Redesekration - Infernal War

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

...Over the past 28 years, composer/conductor John Williams has collaborated with Star Wars' creator, writer/director/executive producer George Lucas, providing the six Episode saga about the Skywalker family and its pivotal role in the history of "a galaxy far, far away" with a symphonic score that not only provides the films' characters, settings and situations with much needed emotional depth and weight, but also stands alone as beautiful orchestral music. Starting with the phenomenal best-selling two-record album of music from 1977's Star Wars (a.k.a. Episode IV: A New Hope), Williams' then-daring use of 19th Century Romantic era symphonic styles not only introduced a generation to instrumental music that wasn't rock or disco, but also reinvigorated the moribund art of film scoring and inspired many new composers -- Michael Kamen, Joel... 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

...INTRODUCTION So the Star Wars saga is finally over. With the late arrival of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas' cartoonish sci-fi fantasy has reached its dreaded and most dark and desperate climax as Anakin Skywalker finally succumbs to the Dark Side and becomes the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After The Phantom Menace failed to make the impression on the general public than was hoped, the prequels have been received with more of a feeling of "let's wait and see". Whereas the original trilogy of 1977-1983 was received with great excitement, the prequels have been sorely lacking in the ingredients that made the originals so gripping, namely more interesting characters, better structured stories, more authentic-looking space battles than those CGI-things we have today, and situations that kept you on the edge of your seat... Read review

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Advantages: John Williams still knows his Star Wars
Disadvantages: Not as original as you'd hope and the last film cue

...Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was probably the most expected film of 1999. After filming episodes IV-VI between 1977 and 1983 there had been a growing demand for the earlier episodes as well. The story of how Anakin Skywalker bacame Darth Vader was one that intrigued many Star Wars fans as well as the history of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, and after waiting for almost 20 years, George Lucas finally finished the filming of the very first episode entitled The Phantom Menace. Here we finally meet Obi-Wan's teacher Qui-Gon, we are introduced to Anakin Skywalker as a young child, and the Star Wars universe is expanded by several new planets as well. However, despite state of the art CGI effects, fast-paced action and a strong story, The Phantom Menace suffered from the same Lucas deficiencies as did Return of the Jedi, namely overtly... Read review

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