So, if you are fan of the Dark or the Light, lightsaber or blasters, you know about the new trailer that aired on Monday Night Football last week. The trailer for The Force Awakens was one of the most anticipated commercials for the entire night. Now, I have heard mixed feelings about this movie and it the franchise being controlled by Disney, but from what I have seen so far, the hype is truly real! I have already gone and gotten my tickets for the premiere showing of the movie and I actually have a good feeling about this reboot of a sort. If you haven't seen the trailer, I will put it in the space below this paragraph, but I feel like before I begin the review it deserves a bit of time. The trailer really hit me when the iconic song from Star Wars comes on. I mean I have watched this trailer over ten times and each time I feel chills when I hear dun-dun-da-de-dun-dun.
Now before I begin this soundtrack review, I must say that these review will be based upon the songs as they are utilized in all three movies of the trilogy and what they entitle.
Emotions and morality are large parts of the Star Wars franchise and seem to be one of the main themes throughout the movies. The idea of a Light and a Dark side of the Force that is determined by the moral choices and the emotions that the character exhibits and holds higher really show in the actions of the main protagonist and antagonist of the trilogy: Luke and Vader. So if the movie is very heavily reliant on story-telling through the emotions, morality, and the "falling to the dark side" of a character/characters, then the music should have some kind of tone to it when certain events are happening or certain characters are shown.
First of all, let's talk about the emotions of the viewers themselves. Star Wars has always started off with the same song and it serves as a enzyme for hype. Hearing the beginning of the song and seeing the backstory of the movie scrolling across the screen pulls everyone into the mood and makes the next two hours that much more interesting. Its orchestral instrumentation causes the song to have an upbeat tone, but even so it has parts within it that slow down and sound more serious and intriguing. The song is the ultimate form of nostalgia and really pulls in me as a viewer, but the song isn't even the best part, it is the silence right afterwards. That silence brings it home and pulls in my excitement and tells me to "get ready for a tale." It is not going to be all good or all bad and it pulls me right into the story.
While it is very normal and completely not original, the one song that will always send chills down my spine is "Binary Sunset" and it is really something that I will never be able to explain. It is just a wonderfully written song and it almost always wonderfully placed. The song is very lighthearted and peaceful, just as the character Luke is when he looks out across the desert towards the, as the name says, binary sunset. The song is continually used throughout the trilogy whenever the light side is present as it represent the mindset and emotions of a Jedi. The Jedi revolve around peace, calmness, and try to refuse the dark side of humanity and the emotions that lead to the corruption of the dark side.
The song, while peaceful and calm also has a kind of power behind it and also a longing for something. The song is dominated by wind and string instruments, which are most often associated with forests, nature, and wind itself. It flows unhindered and independent, just as the Jedi do. It seems like it is searching for something and while the Jedi push away emotions and keep from corrupting themselves they still have power to them as heard by the powerful brass instruments in the background, but not any more than the dark side does, in fact, they are at a disadvantage. One quote from Yoda explains the longing in this song, "Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight." It is easier for a person to take these emotions and use them. They are always in the back of the Jedi's mind even though they push them away. (This is an interesting idea I found while looking through some forums, the original idea holder is a person that goes by Strive-US)
Even though there is this longing at the same time I see strength within the expansion at 0:52. I see every part of this song embodied in Luke whenever he is fighting Vader or his own demons.
Now that I have the main song that I associate with the light side and its emotions, I want to leave the light side for a bit and move to the other side of the spectrum. The dark side of the Force is characterized and controlled by very strong passionate emotions like fear, aggression, and anger. Songs like "Imperial Attack" and "Imperial March - Darth Vader's Theme" are strong have very confident and powerful tones. They are both aggressive and dark with very heavy use of percussion instruments and other dictatorship like or regal instruments like brass instruments in contrast to the light sides strings and winds.
Brass instruments are very easily associated with anything with an Imperial nature in the movie and in the real world. Percussion and brass also have another thing in common: they are both very loud and brash. They are almost imposing on anything that is in the background of the songs of the dark side and almost completely overwhelm any other movements that could be there. This represents the anger, hatred, and other emotions that the dark side hold close to them. They do not allow any other mindset to seep in for that is seen as weakness. The Imperials impose themselves upon the worlds they control and destroy any that defy them. Though this also brings up another point as I mentioned briefly during "Binary Sunset." There is still a bit of wind in the background of these songs and shows that the Sith and the Jedi are not so different. While they do have very different ideals and emotions accustomed to them, they are both having thoughts from the other side of the Force leak into their minds.
"Imperial Attack" is from A New Hope and has only the beginnings of this aggression and anger that is characterized and accentuated by the Sith, but it seems to be lacking one of the big emotions that the Sith are supposed to have. The instrumentation and movements are not as imposing, but this can be partially attributed to the Empire still rising. It is not until later in the movie when the song "The Death Star" comes in that we can really hear that emotion: fear. This is a terrifying ball of death created by the Empire for the sole purpose of destroying anyone that defies them, especially the Jedi or the Rebels. You can hear the fear and foreboding heavily in the song, which while it is playing feels like it is weighing down on your shoulders. Very heavily reliant on brass instruments and the slowed tempo of this song always serve to strike a sense of foreboding and fear into my heart, knowing the damage that could be done with such a weapon. (Only the first minute of this video is "The Death Star" the rest is another song in the soundtrack called "The Stormtroopers")
As many other songs within the Star Wars trilogy, "Imperial March" is very well-known as being the theme for the main antagonist Darth Vader. This song is pretty much the anti-"Binary Sunset" and while "Binary Sunset" is a perfect embodiment of the light side of the Force this is the dark side. It is fast, confidant, and powerful. It does not fear, it causes fear. It is aggressive and moves in such a way as to make everyone know it. The movement itself makes itself known just as Vader does whenever he comes into play, he does not sit back in the shadows, he is very actively fighting at all points throughout this trilogy and the song is a very good fit for him. It is like they took "Imperial Attack" and pushed it up to its full potential. It is almost as if this is the strongest point of the dark side and the Empire and whenever I hear this song I get a unnerving feeling deep within me, even though he is only one person (and not a Death Star).
Imperial Attack:
Imperial March:
Now that I have pointed out songs within both spectrum of the Star Wars universe, what does it sound like when you have the two mixed into one? That is what "Ben Kenobi's Death" does. The song starts out very peaceful and very "Binary Sunset"-esque, but it trades off with the basis of "The Death Star" every other minute. Collapsing the two into one as Kenobi fights Vader and ultimately is killed. There is this mixing of peace and aggression, calm and anger, etc. While there are many songs that show a trend of the mixing of the two sides of the Force, I always feel very strongly with this one because of the scene with which it is matched with and the title gives away.
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