Monday, November 30, 2009

Celebrating My Geek With Star Wars In Music Form



We all have our own geek thing. That one thing that really turns us into a kid with excitement and joy. If you're sitting there shaking your head saying,"I don't," then you're either not being true to yourself or you lead a very boring life.

Granted I have a few geek things in my life. My most recent would have to be participating in the Chicago 'Repo The Genetic Opera' shadowcast put on by the 90 Day Delinquents at The Music Box Theatre a few times a year. Our next show is January 23 by the way. I do the part of Luigi Largo who in the film is played by the great Bill Moseley. Now that I've gotten that plug out of the way. heh

My main geek thing in life has to be Star Wars. It was the film I saw when I was about 4 that changed me forever. I was so blown away by it that it sparked my love of the moving image. I started watching things differently. Not just movies but TV too. When I played with toys my eye became the camera. Including going in real tight for close ups and pulling away for wide shots. I was doing this before I knew what it meant. As I discovered the more technical side of filmmaking I knew that is what I wanted to do with my life.

All of the usual wonderful things about Star Wars hold true for me too but it is that specific thing that makes it very personal for me. So much so that putting down Star Wars in my presence is taken as an insult FYI. I get excited by all things Star Wars. I try not to get too excited around others but believe me that if I'm somewhere and I see something Star Wars in the corner of my eye it will grab my attention. It fills me with that sense of wonder I had as a child. Being a filmmaker this does help a lot. It keeps my imagination strong.

One of my favorite things of the movies is the music by John Williams. So perfect is it that it truly stands on its own yet perfectly sparks the memories of the movies the moment you hear the notes. This weekend I will be going to Star Wars In Concert where the music will be played live with images playing high above the orchestra. Here's the trailer:



To say I will be a pig in slop is an understatement. I cannot tell you how excited I am for this. I will be going by myself because some times we need to be alone with our geekdom. Well, alone in a stadium full of other geeks but close enough.



In celebration of this weekend here are the three music videos done for the main pieces composed for each of the prequels. Can't wait to hear these live alongside the great pieces from the original trilogy. These were done during the release of each film and are on the DVD's. Also check out the amazing musical journey DVD available with the 'Revenge of the Sith' soundtrack. It features all of the main themes from all of the films hosted by Ian McDiarmid.

Here is the Duel Of The Fates video from Episode 1. I still say this is one of the best pieces of film music composed in the last 10 years in my opinion.



Here is a compilation music video with the main part being the very underrated Across The Stars love theme from Episode II.



Here is the Battle Of The Heroes video from Episode III.



Now if you'll excuse me I will be wallowing in my own geekdom.


*Pictures courtesy of Star Wars.com.

2 comments:

Jerry said...

I would have gone. :(

JLG said...

Hey - just started reading your blog. Thanks for posting this - I saw it on Ticketmaster but wasn't quite sure what it was. How was it?? Hopefully it'll come back to Chicago.