There’s a constant sense of Williams adding texture to old clothes, but it’s deceptive: out of the 100-odd minutes of music in the film, only seven minutes are made up of older themes, according to this fantastic interview with Williams.īut that sound remains nonetheless, a spectre hanging over this new generation of notes. Years later, that kind of reinvention hasn’t gone away: if you thought you couldn’t hear the Star Wars theme for the first time again, The Force Awakens‘ “ Scherzo For X-Wings” will set you straight with its sumptuous, smooth brass. In Episode I and Episode II, the Imperial March lingers in the background of young Anakin’s themes, giving his romance with Padme an ominous tone. It’s an achievement that shouldn’t be underestimated: how many other franchises have seven films under their belt with the same composer providing the music for each? The result is an astonishingly complete musical identity, which constantly turns to its individual parts for inspiration. What is ‘it’? It’s a combination of ticks and flourishes, from trumpeting triplets to harmonies and leaps, all of which add up to that consistent accompaniment across the saga. The Force Awakens may not be preceded by the 20th Century Fox ident (which is in the same key as the main theme – a deliberate move to continue the spirit of that fanfare), but from the opening chord, it’s clear that John Williams has still got it.
In all the film music that exists in the universe, there is one sound that is unmistakable: Star Wars. Because let’s face it, it’s never a bad time to listen to Star Wars one more time.Ģ. Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens So, before we delve into Morricone’s bag of tricks in more detail – and that time, I promise, will come – let’s take a moment to pause amid the awards snubs and celebrations and really appreciate the best film scores from 2015. And that’s not to mention Sicario, Carol, or Mad Max: Fury Road. After all, the last year was one heck of a 12 months for film soundtracks, giving us a new John Williams masterpiece, reminding us (thanks to Xavier Dolan) just how good Oasis’ “ Wonderwall” can be, and even capturing the power of silence in Miroslav Slaboshpitsky’s stunning sign-language drama, The Tribe. Yet a glance at the rest of the award season contenders reveals a whole array of different scores that deserve attention for different reasons. As Ennio Morricone bags a BAFTA for The Hateful Eight‘s music, and looks dead certain to finally pick up an Oscar, it would seem the perfect opportunity for this Music in Film column to stick on the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s wintery Western.