Classic War Movie Themes - London Theatre Orchestra

Advantages: John Williams' score, great performance by the LSO
Disadvantages: Tracks don't follow the film's action

...a specific movie; The Forest Battle from Return of the Jedi and Landspeeder Search from A New Hope never recurred in any other Star Wars film. On the other hand, The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme), Yoda's Theme from The Empire Strikes Back, and The Emperor's Theme are quoted in all the subsequent Episodes in various guises, since those three characters are major players in both the Prequel and Classic Star Wars trilogies. Because Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith's narrative deals with Anakin Skywalker's tragic transformation into the evil Darth Vader and the rise of the Galactic Empire, Williams' score blends music from The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones with such familiar themes from A New Hope as Luke's Theme and Princess Leia's Theme. And intertwined with the familiar motifs are new cues such as the signature Battle... Read review

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Advantages: Some hugely effective underscore cues that bring a lot of dramatic gravitas the music needs
Disadvantages: As a final Star Wars score by Williams it misses it's mark in the end

...for potential buyers. Heavy on drama, but at a loss in the big picture of Star Wars music, Revenge of the Sith is still an enjoyable score (that is as far as you can enjoy your Star Wars music in a more doom-laden atmosphere). As I mentioned in my review for Attack of the Clones, for film score fans there really is no question about whether to get this or not, since the scores for Star Wars are still the cream of film scoring and should be found from even the most bare-boned of collections. A great score that is let down by its album presentation. PS. I have now seen the movie and can make a few general statements. As for missing material of spectacular importance I found very little which is a little disappointing in that the score as a whole remains less thematic than I hoped it would be. Anakin's theme officially didn't appear once, "Duel... Read review

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Advantages: A solid Star Wars score with an absolutely fantastic new theme
Disadvantages: Muddy recording quality and a little less exciting action for a Star Wars score

...of mindless warriors along with Senator Palpatine's continued rise and fall to the Dark Side. As always composer John Williams with the London Symphony Orchestra followed Lucas in creating the soundworld for the galaxy far, far away with the same kind of grip he always has. In The Phantom Menace we essentially had Williams harking back to the style of his earlier Star Wars scores in terms of thematic development and stylistic similarities. With the creation of two new major themes (Duel of the Fates and Anakin's Theme) as well as a number of smaller themes and motifs along with the inclusion of older themes like the Force Theme and Imperial March (in a more subdued and foreboding form) The Phantom Menace proffered a rich tapestry of thematic material that maintained the connections to the earlier scores as well as worked great as a stand... Read review

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