Prior to the release of the Special Edition movies and soundtracks in 1997, the 1993 release of the Star Wars Trilogy soundtrack anthology was the most complete copy of the trilogy's soundtracks that you could buy. Beautifully packaged in a large rectangular box; each disc has its own case with a jet black cover and the name of the soundtrack printed in a darker black color allowing one to read the title only at certain angles. In addition, a large color booklet (as large as the box anyways) is enclosed with notes on the tracks of each disc with comments on each track explaining the scene it is played in. The tracks notes are written by Film Score Monthly editor Lukas Kendall.
As for the music, it has become a legendary piece of work from composer John Williams. From the grand opening titles to the deadly march of Darth Vader, the score is exactly what George Lucas wanted; a musical opera for his space opera. As I said, this soundtrack is one of the most complete prior to the Special Editions; however, some pieces of music are still missing from all the discs. These aren't terribly missed but they are one reason I don't call this version of the soundtracks complete. As for the track arrangements, they are pretty much in sequential order for the most part but during some tracks, the music suddenly shifts back half an hour into the movie. We'll be racing through the corridors of the Death Star at one moment and then a sudden change in tempo will find us back on Tatooine. Such incidents aren't bothersome but it doesn't help maintain continuity in the flow of the music.
Many pieces that had never been heard before on any of the other releases of the soundtracks found their way to the fourth CD of the set which contains music that was taken out of the final cuts or never released before, hence the title. Here again, the tracks are not arranged sequentially and in some cases, the tracks are mixed in the order in which they were played in the movie. The alien music pieces from all three movies (excepting the Ewok Celebration on Disc 3) are no longer found on the individual movie soundtracks but rather on this fourth CD itself. That will make many people happy. On the whole, it is worth it to buy this set if you are a serious collector of Star Wars memorabillia or merchandise, but, if you're just looking for a complete set of the music, it would be smarter to buy the Special Edition soundtracks.
Jump to Disc Track Listings
Total time: Disc 1: 74:07; Disc 2: 75:19; Disc 3: 73:47; Disc 4: 75:01
DISC 1: STAR WARS
1: 20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension (Alfred Newman, 1954) (0:24)
2: Main Title (5:23)
3: Imperial Attack * (6:41)
4: The Desert/The Robot Auction (2:51)
5: The Little People Work (4:08)
6: The Princess Appears (4:06)
7: The Land of the Sand People (2:55)
8: The Return Home (2:48)
9: Inner City * (4:44)
10: Mouse Robot/Blasting Off (4:03)
11: Rescue of the Princess (4:48)
12: The Walls Converge (4:33)
13: Ben's Death/TIE Fighter Attack (3:51)
14: Princess Leia's Theme (4:23)
15: The Last Battle (12:13)
16: The Throne Room/End Titles (5:32)
DISC 2: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
1: 20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension (Alfred Newman, 1954) (0:22)
2: Main Title/The Imperial Probe (extended version) * (7:58)
3: Luke's Escape * (3:34)
4: Luke's Rescue (1:45)
5: The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) (2:59)
6: The Battle in the Snow (3:45)
7: Luke's First Crash * (4:12)
8: The Rebels Escape Again (2:59)
9: The Asteroid Field (4:14)
10: Yoda's Theme (3:26)
11: Han Solo and the Princess (3:26)
12: The Training of a Jedi Knight (3:13)
13: The Magic Tree (3:32)
14: Yoda and the Force (4:02)
15: City in the Clouds * (6:50)
16: Lando's Palace (3:52)
17: The Duel (4:14)
18: Hyperspace (4:03)
19: Finale/End Credits (6:18)
DISC 3: RETURN OF THE JEDI
1: 20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension (Alfred Newman, 1954) (0:22)
2: Main Title/Approaching the Death Star (5:18)
3: Han Solo Returns (At the Court of Jabba the Hutt) (4:06)
4: Fight in the Dungeon ** (3:38)
5: The Return of the Jedi (4:59)
6: The Emperor Arrive ** (2:05)
7: The Death of Yoda ** (6:03)
8: Parade of the Ewoks (3:25)
9: Luke and Leia (4:43)
10: The Emperor Confronts Luke ** (3:26)
11: Into the Trap (2:36)
12: First Ewok Battle/Fight with the Fighters ** (7:18)
13: The Forest Battle (4:01)
14: Final Duel/Into the Death Star ** (3:37)
15: The Emperor's Death (2:41)
16: Darth Vader's Death ** (2:31)
17: Through the Flames ** (1:36)
18: Leia Breaks the News/Funeral Pyre for a Jedi (2:19)
19: Ewok Celebration/Finale (7:58)
DISC 4: OUTTAKES AND PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL
1: 20th Century Fox Fanfare with CinemaScope Extension (Alfred Newman, 1954) (0:22)
2: Main Title (Star Wars) ** (2:16)
3: Heroic Ewok/The Fleet Goes into Hyperspace (Return of the Jedi) ** (3:05)
4: A Hive of Villainy (Star Wars) ** (2:12)
5: Destruction of Alderaan (Star Wars) ** (1:31)
6: Drawing the Battle Lines/Leia's Instructions (The Empire Strikes Back) ** (4:02)
7: The Ewok Battle (Return of the Jedi) ** (2:48)
8: Attack Position (The Empire Strikes Back) ** (3:04)
9: Crash Landing (The Empire Strikes Back) ** (3:35)
10: Cantina Band (Star Wars) (2:46)
11: Lapti Nek (Return of the Jedi) (2:48)
12: Cantina Band #2 (Star Wars) ** (3:44)
13: Faking the Code (Return of the Jedi) ** (4:10)
14: Brother and Sister (Return of the Jedi) ** (3:08)
15: Standing By (Star Wars) ** (1:14)
16: Leia is Wounded/Luke and Vader Duel (Return of the Jedi) ** (2:57)
17: Carbon Freeze/Luke Pursues the Captives/Departure of Boba Fett (The Empire Strikes Back) * (11:08)
18: Losing a Hand (The Empire Strikes Back) ** (5:20)
19: The Return of the Jedi (alternate) (Return of the Jedi) ** (5:03)
20: Leia Breaks the News (alternate)/Funeral Pyre for a Jedi (film version) (Return of the Jedi) ** (2:27)
21: Ewok Celebration (film version) (Return of the Jedi)/End Credits (film version) (The Empire Strikes Back) ** (6:22)