The 20th Century Fox Fanfare is a piece of music that accompanies the 20th Century Fox logo. This logo appeared at the beginning of feature films produced by the movie studio. This fanfare was played prior to the first six Star Wars movies, appearing in each installment of both the original and prequel trilogies.
Alfred Newman, who headed Fox's music department from 1940 to 1960, composed the 20th Century Fox fanfare in 1933. A longer version was created for CinemaScope films in 1953, and it premiered in the movie River of No Return.
By the mid-to-late 1970s, the 20th Century Fox logo had largely disappeared. However, George Lucas liked the logo and Alfred Newman's music so much that he insisted on using it for his Star Wars films. Since then, the fanfare and logo have experienced a resurgence in popularity.
When John Williams joined the Star Wars project, one of his initial actions was to compose the Main Title to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope in the same musical key as the 20th Century Fox fanfare. He has stated that it was intended as an extension of the fanfare, and Star Wars film score enthusiasts now consider it an integral part of the Star Wars scores.
When Sony released the Special Edition scores of the original trilogy, and the Ultimate Edition score to Episode I, each collection contained a recording of the 20th Century Fox fanfare.
When The Walt Disney Company digitally released the films in April 2015, the Fox opening and fanfare were not included, which disappointed some fans. The Fox logo and fanfare were subsequently brought back for the Disney+ and Ultra HD Blu-ray release.
- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: A Musical Journey: Episodes I-VI
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars