scored. Furthermore, the next sequence of the explosion of the probe droid doesn't have music in the final film either.
-After the first scene with Vader, two mini-scenes aren't scored (Luke leaving the medical droid...)
-There's a small break from all the battle music when the AT-AT are seen for the first time. But otherwise, the whole battle is scored wall to wall.
-After the battle, there's a nice breather with a scene with no music between R2 and Luke. Similarly, their landing in Dagobah isn't scored.
-The scene of Han and Leia after they land inside the monster ("we don't have time for anything else") isn't scored.
-In Yoda's first scene, the music is dropped until the very end. (The original music was playful and funny, and the absence of music makes the scene more mysterious).
-Inside Yoda's house, there's no music until Ben starts speaking.
-The music written for the mynock scene was dropped in the first part of the scene.
-Similarly, the music for Luke's first trainning scene was dropped (until the cave scene).
-There are a few seconds of no music before Luke tries to lift the starship from the swamp ("do or do not")
-Needa's death doesn't have music. Also, Han and Leia's conversation about Lando doesn't have music.
-Lando's encounter with Han and the group doesn't have music.
-Chewie finding 3PO doesn't have music. Also, Chewie in the prison cell isn't scored until he starts to fix 3PO.
-There is no music during the scene when Vader inspects the carbon freezing chamber.
-The first sections of the duel don't have music in the final film, again, with the intention of highlighting the sound effects. The last section of the duel doesn't have music either.
Once Vader cuts Luke's hand, there is music until the end of the film.

As you can see, there are several moments left without music, that (with the sounds of the cold winds of Hoth and the creepy Dagobah creatures) create a more mysterious and realistic soundtrack in some places. However, there's much more music than in ANH.

 

Return of the Jedi
Following the trend of the OT, this film has more music than both ANH and Empire, and is closer to the Prequels in that regard.
-There's no music when the droids enter to Jabba's palace and face Bib Fortuna for the first time. Also, the encounter with Jabba is only scored with source music.
-The "torture droid" scene isn't scored either.
-During the Sarlaac sequence, the moments before the battle aren't scored (there's only a very short cue for the arrival to the pit, and source music for the sail barge).
-After the big fight, a breather reminiscent of the previous film: Luke and R2 in the X-Wing doesn't have music.
-The music was dropped for the establishing shots of Dagobah and for the conversation with Ben until the very end.
-The first part of Mon Mothma's speech is unscored. So is Han's goodbye with Lando.
-The first few shots of the heroes on Endor isn't scored.
-The spider bike chase isn't scored at all: the biggest sequence of the film with no music.
-Some early moments of Wicket don't use music (just a few seconds here and there).
-The ewok feast only uses source music until the levitation. And there's no music after 3PO's tale until the Ewok's decide that they are "part of the tribe"; at that point there is more source music.
The whole final section of the film is wall-to-wall scored. There's only a small moment of silence after the big explosion of the Death Star.

 

What immediately stands out to me is Finn vs Kylo. IMO the lack of music creates a great tension there - you just hear the aggressive growling and hissing of the lightsabers (Ren's in particular). It enhances the scene. I love it.

 

anh is definitely the trash compactor.