ROTJ ending music - "Yub Nub" or "Victory Celebration"?

I grew up on the OOT too (I was 6 when ANH was released to theaters in May '77), but I still prefer the '97 Victory song. The Yub Nub song was O.K. - in '83. However, the '97 ROTJ ending song is far superior & shows how the defeat of the Empire was celebrated throughout the galaxy, not just the small celebration on the moon of Endor...

 

Yub Nub all day long. Victory Celebration is okay, but its somber tone doesn't match the jubilation at the end of the film.

 

I'm an oldtime fan, and I've never liked Yub Nub. Even in the theater at 14 y.o. that song drove me nuts. Certainly on cable and video through the 80s and 90s. To this day it gets stuck in my head -- it's rotating there now as a result of this ^%&$#@*& thread -- so I absolutely prefer the VC.

My OOT preference tends to extend to ANH and ESB only. Overall I think the SE version of ROTJ is the better version of the film (except Jedi Rocks, which is vastly inferior to Lapri Nek and wasn't even written by Williams, so does not belong in the movie IMO). The Victory Celebration music is a big part of that overall improvement. It's bittersweet rather than goofily jubilant; its minor scale harmonies evoke triumph and at the same time loss. Also the helmet-xylophone and bass drum-tinkering are now in sync with what is actually happening onscreen. The original version is way off rhythmically in these shots.

 

According to the Making of ROTJ Lucas was never happy about the original music for the ending celebration.

(and just a quick note: Lapti Nek wasn't written by Williams either -it was written by his son).

 

I definitely prefer Victory Celebration. I like the bittersweet quality that it has. It matches perfectly. It is a victory, but one that came at a price. Victory Celebration is the perfect ending to the saga. Or it is until the Force Awakens comes out, I suppose....

To be honest, though, I had never listened to Yub Nub until a few days ago, so I guess I'm a little biased.
I actually do like the song Yub Nub, but it just doesn't work as well in ROTJ as Victory Celebration.

 

Victory Celebration

 

Victory Celebration. I never cared much for Yub Nub, but I do enjoy the MIDI version from Super Return of the Jedi.

 

Victory Celebration. I grew up with Yub Nub and love it, but Victory seems much more appropriate for the moment. Plus it's gorgeous.

 

Yub Nub all the way. Mostly because I know all of the lyrics ..

("Icha lowa" and now running off and hanging my head in shame)

 

Celebration! Just sounds better imo!

 

Honestly, Yub Nub was perfect when ROTJ was the end. Now that it's not the end the Victory Celebration fits better with it's bitter sweet tone.

 

Indeed. Good times.

 

Yub Nub mostly because I know it's there and know that everyone is dancing and clapping along to the song, but now on the SE DVD's, when Victory Celebration is on, the clapping and dancing doesn't match up. Also the pan flue is kind of blah...

 

Ugh, I HATE “Yub Nub”. “Victory Celebration” isn’t as good as “The Throne Room” or “The Rebel Fleet”, but it sounds like lovely, lovely Ludwig van compared to “Yub Nub”.

 

Exactly! It could be interchanged with any fantasy film soundtrack. Narnia,LOTR,etc.

 

Yub Nub, that the one I grew up with.

 

A lot of us find that corny

I think if I heard a really cool brass version of the tune I might change my mind, but the vocals made it cringey for me (though kind of endearing).
(On a side note - is there any doctored version of Great Municipal where the vocals are edited into straight "ahhs" and not so much "yah yah yah"? Can't stand that that nonsense, sure hope someone fiddled around with Audacity or something

I know that the first tune resembles Back to the Future / Avengers, not sure about other Star Wars tunes right now - but where were those in Yub Nub?

Actually there's percussion playing over the celebration montage, the melody only starts when they're back on Endor.
They made it fit brillantly, even worked in the helmet percussion in a creative way

Interesting - when I first heard it when watching the SE on TV (somewhere in 2002 or something), it took me completely by surprise and I was like "man, this is IT".
So yea, different strokes apparently...

Well yeah, there's like a melancholic distance there - Lando is all cheery, Luke is more bittersweet and the music kind of looks at it all from afar.
Also there's more atmosphere to it by any definition of "atmosphere" that I'm aware of - same goes for Municipal, obviously in a completely different way.

 

Speaking of which, does anyone know where to find the film version of victory celebration on youtube without all the soundtrack release "ya ya ya" stuff in it?

I mean the song itself without the scene, the only way I can find the original version of 'victory' is with clips from the film.

 

Um, you mean EpI ending, i.e. "Municipal Band"?
Victory is from VI and has no vocals, just a flute.

Pretty sure EpI ending is the same in soundtrack and film.

 

It's not.

The opening of the film version is clearly different to the soundtrack version:

 

I hate the "Yub Nub" tune from the original version of "Return of the Jedi". I really do. Even remembering it makes me wince these days. No one was more happy than me when the movie's final score was changed to "Victory Celebration".

 

No i'm talking about victory celebration in ROTJ SE, the film version is different from the soundtrack version.

 

Yeah, both are slightly different in the actual films.

But I was replying to this line: "Pretty sure EpI ending is the same in soundtrack and film."

 

I figured you had it confused because VC has no "ya ya" in it, only a flute...

and yes, just compared the two and they're different, but "the problem" exists in both