Duel of
the Fates:
Reviewing the first Star Wars "Music Video"
Commentary by Loren Phillips
5/4/99
It isn’t your typical music video.
Broadcast for the first time on May 3, 1999, the rich, classically-themed score seemed so displaced, surrounded by rap and pop music. The choir of voices nearly sang "We should be on PBS". And yet, this was the moment for which thousands or people turned their televisions to MTV or VH1.
It doesn't really lend itself to being called a "music video". The focus of the video is very least on the music, which is simply used as a backdrop for the presentation of the film clips. Actors’ voices were heavily imposed over the music. This is more of a third trailer than a music video (using a montage of film clips to provide a preview to the film), because it is often difficult to hear the music beneath the talking.
As music goes, I would have to say I did not find this to be John Williams' showcase score. The original Star Wars opening theme was more striking, and the Imperial March from "Empire" was more descriptive, but this theme does do the job it seems to be intended to do. The music expresses a sense of vastness, which would place the listener within the huge body of Coruscant. The vocals, reminiscent of old Vatican choir music, make the listener feel they are in an ancient world, but one that is also of power and authority. This combination is effective in presenting Coruscant as a world where there are forces to be reckoned with…forces which are old and powerful.
As someone who has avoided spoilers at all costs, I can say there were few to be found here. I know a few scenes had not previously been shown, but they were nothing plot-revealing. It is an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the making of "The Phantom Menace", showing a good deal of the effects-makers at work. Most enjoyable were the scenes in which the blue screen or pre-production art is faded into the completed scene including the special effects. We get to see artists at work, actors practicing the choreography of battles, and the difficulties of working in a desert wearing costumes. There are numerous shots of George Lucas and John Williams at work, as well as many of the special effects craftsman and conceptual artists laboring at their crafts.
All in all, "Duel of the Fates" is an interesting
new trailer for the movie, and a clever way of getting free advertising out of MTV and
VH1. However, if you're truly interested in the music of the film, you'll want to
pick up a copy of the soundtrack to hear it.