It is undoubtedly the most famous music in cinema: created 47 years ago, it immediately transported millions of viewers to another world.

It is the summer of 1977. The mysterious sci-fi film from the director of American Graffiti just hit theaters. Before the lights went down, none of the audience that evening would have imagined that they were about to discover one of the greatest monuments in the history of cinema.

Exciting adventures on a desert planet, laser sword fights and spectacular space battles await the audience, but for now it is a simple sentence that marks the beginning of their journey into the Star Wars universe.

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”

Then, as the film’s title appears in golden letters against a star-studded sky, a triumphant brass echo is heard, suddenly shaking the red seats. The first recording of a theme that will teach the whole world and that everyone will still recognize among thousands, 47 years later. It is to the sound of this legendary music – perhaps the most famous in the history of the seventh art – that the epic begins. Star Wars.

This famous theme, patiently composed by the legendary composer John Williams, brought him much trouble:

“I’ve been working backwards because this is the last piece I wrote after an hour and a half of music.”He said in 2023, on CNN’s microphone.

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“I smiled when I heard.”

“I could not find a heraldic theme that would allow the orchestra to display all its heroic aspect in such a short time. (…) Finally, in desperation, I discovered these things by taking such leaps of faith (…). It seemed to me that it was a direct, strong, heroic, clear and sonorous sound for the orchestra. I smiled when I heard it, it was something internal.”

“Emotional experiences must be familiar.”

recently, in the columns of VarietyJohn Williams also discussed his different influences for creating the Star Wars theme:

“George He told me very clearly that the music should be symphonic.”he explained.

I realized that it might correspond to the late 19th century, maybe in Europe – Mahler, Wagner, Strauss and that whole period of orchestral composition.

“He told me it had to be classic, (…) Not in the baroque sense of the term, but in the romantic sense (…). for what Because all the pictures we were going to find were of deserted places or places we had never seen before. (…). The whole visual experience was unfamiliar. So the emotional experience must have been familiar.”

So here’s the power of the Star Wars theme: a powerful and triumphant tune, yet classic and traditional, soothing enough to push the audience into their comfort zone, but epic enough to make them want to go to the far reaches of their universe. A still unexplored galaxy.

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