A Long, Long Time Ago...

The Playlist

By: Stephen Ortiz

Posted: 11/7/07

Thirty years to be exact, which, for most of you reading this, was well before you were born.

It was 1977 - the King, Elvis Presley passed away, a handful of artists including Shakira and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park were born and The Eagles' "Hotel California" was the biggest hit of the year - an eventful year to say the least.

It was on May 25 of this monumental year that a little movie was released. You might have heard of it. "Star Wars," or what they call it these days, "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." Taking three years and $10 million dollars to create, George Lucas unleashed upon the world what has to be the greatest saga in movie history.

With "Star Wars" came an entire universe unlike any other - characters and worlds unimaginable to the everyday person; memorable moments that will stick with viewers for life; and most importantly to me, the music of composer John Williams.

Williams, now 75 years old, is a mastermind when composing scores to complement a film. Not only has he crafted the most memorable "Star Wars" pieces from the "Imperial March" to "Luke and Leia," but he also did work for "Jurassic Park" - which to me is the best theme to any movie - "Jaws," "E.T." and "Indiana Jones."

In commemoration of his work and the 30th anniversary of Lucas' space opera, Sony Classical released "The Music of Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Boxed Collector's Edition" on Tuesday. The box sports a very cool, Darth Vader cover, half of his helmet illuminated in orange, the other in blue, representing the dark and light sides of the force. Awesome.

Included in this $90 fanboy's dream are the complete soundtracks from the first trilogy, spread out over two discs each, a special "Star Wars: The Corellian Edition" compilation of the most popular themes from all six episodes on one disc and a CD-ROM of digital art of the original LP packaging, posters and inserts, bringing the grand total to eight. There's also a poster and some stickers, general bonus items that serve no immediate purpose but to drive the deal home.

Although the newer trilogy wasn't received as well as the original by critics - can you blame them? - the music by Williams remained consistently wondrous throughout all six and made them worth seeing. Oddly enough, besides being on the compilation disc, the music from the newer three films are left out for the most part, but that's neither here nor there - as far as I'm concerned, the discs can just loop the main theme and I'd be content.

My only quip with the collection is the semi-steep price tag. Personally, I don't mind going out and putting down the money to pick something as cool as this up - I'm a consumer whore - but I feel it won't appeal to a broader audience than the most diehard of fans. It is a shame that more people won't be experiencing this collection, but if you're given the chance, don't pass it up. It is rare for viewers to talk of the composers behind the movies, and I feel it is appropriate to give credit where credit is due.

So if you're ever in the cantina on Mos Eisley, remember to give a toast for old John Williams.

Contact Stephen Ortiz at

Stephen.Ortiz@UConn.edu.