This track is rather different from what's heard in the film. It'll take another viewing (I'm going for the third time on Saturday) to establish exactly what's the same and what's different. For now, italics mean not used in the film. 0:00-0:22 incidental high harp (reminds me of his music for Home Alone), as children are playing 0:22-0:30 Main theme, A major, harp, 1st phrase only 0:30-0:38 incidental low strings 0:38-1:05 Force theme, flute then strings, all 4 phrases, g minor, as one of the children casually uses the force to grab a broom and starts sweeping the floor 1:05-1:52 End credits: Main theme interspersed with the Rebel fanfare, C major 1:52-2:03 Rose's theme, horn and strings, D-flat major to F major 2:03-2:16 Rose's theme, horn & flute, F major 2:16-2:34 Rose's secondary theme 2:34-2:42 Rose's primary theme, strings & horn, F major 2:42-2:57 Leia's theme, piano, A-flat major (corresponding to dedication on screen) After Leia's theme, there are major discrepancies between the film and soundtrack. I'm not convinced what we hear on the soundtrack is actually heard in the film, though it very well might be. But, I suspect the music heard in the movie is actually lifted from another cue on the soundtrack. 2:57-3:06 Last-Ditch fanfare, a minor, flute and brass 3:06-3:21 Sarabande, a minor, horns, both phrases 3:21-3:36 Sarabande, a minor, flute, both phrases 3:36-3:44 Last-ditch Fanfare, trumpets, first phrase only 3:44-3:52 Incidental (?) horn. Is this a theme new to The Last Jedi that I've somehow missed? Is it heard elsewhere in the soundtrack? Please comment if anybody out there knows... 3:52-4:01 March of the Resistance, horn, B-flat minor 4:01-4:13 Rose's theme, E-flat major, horn In the movie, between Rose's theme (above) and the rebel fanfare (below), Ren's Power motive is heard. Since this is absent from the soundtrack, some editing was required. 4:13-4:20 Rebel Fanfare, trumpets 4:20-4:29 Rey's melody, D minor, horn, 1st and 2nd phrases 4:29-4:40 Incidental 4:40-5:30 Yoda's (primary and secondary) theme, horn & cellos, C major 5:30-5:48 intense incidental music 5:48-6:00 Admiral Holdo's theme, horn, a minor 6:00-6:10 Holdo's theme, trumpet, C# minor 6:10-6:26 Holdo's theme, horn, e minor 6:26-6:40 Desperation motive, constantly changing tonalities, strings x4 then horn x4 then trumpets x4 6:40-6:45 Rey's melody, horn, d minor, 1st phrase only 6:45-6:56 what is this theme? I've heard it throughout the soundtrack, but I'm still not sure what it is. Again, anybody reading this, feel free to comment with ideas! 6:56-7:11 TIE Fighter Attack
7:11-7:19 Rebel Fanfare, brass 7:19-7:27 TIE Fighter Attack In the film, the TIE attack is heard three times interspersed with two rebel fanfares. As documented above, the soundtrack only features two TIE attacks with one rebel fanfare in between. Obviously, there's some editing going on, but it'll be impossible to determine exactly what's happened until I can get my hands on the DVD of the new film to compare carefully. 7:27-7:46 Rey's melody, B-flat minor, flute &horn, 1st & 2nd & 3rd phrases 7:46-8:02 Rey's Regal motive, B-flat minor, strings x3 8:02-8:27 Rey's Chime motive, celeste, B-flat minor
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0:00-0:20 incidental
0:20-1:05 Force theme, strings and flute, g minor, all 4 phrases. Luke dies during the 3rd and 4th phrases. 1:05-1:10 incidental pensive cello 1:10-1:29 Ren's Power motive, a minor, trombone, march-like 1:29-1:39 Ren's Wannabe motive, brass, superimposed on strings playing his Brooding motive, both in A minor, as Rey and the resistance escape on the Falcon 1:39-1:56 incidental 1:56-2:16 Poe's theme, flute, quietly (only time Poe's theme is heard on soundtrack) as Rey and Poe meet for first time 2:16-2:36 Rey's Melody (english horn, 1st and 2nd phrases) superimposed with Force theme (flute, 1st phrase only). Rey: “Luke is gone.” 2:36-2:50 Force theme, oboe and flute, 1st and 2nd phrases, a minor 2:50-3:05 Rebel fanfare x2 0:00-0:34 Incidental. Is any of this heard in the film?
0:34-0:51 Force theme, 1st and 2nd phrases, horn , d minor. Luke: “Everything you said was wrong.” 0:51-1:50 incidental choir as Rey lifts the rocks to free the Resistance 1:50-2:07 Ren's power motive, horn with tremolo strings, both phrases (the latter in octaves), as Ren attempts to kill Luke 2:07-3:02 incidental. Choir and string triplets, horn calls at end, as Ren discovers Luke's deception and Luke collapses from exertion 0:00-0:27 incidental, low brass and strings in tenths
0:27-0:49 incidental music, some of which reminds me of that heard right before Han's death in The Force Awakens 0:49-0:59 Force theme, e minor, horn, 1st phrase only 0:59-1:53 Luke and Leia, cellos, E major, as Leia and Luke's force ghost converse and hold hands (but I thought Luke, as a ghost, couldn't physically touch anything – that's why Luke's and Ren's lightsabers never touch during their battle...) 1:53-2:03 incidental poignant strings 2:03-2:17 Han Solo and the Princess, viola? 2:17-2:33 incidental do-so-me-do motive (heard in trailer) as Luke's Force ghost heads out to face Ren. 0:00-0:17 Force theme, solo horn with string accompaniment, C# minor, 1st and 2nd phrases
0:17-0:26 Resistance March, trombone, B-flat minor 0:26-0:32 Resistance March, trombone, F minor 0:32-0:48 “Battle of Hoth”-like incidental music 0:48-1:00 Rose's theme, horn with trumpet interjections, B-flat major to D Major 1:00-1:10 Incidental. What's that horn from 1:03-1:10 mean? Is it where we see the battering ram for the first time? 1:10-1:22 Resistance March, strings and trombones, B-flat minor 1:22-1:32 Rose's theme, abbreviated, horn, E-flat major to G major, as the resistance launches their defense 1:32-1:48 Incidental. Key change from D minor to E minor at 1:47. Does the key change coincide with the scene change from the Resistance to the First Order? 1:48-1:53 Ren's Power motive (missing he raised 4th – is that significant?), e minor, as he orders the attack 1:53-2:57 Intense incidental battle music, constantly changing keys 2:57-3:04 Rebel Fanfare, trumpets, as the Millennium Falcon saves the day 3:04-3:13 Rey's melody, d minor, horn, 1st and 2nd phrases, as we see Rey in the Falcon 3:13-3:20 Incidental 3:20-3:25 Desperation motive, horn x4 with trumpet interjections, C# minor, 3:25-3:31 Desperation motive, trumpet x4, G minor 3:31-3:34 Rey's melody, 1st phrase only, horn, d minor, 3:34-3:46 Incidental, brass in octaves 3:46-3:54 TIE Fighter attack 3:55-4:03 Rebel Fanfare, brass 4:03-4:15 TIE Fighter attack 4:15-4:23 Rebel Fanfare, brass 4:23-4:31 TIE Fighter attack (this one not heard in film) 4:31-4:56 Incidental, scary incidental low brass (not heard in film) 4:56-5:01 Desperation motive x4, different instrument and key each time 5:02-5:50 Incidental battle music 5:50-6:09 incidental traumatized strings (reminds me of immolation scene from Revenge of the Sith) 6:09-6:48 + choir as Finn continues his attack despite Poe's orders otherwise Track 15 is the first instance of a theme new to The Last Jedi: Admiral Holdo's theme. We hear this theme loud and clear just before Holdo attacks the First Order fleet at lightspeed. It might be heard in the film before this point (I'm going to see the film again on Saturday, so I'll be listening closely for previous iterations of Holdo's theme), but this is the first time we hear it on the soundtrack.
0:00-0:18 Incidental. 0:18-0:27 Incidental “Battle of Hoth”-like music. While similar music is heard in the film (on track 16 of the soundtrack), I do not believe this particular music is. 0:27-0:35 Holdo's theme, horns, B-flat minor as Holdo prepares for her lightspeed attack on the First Order fleet. In the movie, Holdo's lightspeed attack is followed by several seconds of silence. Since this dramatic pause is missing from the soundtrack, I must conclude that the decision for silence was not made by John Williams. 0:35-1:05 Incidental 1:05-1:08 start of Rebel Fanfare as BB-8 rescues Finn and Rose in the AT-ST 1:08-1:20 Incidental 1:20-2:00 incidental bass drum hits (ala Rite of Spring) as Finn calls Phasma “chrome dome” and they duel. 0:00-0:34 Force theme, horn, 1st and 2nd phrases, D minor as Rey departs Ahch-To island.
0:34-0:45 Yoda's theme. Yoda's ghost appears. Luke: “I'm going to burn it all down.” Next in the film, the 1st phrase and a revised 3rd phrase of the Force theme is heard in the trumpet. But I believe this comes from track 14 at the 1:17 mark – not from track 13. This music is heard as Yoda sets fire to the sacred tree and texts. 0:45-1:04 incidental scary brass followed by a weak flute. Not heard in film. 1:04-2:09 Force theme, trumpet, loudly, A minor, 1st and 2nd phrases. This was replaced by another iteration of the Force theme (played by a horn) in the film. I don't yet know from where this horn iteration was borrowed. 2:09-2:40 Force theme, solo horn, quietly, C# minor, 1st and 2nd phrases. 2:40-end Yoda's theme, cello, C major. Much dialogue over this music. Luke: “I can't be what she needs me to be.” Yoda: “The greatest teacher failure is.” 0:00-0:26 creepy incidental music as Rey enters the cave
0:26-0:40 incidental noodley clarinet 0:40-0:55 incidental noodley viola 0:56 crescendo to quiet #1 0:57-1:27 more creepy incidental music 1:28 crescendo to quiet #2 1:29-1:35 crescendo to quiet #3 There's more editing going on at this point. In the movie, the music swells to quiet only one time – as Rey sees herself in the infinite mirrors. But in the soundtrack, we hear three such crescendos to quietness. Which one of those three is heard in the film, and which are the two that are edited out? I am uncertain. 1:38-1:52 incidental high flute solo 1:52-2:00 incidental high clarinet solo 2:00-2:15 incidental poignant strings 2:15-2:29 Rey's melody, C# minor, flute, 1st and 2nd phrases. Not heard in film. 2:29-2:58 incidental poignant strings. Not heard in film. 0:00-1:28 incidental music with prominent horn rips as Finn and Rose escape
(1:03 hints of Rose's theme in the horns) 1:28-1:37 Rose's theme in full, horns, A-flat major 1:37-1:44 Rose's theme, altered, trumpets, D-flat major 1:44-2:12 incidental 2:12-2:19 Rose, flute, C major, 1st phrase only 2:19-2:26 Rose, horn, G major as Finn and Rose are trapped against cliff. 2:26-2:40 incidental Much like track 7, track 10 appears to be non-linear in the film.
Luke says the title of this track 24 minutes into the film (with no musical underscoring), yet it's placed in between tracks 09 (heard 55 minutes into the film) and 11 (heard 66 minutes in). That “who are you” scene does feature music (that, as far as I can tell, is not included on the soundtrack) both before and after the title question. Immediately before, as Rey explores the Jedi texts, we hear a lonely english horn with a sustained pedal in the low strings. And immediately after we hear the 1st and 2nd phrases of the force theme played quietly by a horn after Rey says, “Something inside me...”. There are also some poignant strings as Luke says, “it's time for the jedi to die...” and somber brass as the scene shifts from Luke and Rey to Leia, right before she demotes Poe. Okay, so where does this music appear in the film? I have no idea... 0:00-0:13 Incidental 0:13-0:23 Rey's melody, cello, a minor, 1st phrase only 0:23-1:16 incidental 1:16-1:27 Ren's Brooding motive harmonized, bass clarinet 1:27-2:09 incidental 2:10-2:13 hints of the Rebel Fanfare 2:13-2:25 incidental 2:25-2:32 Main theme, horn, loudly, G major, 1st phrase only 2:32-2:54 incidental 2:54-3:03 hints of Ren's power/wannabe theme (descending minor second), horn |
The Music of Star WarsThese posts will help focus and develop my analyses of John Williams' film scores. Archives
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