John Williams recent musical output is nothing short of
astonishing. The epic sweep of “War
Horse” (2011), the jazzy action of “The Adventures of Tintin” (2011), the
stately “Lincoln” (2012), and this year’s haunting score for “The Book Thief”
prove the maestro is not just at the top of his game—he actually continues to
grow and evolve as an artist—showing a command of craft far beyond any other
living, currently producing composer.
The above works all demonstrate an ever growing complexity in
William’s stylistic tendencies, a pattern that has persisted since the early ‘90s.
This is a good thing of course because an artist must grow and evolve and continue
to meet new challenges or else face stagnation and inevitable decline. These
recent works are serious compositions and it is criminal that none of them won
the Oscar. “Warhorse” should have won in 2011 and although “The Book Thief”
will no doubt get a nomination, given the mixed reviews of the film it is a
long shot to take home the statue.
But as wonderful as these recent scores have been, there are
times when fans want to go back in indulge in some classic John Williams, when
he was operating at the peak of his blockbuster style. “Return of the Jedi”
(1983) is such a score. Although the “Jedi” score (similar to the film) is not
held in quite the same esteem as its two classic predecessors, “Return of the
Jedi”—especially as presented in the 1997 RCA re-mastered/expanded two-disc
collector’s edition—is a thrilling, mesmerizing and immensely entertaining
listening experience that any film music fan will relish for endless hours.
During the “Star Wars” resurgence of the mid-‘90’s it became
fashionable among the geek elite to dismiss “Return of the Jedi” as the “Godfather
Part III” of “Star Wars” films. This is way off the mark as anyone who was
there in 1983 can testify, the reaction to the film was tremendous. One of the all-time
great genre magazines, “SciFi Universe” even published a lengthy, obsessively
detailed, and hilarious cover story entitled “Fifty reasons we hate ‘Return of
the Jedi’ “. However, balance has been restored to the force since that time
and “Jedi” is held in somewhat higher regard now—due in large part to how messy and
uneven the recent prequels were.
“Return of the Jedi” may not be “Empire”, but it contains
some of the best scenes in the entire franchise, particularly the dramatic Throne
Room scenes with Luke, Vadar and the Emperor. The music in these scenes is both
inspiring and chilling—especially the use of an ominous chanting choir for “The
Emperor’s Theme”. This theme along with the
gorgeous “Luke and Leia” and the jaunty “Parade of the Ewoks”, form the
backbone of the new thematic material. All three of these themes get plenty of
work and a variety of statements throughout the 148 minutes of music on the RCA
release.
After opening with the traditional Fox/Lucasfilm fanfare and
main title crawl, disc one drives straight into the action and suspense with “Approaching
The Deathstar/Tatooine Rendezvous”, a robust cue announcing the return of Vader
with several interwoven statements of “The Imperial March”. When the action cuts to Tatooine, the music
begins with a rich, otherworldly suspense motif that foreshadows the Jabbe
theme and gives a hint of “The Force” theme for the arrival of a clad-in-black-cape
now fully functioning as a bad-ass Jedi Knight Luke.
“The Droids Are Captured” is a brief—and brilliant—vintage Williams’s
suspense cue full of classic John William’s exciting gestures and colorful
danger motifs. “Return of the Jedi” is packed with irresistible score material
that some might describe as incidental music—the stuff in between the big
action set pieces and concert style thematic statements. This is where Williams shines in way almost no
other composer does. There is always something interesting and imaginative to
take in and absorb. It is a very visual way to paint a musical feel of mystery,
danger, and tension—reminiscent of the composer’s avant-garde “Lost in Space”
music.
“Bounty For A Wookie” showcases Jabba the Hutt’s theme—a
slow, bouncy, rolling, tuba-based entertaining piece of music that sounds exactly
like music for Jabba the Hutt should sound. Always finding the exact right
sound for a character, another unparalleled strength of the maestro. Both Jabba’s theme and “March Of The Ewoks”
are musical descendants of William’s classic “March Of The Villains” theme from
“Superman” (1978).
"Luke Confronts Jabba/Den of the Rancor/Sarlacc
Sentence" is the first of many ferocious action set pieces that continues
to develop in "The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assault", a knockout cue
featuring the rousing suspense and explosive action music from Luke’s walk off
the plank. This scene also has one of the best heroic statements of the main
theme.
The thread of action music running throughout “Return of the
Jedi”, right up through the three “The Battle Of Endor” tracks, is astonishing.
This is John Williams action scoring at its most energetic—full of bursting
brass and escalating tempos—very much in the same pulse-pounding, frenetic,
wild-and-yet precise over the top bombastic style of another blockbuster
masterwork Williams would compose the following year, “Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom” (1984).
The outstanding tracks mentioned above are not the
highlights of the album—because the entire soundtrack is a highlight. Listening
to music from the original “Star Wars” trilogy—in a proper presentation such as
the 1997 RCA expanded special edition albums—is a fully absorbing, out-of-body
transporting experience. There is a musical narrative to “Return of the Jedi”.
It is the final movement of grand, sweeping opera—soundtracks that tell a story
in a deeply affecting way that only music can do. Outside of Howard Shore’s
masterful “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, there is nothing else like it in the
history of cinema quite like it.
Bottom line: “Return of the Jedi” is a captivating classic—a
riveting, endlessly entertaining soundtrack by a master composer at the peak of
his blockbuster style of scoring and a must own album soundtrack collectors or
anyone who simply wants to hear great music.
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