The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition Original Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK]

---

---

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
As the bridging film of the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) topped its predecessor in terms of story, character development, and special effects. Directed by Irvin Kershner, the sequel documents the relentless pursuit of the rebels by Darth Vader, a burgeoning romance between Han Solo and Princess Leia, and the training of Luke by the mystical Yoda. Taking advantage of his elaborate leitmotif design, composer John Williams introduces a wise, spiritual theme for Yoda and a delicate love theme that assumes a more dramatic profile after Han is betrayed and frozen into sculpture. The score is also an imaginative inventory of self-contained settings, whether it be the chilly Hoth soundscapes, the otherworldly choruses of Cloud City, or the intricate gymnastics written for "The Asteroid Field". Discarding the heroic optimism of his previous score, Williams enforces the film's overriding dark tone through the ominous, brassy "Imperial March". Appearing in virtually every cue, the march accompanies Vader's obsessive quest to kidnap and convert Luke to the dark side. A definitive accounting of the finest science-fiction score ever written, this remastered two-disc set (released concurrently with the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back in 1997) presents the complete score in its full glory. --Kevin Mulhall

---

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2004-06-02 rating:
Look no further for movie orchestral excellence.
All the main themes in this outstanding score have been quite rightly hailed by many past reviewers. All I can add is, listen
to THE ASTEROID FIELD. It is probably the most fantastic action scene accompaniment by any composer in cinema history, and that includes Bernard Herrmann. Williams uses every corner of the orchestra with awe inspiring precision and verve. I cannot champion this fine piece of movie music enough. The rest of the soundtrack ain't too bad either!!

---

review by: andycadams date: 2003-08-04 rating:
The Holy Grail of Soundtracks
Amaizing. This soundtrack is a must have for any film score lover. Williams still has not created a soundtrack with more depth and beauty to this day. The hauntingly beautiful love theme for Han and the princess is one of his greatest, most sweeping works, lending itself to a variaty of renditions, the most powerful of which signals the movie's shocking end. In fact, each of the three new themes are very versitile and throughout the score they are each played in a varity of fashions, each perfectly setting the tone.

Yoda's theme, when played slowly, is a mystical lulaby. But when it greets the end credits, it becomes a fast lively affair. What was once calm and serene becomes playful and energetic.

In this soundtrack there is so much to keep you entertained. You'll want to come back, time and again, and with this double cd edition, there's even more for you to listen to.

From one of the greatesr film scorer of all time comes one of his best works so far. Own it today!

---

review by: date: 2003-05-11 rating:
Imperial March
I would recomend this to anyone. This is the best Star Wars soundtrack ever.
You will enjoy all the tracks espsally THE IMPERIAL MARCH, a dark but fun theme that is now a famous signature of Darth Vader.

Just listen to the soundtrack and you'll be transported to another world!

---

review by: jaksbin date: 2002-11-10 rating:
Unparalleled.
What can I say? John Williams wove his spark of genius right into the heart of the Star Wars saga with his glorious scores, and 'Empire' has to be - in my opinion - the best. Just a quite note, however: I have the SW Soundtrack Music Anthology, which is a boxset of four CDs (one on each of the Classic Trilogy scores, and another mix-and-match one), which means that I don't have *every* track in this particular collection, but I do have most; I'll just have to trust that Williams is as wonderful as I think he is!

John Williams works his magic with themes: rich, emotional themes that we can all recognise and associate with a million and one classic moments that Lucas forms for us on the screen and in our hearts. Okay, maybe that wording was a bit too much, but you get the picture, right? This entire score is awash with melodies that we already recognise from 'A New Hope' (and, depending on your time scale, 'The Phantom Menace' and 'Attack of the Clones'), and new ones are formed constantly. Even battle sequences, which I usually judge as being "all the same" and a tedious run of big booms and overdone strings, seem to have been revitalised in this score; Williams adds so much character to everything that he composes that it seems almost fantastical in its very nature! I love it to pieces, really I do...

So, what are the pros and cons of this CD, eh? One pro is definitely the length. Anybody who has bought (or even just looked at) the more recent CD for AotC knows that it is depressingly short, with only 14 tracks (super for a chart album, disgraceful for a Williams-soundtrack). This double-CD has a good range of music, all with the sort of unique personality that even other top-notch composers only manage to fix into their main themes. Each track is so definitive that you can tell exactly where it is in the film and - unlike TPM/Harry Potter and other composers' works - you will be hard struck to find another one like it.

Pros in the way of tracks include the famous 'Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)'. Yeah - we can all sing along to that one. 'The Battle of the Snow' is interesting for a battle track. I'm not quite sure why 'Yoda's Theme' and 'Han Solo and the Princess' were put next to each other (they're of a similar calm, sweet tone and can, at times, blend a little), but they're both excellent. 'The Duel' contains that heart-wrenching moment between father and son, and the 'Finale/End Credits' is even more tear-jerkingly sentimental... (the moment at the end where Luke is hugging Leia gets me every time!).

I can't, honestly, think of any cons, except maybe the annoyance of having to swap between CDs (the day they put every second of SW score onto one music DVD/hard disk will be the day I throw the entire contents of my bank account at Lucas & Co. and be done with it!). My copy even tells you precisely how long each track is - a pleasant triviality.

Basically, this is a collection of some of John Williams' best Star Wars score and, if you're going to buy one of the film CDs, I would recommend this one. There's a bit of everything, wonderfully put together. Very highly recommended.


review by: date: 2002-09-01 rating:
genius
John Williams again proves himself to be the king of symphonic soundtrack

Once again his use of leimotif perfectly captures the emotions of the film he writes the music for

The Imperial March is a classic of leimotif, one can see darth vader marching along with purpose

---

Similar products

Return of the Jedi: Special Edition Original Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK]
Star Wars: Special Edition Original Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK]
Star Wars Episode 4 - A New Hope [Deluxe Remastered Version]
Star Wars - Special Edition Original Soundtrack (deluxe)
Return of the Jedi - Special Edition Original Soundtrack(deluxe)

---

Similar categories

Music . Styles . Pop . General AAS
Music . Styles . Soundtracks . Film Scores
Music . Styles . Soundtracks . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Soundtracks . Composers . Williams, John
Music . Styles . Soundtracks . Themes . Science Fiction
Music . Styles . Soundtracks . General AAS
Music . Styles . Classical . Classical Instrumental . Performers . Ensembles . Orchestras . London Symphony Orchestra
Music . Styles . Classical . Classical Instrumental . Record Labels . RCA
Music . Styles . Classical . Classical Instrumental . Soundtracks
Music . Styles . Children's Music . Characters & Series . Star Wars
Music . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . CD . CD Album
PC & Video Games . Substores . Custom Stores . Star Wars . Music
Toys & Games . Characters & Brands . Star Wars . Music

---

Accessories

Star Wars: Republic Commando (PC CD)
Star Wars: Battlefront (PS2)
Star Wars: Battlefront (Xbox)
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Special Edition Original Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK]

---