Ranking Episode I-VI ending songs

In other words, every Star Wars movie from Episode I-VI has an ending theme. Rank the SONGS from best to least best. NOT the moments, for example, my favorite ending moment is in Episode VI, but it doesn't have my favorite ending song in it. That's what I'm talking about tell me your's! Thanks!

1. Episode III
2. Episode VI
3. Episode II
4. Episode IV
5. Episode V
6. Episode I

they're all great! that's just my order

 

always difficult to rank SW music. let's see..

v - the rebel fleet - one of my favorite musical moments in the saga, period. just beautiful music from the opening strings and harp accents to the clarinet(?) solo before the full orchestra swell. matches the gorgeous visuals and emotions of the closing perfectly.

iv - the throne room - instantly recognizable and recalled classic. need i say more?

ii - across the stars reprise - memorable William's theme, but not my favorite. would probably have had more of an impact if i had been sold on the romance. i do like that it is new/original and stands well on its own.

iii - a new hope - nice montage of familiar themes. does a good job tying the trilogies together.

vi - ewok celebration/victory celebration - "yub nub" is a bit of an oddball, but it sure as heck sticks in your head and is fun in context. if anything it shows off William's versatility, and i like how it builds before the finale kicks in. i'm not a fan of the special editions, but I can somewhat appreciate the additional scenes added to ROTJ that bring a larger scope to the victory over the empire. the score here however is not particularly memorable for me

i - augie's great municipal band - considering how strong the rest of TPM's soundtrack was, this one really comes up short for me. seems strangely out of place, even if it does fit the scene

 

Oooh, very tough

I'll do all seven current episodes, so

ANH: Come on. No explanation needed. I hum this music almost on a daily basis at some point

AOTC: A theme of mystery, almost like covered in a thick mist, a dark and ominous sense, followed by the sprouting Imperial March and a triumphant rendition of Across the Stars. Beautiful

TESB: I love the way the Force theme and the Han/Leia love theme play so serenely here. Yeah, a lot of stuff has just happened, but there's still a silver lining, however thin

ROTJ (SE): I don't know why, but this theme makes me really emotional. It's just such a "happy ending" theme for Anakin's journey and Luke becoming a Jedi in full

ROTS: It's a more subtle telling of a remaining hope at the bottom of the box. Leia's theme as she's dropped off at Alderaan, Luke's as he's delivered on Tatooine, then of course the famous Binary Sunset while the Larses hold him, looking to the twin suns as Obi-Wan leaves, ready to be a distant guardian

TFA: Jedi Steps is just such a magical theme. And then as it comes to a climax when Luke turns around, it switches to the Force theme as Rey extends the lightsaber and they exchange such meaningful looks (best acting I've ever seen from Mark Hamill, btw). The Force theme then sort of distorts into a sense of "just wait for what comes next!" Very Lucasy

TPM: A theme of evil disguised as a victory theme, but not too much else. I love it, but I feel it doesn't have as much substance to it. Love those drums though

ROTJ (Yub Nub): Uh.... well it's a cool song, I guess

 

wow, this is going to be really difficult........ well.

(1) A New Hope- it's a good scene all together but the music makes it great. just epic music.
(2) The Phantom Menace- very triumphant and happy music. I love the scene all together but the music adds to it
(3) The Force Awakens- The Jedi Steps. So mystical and love how the music gets louder as Luke reveals himself.
(4) Revenge Of The Sith- Epic scene, epic music, very powerful and emotional
(5) Return Of The Jedi(Yub Nub and SE Version)- I love the Yub Nub music and the special edition music. Never have been able to decide which one I like better.
(6) Attack Of The Clones- Across the Stars is very powerful and one of my favorite songs John Williams has ever composed. Still it falls barely behind ROTJ music
(7) Empire Strikes Back- Love the sense of mystery that the ending music has. If I had to pick, it would be my least favorite but all of them are great. This was so hard to rank them, ugh!

 

1. ESB - Not much to say here, it's great
2. ANH - Not much to say here, it's also great.
3. AOTC - That transition from the love theme into the end credits is to die for.
4. TFA - Chill-inducing in context. It gracefully covers a wide range of emotions. My favorite moment is when the b-part of the Force theme comes in (heard in full for the first time in the entire score) on the close-up of Rey as all of her hesitation and fear fades away (all conveyed purely through her facial expressions without the aid of dialogue).
5. ROTJ (Yub Nub) - Not great, but the weaker "Victory Celebration" has given me a new appreciation for it.
6. ROTS - The Force theme statement here is nice but the weak transition into the end credits really kills it for me.
7. TPM - Ehhh... A bit too chipper and cute though it is fairly unique.


8. ROTJ (Victory Celebration) - One of mt least favorite Williams-composed Star Wars pieces. It sounds more like a new-age remix of The Lion King than anything remotely Star Warsy or even Williamsy.

 

1. TFA-Simply love Jedi Steps, not much else to say.
2. AOTC-The Imperial March and its transition to Across the Stars are tremendous.
3. ANH-Maybe should be higher but oh well.
4. TPM-I just find the fact that little kids are singing the Emperor's theme to be quite fascinating.
5. ROTJ-Yub Nub would be way higher but I'll rank Victory Celebration here.
6. TESB-Not bad.
7. ROTS- My favorite movie but my least favorite ending songs. It just doesn't really grab me. Interesting that Williams' last two SW movies have had the Force theme lead into the credits. For some reason I love TFA's but this one kind of falls flat for me.

 

1. ANH - "Throne room and end title" - It always puts me in a good mood!

2. AOTC - "Confrontation With Count Dooku and Finale" - Love it, it has a mixed of mystery which hints a lot about the tragedy to come.

3. ROTJ - "Ewok Celebration/Finale" - I simply love the happy ending of ROTJ when I thought that the saga was complete before Episode VII was announced. Despite the fact that some prefer Yub Nub, I think instead the new soundtrack is better.

4. TPM - "Augie's Great Municipal Band and End Credits" - I like it even if it does seem kiddy to some. The triumph and the victory celebration.

5. ROTS - "A New Hope and End Credits" - Even if it's my favourite movie with one of my favourite ending scene in the Star Wars saga, the other soundtracks surpass it. But I still like it very much.

6. TESB - "The Rebel Fleet/End Title" - I like the sense of mystery and hope at the end.

7. TFA - "The Jedi Steps and Finale" - even if I liked the movie, it has my least favourite soundtrack list in all of the Star Wars movies. But I still like it, it's just not as memorable as the music in the previous 6 movies.

 

Glad to see the Throne Room Finale is mostly at the top-some of the best score ever, IMO!

1. ANH (as mentioned above)
2. AOTC (Such beautiful score, really hearkens of what is to come, and ends perfectly)
3. ROTJ (The Galactic Celebration-NOT Yub Nub. How people could prefer THAT and hate Jedi Rocks is beyond me)
4. ROTS (Very dramatic, and a perfect ending to a trilogy but just not my favorite)
5. TFA (nice but not too memorable IMO)
6. TPM (Gungans aside, it's a nice, uplifting melody, with some nice exotic island flavors in it)
7. ESB (Love the score for this film, but the ending is surprisingly weak in comparison IMO-scene AND music)

 

Personally, I just feel that Yub Nub has more charm and character. "Victory Celebration" might be one of the most generic pieces Williams has composed with an absolutely boring melody and orchestrations that would feel more at home in a Lion King sequel. Plus it doesn't match nearly as well with the visuals and the transition to the end credits is awful.

"Jedi Rocks" is on an entirely different plane of awful. "Yub Nub" might be a bit cheesy but it doesn't even approach the unpleasant and utterly cringe worthy "scream-in-your-face" demeanor of the aforementioned song. It's easily the worst moment of any Star Wars film.

 

I think the hatred with "Jedi Rocks" has more to do with the choreography of the dance and the "in-your-face" camera angles than with the actual song.

 

Agreed oierem. I'm not particularly a fan of Jedi Rocks, mostly due to the visual aspect. I also prefer the original Lapti Nek as it has a much more unique sound to it-more befitting a SW movie IMO. But I at least like the song itself better than Yub Nub.

I suppose the galactic celebration score will be one of those things that comes down to personal preference. I like it because it's the end of an era, and IMO galactic celebration does a better job of encompassing that emotion. (Which, IIRC that is one of the main reasons they made that change.) I personally just think Yub Nub sounds quite silly, like something from a show my kids would watch on the Sprout channel.

It's kind of funny Howard Hand that you mention galactic celebration as sounding like something from Lion King-cos I feel that Yub Nub actually is the one that sounds much more like something from a Disney cartoon. Also IMO ending with that kind of music is a rather lame way to end a whole trilogy.

But like I said, it's all very personal.

 

Ranking them not just in terms of the quality of the soundtrack, but what the underlying tones actually mean from a story point of view and how they complement their corresponding visuals:

1. AOTC - the first section is a version of imperial march, foreshadowing how the clone army will evolve into stormtroopers of the empire as they enter star destroyers and fight the Clone Wars while their supreme commander (chancellor, later emperor) palpatine surveys from above, followed by a seamless transition to across the stars, played as anakin and padme are married in a paradise-esque locale.

2. TPM - although seemingly cheerful celebration festival music, this is actually a rendition of the emperor's theme, but sped up and in a major key as a subtle disguise, hinting at palpatine furthering his goals to achieve galactic domination.

3. TFA - the legendary jedi master himself is revealed as his theme plays. In some ways the way this is used is very similar to ROTS. In both endings, the galaxy is under threat, and luke is the only one who will have to stand up to it.

4. ROTS - while the republic and the jedi are no more, there is still a hope in the galaxy in the form of one simple farmboy, luke skywalker, as A New Hope conveys, used in a similar fashion again in TFA

5. ANH - the throne room - a simple, militaristic version of the force theme is played as medals are given to the two heroes after their first major victory against the empire. It's fitting for the first film and is a great example of how a celebration should be.

6. ESB - a slightly tragic, sadder tone of Han Solo and the Princess is played as han is captured, and luke and leia look out of the ship's windows, worried about their future, their morale diminished and the empire seemingly in control again.

7. ROTJ - Victory celebration/Yub Nub, not much I can say about this one to be honest.

 

1) The Force Awakens
2) The Empire Strikes Back
3) Attack of the Clones
4) A New Hope
5) Revenge of the Sith
6) Return of the Jedi
7) The Phantom Menace