Star Wars in Concert Japan Tour 2018 - Report [Mizumaru Kawahara's CINEMONOLOGUE Vol.7]

Index

• A symphony of distant galaxies playing right in front of your eyes
• A new understanding of the presence of SW music
• An original trilogy to experience for the first time

A symphony of distant galaxies playing right in front of your eyes

On July 29th, "Star Wars in Concert Japan Tour 2018" was held at Tokyo Opera City. Original consisting of " Episode 4/A New Hope " (1977, hereinafter referred to as EP4), " Episode 5/The Empire Strikes Back " (1980, hereinafter referred to as EP5), and " Episode 6/Return of the Jedi " (1983, hereinafter referred to as EP6). This is a cinema concert in which the trilogy is screened all at once, accompanied by live orchestral music. Under the direction of Australian composer Nicholas Bach, who is well-known for film concerts, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra performed John Williams' legendary score, which remains in film history, in perfect sync with the video.

When the EP4 screening started at 11am, Darth Vader appeared at the venue with a group of Stormtroopers and performed the opening performance. Soon, the fanfare of 20th Century Fox rings out, and the audience erupts into excitement.

Even the chance to watch the original trilogy on screen is special, and having the music performed live is such a luxury. I loved the movie, and I thought that the visuals and music were ingrained in my skin, but when I watched the original trilogy on screen for the first time, there were many new things that I noticed, compared to when I watched them normally on software. It was totally different. I was surprised that such an instrument was playing here, and I could hear the details of the sound that I couldn't understand unless it was played live. There are some slight differences between the music played in the movie and the songs on the soundtrack, so I think there were many songs that could only be heard on these occasions.

``Star Wars'' is also unique in that the music itself tells the story. When you listen to the soundtrack from beginning to end, each song associated with a scene or character brings to mind an image, giving you the feeling of watching the entire movie.

In the first place, before Steven Spielberg introduced John Williams, George Lucas was planning to use existing symphonies by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky in Star Wars, but Williams used Lucas' idea to create a technique. Complete an elaborate and challenging score. That's probably why there's an atmosphere of Holst or Wagner in many of the themes that are synonymous with the work (I think EP4 in particular has a strong influence from Mars).

The story of the galaxy told in a magnificent symphony is truly worthy of being called a space opera, and the images and music are inseparable, as if connected by the Force. In that sense, the affinity between Star Wars and cinema concerts was very high.