13.3: Modern Leitmotivic Scoring for Film- John Williams' Star Wars

John Williams and the Modern Hollywood Sound.

John Williams (b. 1932) is perhaps America's most famous composer. A quick scour of his Wikipedia page will demonstrate just how successful his 7+ decade career has been, including 25 Grammy Awards, 5 Academy Awards, and 4 Golden Globes (to name a few). He has composed for the entire Star Wars "trilogy of trilogies," the first 3 Harry Potter films, the Indiana Jones films, Jurassic Park, the first two Home Alone movies, Jaws, Superman, and countless others (see his discography here). In addition to composing for film, he has also composed concert works for orchestra.

John Williams is recognized as the composer who helped to usher in a new era of Hollywood leitmotivic scoring: many of his films include main themes that represent the main character (or the entire cast of protagonists), and individual character themes, all of which experience some form of thematic transformation over the course of the drama.

His most famous examples of leitmotivic transformation occurs within the Star Wars franchise. Music theorist Frank Lehman has cataloged all of the different types of leitmotifs within the entire Star Wars franchise, demonstrating a wide network of interrelated music themes that interact with one another, in addition to enduring their own musical transformation. We'll take a look at a few examples here.

(above): photograph of John Williams by Nationalparks, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...?curid=2699194

Leitmotivic Transformation Leitmotifs in Star Wars.

The Main Theme.

Star Wars (originally released in 1977) begins with perhaps the most iconic title sequence in film. This "main theme" represents not only Luke Skywalker, but also his allies in the Rebellion. The theme bears all of the markers of "heroism" through its use of various musical topics (these are elaborated on in the following chapter on video game music). Throughout the franchise, this theme often accompanies battle sequences where the heroic rebellion takes on the Imperial Army, and is head in all 9 films of the saga. When audiences hear this theme, they are mostly reminded of Luke and his heroic allies, and is mostly played in the "heroic" style.

However, in the last film (spoiler alert), where C-3PO says good-bye to his allies, we hear the same theme in the background, completely devoid of the heroic aesthetic: no more heroic sentiment, no bombastic brass and percussion—a single French horn plays the melody while C-3PO speaks to his friends. This hero's theme is played in much more of a somber and sentimental setting, perfectly befitting the bittersweet situation that the heroes find themselves in. Moreover, although Luke Skywalker is nowhere to be found on screen or in the film, fans will recognize the theme and will likely draw connections between Luke's heroic actions from decades prior with the heroic actions that C-3PO commits in his selfless act of bravery.

C-3PO says goobye to his friends in The Rise of Skywalker. Screenshot taken from YouTube.

The Imperial March.

Another instance of leitmotivic transformation may be found in the "Imperial March." The theme's association with Darth Vader has earned it a nickname of "Darth Vader's Theme," although the is is also used to refer to the Imperial Army itself throughout all of the franchise). The theme first appears in the 2nd film, "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back." Watch this scene while listening to the theme: although it sounds like a march, it evokes a more negative reaction from audiences than positive—this does not mean that audiences don't like it, but the music itself is clearly associated with villainy instead of heroism. This is because of the the theme's use of dark harmonies, and dissonances within its writing.

Darth Vader says goodbye to Luke. Screenshot taken from YouTube.

When fans hear this theme, they immediately understand that Darth Vader is either on screen, or is being talked about. In the last movie of the original trilogy Return of the Jedi, the theme returns as Darth Vader dies and says good-bye to Luke. Here, the "Imperial March" is played very weakly, almost as if it is withering away and dying. Watch this famous scene of Vader's death, paying specific attention to the music at 0:45.

These are just two examples of Williams' approach to leitmotivic scoring, but they demonstrate just how a single musical attribute's replacement may completely change the musical and dramatic context of a given drama. The following page will show Howard Shore's approach to leitmotivic writing in his scoring to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which connects various themes on the smallest musical level, creating a thematic family of different, yet interrelated musical themes!

Additional Resources.

For readers more interested in the musical soundscape of Star Wars, watch this short video on leitmotifs within the film.

There's also a great article from the New Yorker by musicologist Alex Ross that discusses the music in more detail.