Star Wars is a masterpiece. It remains in my top ten favorite films of all times.
I think I was about 5 years too old to be enamored of this film at the time of release. It was certainly a departure for sci-fi, and I think I instinctively sensed this, even though I did not have the language to describe this at the time.
I think there is a lot to this. I saw Star Wars with my younger brother back in 1977 - I was 13, he was 11. What a difference two years makes. He loves Star Wars to this day, I am ambivalent. Always been more of a Star Trek guy, as the fantasy elements of Star Wars always turned me off.
However, I do remember being blown away in 1977 by the world George Lucas had created - you really did feel like you had been transported to another galaxy. Even if the humans were familiar, most of the rest of it felt brand new (and that's even taking into account all the "lifts" Lucas was guilty of).
Star Wars is a masterpiece. It remains in my top ten favorite films of all times.
I think I was about 5 years too old to be enamored of this film at the time of release. It was certainly a departure for sci-fi, and I think I instinctively sensed this, even though I did not have the language to describe this at the time.
I think there is a lot to this. I saw Star Wars with my younger brother back in 1977 - I was 13, he was 11. What a difference two years makes. He loves Star Wars to this day, I am ambivalent. Always been more of a Star Trek guy, as the fantasy elements of Star Wars always turned me off.
However, I do remember being blown away in 1977 by the world George Lucas had created - you really did feel like you had been transported to another galaxy. Even if the humans were familiar, most of the rest of it felt brand new (and that's even taking into account all the "lifts" Lucas was guilty of).
I agree with you about the music being low in the mix. It was fine in the quieter first half, when they were on the planet, but it did get buried under effects during the action half. At times it was as if someone were playing a record in the next room.
I agree with you about the music being low in the mix. It was fine in the quieter first half, when they were on the planet, but it did get buried under effects during the action half. At times it was as if someone were playing a record in the next room.
Exactly. And it didn't used to be that way. I posted this a while back on Facebook: "Just got done watching the 4K Atmos versions of the original Star Wars trilogy through a genuine state of the art, properly calibrated 9.1.6 Atmos system. Picture quality is impressive, except for the low-rez special edition CGI sequences. However, my overwhelming impression is that the music has gotten buried under sound effects more than ever before. During action scenes in particular you can barely hear it at all. I always remember being able to follow all the music note for note in the Star Wars films, and now it has been pushed so far into the background that I think anyone new to the films would wonder what the big deal is about the original Williams' scores."
One of my "Hollywood insider" friends commented that each time the original trilogy gets a new video release, Ben Burtt pushes the score further and further back when he creates the new surround mix. As much as I admire Burtt's work, I think he is doing the films a grave disservice.
Posted: May 26, 2020 - 11:42 AM Report Abuse Reply to Post By: maurizio.caschetto (Member)
Writer Doug Adams, musicologist/theorist Frank Lehman and film music expert Jim Ware join The Legacy of John Williams for a roundtable-like discussion on the music of Star Wars, with a specific focus on the score for The Rise of Skywalker:
This is for LoungeLaura, and off the subject, but I saw that you list The Sicilian Clan as one of your favorite scores. Have you heard John Zorn's version from the Naked City album? I saw this group at the Knitting Factory in New York in 1989 and between the thrash and avant-garde alto squeals the band snuck in versions of Sicilian Clan, James Bond Theme, A Shot in the Dark, Chinatown, and Contempt.
This is for LoungeLaura, and off the subject, but I saw that you list The Sicilian Clan as one of your favorite scores. Have you heard John Zorn's version from the Naked City album? I saw this group at the Knitting Factory in New York in 1989 and between the thrash and avant-garde alto squeals the band snuck in versions of Sicilian Clan, James Bond Theme, A Shot in the Dark, Chinatown, and Contempt.
Aaahhhh, to be Young and hip back when New York was trashy and hip! No....there was to be a local effort to bring John Zorn to the Tampa Bay Area to no avail. Lucky you!??
It was luck. With four friends, one night left in NYC, we couldn't agree where to go. Two of us went to the Village Vanguard to see saxophonist Frank Morgan and the other two went to the Knitting Factory. Mid-summer, sweltering heat, standing in the back. The music was amazing. None of us saw Star Wars that night.
This is for LoungeLaura, and off the subject, but I saw that you list The Sicilian Clan as one of your favorite scores. Have you heard John Zorn's version from the Naked City album? I saw this group at the Knitting Factory in New York in 1989 and between the thrash and avant-garde alto squeals the band snuck in versions of Sicilian Clan, James Bond Theme, A Shot in the Dark, Chinatown, and Contempt.
The only Zorn we have is the Spillane album. It is overdue for a spin. Thanks for the nudge!
Its cool if Star Wars didn't rock your boat in 77, its just not your thing. But age has nothing to do with the enjoyment of the film. My older siblings loved it. My father love it, I was somewhere around the 12- 14 age group. (don't feel like doing the math) The reason for its success was because it had wide appeal, dynamic characters, story telling, world building, effects, sound design and music. Most Star Trek fans loved Star Wars, even if over a 45 year period fans may prefer one over the other.
Star Wars is the answer to the disenchanted early Seventies hence its success. The character of Luke Skywalker is the prototype of the late Seventies teenager. Star Wars is a return to the Golden Age of Hollywood in terms of contents (see The Adventures of Robin Hood combined with western films) but with the Seventies stamp. Star Wars actually recycled the realism of both 2001 and Silent Running.
Considering its phenomenal success, it's odd that it didn't make a star out of any of the cast...well Harrison Ford, but Raiders did that, & he wasn't the first choice to play the lead.
Star Wars is the answer to the disenchanted early Seventies hence its success. The character of Luke Skywalker is the prototype of the late Seventies teenager. Star Wars is a return to the Golden Age of Hollywood in terms of contents (see The Adventures of Robin Hood combined with western films) but with the Seventies stamp. Star Wars actually recycled the realism of both 2001 and Silent Running.
"Star Wars" may be considered, if only symbolically, as the end of 70s existential auteur cinema and the beginning of Reaganite cinema.
Its cool if Star Wars didn't rock your boat in 77, its just not your thing. But age has nothing to do with the enjoyment of the film. My older siblings loved it. My father love it, I was somewhere around the 12- 14 age group. (don't feel like doing the math) The reason for its success was because it had wide appeal, dynamic characters, story telling, world building, effects, sound design and music. Most Star Trek fans loved Star Wars, even if over a 45 year period fans may prefer one over the other.
I don't know. In my experience, the kids who were a few years younger than I went ape#$%@ over this film. The kids in my age group may have enjoyed it, but we didn't go for all the merchandising and obsession. This was simply my experience; yours may have been different.
