The Sounds of Star Wars: Episode IV

Arguably one of the most revolutionary movies of its time, Star Wars: Episode IV hit theaters in May of 1977 (Internet Movie Database, 2014) and forever changed the landscape of Science Fiction and Fantasy.  The story was engaging and action packed, the visual effects stretched the imaginations of moviegoers everywhere; but it was the sound that truly made this movie an instant classic.  Few would dispute the importance of sound in cinema.  Sound, after all, tells the story, moves the plot, and heightens the emotional impact of a scene.  Without sound, scary scenes would be less scary, romantic climaxes less climactic, and movies just not so moving.

There are three important elements of sound in any movie.  Most obvious, of course, is dialog.  Dialog is simply characters talking to one another or to the viewer (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011).  When dialog is used effectively, it helps to develop plot, it expands on characterizations, and it provides information that the audience needs to understand the movie (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011).  

In an early scene in Star Wars IV, as seen here in Clip 1, dialog reveals a great deal to the viewer.  We learn about the development of a battle station by the Empire, we hear of mysterious lost/stolen plans laying the groundwork for events to come, and we are even introduced to the mystical powers of the Force.  All of this would have been unimaginably difficult to convey without the use of dialog.

Clip 1:

Sound effects help to bring the story to life by audibly depicting various movements and actions on the screen.  These can be as mundane as the sound of footsteps as characters walk, or the background noise of a crowded restaurant.  Sound effects might also be major elements like explosions, or they might even imagine the sound made by something that doesn’t in reality exist.  In Star Wars IV, we experience all of these elements from the clanking boots of marching stormtroopers to the alien backgrounds of an intergalactic bar.  We also hear what it sounds like when a space ship accelerates away from dock (or at least what George Lucas believes that would sound like).  

Possibly the most iconic of sound effects is that of the light saber depicted here in Clip 2.  Imagine how different this scene might have been if light sabers made the sound of swords crashing together.  Would we still now, over 35 years later, still recognize that sound?

Clip 2:

Finally, music is also employed in movies in a number of ways.  Music may be used as background for scenes in a movie to help set a mood, it may be used to help move the story, or it may act as a characterization of the film or as a theme.  “Some scores actually prove so important to a film that they become well-known themselves” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011, sec. 6.4).

This is very much the case with Star Wars IV.  From the very beginning, as can be seen in Clip 3, the stirring score composed by John Williams sets the tone of things to come.  Imagine, after all, watching the first two minutes of the movie absent the soundtrack.  The score itself is practically a battle hymn of regal proportions.  It tells us without question that we are about to experience war.

Clip 3:

Certainly, Star Wars would not have been Star Wars without the dialog, music, and especially without sound effects.

References:

Edge Adamworth. (2008). Star Wars Episode IV: “I find your lack of faith disturbing”. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzs-OvfG8tE

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C.P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. (Ashford University ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Indifference1990. (2008). Obi Wan vs Darth Vader Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prSHdCOuNeY

Internet Movie Database. (2014). Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Lord4SHOT. (2013). Star Wars original opening crawl – 1977. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKRIUiyF0N4