main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Which of the Star Wars movie soundtracks is your favorite?

Discussion in 'Star Wars And Film Music' started by Darkslayer, May 10, 2014.

?

Favorite Star Wars Score?

  1. The Phantom Menace

    24 vote(s)
    10.4%
  2. Attack of the Clones

    10 vote(s)
    4.3%
  3. Revenge of the Sith

    68 vote(s)
    29.6%
  4. A New Hope

    27 vote(s)
    11.7%
  5. The Empire Strikes Back

    74 vote(s)
    32.2%
  6. Return of the Jedi

    27 vote(s)
    11.7%
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. MidKnighT

    MidKnighT Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    zisme and ObiWanKnowsMe like this.
  2. Warren Moonwalker

    Warren Moonwalker Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 30, 2015
    honestly, i like some of the renditions of certain star wars themes in the video games. those feel fresh and individualized. like the soundtrack for force unleashed. it's well done and still echoes themes from previous star wars soundtracks while setting their own motifs and ideas.
     
    DarthAnakin96 and zisme like this.
  3. Strongbow

    Strongbow Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2014
    ESB is the strongest, though it stands on the shoulders of the remarkable achievement that is the original Star Wars score. But it brings a LOT of new stuff to the table.

    Gotta say, TFA is working it's way up my esteem. IMO, Williams managed to do something really unique for it, and yet, it still feels very Star Wars. Love it.
     
  4. Silicon Jedi

    Silicon Jedi Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jan 9, 2016
    TESB is certainly the strongest overall. ANH started it all but it feels a bit weird in places because of this generic Imperial fanfare instead of the Imperial March every time Vader appears (the march hadn't been composed yet, after all). TPM has my favourite concert suite (Duel of the Fates), ROTJ my favourite opening ("Approacing Death Star") and climax (the Luke/ Vader / Emperor cofrontation), AOTC my favourite ending ("Confrontation with Dooku and Finale"), while ROTS is my overall favourite as a listening experience on album. What can I say, every single one of them is great and all of them have fantastic musical moments.
     
    ObiWanKnowsMe likes this.
  5. Zenwalker

    Zenwalker Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2015
    Imperial March. My 6 year old loves it and hasn't seen even seen ESB.
     
    ObiWanKnowsMe likes this.
  6. Huttese 101

    Huttese 101 Sam Witwer Enthusiast star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2016
    I figured most people's favorite soundtrack would be ESB since it has the Imperial March, and it is the critical and fan consensus that it's the best of the films. I really do like it too, but I'm not personally sure if it's the most cohesive of all the scores, but I do love "Yoda's Theme," "Han Solo and the Princess," and the "Imperial March" (even though I must have heard it a thousand times). I'm inclined to say the most thematically cohesive (and therefore the strongest) is the original: ANH. Also ANH's soundtrack screams "Star Wars" to me too. It's also the most classical of all the scores. John Williams was very influenced by Gustav Holst's The Planets for it, and it gives it an old-fashioned, adventurous, symphonic, maybe operatic (probably mostly because of its leitmotifs, but I'm not an expert in that department) feel, and as people have already mentioned, I've heard it re-popularized leitmotifs in film music. It also gave us "The Throne Room," "Binary Sunset/The Force Theme, the Star Wars Theme, and maybe my favorite which isn't being mentioned much, "Princess Leia's Theme." "Tales of a Jedi Knight/Learn about the Force" is also good and a wonder and mysterious thematic setup for the rest of the movies. I also really, really like the middle section of Imperial Attack playing when, in the movie, the droids are falling towards Tatooine in the escape pod, with the string build-up and that horn motif. It's very majestic, very Star Wars-y and if you notice I think it's repeated in other films.

    Strangely though, my favorite single song from all the movies might be Anakin's Theme. It's sort of exotic for what we're used to from the OT, sort of hopeful, but really melancholy. It's a pretty emotional song, and I think it matches the tone of TPM pretty well. It's too bad it doesn't recur more often in the other prequel movies (that I know of), especially ROTS. And speaking of ROTS, that one's one to look out for too. "Palpatine's Teachings" is so weird and eerie and ominous, it fits that scene so well. in a way it's the anti-"Tales of a Jedi night/Learn about the Force." "Padme's Ruminations" is probably the most exotic piece from any Star Wars movie so far (I believe including TFA), and the Immolation Scene is ingeniously powerful. But my favorite from the ROTS soundtrack must be the extended thirteen-minute End Credits music. It begins just like ANH's end credits, including the same arrangement of "Princess Leia's Theme," then a rendition of "Battle of the Heroes" (it's basically a fusion of OT and PT Star Wars), a full reprisal of the original arrangement of "The Throne Room," then a second reprisal of "The Throne Room" in another key with a beautiful reprisal of that motif from "Imperial Attack" because STAR WARS. It's just fantastic. It's like "Star Wars Grand Finale/Ultimate Throne Room Fireworks Laser-Light Show Blowout" or something.
     
    Sluice Friggins likes this.
  7. AT-AT420

    AT-AT420 Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Jan 2, 2016
  8. beedubaya

    beedubaya Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2014
    Revenge of the Sith; The fast paced score really helped make that movie what it was. Battle of the Heroes is one of the best in the Saga.
     
  9. ViktorShade

    ViktorShade Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jan 20, 2016
    Revenge of the Sith had great music at the end, Empire had the Imperial March, New Hope was the original, and Return of the Jedi had the celebration song which was gorgeous.
     
    ObiWanKnowsMe likes this.
  10. steelneena

    steelneena Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2007
    I mean, honestly, there's really no good choice. They're all fabulous! There are definitely great songs in each score. I think most recently I've come more to appreciate RotS as a score. Initially, I wasn't that thrilled by it, beyond Battle of the Heroes. I was a much bigger fan of the scores for ANH, ESB and TPM. Now, listening to RotS as a whole, I've realized what a really fabulous score it actually is. I love Anakin's Betrayal, Anakin's Dark Deeds, and the Credit's Medley is perhaps the most moving piece because, as was generally accepted at the time, RotS was it for Star Wars. That was it. It was this final grand swelling epic dedication to the entire saga and it really just moves me now.
     
    ObiWanKnowsMe likes this.
  11. 11-4D

    11-4D Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Revenge of the Sith. That soundtrack beats all other movies, in my opinion. It was able to convey so much emotion, much more than the dialogue and acting ever did.
     
    ViktorShade likes this.
  12. Howard Hand

    Howard Hand Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2015
    I'm not a big fan of the opening 2/3rds or so but it's hard to beat the last 1/3 (starting with the Mace Windu/Palpatine duel) in terms of brute force and sheer awesomeness.
     
    ViktorShade and ObiWanKnowsMe like this.
  13. Larsonator

    Larsonator Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 20, 2016
    Revenge of the Sith. It's actually the only full SW soundtrack that I keep on my phone.
     
    ObiWanKnowsMe likes this.
  14. dolphin

    dolphin Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 1999
    No Lifetime Achievement Award yet for John Williams. Strange.
     
  15. Howard Hand

    Howard Hand Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2015
  16. dolphin

    dolphin Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 1999
    Jedi Knight Fett likes this.
  17. ObiWanKnowsMe

    ObiWanKnowsMe Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2015
    All of them. All 6 are so amazing I literally cant pick one over the other. The soundtracks are just out-of-this-galaxy good
     
    dolphin likes this.
  18. Sluice Friggins

    Sluice Friggins Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2015
    ESB, because it carries over the main themes and motifs introduced in the brilliant soundtrack of ANH, then adds gems like "The Imperial March", "Yoda and the Force", "Han Solo and the Princess", etc. The soundtrack is just loaded. Not easy to pick just one though, because the maestro is just so consistently brilliant. If I had to pick one favorite song, it's probably "Across the Stars" from AOTC. So much emotion in that song, because, let's face it, things did not end well for our star-crossed lovers. Also, TFA is really growing on me. My new favorite motif: 5 notes, then 4 more......Kylo's in the house!
     
  19. medioCORE

    medioCORE Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 13, 2012
    ESB is the one I feel like I should say, but...

    As much as I really dislike Attack of the Clones as a movie (least favorite film in the saga, easily), I think it's my favorite Star Wars score. There's just something so... epic about it. Across the Stars is such a beautiful piece, and I love the the finale suite. Plus, the moment where Anakin leaves Padmé at the Lars Homestead to go find his mom is wonderful. The score is full of beautiful, haunting, sweeping, emotional, and exciting music.

    The Force Awakens has also really been climbing the ranks, too. I liked it when I first head it, but after many repeat listens, I find myself entranced by some of the new themes (Jedi Steps especially).
     
  20. Bossk74

    Bossk74 Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 15, 2016
    ESB to me has the strongest and most memorable soundtrack. From the Imperial march, Battle of Hoth, Asteroid scene to Yoda's theme. :yoda:

    My favorite score from ESB is the scene with Han Solo being frozen in carbonite. The music adds to emotional context of the scene and is simply amazing. :vader:

    ROTJ coming in a close second. It contains such rousing music to include the Sail Barge Assault & Luke vs Rancor... to the more soothing theme for Luke and Leia.:luke::leia:
     
  21. Strilo

    Strilo Manager Emeritus star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2001
    Might be time to redo this poll with Ep 7 in there...
     
    Jedi Knight Fett likes this.
  22. Ubraniff Zalkaz

    Ubraniff Zalkaz Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 26, 2014
    1. TESB
    2. TFA
    3. ROTJ
    4. ANH
    5. ROTS
    6. TPM
    7. AOTC
     
    Howard Hand likes this.
  23. Howard Hand

    Howard Hand Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2015
    This one is pretty close to my current (ever-changing) list. Though I might rank TFA a spot or two down.
     
    Ubraniff Zalkaz likes this.
  24. Ubraniff Zalkaz

    Ubraniff Zalkaz Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 26, 2014
    I could see that. I think there are better moments on ROTJ and ANH, but I like TFA overall slightly more. I think it also has to do with the what is on TFA soundtrack and its track listing compared to my versions of ROTJ and ANH.
     
  25. zisme

    zisme Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2016
    ESB followed closely by SW/ANH

    one of my favorite presentations of the star wars music is the soundtrack for dark forces ii: jedi knight. that game had such incredible atmosphere for its time, thanks in large part to the music
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.