Best of the Best: The Star Wars Soundtrack Countdown

VII-IX Pending.

I’ve had very little time to focus on action figure reviews or photography over the last few weeks as my university course has grown increasingly hectic (it’s the final year rush!), but one thing that’s kept me going in that time has been Spotify, and in particular the fantastic work of John Williams. Whilst I’ve been happily listening to his scores for Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and The Book Thief, it’s really the Star Wars soundtracks that made me fall in love with his music, over and above, say, the incredible themes for E.T. or Indiana Jones. 

The thing is that when you begin to consider the music as a separate entity to the films a very different order of preference emerges, and the prequels don’t seem quite as bad anymore… With that in mind, I proudly present:

The Star Wars Soundtrack Countdown

6. Return of the Jedi

Coming at the tail-end of the OT, the Return of the Jedi soundtrack has its moments, such as the soaring, operatic majesty of Luke and Leia or the haunting Emperor’s Throne Room. However the music rarely takes off, and never feels quite as vibrant as the earlier scores, due in large part to the production which is almost muted and flat by comparison to the earlier records. The Special Editions were the hardest on this film as well, as we were ‘treated’ to the appalling Jedi Rocks and inferior Victory Celebration tunes – celebrate the love indeed. Like the actual film, the Jedi soundtrack has some depth, but a lot of filler. Still worth a listen though!

5. Attack of the Clones

On a similar note (hah!), the Attack of the Clones soundtrack has some beautiful moments, such as Across the Stars and Yoda and the Younglings; but it still falls a bit flat in places – Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant is as bitty and noisy as the horrible, horrible scene it scores, for example. However, tracks like Confrontation with Count Dooku and Finale really emphasises the intended mystery of the Sith, and on the whole it’s a collection of beautiful music with a building, tragic undertone that sells the story far better than the actual film. It’s an undeservedly elegant score.

4. Revenge of the Sith

Revenge of the Sith comes the closest out of the prequels to matching the quality and tone of the OT, and as such it’s far more in harmony with its score than the previous two episodes. I’m still confused as to why Battle of the Heroes was composed and used when Duel of the Fates would have been equally (if not more) appropriate, but it’s a fine tune in and of itself. We’re also introduced to the brilliant, alert General Grievous, which is a sharp continuation of themes from The Phantom Menace album. The soundtrack is punctuated with stabs of the Imperial March, and the closing A New Hope and End Credits is the perfect way to tie the two trilogies together. It might not have a beautiful high point like the ROTJ or AOTC albums, but as a whole this soundtrack is greater than the sum of its parts.

3. The Phantom Menace

The soundtrack that started the debate. In my factual and scientifically endorsed opinion this is only the fifth best Star Wars film, but the soundtrack runs the top two extremely close. This album was pretty much all I listened to over the summer of 1999, and it’s a score of unexpected majesty, beauty, and fun – waking up the neighbours by blaring out Augie’s Great Municipal Band and End Credits every morning certainly fulfilled my bizarre, Calvin-esque rebellious streak; Anakin’s Theme is one of my favourite tracks from the whole saga, and even Jar Jar Binks gets a bone with a playful, enigmatic introductory tune. That’s even before we consider the commercial impact of the frenetic Duel of the Fates, as exciting as the fight scenes it accompanies… Regardless of your take on the success of Lucas’ decision to show a more regal and refined galaxy, John Williams delivered the goods in spades.

2. The Empire Strikes Back

I struggle with the Empire soundtrack, because it’s simply amazing – from an objective viewpoint, it can be genuinely considered for the title of the greatest film soundtrack ever. However, and I’m being subjective here, I listen to it fairly frequently and find myself skipping the ends of tracks, before the Imperial March comes crashing in and destroys the mood the previous music created. I get it, how the never-too-distant fear of the Empire is perfect for the film, but from a selfish point of view I’d really enjoy being able to listen to the soul edifying grandeur of Yoda and the Force without having to worry about turning the volume down almost immediately afterwards.

But maybe I’m being too critical; after all, this album gave us The Asteroid Field, City in the Clouds, Han Solo and the Princess, Yoda’s Theme… And of course, the Imperial March. It’s a classic.

1. Star Wars

Now, I’m not the kind to think that Star Wars is the greatest achievement of the saga (however great an achievement it is), and I love the fact that we have two complete stories, those of both Luke and Anakin Skywalker. However the score is a huge part of why Star Wars exists as it does today, and Williams nailed it at the first time of asking. The Main Title is a cultural touchstone, enough said. Beyond that there are moments of beauty and adolescent melancholy galore with The Hologram/Binary Sunset, and Tales of a Jedi Knight/Learn About the Force, weighted against the drama and tension of Burning Homestead. The beauty reaches a high point with Princess Leia’s Theme. There’s the playfulness that sets this film apart from the others in The Dune Sea of Tatooine/Jawa Sandcrawler and Cantina Band, and the glorious, rousing The Throne Room/End Title caps both the listening and the viewing experience off perfectly.

The Star Wars soundtrack established the themes and pattern for the others to follow, and however great Williams’ achievements on the other five films, or any of his countless other classics, no other soundtrack surpasses his work on this.

John Williams is The Man.

The music of Star Wars is one of the elements of the franchise that I enjoy the most, and do so on an almost daily basis. Whatever order you may put these soundtracks in, we should all be grateful that such masterful music exists for our listening pleasure. All the same if you think I've got it the wrong way around, let me know in the comments!

Photoshop

Gold and Blue Team.

Whilst perusing some toy photography shots on the web, I came across this photo of Bane from El Dave Photography. Reading through the description I decided to mess around with layers in Photoshop with one of my own lightbox images to see what I could come up with...

The Original Image

Firstly I duplicated the image twice, each time into a new layer. I made the top layer blue and reduced the opacity until it simply created a pale blue tint over the image. With the next duplicated layer down I increased the contrast and the brightness, which really helped clarify the details.

Post-Photoshop

Then I pulled the photo into PicMonkey and got to work. After cropping the image I put a gentle vignette over it, which helped to soften the corners, and then used the Orton filter to give it a slight glow. The finished image is a bit too soft for my preference, the compsition's not fantastic and the reflection of my hand in C-3PO's shiny frame is a bit too blatant to ignore; but all the same I'm impressed with the results of ten minutes experimentation.

As an aside, this was the kind of vibe I was going for with the original photo. Probably.

"My joints are freezing up!"

It was in my ESB folder anyway, so I'm guessing this is what I was thinking...

Thanks for reading!

Vintage Wednesdays: POTF2 R2 D2 & C-3PO

Well, this seems like a relevant time to return to Vintage Wednesdays, and who more apt to focus on than Luke Skywalker's loyal droids, Artoo Deeto and See-Threepio?

"I don't know what all this trouble is about, but I'm sure it must be your fault."

Despite the background, these shots aren't from my new lightbox - I took them some time ago, and have been storing them up for this very day. Anyway, what do you need to know about these guys?

R2 D2

"Beep!"

Height: .96 meters average
Status: Navigator, T-65 X-Wing Fighter
Classification: Astromech Droid
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance 

I'm pretty sure most Star Wars fans would count R2 as their favourite droid. The ultimate robotic Swiss army knife, it's his mission that sets the whole chain of events of A New Hope into motion and pulls Luke Skywalker into the Civil War. After that he serves as Luke's loyal and trustworthy companion throughout the evacuation of Hoth and both his trips to Dagobah, and he also plays a key role in the rescue of Han Solo. None of us had ever seen such devotion from a droid before (although granted, we'd never seen a droid before either); it's kind of amazing Obi Wan Kenobi forgot all about him. Almost like a huge, unresolved and unnecessary plot hole. Anyway, I digress...

C-3PO

"But, sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid."

Height: 1.67 meters
Status: Interpreter
Classification: Human-Cyborg Relations Droid
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance 

And, let's face it, Threepio is harder company to have around. Despite being the most annoying character in The Empire Strikes Back, I now realise how that's part of the measure of the heroes of the film that they never leave him behind - Han Solo ensures 'Goldenrod' makes it out of Echo Base on the Falcon, and Chewie carries his destroyed body around Cloud City, despite being insulted for doing so. I think that's why I like C-3PO; he brings out the best in his compatriots. He's a lot more tolerable in Return of the Jedi, and the way he's revered as a God by the Ewoks is a great touch, and a nice little way for Lucas to say 'thanks' to the character for being such a superb heel. I'm not sure about his being created by Anakin - don't get me wrong, I do like how coincidences hang together in stories, but that felt like a stretch too far for me, even if it did yield a superb comic that plugs a gap from ESB.

POTF2

The Power of the Force line was launched in 1995 by Kenner (who had been purchased by Hasbro in 1991), and was quickly dubbed 'POTF2', after the original Power of the Force line from 1985. Despite the beefcake sculpts the series was a massive hit, and continued to run until 2000, and completely reinvigorated interest and sales for the Star Wars merchandising juggernaut. This line is probably the main reason this blog even exists...

Anyway, back on topic. The first I knew about POTF2 was seeing Luke Skywalker in X-wing Fighter Pilot Gear (actually Snowspeeder Gear) in Milton Keynes Woolworths, where I bought it outright. Shortly afterwards I picked up the R2 D2 featured above, and gradually built up a mish-mash collection of various figures that provided hours of fun. Honestly. I played with vintage figures growing up, but these were my Star Wars vintage toys, and they were most excellent. Which I guess brings us nicely to today's hot topic...

THE BLACK SERIES

So, it's finally happened. After decades of the 3 3/4 inch scale toy line, Hasbro is now preparing to launch a six inch, super-articulated, OT-centric and collector focused line, 'The Black Series'. I for one couldn't be happier. Yeah, I have a lot of 3 3/4" figures, and I will keep a lot of them. But look at that figure! It may be a prototype, but if the quality of the mass-produced ones is anywhere near that, it may become my favourite line ever. The launch, in August, consists of Luke, R2-D2, a Sandtrooper and Darth Maul - that's a definite OT three out of four for me.

Coming back to collecting late has had both good points and bad but I'm glad to be here, and now I'm really excited to get in on this line from the ground floor. And what better way to start a collection than with a Luke Skywalker in X-Wing Fighter Pilot Gear?

Thanks for reading!

Watching Them Escape

I'm thoroughly enjoying the Blu-Ray ESB figure pack, and today can introduce the Snowtrooper to the Blog. I still have to take some shots of the Princess Leia, which is an excellent looking figure, but will get around to that when I'm feeling a bit more wintery. I think building a suitable set for her could take some time as well...

I went a slightly different way to usual with this shot, as it was a black and white image that I've edited a fair amount. As always, Vader's cloak needed some touching up to look heavier, and I added the lights to his chest plate. Otherwise the blue tint was achieved by lowering the colour temperature and increasing the saturation. I think it's worked out alright; for sure it's made Vader's armour look great!

I Am Ready!

I already thought it would be interesting, but now I'm finding the announcement of the Sequel Trilogy just plain inspiring. Star Wars influenced and inspired me hugely growing up, and it's fair to say that without the original film series I wouldn't have the passion for film-making that I do today. I've already been at film school for over a year and was fully intending to start work in the industry afterward anyway, but Tuesday's announcement (on my birthday, no less) seals it.

I will be working in the film industry when I finish my course. And I am going to do my level best to contribute, in whatever small way, to the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

It's on! :D

Point of Comparisons

Probably the best Star Wars shots I get are the ones that I directly base on stills from the films, and the best place to go for these are production or promo stills, because they might show a slightly different angle to what we're used to seeing. This is interesting in itself, but also because when you're not enslaving yourself to exact screen accuracy, you can roll with the picture a little bit more. Case in point...

I wanted to get some shots of my new Boba Fett figure in action, and I've also wanted to do something Bespin related for a while - an easy two birds with one stone. After a quick Google and a shifty through several images, I settled for this one:

Hardly accurate, I'm sure you'll agree. But the point is, I got my inspiration for the shoot; and after trying several unsuccessful times this morning to get decent pictures of Boba in the bag, it's nice to finally get him up here!

Anyway, there'll be more pictures and a review of Boba Fett and the rest of the ESB Blu Ray pack up soon, before I crack into ROTJ. Exciting times!

Cutting It Down to Size

As it's the beginning of study week, I've been able to take an hour or so and crack open the ESB Blu Ray pack. Well, I say crack open the pack; so far I've only punched Snowspeeder Luke out of the blister! That's not for any negative reasons though; in fact it's quite the opposite - this guy is awesome! Further to that, when POTF2 was released, this Luke was the first figure I bought, closely followed by R2 D2, and they became the focal point of most of my adventures. As such, it was nice to re-create the feeling for a little while before getting overwhelmed with Boba Fetts and Princess Leias...

Anyway, I made a little set, messed around with the lighting and got a few shots. There weren't any where I thought straight away 'that's it!', which is normally a troubling sign, but there were enough maybes to work with, so I got the images onto my computer and produced the picture above. Now, I like it - the pose works, the shadows on Luke are nice, the composition is solid - but I was just bugged by the shadow on the wall. And that's the problem: because of that shadow, you know that's a wall. Instant scene killer. The solution?

Well, how about a drastic crop?

By re-centering and trimming the image, I turned a flawed scene into what I think is a decent portrait. It may not be what I had in mind when I broke Luke out tonight, but it's still the best shot I think I could've got, and highlights the detail of this excellent figure.

Striking Back!

It's the OTC Luke and Yoda again! But deservedly so I say, because if ever a day warranted some Dagobah shots, it's today - misty, damp; it's Autumn hitting full speed, that's for sure...

Fond as I am of these two figures, there's another reason I'm getting all Empire on you:

This is one of the five Blu Ray Commemorative Packs that finally arrived yesterday after a hold-up in customs. In one bargain purchase, I've doubled my Star Wars figure collection; exciting times indeed! I'll probably sell off the prequel sets to recoup the cost, but I sure am excited about these guys now. Looking at the figures above, I find myself thinking the unthinkable: Roll on winter, roll on...

Building the Box: Two

Welcome to Part Two of my how-to guide to building the Dagobah Box! Part One is here if you want to get caught up, otherwise, let’s get going!

Before properly fixing the tree into place, I needed to decide upon a background. I’d originally wanted to paint my own background, and did a quick mock up with pastels, but wasn’t really happy with the effect. I also tried a print out of a dark, Dagobah swamp-esque image, but the colours and scale didn’t really match. After trial and error with these images, I eventually settled on the image from the film (and the OTC box-art), showing Luke’s partially sunken X-Wing in the distance. 

Pen & Pastel Backdrop

Generic Swamp Backdrop

I dry-brushed the floor of the box with dark green acrylic paint to to help achieve the swamp effect, and then added more branches to the tree, twisting some regular garden twine around the branches to form vines, and covered it in moulding plaster to add texture and hold it all together. When this was complete I spray painted it brown again, dry brushed it dark green, and fixed it properly into place.

It's come a long way from being a toilet roll tube...

Whilst the spray paint is absolutely the best tool to work with for diorama building (I’m converted!), the gloss left quite a singular, damp look to the floor. To add texture I bought some modelling flock (autumn leaves, if I remember correctly), and used PVA glue to apply it to certain areas of the floor and tree.

Pre-flock...

Almost finished. I cut some holes in the top of the box and poked through some vines from my garden on the opposite side of the tree, and used more modelling clay to add texture. I once again used a base layer of dark brown acrylic paint, dry brushed with dark green, and it was done!

...And finished!

And so, I’ve had it for some time – what do I think of the Box as a set for photography, or as a display piece now? What would I do differently? Well, thank you for asking… :D

As a set, the box has worked well for pictures, but also pretty much served its purpose. As it’s such a small scene, and I can only really photograph in one direction, there isn’t too much more I can do with it. The sides and roof of the box are essential in creating the mood of Dagobah, but unfortunately they limit the lighting options – all I can really do is flood the front with light, whilst trying to avoid too much reflection from the background image.

As a display piece, the box is a bit of a mess. Whilst the scene is suitable, the cardboard box warped as soon as I applied the papier mache, and the shape has become further distorted through applications of paint and wet plaster. I’ve had it sat out on my display shelf before, and as happy as I am with the scene, the presentation looks amateurish. I will absolutely use wood or polystyrene for future displays.

Aside from the materials, I was disappointed with myself for not putting the effort in to paint a custom backdrop. The location of the X-Wing in the background messes up the screen accuracy of the scene, and if you follow the lake from the background it should actually flow right into the box itself! Those two points aside though, I don't think it works that badly.

The most important thing I’ve learned from building the Dagobah Box is that a scene or diorama needs to have a specific purpose from the beginning – be it for screen accuracy, display, play or whatever. I made a lot of choices on the fly whilst making this, and the overall look has suffered. I’ve since made a generic display piece, and having made it for a definite purpose, the final effect is much better. If, and when, I embark on a Dagobah scene again, I fully intend to make it scene specific, use appropriate materials, and hopefully end up with a more satisfactory end result.

Building the Box: One

The Dagobah Box is the most ambitious set-piece I’ve made so far; and whilst I’ve thought of many ways to make it better (or to improve version two…) since finishing it, it still works great as a display piece for my Dagobah-themed figures. Here, long overdue for both the Box and this blog, I present a making-off guide, with plenty of WIP shots!

Calvin & Hobbes: Essential reading for everyone.

First of all I found an ordinary shoebox, as inspired by Calvin’s diorama school project. The first challenge for me was to decide which part of Dagobah I wanted to show. The box wasn’t big enough for my POTF2 X-Wing, so I ruled out doing the crash site. I considered making Yoda’s hut, but the box dimensions would have made it really squashed, so that was scratched also. I knew I would primarily be using the set to display the OTC Dagobah wave figures, and so, following a lot of research (by which I mean the hardship of watching Empire Strikes Back :D), I decided on the clearing where Luke has the vision of Cloud City.

I made the tree by selecting several suitable branches from my garden, and chopping them down to the right size. I used a toilet tissue roll as the main trunk of the tree, and then positioned the branches as the roots, holding them in place with masking tape.

Using off-cuts of card and branches to add texture to the ground, I then covered the floor of the box and the tree with papier mache, to unify all the different elements and create a base texture. After letting the glue dry, I checked the scale against the box’s soon-to-be residents…

I used a glossy brown spray paint to completely coat the inside of the box and the tree. Using spray paint was far superior to anything I would’ve done with acrylics and a brush, as the coating was so much more complete and even, as well as quicker to do. I felt at this point however that the box was too sparse, and needed more texture. To achieve this I took several smaller branches from my garden and put them around the floor, as logs and other swamp detritus. I also toyed with the idea of putting a second tree in on the other side of the box, but decided that I might still need the space.

I covered the floor and the tree in moulding plaster, marking it with my fingers as it dried, and used it to good effect on the tree to pull all the different elements together. I also added more twigs and branches to the tree at this point, to create a denser look. With one more coat of spray paint, the scene was beginning to take shape…

 

Click through here for Part Two, where I complete the set and look at what went right, went wrong, and how I’d do it differently next time!

The Waiting Game

Yoda. Always in motion is the future, hmm? Then why did you risk it all by hiding in exile to wait on the fate of two babies rather than try and take down the Emperor in single combat when you had the chance?

Seriously, my friends and I spent hours talking about the prequels before 1999, predominantly based on what had to happen given the established backstory. By 2005, that speculation seemed like a lot of wasted brain effort...

RS PIC POST***

Hello, I need a URL to post my pictures from for a message board, and doing it here is far easier than setting up a whole 'nother new account. Anyway, more Dagobah box pics!

Yoda!

Back again! I wasn't too happy with the way the previous Luke and Yoda shots turned out, so in a fit of Sunday inspiration I grabbed the figures and marched down to the park.

I much prefer this over the older one here. The tree and background looks good, and I got lucky with the lighting, and got there just as the sun had pretty much set. Also, as proof that the POTF2 Yoda figure does have legs...

One day I'll expand on it to have a swamp filthy X-Wing flying over his head whilst the John Williams score plays as loud as humanly possible over the top...

It's Cold Outside

One of the reasons I love the POTF2 line, besides the enormous nostalgia and younger wish fulfilment (see the Dewback post), is that you can get most of this line really pretty cheap - such as this Luke my girlfriend picked up for me from a clearance store where he was hanging out in the window with Han Solo and Count Dooku. And then there's charity shops, and car boots... It's almost enough to make me give up my eBay account. But not quite.