Mark Hamill chats with Projector and Orchestra about the immense contribution John Williams makes – and continues to make – to the fabric of the Star Wars saga.
Gary Kurtz picks me up in his car to take me over to a dubbing stage. And when I got in the car, it was like a little—I wish I could remember the make and the model, but my point is, it was one of those really small two-seater, or maybe a small back seat, sports kind of car that had a tremendous sound system. And as he drives off, he says to me, very offhandedly: “Oh, I have the tape of the score to Star Wars. Do you want to hear it?” [Laughs] I said “Sure.”
Now, he sticks this thing in… and I don’t know what I was expecting, because I hadn’t given it much thought. I didn’t have any time to give it much thought, you know. And, sure, I knew John Williams—I loved his score to Jaws. I knew how infective that was. And in retro I realized how much of his music I knew as a kid, on TV, with all the Lost in Space and Land of the Giants. I didn’t know any of that then, you see what I’m saying, so I didn’t really know what he was capable of. It didn’t really occur to me. I think I’d heard that he was doing this score, and that’s about as much as I knew. But I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear it in that moment. But when we arrived at our destination, I was absolutely so blissed out, I mean… I never… I can’t say in words how thrilling and moving and how everything it was! I thought, Well, you know, science fiction, maybe they’ll do some kind of cold electronic score? It had sort of a western feel—maybe they’ll do that sort of [laughs] Man with No Name, Sergio Leone, spare guitar… I don’t know what. I certainly didn’t see it in my head as much as a swashbuckler.
But he pushed those buttons that are so evocative of Max Steiner and all your favorites—Bernard Herrmann, you name it. It’s just impossible to overstate his contribution. Because everything he does with his music just renders everything that much more exhilarating, that much more relatable. And providing connective tissue. It’s just mind-boggling. I’m sure they could devote entire studies to his contributions to the culture. But on a personal level, it’s an experience I’ll never forget. Once you are that impacted… I was about to say “gobsmacked,” but that’s way too British [laughs]. Once that happens to you once, it can never happen to you again, because then you expect the magnificent. And he never disappoints. The fact that he’s still going is an absolute miracle, because he’s a national treasure, and we all love him. The end.
