Star Wars Episode I – The Ultimate Edition

Much criticism has been levelled at this double-CD release purporting to offer listeners “every note of music from The Phantom Menace, and for the life of me, I still have yet to figure out why. Not quite two years ago, I got into a pretty public debate with Film Score Monthly’s Lukas Kendall about whether or not we deserved a two-CD set containing Episode I‘s full score in May, 1999. Instead, Sony gave us a single-CD edition, containing several concert versions and suites combining music from unrelated scenes. Now, I was always a big fan of the original Star Wars soundtrack double LP, back in the days before you could actually put the entire score (plus extras) on two CDs – I have some of those concert suites memorized. I don’t object to suite CDs, so long as the original score is available somewhere. So, despite the objections of quite a few really finicky fans, we finally have that full score release for The Phantom Menace.

So what’s their problem? It seems that some listeners are critical of the edits made to the music for the movie, and would rather hear the original session masters as recorded, prior to being chopped up for placement with scenes of the film that they weren’t necessarily meant to accompany. I can buy that complaint, actually. It was neat hearing the huge amount of stuff that was left out of the opening scenes of The Empire Strikes Back. But at the same time, if this is all we get, I’ll be satisfied. (Not that I’m holding my breath, mind you – three seems to be the magic number for Star Wars soundtracks, as all of the original trilogy soundtracks evolved slowly from abridged LPs to expanded Anthology box set releases to Special Edition full score releases. I’m sure that late 2001 or early 2002 will see the release of, at the very least, a single CD with “outtakes and unused music, heard here for the first time ever!”)

While some reviewers have commented on the blatant sound of the edits, I was only bothered by a very small number of the edits in the music. They don’t exactly stick out like a sore thumb…for the most part. A few of them did get my teeth grating, but not a large enough number to have me using the CDs for a frisbee.

If I have but a single complaint about the Ultimate Edition, it’s the packaging. The double-CD set and 64-page booklet are crammed into what I would charitably describe as a flimsy cardboard package which will not, mark my words, stand up to average jewel case wear and tear for very long. I would much rather have had the traditional double-size 2-CD jewel case with a removable booklet. Granted, the booklet is too thick to be squeezed into a slimline double jewel case. The booklet itself is also part of my complaint: it was originally promised to be a lavish exploration of the making of the music, which practically screams “extensive interview with John Williams,” something I was really looking forward to. Instead, the book is a lazy effort, with a large, page-filling color still from the movie to accompany – get this – each track title. The booklet was truly my biggest disappointment for this package. But my jewel cases tend to sit still and gather dust anyway, and Williams has been interviewed elsewhere about Phantom Menace. The music itself is a four-star special, not to be missed.

Some of the highlights omitted by the original single-disc release include the complete pod race sequence (“Anakin Defeats Sebulba”), the ominous “Anakin Is Free” (a rousing choral reading of the Force theme as Anakin turns to leave his mother behind), and “The Racer Roars To Life” / “Anakin’s Midi-Chlorian Count”, a beautiful piece which goes some way toward confirming my theory that the new composition at the end of Return Of The Jedi: Special Edition will be heard in the next two movies as the more mature Anakin’s theme.

Disc one
1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare (0:23)
2. Star Wars Main Title (1:24)
3. Boarding The Federation Battleship (2:31)
4. Death Warrant For Qui-Gon And Obi-Wan (1:18)
5. Fighting The Destroyer Droids (1:44)
6. Queen Amidala Warns The Federation (2:23)
7. The Droid Invasion (1:00)
8. Swimming To Otoh Gunga (0:56)
9. Inside The Bubble City (3:05)
10. Attack Of The Giant Fish (1:37)
11. Darth Sidious (1:04)
12. The Giant Squid And The Attack On Theed (1:18)
13. Qui-Gon And Obi-Wan Rescue The Queen (2:09)
14. Fighting The Guards (1:42)
15. Escape From Naboo (2:04)
16. Enter Darth Maul (1:07)
17. The Arrival At Tattooine (2:28)
18. Street Band Of Mos Espa (1:17)
19. Padme Meets Anakin (1:12)
20. Desert Winds (1:28 bonus track)
21. Jar Jar’s Run-In With Sebulba (1:18)
22. Anakin’s Home And The Introduction To Threepio (2:42)
23. Darth Sidious And Darth Maul (1:12)
24. Talk Of Podracing (2:59)
25. Watto’s Deal / Shmi And Qui-Gon Talk (2:24)
26. Anakin, Podracer Mechanic (1:38)
27. The Racer Roars To Life / Anakin’s Midi-Chlorian Count (1:24)
28. Darth Maul And The Sith Spacecraft (1:00)
29. Mos Espa Arena Band (0:53)
30. Watto’s Roll Of The Die (1:59)
31. The Flag Parade (1:14)
32. Sebulba’s Dirty Hand / Qui-Gon’s Pep Talk (1:37)
33. Anakin Defeats Sebulba (2:17)
34. Hail To The Winner, Anakin Skywalker (1:13)
35. The Street Singer (1:13)

Disc two
1. Anakin Is Free (5:04)
2. Qui-Gon And Darth Maul Meet (1:48)
3. Anakin And Group To Coruscant (4:11)
4. The Queen And Palpatine (0:41)
5. High Council Meeting (2:37)
6. The Senate (1:12)
7. Anakin’s Test (3:41)
8. Qui-Gon’s Mission / Obi-Wan’s Warning (3:47)
9. Nute And Rune Confer With Darth Sidious (0:29)
10. The Queen And Group Land On Naboo (2:19)
11. Jar Jar Leads Group To The Gungans (2:25)
12. War Plans (2:31)
13. Darth Sidious Receives News Of The Gungan Army (0:25)
14. The Gungans March (0:57)
15. The Queen And Her Group Sneak Back To The Palace (0:18)
16. The Battle Begins (0:24)
17. The Republic Pilots Take Off Into Space (1:26)
18. Activate The Droids (0:44)
19. The Gungans Fight Back (0:24)
20. The Duel Begins (0:51)
21. Anakin Takes Off In Spaceship (0:47)
22. The Duel Continues (0:59)
23. The Battle Rages On (1:59)
24. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan And Darth Maul Continue Battle (1:22)
25. Qui-Gon, Darth Maul And The Invisible Wall (0:14)
26. The Gungans Retreat And The Queen Surrenders (2:18)
27. The Death Of Qui-Gon And The Surrender Of The Gungans (2:28)
28. The Tide Turns / The Death Of Darth Maul (3:24)
29. The Queen Confronts Nute And Rune (1:47)
30. The Funeral Of Qui-Gon (1:18)
31. The Parade (1:24)
32. End Credits (8:14)
33. Duel Of The Fates – Movie Dialogue Version (4:21 bonus track)

Released by: Sony Classical
Release date: 2000
Disc one total running time: 57:13
Disc two total running time: 66:49