All 9 John Williams Star Wars Scores, Ranked

At least as far as all the mainline movies in the Star Wars series are concerned, John Williams and his music are beyond essential. Episodes I to IX all feature music composed by Williams, with certain themes (especially those introduced in the original trilogy) being among the most recognizable music cues in the history of cinema. Hell, even saying that feels like it could be understating things.

What follows is a relatively speedy run-through of all nine Star Wars scores that John Williams composed, ranking them as best as possible. That’s easier said than done, considering none of them feature music that comes anywhere close to being bad. It’s more just that some scores in the series are even greater than others, but you can’t really go wrong with even a lesser John Williams Star Wars score.

9

‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ (2019)

Directed by J.J. Abrams

So, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is quite easily the least compelling Star Wars film, and it’s also – perhaps by default – the one that technically has the least to offer musically (for what it’s worth, it probably has the lamest poster of the bunch, too). As mentioned before, the music is still good, and if you feel anything during this mess of a movie, it’s probably on account of John Williams reworking and reinterpreting a bunch of iconic Star Wars themes.

There’s less here that stands out, though, and the film and its score alike do kind of retread and resurrect old stuff in ways that aren’t particularly compelling. But the music is still composed by John Williams, and probably a little better than The Rise of Skywalker deserves in any event.

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

Release Date

December 20, 2019

Runtime

142 minutes

8

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015)

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Anticipation was naturally high for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, given it was a continuation of a story that hadn’t been touched for over three decades (Episodes I to III weren’t technically continuations, being prequels and all). The movie itself was the better of the two J.J. Abrams-directed Star Wars movies for sure, and the score had a bit more to offer than Episode IX, too.

As is the case with all the sequel trilogy scores, John Williams goes back to the past a good deal to rework and interpret classic stuff, but there are new pieces of music here that make more of an impression than some give them credit for. With new characters comes a need for new themes and motifs, and the ones Williams composed for Rey and the Resistance do stand out.

7

‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones’ (2002)

Directed by George Lucas

The least engaging Star Wars film directed by series creator George Lucas is Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and it probably has the least to offer musically of all the prequels. Still, we’re talking about John Williams here, so that really isn’t too much of a negative statement, as the music here – as was the case with The Rise of Skywalker – is generally better than the movie it’s attached to.

If you want a standout track in Attack of the Clones, it’s obviously “Across the Stars,” which is as sweeping and beautiful as Star Wars music gets. Williams composed one hell of a love theme for the original trilogy’s Han and Leia (more on that in a bit), but “Across the Stars” is similarly great, and does so much heavy-lifting for the film overall, selling the romance between Anakin and Padmé more than the directing, screenplay, and acting do.

6

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ (2017)

Directed by Rian Johnson

Obligatory comment about Star Wars: The Last Jedi being divisive. There we go. You probably feel a certain way about the movie, but hopefully it can be agreed upon that the music here is very good. Like the other sequel trilogy movies, there is a reliance on older themes, but the way they’re utilized here and recontextualized at times proves very striking.

John Williams probably did his best work here, as far as the sequel trilogy movies go, even if The Force Awakens does technically have more by way of newer themes, what with it being the start of a new trilogy and all. But the score for The Last Jedi impresses a little more from start to finish. The music here feels dynamic, suitably grand, and largely fitting for the distinctive Star Wars film it accompanies.

5

‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)

Directed by George Lucas

In 2005, it felt like the main Star Wars series was ending, as Revenge of the Sith brings things full circle, concluding the prequel trilogy while finishing in a way that does lead very neatly into the original trilogy. There was a go-for-broke attitude on George Lucas’s part that makes it easily the best prequel overall, and John Williams also seemed determined to get bombastic and, for lack of a better word, rather epic here.

Revenge of the Sith functions as a great melodrama and a very sweeping tragedy, and so on top of all the in-your-face visuals and heightened performances, you also want a big score here. That’s what you get from Williams. Nuance matters here even less than usual, but the resulting score is… well, perhaps a little exhausting, sure, but it’s an aural spectacle that complements the high-level emotions of the rest of the film very well.

4

‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ (1999)

Directed by George Lucas

Just to drive home the idea that assessing the Star Wars series normally and assessing the films based on their scores is incredibly different, here’s The Phantom Menace ranking quite high overall. This one’s the most divisive prequel, and probably the most inconsistent Star Wars film when assessed wholly, but the John Williams score is largely magnificent and, once more, of a generally higher quality than the rest of the film.

Also, to be perfectly honest, “Duel of the Fates” is a massive reason for The Phantom Menace score being one of the better Star Wars ones, as words can’t do that piece of music justice. Otherwise, this score succeeds by not relying quite as much on original trilogy themes as the sequel trilogy scores did, and having more than enough new/interesting music that instantly felt as though it fit within the world of Star Wars.

3

‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983)

Directed by Richard Marquand

Like with Revenge of the Sith, there’s a good deal of bombast to be found within the score of the original trilogy’s final chapter: Return of the Jedi. For better or worse, it’s probably the most action-packed of those first three films, so the level of energy is high, though when the score needs to get quieter, more sentimental, or sinister, it succeeds there, too.

Also, Return of the Jedi let John Williams experiment a little more, because there’s some pretty wild stuff featured thanks to the Jabba-centric stuff early on (maybe ignore “Jedi Rocks,” which only appears in the special editions), and because of the Ewoks, too (another change in the special editions is the removal of the victory song known as “Yub-Nub,” which is rather contested, to say the least).

2

‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)

Directed by Irvin Kershner

It’s tough having to pick between the two remaining Star Wars films, as far as the scores are concerned. The Empire Strikes Back is probably the better film of the two overall, and the score is absolutely immense for sure, featuring returning themes from the first movie alongside some bold new compositions, with the clearest standout of the new themes obviously being the beyond iconic “The Imperial March.”

Yoda’s introduced here, so he needs a theme, and the love theme for Han and Leia, “Han Solo and the Princess,” is also spectacular. So, honestly, The Empire Strikes Back features almost as much iconic new music as the original film does, but the original film is the original film, and has the most by way of groundbreaking music, so…

1

‘Star Wars’ (1977)

Directed by George Lucas

Yeah, A New Hope has the best Star Wars score. It’s agonizing picking between it and The Empire Strikes Back. For this ranking, there’s been a “pull off the Band-Aid” approach. A New Hope is here in the number one spot, and it’s going to stay there because this is done and dusted, and further agony over picking between two of the best scores in cinematic history isn’t going to happen.

You can also call 1977’s original film just Star Wars, and though there are iconic themes not present here, it’s also staggering just how much memorable music is introduced here. The music over the opening crawl, Leia’s theme, and of course the theme for the Force. But wait, there’s also the “Cantina Band” track, and the music heard in the throne room at the end (a scene where no dialogue’s needed because the music says everything), and all the exciting stuff Williams composed for the Death Star climax. This is about as good as film scores get, so that’s why it’s #1 here.

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