Episode 28: The Empire Strikes Back - Part 2

Art of the Score

In Episode 28, we conclude our time with The Empire Strikes Back, and our exploration of perhaps the best Star Wars film and score ever made. In this episode, we make our way through some remaining themes and motifs, as well as the major action setpieces of the film, and ask the biggest question of all: is this the best film score ever written? Episode notes: 2:41 – The Days of Han and Leia 6:37 – Tchaikovsky’s Star Wars 11:51 – Han’s Soli 14:21 – Williams’ melodic patterns 15:27 – A polite argument (for strings) 20:14 – Melodus interruptus 24:22 – Bespin Cellos 25:51 – I love cue (I know) 30:48 – Resolving Solo and the Princess 36:32 – Bassoon Fett 43:36 – The droids dance 52:43 – The droids return in Solo 54:18 – Hyperspace strings 58:28 – Empire’s action ostinati 1:05:24 – Lando’s palace, where all your dreams come true 1:07:42 – A choir in the clouds 1:11:34 – The magic tree 1:15:10 – The synth side of the force 1:17:52 – John Williams’ best action cue, ever? 1:25:08 – The space tritone 1:28:31 – Looping the woodwinds 1:29:43 – The battle in the snow 1:34:29 – The Carbonite Procession, and John Williams’ greatest finale ever? 1:40:32 – The end credits 1:45:43 – The greatest score ever written? We love to hear from our listeners – get in touch via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and if you like The Art of the Score, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and comment.