• Home
  • About
  • My Books
  • CONTACT

Brad's Books

~ Frightnin' Fiction!

Brad's Books

Tag Archives: The London Symphony Orchestra

Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi…Williams: The Music of The Empire Strikes Back

Featured

Posted by bradsbooks in My inspiration and motivation

≈ Comments Off on Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi…Williams: The Music of The Empire Strikes Back

Tags

1941, 40th Anniversary, C-3PO, Chewbacca, City in the Clouds, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Cloud City, Dagobah, Darth Vader, Film Score, Finale; End Credits, Han and Leia, Han Solo, Hollywood, Hoth, Hyperspace, Imperial Stormtroopers, Jaws, Jaws 2, John Williams, Lando Calrissian, Lando's Palace, Lucasfilm, Luke Skywalker, Luke's First Crash, Luke's Rescue, Millennium Falcon, Musical Score, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Original Soundtrack Anthology, Princess Leia Organa, R2-D2, Return of the Jedi, Saga, Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode V, Superman, Tatooine, The Battle in the Snow, The Empire Strikes Back, The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme), The London Symphony Orchestra, Yoda, Yoda and the Force, Yoda's Theme

Film Spoilers Ahead!

I’m paying homage to The Empire Strikes Back this year in recognition of the film’s 40th anniversary. I mentioned in a post last May that it is my favorite of the Star Wars saga. This post is about the incredible music of the film composed by John Williams.

Few people would dispute John Williams’ contributions to motion picture scores. We all know his resume. It includes many of the biggest blockbuster films in history. When he wrote the music for The Empire Strikes Back he was already famous for having composed the scores of numerous films and television shows including Jaws, Star Wars (of course), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws 2, Superman, Dracula (1979 version with Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier, directed by John Badham), and 1941. But his success dates back much farther. His list of films can be found online. Chances are that you will find films and TV show scores composed by him that you never realized he did.

He was already a hot commodity in Hollywood, but Star Wars sent his popularity into the stratosphere. And, as we saw, his star just kept rising and rising with practically every film he scored for the next three plus decades.

His work and the efforts of the London Symphony Orchestra on T.E.S.B. is no different. It is my favorite musical score of the saga, and contributes greatly to the reason that it is my favorite S.W. film. His scores to Star Wars and Return of the Jedi are fantastic in their own right, but what he did for T.E.S.B. elaborates upon those concepts and introduces us to new and memorable themes that have been, and still are, heard throughout the S.W. timeline.

“The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)” is as iconic now as the theme from Jaws. Almost everyone who hears it knows what it is, or they at least recognize it as a S.W. theme. Its driving, pounding, militaristic sound is heard throughout the film and reminds us that the Empire is always one step behind our heroes. Sometimes, one step too close. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of the most popular ringtones for smartphones the world over.

“Yoda’s Theme” is one of my personal favs in the entire series. I never get tired of it. Its quiet and melodic tempo relaxes me every time I hear it. It’s beautiful and meditative.

Pages: 1 2 3

A Galaxy Forty Years Ago

26 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by bradsbooks in My inspiration and motivation

≈ Comments Off on A Galaxy Forty Years Ago

Tags

1980, 1991, 1996, 20th Century Fox, 40th Anniversary, A galaxy far away, Baton Rouge, Boba Fett, Bon Marche Mall, Bon Marche Twin Cinema, Boris Vallejo, bounty hunter, C-3PO, carbonite, Cloud City, Coca Cola, Dagobah, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, era, Film, George Lucas, Han Solo, Hoth, Jabba the Hutt, John Williams, Lando Calrissian, Louisiana, Lucasfilm, Luke Skywalker, Millennium Falcon, Movie, Princess Leia Organa, Saga, Space Fantasy, Star Wars, Star Wars: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back, The London Symphony Orchestra, thrilling, Yoda

Spoiler Alert!

Even though I want as many people as possible to read this post, I must give fair warning. This post contains information that gives away important plot points from the Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back, commonly referred to these days as just Star Wars: Episode V. If you have never seen the film and intend to do so, then you may want to proceed with caution or skip this post altogether. On the other hand if you have seen it, then I hope that you will enjoy this little stroll down memory lane.

It was almost forty years ago to the day that I saw the greatest and most influential science fantasy film of my life…The Empire Strikes Back. As mentioned above, the more familiar title is now Star Wars: Episode V. I prefer the original title. I remember when first released, people laughed at the title. It didn’t sound dignified enough for the Star Wars series. Over time it grew on us. We got used to it. Decades later it seems to be the more appropriate title for the film. It is the original title after all.

There seems to be discrepancies in the exact date of the film’s release. I remember it being in late May of 1980. Supposedly, it had a limited release. I saw it about a week or so after it’s premiere at Bon Marche Twin Cinema behind the Bon Marche Mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I was living at the time. The movie got a much wider nationwide release a month later in June. Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, and as far as I remember only one theater in town was showing the film initially. I could be wrong about when it was released in Baton Rouge. I would be happy to hear from you in the comments below if you know something to the contrary. Also, chime in and let me know when the film premiered in your town.

Spring was blooming in May of 1980, and my family had relocated to Baton Rouge a couple of months before from our hometown an hour east. It was a clear, sunny and mild Saturday afternoon. I had just been released from…sorry…gotten out of…school for the year. My older brother and sister (I was the youngest) had seen the movie during its opening week. I had not seen it yet, even though I was the biggest S.W. fan in my family.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Recent Posts

  • Jeremy Bulloch: Star Wars Legend
  • The DiVacci Curse: An Old-Fashioned Ghost Short Story
  • Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi…Williams: The Music of The Empire Strikes Back
  • Updated Content of E-books on Amazon.co.jp
  • More Updates Available!

Categories

  • A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective (8)
  • My Fiction (22)
  • My inspiration and motivation (17)
  • My Non-fiction (9)
  • The DiVacci Curse (4)
  • To Sleep in the Ground (4)
  • Uncategorized (5)

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 43 other followers

Follow Brad's Books on WordPress.com

Archives

  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • July 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • March 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016

Tags

40th Anniversary 100th Birthday A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective Amazon Antonio Bay authors blessings Blood book Bradley Lobue California charity Christian compassion Creepy e-book earthquake Easter faith Fear Film forgiveness Fukushima Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Fukushima Prefecture George Lucas Ghosts Ghost Story Gore gothic Great East Japan Earthquake Halloween Happy New Year Holidays hope Horror humanity humility illustration Japan Kindle love Manage your content and devices March 11 2011 earthquake Merry Christmas Movie new novel November 22 2016 earthquake nuclear crisis nuclear meltdown peace Progress Publishing radiation Read respect Review Scary Short stories Spirit Star Wars Star Wars: Episode V sympathy The DiVacci Curse The Empire Strikes Back The Great East Japan Earthquake Tohoku tolerance To Sleep in the Ground tsunami Update Available vampire fiction vampires writing

Categories

  • A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective (8)
  • My Fiction (22)
  • My inspiration and motivation (17)
  • My Non-fiction (9)
  • The DiVacci Curse (4)
  • To Sleep in the Ground (4)
  • Uncategorized (5)

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • My Books

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 43 other followers

Website Powered by WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy