Search - John Williams :: Star Wars Trilogy (Box Set)

The Star Wars Trilogy's scores return in spectacular box set

Alex Diaz-Granados | Miami, FL United States | 10/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Say what you will about the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set, but one undeniable fact is that one thing that has not changed is the enduring appeal of John Williams' classic scores for the 1977-83 trio of films that pitted Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Obi-Wan Kenobi against the forces of the evil Empire and the Jedi-turned-Sith Lord, Darth Vader.



To mark the release of the 2004 DVD set, Sony Classical has revamped and reissued the 1997 Special Edition soundtracks and created a beautiful box set that complements the packaging of the Widescreen Edition DVDs. In an elegant silver and black slipcover, the three slimline 2-CD jewel cases include holographic cover art that matches that on the DVD cases, a collectible poster/track list, and the scores on newly remastered Digital Stream Discs (which have improved sound quality and clarity, especially on top-of-the-line stereos) , as well as exclusive screensavers accessible through Sony Classical's Star Wars web page.



As expected, John Williams' music for A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi is brilliantly performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. With 74 tracks and over six hours of music, this six-CD set is arguably the most complete collection of original soundtrack material yet released.



If you own the 1997 RCA Victor Special Edition soundtracks, however, there is no new unreleased material here. Indeed, track sequences and titles are identical, and there are no detailed program notes.



Still, the box set is reasonably priced; it's actually cheaper than buying each soundtrack album separately, so if your older CDs are getting worn out or you just want these CDs for their extra features, then it's certainly worth considering."

Good remastering, but blatant repackaging

Yi-Peng | Singapore | 01/02/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This reissue of the original Star Wars Trilogy soundtracks was released to coincide with the DVD debut of the original films. However, there is really little to gain in this reissue over the RCA special edition releases. Of course, the music is presented with all the integrity it needs, with every note of the score in a seamless chronological presentation, so that's one basic requirement cleared for this reissue. Plus, it has been remastered with Sony DSD technology, which greatly improves the sound. So what's wrong? Well, I'm sure that many collectors miss the in-depth booklets from the 1997 reissues with a comprehensive and lucid soundtrack annotation and full-colour photo stills from the three films. This would mean that those who listen to the music might not be able to follow what happens. At least the music is presented in chronological order, which is a tremendous asset. In its place we get a fold-out poster for a CD insert, which is in itself as useless as the 3-D covers. Also, the Enhanced CD features are perhaps junk, because the screensavers and book covers are not entirely necessary on soundtrack reissues. They are merely a marketing gimmick so that fans can spend more money, despite the fan requests. But even though these two gripes are subjective, this can't stop many fans from enjoying the music in all its glory and integrity. And perhaps, with the release of Revenge of the Sith, Sony, George Lucas and John Williams might allow the entire unedited scores for all six films to be released in a seamless chronological presentation, with extensive booklet notes. Maybe that will give the STAR WARS soundtracks some integrity than this skimpy reissue does, and maybe we will be able to see the Ewok Celebration finale from Return of the Jedi, as well as Lapti Nek, restored."

Star Wars Trilogy Sound Track Boxed Set

Christian | from my dorm room at college | 12/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I personally have found the trilogy boxed set to be of generally high quality. The CD's are basically the same as the 1997 Special Edition releases. Their pictures are different and they are said to contain extras such as screen savers, but so far I have been quite unsuccessful in discovering them. The CD's themselves are much the same in quality as well. There is little noticeable improvement over the 1997 releases, except that you can, in some places, hear less background noise and hissing. I personally enjoy all the extra music and alternate takes. For those who merely want some of the music without all the extras and alternate takes the 1993 boxed set release would be a better purchase. The three CDs as a set, all told, have a total running time of just under six hours, which provides plenty of listening time. However, there is one rather annoying problem. The cases for the CD's are rather flimsy, so I would strongly advise putting the CD's themselves in another place to conserve the cases, which have some neat pictures on them. On the whole, this was worth its cost in my mind. For those who already have the 1997 releases and don't care about packaging or screen savers this set would be a pointless purchase. However, for someone such as I who wishes to buy the whole lot for a cheaper price this is just the thing."