Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension
2. Star Wars Theme
3. Imperial Attack
4. Desert/The Robot Auction
5. Little People Work
6. Princess Appears
7. Land of the Sand People
8. Return Home
9. Inner City
10. Mouse Robot/Blasting Off
11. Rescue of the Princess
12. Walls Converge
13. Ben's Death/The Fighter Attack
14. Princess Leia's Theme
15. Last Battle
16. Throne Room (End Titles)

Disc 2:

1. Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension
2. Star Wars Theme
3. Luke's Escape
4. Luke's Rescue
5. Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)
6. Battle in the Snow
7. Luke's First Crash
8. Rebels Escape Again
9. Asteroid Field
10. Yoda's Theme
11. Han Solo and the Princess
12. Training of a Jedi Knight
13. Magic Tree
14. Yoda and the Force
15. City in the Clouds
16. Lando's Palace
17. Duel
18. Hyperspace
19. Star Wars Finale

Disc 3:

1. Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension
2. Star Wars Theme
3. Han Solo Returns
4. Fight in the Dungeon
5. Return of the Jedi
6. Emperor Arrives
7. Death of Yoda
8. Parade of the Ewoks
9. Luke and Leia
10. Emperor Confronts Luke
11. Into the Trap
12. First Ewok Battle/Fight with the Fighters
13. Forest Battle
14. Final Duel/Into the Death Star
15. Emperor's Death
16. Darth Vader's Death
17. Through the Flames
18. Leia Breaks the News/Funeral Pyre for a Jedi
19. Ewok Celebration/Finale

Disc 4:

1. Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension
2. Star Wars Theme [Alternate Version]
3. Heroic Ewok/The Fllet Goes into Hyperspace
4. Hive of Villainy
5. Destruction of Alderaan
6. Drawing the Battle Lines/Leia's Instructions
7. Ewok Battle
8. Attack Postion
9. Crash Landing
10. Cantina Band
11. Lapti Nek
12. Cantina Band, No. 2
13. Faking the Code
14. Brother and Sister
15. Standing By
16. Leia Is Wounded/Luke and Vader Duel
17. Carbon Freeze/Luke Pursuses the Captives/Departure of Boba Fett
18. Losing a Hand
19. Return of the Jedi [Alternate Version]
20. Leia Breaks the News [Alternate Version]
21. Ewok Celebration

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #81387 in Music
• Released on: 1993-11-23
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Soundtrack

Amazon.com
There is no soundtrack composer working today more talented or consistent than John Williams, and the Star Wars trilogy represents some of his finest work. Though he uses few major themes (mostly tied to specific characters, signaling when they appear on the screen or do something important), there's also enough variety in the incidental music to keep things interesting. From the instantly recognizable opening music to the medley that accompanies the closing credits, this is excellent work that perfectly captures the innocence and sense of adventure of the film. At the same time, the Star Wars score stands up very well as a piece of music on its own. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

John Williams' Star Wars Trilogy Scores Shine Bright
For over 30 years, composer/conductor John Williams has been one of the most prolific and renowned film score creators in Hollywood. For many of his fans, the music he recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra for the Star Wars saga has been -- and will remain -- his masterpiece.

Until the 1997 Special Edition soundtracks were released, this 1993 4-disc collection was the most complete version of the Original Soundtrack recordings. Earlier CD editions either went out of "print" or were simply awful (The Empire Strikes Back's first CD release was criminally lacking in tracks and organization; indeed, it was a "bargain basement" priced CD and was not as good as, say, the Varese Sarabande release of Charles Gerhardt's recording of the Empire score). It fell to producer Nick Redman (who has been working steadily on releasing good collections of Williams' film music) to compile this Soundtrack Anthology.

Although much of the material had been released in other editions of the soundtracks, the Anthology set allows listeners to enjoy and appreciate the evolution of the music as the series moved from A New Hope to Return of the Jedi. Williams -- as the booklet of liner notes points out -- uses the Wagnerian technique of "leitmotivs" or themes...sometimes for characters such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, sometimes for places or things (the Death Star has a theme, as do the Ewoks on Endor and, most importantly, the Force). The themes themselves are often simple and very hummable, but it is their flexibility...no, malleability....that allows Williams to describe what's going on with music alone. The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) from The Empire Strikes Back, for instance, can go from jeering and strident in one scene, brooding and atmospheric in another, and even gentle and melancholy when it is last heard in Return of the Jedi. The effect is, as John Williams clearly intended, a very operatic and vivid experience.

Because most of the music in this set was adapted from the earlier recordings, some of the "cues" appear out of chronological order (in terms of where the music is heard on the actual films). And while many tracks have either been "filled out" with material not heard on the earlier releases or restored/reincorporated, this boxed set is still missing many other tracks that ARE on the Special Edition recordings. Williams fans who seek completeness will have to buy those recordings instead.

Nevertheless, since the Return of the Jedi score was redone in two scenes, this boxed set is now the best source for the original Lapti Nek and Ewok Celebration tracks. Traditionalists who bemoan the Special Edition's revisions may still prefer The Star Wars Trilogy Soundtrack Anthology. In any case, this is a great buy no matter how one looks at it.

Not the whole galaxy, but not bad
Like another poster, I owned this boxed set before the release a few years ago of the "Special Edition" 2-CD packages representing each film in the original trilogy. This set is rendered almost, but not completely, obsolete by the later issues. Yes, the "Star Wars" (sorry, George--I refuse to call the first movie "Episode IV: A New Hope"), "Empire" and "Jedi" special-edition soundtracks are more complete than this (although even these aren't absolutely note-complete: If you've got sharp ears, when watching "Empire" or "Jedi" you'll hear a bit of music that didn't make it to CD, because alternate takes were used in the movies). But if you just want a generous helping of "Star Wars" tunes and aren't so concerned about having every last note, this set might be the better bargain. It's cheaper than buying three double-disc sets, and it's got maybe 70 percent of the music contained in the special-edition packages. And if it matters to you, it's got two songs ("Lapti Nek" and "Ewok Celebration") that don't appear on the "Jedi" 2-CD set, because they were replaced for the Special Edition reissue of "Jedi."

One of my all time favorites...
I own the "SE" versions of all three star wars scores, and while i like return of the jedi best overall, this score is brilliant. The last track ranks as my favorite on ANY cd... "The Throne Room" fills you with a sense of hope and pride, and truly stirs my soul, while the medley that makes up the end credits is great in that it contains entirely new arrangements of the themes heard previously in the film. The liner notes on this set are excellent, which is especially good for a film score which makes such extensive use of leit-motif (and if you don't know what that is, the liner notes explain that too!).