Just saw Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker this afternoon. Not being a fanatical sort of fan, I enjoyed it. Yes, there were plot points that didn’t quite add up, but I felt they got the important stuff right.
Since this is (supposedly) the “last” movie in the series, I can’t help looking back to the beginning — an amazing forty-two years ago!
As a “serious” musician just about to turn twenty-one years of age in 1977, I was “above” whatever “the masses” found appealing. Of course I heard people talking about Star Wars; my musician friends were especially enthusiastic about the “bar scene” — whatever that was — but I refused to go see it.
Then half a year later I was in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada), visiting my boyfriend, who was there on tour. The band had a night off and everyone wanted to see a movie. Well, Saskatoon didn’t have a lot of variety to offer, so Star Wars ended up being the movie we had to see.
Needless to say, I absolutely loved it, as I sat on the edge of my seat and cheered for the good guys!
Back home, orchestras were soon programming the Star Wars Suite for Orchestra — extremely difficult but immensely satisfying to play. Looking back, the whole thing truly was a phenomenon!
I was as eager as the next person to see each new installment of the franchise as it was released. And, although I found the prequels to be pretty hit-or-miss, I’ve mostly enjoyed the sequels. But sitting in the theater today, it occurred to me that the element that perhaps deserves the most credit for tying it all together over forty-two years of movie-making is the music.
The original opening sequence soundtrack is just as thrilling as ever. The truth is, without John Williams’s score there would be no Star Wars.