As anyone who has read my opinions of the movies may be aware, I love love love the music in the Star Wars movies. It’s my favorite thing about them, it’s what drew me into the world and kept me there with rapt attention.
So, here’s a thread to talk about the music (kudos to John Williams…). Which themes / cues / orchestrations are most memorable for you? Do you have a favorite moment when the music just works for you on screen? Are there musical choices that you detest?
Star Wars was the first time I even paid attention to a movie soundtrack (aside from musicals). I can’t even begin to list my favorite themes because there are so many. John Williams is the reason I’m a soundtrack junkie today.
Oh man, me too. A few come to mind:
[i]Duel of the Fates /i - Williams pulls off climactic fight music very well. This is probably my favorite of the prequel’s music. This song is the one everyone remembers when they think of music in Episode 1. Maybe I’m just a sucker for choir chanting, but I really like the sound and structure of this song.
Anakin’s Betrayal (III) - Easily pushed aside by Christan Handensen’s more than slightly whiny “You don’t understand me” scenes, it’s a complex and sad song that has more than a few memorable phrases woven into it. It comes up again in a slower and even more complex form in The Immolation Scene.
Battle of the Heroes/Anakin vs. Obi-Wan (III) - I figured I’d group these together since they’re very similar. More climactic fight music. A little more generic but also very memorable.
Anakin’s Dark Deeds (III) - A really, really cool song. Such a great backdrop to that super memorable frame where Anakin’s standing in front of the legion of troopers. And then the climax of the song, when he’s cutting down Jedi… It’s awesome.
General Grevious Speaks To Lord Sidious (III) - This deserves an honorable mention for some neat sounds, especially the intro.
Birth of the Twins and Padme’s Destiny (III) - The interesting part here is the Padme’s Destiny part, which is played over here funeral. A really sorrowful song. But right after it comes…
[i]A New Hope And End Credits /i - This song really makes me really bittersweet. It really gives you the sense of… Well, a new hope. Especially when it’s played over that final scene with the Lars family standing in front of the binary sunset. All the Episode IV sounds are woven in there, and it makes me really nostalgic. This was the point where it really felt like the saga had finally completed it’s circle. And then you hear the famous end credit song, and you get really sad because this is/was the last of Star Wars in movie form (for a while, at least…).
Burning Homestead (IV) - I love the climax where it shifts from mournful dirge to panicked strings as Luke realizes what’s happened.
That’s all I can think of now, mostly because all I own so far is the Episode III soundtrack. Yes, I know I didn’t mention The Imperial March, but I’ve heard so many times that I’ve almost become sick of it.
Man, I could probably do an entire podcast episode of just talking about SW music… Ha, and don’t even get me started on Trek music!
Same here from your separated at birth counterpart.
All your mentions and insights are awesome. I especially love Anakin’s Theme (I). It’s The Imperial March slowed down. Brings me to tears every time. On the surface Star Wars is a pure adventure action flick. The music of John Williams gives it a soul and substance.
Speaking of Trek, my favorite score is Star Trek III. The Katra Ritual is amazing. Horner’s contributions (II and III) to the Star Trek universe are immense.
I saw John Williams conducting the Los Angeles Philarmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl 4 years ago and it was an amazing experience (especially at the HB wich is a great place for outdoo summer night concert since you can also bring some wine at the same time 
). The first part of the show was Williams conducting his most memorable pieces (Indiana Jones, Jaws, Harry Potter, etc…) But the best part of the evening was next when the orchestra performed a one hour long suite of the Star Wars Saga (from Episode I to VI) narrated live by James Earl Jones: geekgasm.
Like Lady D there are just too many to name.
Some personal favs.
Imperial March
Binary Sunset/Force Theme
Duel of Fates
Battle of Heroes
Yoda’s Theme
Across the Stars
Parade of the Ewoks
Throne Room
My favorite theme is The Final Duel
When I was a kid my parents would play the music with this big black round disc that looked kinda like a cd, just bigger and it had 2 sides.
rog
Who else had the the Story of Star Wars records? My siblings and I would spend hours acting out each film. Heh, I always loved playing the part of Jabba and acting out his laugh.
as I have mentioned elsewhere, I had it on 8 track (episode IV). I used to make the kids I babysat act it out with me. I’m currently being billed for their therapy.
I still get chills listening to the opening 20th Century Fox Fanfare into the Main Titles, etc.
Silly, I know, but I’ll just keep repeating just that- the sound just surrounds, especially on my new headphones!
Another that does it is Yes: I’ve Seen All Good People
And the whole Disintegration album by The Cure.
I just love immersing myself in that wall of sound.
Before the days of good headphones, I’d place my boombox at the head of my bed on my pillow and lay there letting the sound wash over me… ahhh…
You had a FRISBEE that played music ?! Cool ! 
Like Yorick, I had the immense joy to see the Star Wars Suite, with JW conducting the Boston Symphony and James Earl Jones narrating…at Tanglewood, a beautiful open air spot in western MA. Just awesome. My kids were totally psyched, and I was too! J Williams puts on a show called ‘Film Night’ every year at Tanglewood, and for that year they put up clips of the SW movies without the music tracks, and the symphony fills in the spaces live, with JE Jones narrating as well. Really neat ! We usually just buy lawn tickets for these shows, but for this one I also grabbed some seats close up, so after intermission I moved the kids and I up so we could see it all firsthand…
A few years earlier at one of these ‘Film Night’ shows, we were puzzled to see the full chorus coming out and lining up behind the orchestra, and, yes, we got a LIVE Duel of the Fates !!! I thought my head was going to explode. It was frakking awesome ! Even more powerful live, if that’s possible.
I think I told this little story before, but one of my best memories of watching JW conduct was at Symphony Hall in Boston…he led them into Raiders of the Lost Arc theme, which is one of his staples live and is usually an encore when he is playing non-movie stuff during the main show…My wife and I had a nice table on the floor, about 12 feet from the stage, right in front of the cellists…and there was this young guy, probably 25-30 or so, playing his cello, with the most wonderful smile on his face…he was playing Raiders and being conducted by John Williams, and you could tell he was in heaven.
I am in total agreement on this. There is nothing like having the drumroll with the 20th Century Fox logo…fade to Lucasfilm with the trumpets…
…and then quiet as you read,
“A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away…”
BAM
The Star Wars theme literally hits you in the gut with a trumpet chord that takes your breath away.
This has been mentioned before, but it needs to be brought up here: Star Wars: The Musical! (It’s not bad. Would be a hoot to see live.)
Some other funny shows are Star Wars in 30 min. and the one man Star Wars. I’ve seen both at conventions, very entertaining.
Exactly.
I had a kind of superstition going for 2, 3 years where I had to listen to the Ep 1 soundtrack before I went to bed every night, or rather, as I was falling asleep. I could tell how long it took me to fall asleep by how far into the soundtrack I remembered getting. Anakin’s Theme (the close of the End Credits and therefore, the last music you hear on TPM soundtrack)'s closing daaaaa da dum, daaaaaaaaaaaa da dums were always (even if I were already asleep) the last thing I heard before morning, or so I liked to think.
That. Is. Awesome.
Me dun that too.
My favorite themes and whatnot from THE PHANTOM MENACE.
This is the soundtrack that dragged me into Star Wars fandom. (note my post upthread). Interestingly there aren’t as many themes or cues per se that stand out for me as there are in the scores for the other films, but I think it is very coherent and a nicely organized soundtrack CD.
That said… onto the themes.
DUEL OF THE FATES. I loved this as an action sequence piece, though that love was later superceded by Revenge of the Sith’s BATTLE OF THE HEROES. I really like the continuous motion that the low strings carry throughout the piece, and the use of the choir.
ANAKIN’S THEME. This is my favorite theme from this film, and one of my all-time favorite themes of the prequels. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I had great hopes for this theme, that it would be developed throughout the prequels so that there would be an easily traceable musical trajectory from Anakin’s Theme to the Imperial March. Sadly, that development didn’t occur - rather, in AOTC we get bombarded by the Imperial March straight out. (John Williams! You dropped the ball!). I love the use of the flute, it makes me think of a child’s innocence, but what really makes the theme for me is the way that the future of that child is foreshadowed by the inclusion of three notes that allude to the Imperial March (or rather, Darth Vader’s theme) as the end of a musical phrase. And it’s particularly cool in the End Credits (though it’s not like that on the soundtrack) when the final notes of the piece are overlaid with Vader breathing. !!!
WATTO’S DEAL AND KIDS AT PLAY (soundtrack) / THE RACER ROARS TO LIFE (Score) This is playful but deeply emotional for me, particularly the cue from the Score that underscores the moment when Anakin tests his podracer with the power source Qui-Gon gave him. It’s triumphant, yet melancholy. The soundtrack cue features the Force Theme from the OT (about halfway through the cue), which is one of my favorite themes of the entire trilogy as well. It’s a nice way to tie the PT to the OT. I also enjoy the cue from the score, “Anakin is Free.”
THE HIGH COUNCIL MEETING AND QUI-GON’S FUNERAL. The first part of the cue is quite reflective (Yoda speaking to Obi-Wan about Anakin’s training). The second portion is the famous funeral music. To be honest, I prefer the arrangement in Revenge of the Sith, but this first usage of the choral piece is excellent.
Less than perfect for me?
JAR JAR’S THEME. It suits the character, but I find the theme almost as annoying as I find the character.
AUGIE’S MUNICIPAL BAND. As others have noted, it’s musically very interesting with the manipulation of the Emperor’s Theme into a major key. However, I hate the kiddie chorus. It’s painful. I also don’t like the in-your-face synthesizer usage.
And I continue my obsessive detail of the music of these movies… with ATTACK OF THE CLONES.
I don’t have nearly as much to say about this score, perhaps because the actual score to my knowledge has never been released, and the soundtrack is, in my mind, exceptionally short.
YODA AND THE YOUNGLINGS. I find this cue, well, cute. And knowing about Anakin killing the younglings in Ep. 3 and the cue that goes with that (sob!), it’s a nice contrast. It’s also nice and reflective, which I personally enjoy. Plus it has some Force Theme moments! well, and some Across the Stars moments…
ACROSS THE STARS. The love theme. I think it’s very appropriate to the image I have in my head of Anakin and Padme on Naboo in the Lake Country, it has a rich, touchable sound to my ear and something about the harmonies that I can’t decipher points to the forbidden nature of their relationship.
THE TUSKEN CAMP AND THE HOMESTEAD. This features the cue music of Anakin in the Tusken Camp, finding his mother and holding her as she dies. This is a tear-jerker moment for me in the movie (well, and him kneeling before Shmi’s grave), and the delicacy of the music underscoring that moment is delightful. Later in cue, it also features a fun syncopated Imperial theme (though while too obvious for my tastes… still cool).
RETURN TO TATOOINE. It has a very nice statement of the Force Theme. I’m going to enjoy any cue that features it prominently.
Complaints?
I wish there were some sort of more definitive music for the Arena battle scene - because even though I know I’ve heard it, it doesn’t stay with me the way that music stays with me from other action scenes. Goodness gracious, the music from the Obi-Wan/Grievous fight stays in my head more.
Revenge of the Sith is my favorite of the six films for many reasons, but one of them is the emotional import of the score.
Unfortunately, this is the other Star Wars score that has never been released in it’s entirety. If I’m wrong about this and it has been released, please let me know!!
I really like the soundtrack disc for this film, as much as I like the disc for The Phantom Menace. There’s a lot going on, so… things I like!
ANAKIN’S BETRAYAL. One of my favorite pieces of orchestral music ever. It’s so reflective, so sad, but at the same time oddly uplifting. I love it. Interestingly, the first time I saw the film I didn’t really listen to this cue, but was rather emotionally wrapped up in the execution of Order 66. Now I realize that part of my absorption was due to the cue’s effectiveness in setting the mood of the sequence. Masterfully done, Mr. Williams. The only problem is now every time I watch the film I concentrate on the cue rather than what is happening… that said, Anakin and the younglings always sneaks up on me and makes me cry. And another caveat, I really enjoy listening to music with unresolved (or ambivalently resolved) suspended 4ths.
BATTLE OF THE HEROES. The concert suite is excellent, and it can also be heard in my favorite action cue (ANAKIN VS OBI-WAN). I prefer this to the Duel of the Fates, though it’s hard to explain why, given that the things I like in Duel of the Fates are present in Battle of the Heroes. Upon listening to it a few more times, I think it’s more harmonies that I prefer, and I prefer this usage of the choir to the usage in Duel of the Fates. I like the rhythms at the end, and for the win, it incorporates the Force Theme. Besides which, it does go with my favorite saber fight! Woot!
ANAKIN’S DARK DEEDS. Another moving cue. Reflective, for the most part. The part I like best underscores Padme speaking with Obi-Wan about Anakin’s location, and how Anakin has turned to the Dark Side. The descending tones really do it for me. I just wish that the sequence could have been used in other similar moments - realization / denial of betrayal, etc. The end of the cue corresponds to Anakin on Mustafar with a tear rolling down his cheek… it’s just all so sad. Which is why I like it.
THE IMMOLATION SCENE. The title places the cue, under the “you were my brother” speech. Deeply poignant, moving. I also like the dynamics of the cue.
PADME’S RUMINATIONS. This cue underscores the parallel waiting of Anakin and Padme as the sun sets over Coruscant and Mace goes to confront Palpatine. This is another reflective one (do we notice a theme in my preferences), I particularly like the softly droning bass note.
THE BIRTH OF THE TWIN’S / PADME’S DESTINY. Though this undercuts the weakest death ever (will to live? seriously?), it also underscores the editing of Anakin putting on The Suit, and Padme’s funeral. Ethereally creepy at the start, and then my favorite arrangement of the funeral music that was also used in The Phantom Menace for Qui-Gon. The balance of the choir and the instrumental parts is different, with a brighter (oddly enough) vocal sound. It also sounds almost more organic. Besides which, the funeral music is extended into two complete repetitions, with interesting differences between the two renditions. I felt that this dirge, though the same theme as Qui-Gon’s, was more heart-felt.
Flaws?
I hate the end titles for this film. I’ve written about it extensively here. There’s no need to re-hash it again, just suffice it to say that I hate THE THRONE ROOM even in A New Hope, and it is even worse in Revenge of the Sith.
In addition to the fabulous epic themes, I really like the cantina music. It was my cell phone ring for a long time. I called it my coolness detector, because only cool people could identify it.