Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 2005 film of the same name released by Sony Classical on May 3, 2005, more than two weeks before the film’s release. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. The score was Williams’ sixth score in the saga. Shawn Murphy recorded the score. Ramiro Belgardt and Kenneth Wannberg served as music editors; Wannberg served as music editor for the previous Star Wars scores. A remastered version of the soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on May 4, 2018.

Official Releases

A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film’s theme, “Battle of the Heroes”, featuring footage from the film. In the U.K., “Battle of the Heroes” was released as a CD-single and reached No. 25 in the UK Singles Chart in June 2005.

The soundtrack also came with a collectors’ DVD, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, that features 16 music videos set to remastered selections of music from all six film scores, set chronologically through the saga.

This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com’s Top 100 Editor’s Picks of 2005.

My CD and Cassette Moccups

Vinyl

Overview

The musical score for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars saga’s sixth installment, was recorded over five days at Abbey Road Studio with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices starting on February 3, 2005, with one morning allocated specifically for vocal recording.

Reception

The musical score for Revenge of the Sith has received generally positive reviews. Rob Theakston of AllMusic said, “Revenge of the Sith holds a place on the mantle with some of the classic scores that made Williams a legendary film composer. It’s also a fine closing masterpiece to a series of movies filled with some of the most important musical moments in modern cinematic history.” Danny Graydon of Empire called it “a triumphant climax to a modern music masterpiece.” Specifically pointing out “Battle of the Heroes” and “Anakin’s Dark Deeds”, Graydon said, “The operatic finale of this score emboldens the tragic, doom-laden atmosphere of the saga’s pivotal moment, yet is typically brisk and exciting, deftly utilising themes from the entire series.”

Film music scholar Royal Brown was less enthusiastic about the music and its relation to the overall film series, saying, “By the time we get to Revenge of the Sith it’s not as fresh as it was. Not because Williams is doing anything wrong, but because he’s pretty much locked into a particular requirement for this particular kind of movie.” Filmtracks.com provided a similar consensus in its editorial review describing that when “compared to its peers, Revenge of the Sith is, despite its great strengths in its individual cues of immense melodrama, the weakest of the six scores when compared amongst each other.” Morag Reavley of BBC Music said that the soundtrack “strikes back with all the familiar notes. They just don’t sound quite as startling any more.