Incredible Rare Footage of the Creation of The Empire Strikes Back Soundtrack

Incredible Rare Footage of the Creation of The Empire Strikes Back Soundtrack

Incredible Rare Footage of the Creation of The Empire Strikes Back Soundtrack

It's difficult, nay impossible to imagine Star Wars without those iconic themes created by the genius that is John Williams.

And, indeed, all of the pivotal moments across all six films are soundtracked by his evocative music. But have you ever stopped to wonder how on earth he managed to get it so right?

This amazing clip from a 1980 BBC Documentary Star Wars: Music, uploaded by Vashi Nedomansky, shows the creative process of Williams; only becoming involved at the stage of the final edit of the visuals, sitting down to watch a music-less version of the film with George Lucas, director Irvin Kershner and producer Gary Kurtz.

We see him discuss the elements of the film and how best to score them, before seeing him work with the London Symphonic Orchestra, after spending just seven weeks writing the 110 minutes of music needed.

To see just how important John Williams music was to the Star Wars trilogy, just watch this clip below. Thank goodness he's on board for the upcoming Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

You can watch the entire hour of the BBC documentary here: it's a fascinating watch.

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

(Image: AllStar)

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.