Sometimes, Inspiration hits when you least expect it.
Sitting at my desk, racking my brain over what to write about, I happened across a link to this video.
For those who know me, there is little that I appreciate more than Star Wars. One of the major things Lucas did right originally was to sign on John Williams for the score rather than go with the “pop” being churned out. Which, sadly, was an actual consideration. For me, Williams’ scores for epic films are a bit like Danny Elfman’s scores for some of the darker or stranger films out there. If you’ve seen it, and it was epic, and it fell between 1970 and 2000, it was probably made awesome by the musical talents of John Williams.
The saddest part of the most recent Star Wars films was the lost spirit of ingenuity that went into the original three. Lucas had to try and convince us that things were real before, and he did a great job. Did you know that the fighters were stationary and it was just the camera moving? Did you think that C-3PO and R2-D2 were actually people? Didn’t you think the speeder bikes were really flying through the jungle? The films are filled with examples where Lucas focused on making you believe you were there. In the more recent films, he opted to go for a more fantastical approach that neglected the need to feel engaged by the environment. No one is fooled by the computer generated animation. We can see it, and instantly we remember that it’s not real. Part of the magic of the old sci-fi films was that you had the chance to be a part of the environment because it was real, it didn’t rely on you being able to imagine away the graphic treatment.
Likewise, John Williams score was a design feature of the film that made it cohesive and allowed the viewer to relate to it without dissonance. You didn’t have to get past cheesy lyrics to get the emotion from the compositions, and Williams was able to underscore the events by retelling them in music. Darth Vader didn’t just impact your visual senses. You didn’t just see the dark, looming figure. You felt his presence as the Imperial March matched his motions step to step as a part of his character as much as the sound of the respirator.
And that’s the brilliance of design. You don’t necessarily know it’s there (although clearly you may recognize it without issue) but without the cohesive structure the work would suffer. Without the imagination and craft, you trade Empire Strikes Back for Phantom Menace.
So, thank you John Williams. And sweet performance John Williams tribute guy.
For shizzle…what a great video, and you hit the nail on the head with the analysis.