Tournament: Favorite Film Score [Winner Inside!]

The Empire Strikes Back 10
Star Wars 5

<img src="http://www.fvaathletics.org/mo/Media/esb.cover.jpg">

 

Predictable from the start, but only because this is the rightful winner. Like I said, John Williams' best work would naturally be the best score of all time. The Empire Strikes Back does everything a film score needs to, and more.

The New: Williams introduces plenty of new themes here, which he uses to great effect throughout the film. Han Solo and the Princess begins softly during the battle of Hoth, finally building to a grand climax as Leia kisses Han goodbye, and then as she and Chewie pursue Boba Fett through Cloud City. It's a slight play on Leia's theme, and forms the second part of the trilogy of Romantic themes Williams constructs around Leia and weaves through the trilogy (the third, of course, being Luke and Leia).

Yoda's theme plays in the most during the Dagobah scenes (and, inexplicably, during the escape from Cloud City, though it does work nicely in those scenes). It is at once a quiet theme becoming of the hermit Yoda, and a mythically powerful theme that encapsulates musically Yoda's strength in the Force.

And, of course, Darth Vader's theme, more commonly billed as the Imperial March. Hands down the most recognizable and most used piece of film music in history, there's no doubt that it's one of Williams' crowning achievements. The sheer versatility of this theme, used here mainly as a bombastic march, but also more tragically and mysteriously, only continues to built upon in Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace. Excellent scoring here. The only shame is that many of the variations Williams recorded were not used in the film, in favor of tracking in statements from the concert suite.

Aside from themes, Williams created an exciting battle piece for the Battle of Hoth, which is exciting and compelling the entire way through. And the entire soundtrack from Carbon Freeze to the end is the single best example of dramatic scoring in the history of film. At once epic and personal, triumphant and tragic, it perfectly captures the mood of the film in music.

The Old: Not only does Williams create new themes, but he seamlessly integrates them with the themes established in Star Wars. The Force theme returns on swelling strings as Luke reaches out to Leia after his duel with Vader. Hints of the Rebel fanfare pepper the battle of Hoth. Leia's theme makes a brief appearance as she is first seen on Hoth. All of the old themes are developed, and continue to be used in new and interesting ways, especially the aforementioned statement of the Force theme.

So What? So it wins. This is really just the tip of the iceberg, but it's also midnight, and I'm tired. More knowledgeable folk than me will come along and expound, I'm sure.

 

At least it wasn't Revenge of the Sith.

 

Agreed.

 

Seconded.

 

you should create a list of the final 10 scores