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 Williams: Another 'Star' turn for 'Menace' Saturday, March 06, 1999 By Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV Editor The movie series that became almost a religion to a generation of film enthusiasts blasts back into theaters with the first of three prequels May 21. Why wait till then? We're counting down to the premiere of "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" (a.k.a. "Episode 1") with a weekly update. We've seen the first trailer. We saw the pictures of the cast at work on the film in Vanity Fair. But what will "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" sound like? The fanfare from the original film was so recognizable - da-da-da-DAH-DAH-da-da-da-DAH-DAH - it's hard to imagine anything taking its place. The composer of the original score will try just that. John Williams, maestro of the "Star Wars" theme, told TV Guide it was scary to re-enter the realm of Jedis, rebels and an Empire. "To revisit 'Star Wars' after 20 years is quite a daunting challenge, just to rev up the engines again," Williams told TV Guide after the Grammys. "But what amazed me was how quickly it all came back." "Star Wars" guru George Lucas told the magazine the score runs about two hours, longer than any of the previous "Star Wars" movie music. Williams will once again be conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, which performed the score for the original 1977 "Star Wars." "The score is probably 90 percent new," Williams said, "but there are some quotations of older material in it, references to characters that we know and ones that we suspect we might know." Williams' score will be released by Sony Classical in early May.
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