Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (soundtrack)

Total time: 70:46

This track commences with the familiar main theme. In contrast to previous installments, including Episode III itself, which featured a more gradual transition into the subsequent piece, this track diverges from the music heard in the film after the opening titles, making this change earlier than in previous films.

This musical piece is featured during scenes involving Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala at her apartment, Anakin's unsettling nightmare, and the subsequent scene on Padmé's veranda. A rendition of "Across the Stars" can be heard at 0:26 and again at 2:27, while snippets of "The Force Theme" emerge from 3:33.

The music begins playing after Obi-Wan and Anakin find themselves trapped by a collapsing control arm on Mustafar, concluding when Obi-Wan Kenobi leaves Anakin near the lava river's edge. It is essentially a concert version of the theme.

This track, a melancholic adagio, embodies the downfall of the Jedi and is played during the Order 66 sequence. It resurfaces when Anakin confronts Padmé before their duel on Mustafar. Its tone and style are reminiscent of "The Immolation Scene."

The initial segment of this track, lasting until approximately 1:25, is heard as Obi-Wan searches for Grievous. The remainder of the track accompanies the conclusion of the wheel bike chase and the final confrontation between the characters on the landing platform, although certain parts were omitted. A militaristic interpretation of the "Force Theme" is present at 0:38, signaling Obi-Wan's arrival on the Tenth Level. Beginning at 1:25, the track transforms into an action-oriented piece.

The opening portion of this track is played while Palpatine narrates the tale of his former mentor, Darth Plagueis, to Anakin. The latter half comprises the music accompanying scenes where Anakin discovers Palpatine's identity as a Sith Lord and his mission from the Jedi Council. The very end of the track is played when Obi-Wan meets with Bail Organa and Yoda.

This track is featured during the bridge battle on the Separatist flagship, as well as when General Grievous flees after his duel with Obi-Wan on Utapau. The initial part was intended for the scene where the Jedi and the Chancellor are captured by droids, while the latter part was meant to accompany Grievous's escape from his ship.

This cue—a sorrowful, wailing voice preceded by a slow string section—underscores the otherwise silent moment between Anakin and Padmé prior to the duel in the Chancellor's office. The second part of the track plays when Palpatine instructs Anakin to go to the Jedi Temple and kill all the Jedi inside.

This track accompanies Obi-Wan and Anakin's lightsaber duel on Mustafar. Portions of the track are also heard during Yoda and Palpatine's duel beneath the Senate Rotunda. As the track begins, the rhythm is established by the strings, low brass, and percussion. The trumpets then enter with brief solos, each followed by a cymbal crash. The low brass then introduces the theme from "Battle of the Heroes." Following this, a segment of "The Duel" from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back is played, succeeded by the return of "Battle of the Heroes." Next, a longer version of "The Imperial March" is heard. The tempo then increases just before the march returns. After the march, "Battle of the Heroes" makes another appearance, undergoing several variations before transitioning into a variation of the "Force Theme."

This track is featured during Anakin Skywalker's attack on the Executive Separatist Council and Palpatine's declaration to the Galactic Senate of his new Galactic Empire, as well as his self-appointment as Galactic Emperor. It continues as Obi-Wan Kenobi confronts Padmé Amidala about Anakin's whereabouts and learns that Anakin is the father of her children. It plays until the end of Skywalker's destruction of the Separatist Council.

The cue plays at the start of Anakin Skywalker's mission to Mustafar, and as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda fight the clone troopers outside the Jedi Temple. A rendition of Anakin's "B-theme," first heard in Episode I, and associated with "Shmi's Theme," plays after the opening percussion. A statement of "The Imperial March" appears at 03:19, as well as a truncated version of the "Force Theme" at 03:44, followed by "The Emperor's Theme" and ends with a motif from "Anakin's Dark Deeds." The album intro is not used in the final film.

This track is played directly after the duel on Mustafar, when Darth Vader is defeated on Mustafar and burnt alive.

This track plays while General Grievous talks to Darth Sidious and when Padmé leaves Coruscant to go to Mustafar. It contains the theatrical motif "General Grievous's theme."

This track plays while Padmé gives birth to Luke Skywalker and Leia Skywalker, and continues through her death and Anakin's rebirth as the mechanized Darth Vader. The second part of the 3:37 track contains an extended version of the "Funeral" cue in the Phantom Menace song "The High Council Meeting and Qui-Gon's Funeral."

The longest track on the album plays while Luke and Leia are being taken to their future homes and then during the end credits. Here, Leia's theme, Binary Sunset/The Throne Room and End Title (Ep. IV), and Battle of the Heroes all play before the finale.

John Williams' score to this film was recorded at Abbey Road Studio with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices.

• Fox Fanfare ( The Empire Strikes Back recording)
• 1M? Star Wars Main Theme ( The Phantom Menace recording)
• 1M3 Boys into Battle ( February 12 , 2005)
• 1M4 They're Coming Around ( February 14 , 2005)
• 1M4a "Get 'Em, R-2!" ( February 7 , 2005)
• 1M5 The Elevator Scene ( February 17 , 2005)
• 1M6 Count Dooku's Entrance (February 14, 2005)
• 1M7 The Death of Dooku ( February 2 , 2005)
• 1M8 [UNTITLED - PRE-PLANNED TRACKED MUSIC]
• 2M1 [UNTITLED - Grievous and the Droids] ( February 9 , 2005)
• 2M2 [UNTITLED - PRE-PLANNED TRACKED MUSIC]
• 2M3 Another Happy Landing (February 3, 2005)
• 2M4 Revisiting Padmé (February 3, 2005)
• 2M5 Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious (February 3, 2005)
• 2M6 Anakin's Dream (February 12, 2005)
• 2M7 Be Careful of Your Friend ( February 13 , 2005)
• 3M1 Council Meeting (February 14, 2005)
• 3M2 Hold Me (February 13, 2005)
• 3M2a Palpatine's Teachings (February 7, 2005)
• 3M4 [UNTITLED - PRE-PLANNED TRACKED MUSIC]
• 3M5 Goodbye Old Friend (February 3, 2005)
• 3M6 Going to Utapau (February 13, 2005)
• 3M7 Riding the Lizard (February 12, 2005)
• 3M8 Obi-Wan Fares [ sic ] Droids (February 12, 2005)
• 4M1x Drawing Swords (February 3, 2005)
• 4M1 [UNTITLED - PRE-PLANNED TRACKED MUSIC]
• 4M1a Good Guys Arrive ( February 8 , 2005)
• 4M2 [UNTITLED - PRE-PLANNED TRACKED MUSIC]
• 4M3 Palpatine's Seduction (February 2, 2005)
• 4M4 Rolling with Grievous (February 13, 2005)
• 4M4a Fighting with Grievous (February 8, 2005)
• 4M5 Dialogue with Mace (February 17, 2005)
• 4M5a Padmé's Ruminations (February 8, 2005)
• 4M6 I Am The Senate (February 14, 2005)
• 5M1 Palpatine Instructs Anakin (February 3, 2005)
• 5M2 [UNTITLED - PRE-PLANNED TRACKED MUSIC]
• 5M3 Anakin's Betrayal (February 7, 2005)
• 5M3a Bail's Escape (February 14, 2005)
• 5M4 "Swimming, Droids and Yoda Farewell" (February 9, 2005)
• 5M5 News of the Attack (February 12, 2005)
• 5M6 Enter Lord Vader (February 9, 2005)
• 5M7 Anakin's Dark Deeds (February 3, 2005)
• 6M1 It Can't Be (February 17, 2005)
• 6M2 A Moody Trip (February 12, 2005)
• 6M3 Padmé's Visit (February 2, 2005)
• 6M4 Anakin Vs Obi-Wan (February 2, 2005)
• 6M5 Duel of Yoda and Sidious Choir Only (Not Assigned)
• 6M6 Yoda Falls (February 3, 2005)
• 6M7 The Boys Continue (February 8, 2005)
• 6M8 Yoda to Exile (REVISED) (February 12, 2005)
• 6M9 Battle of the Heroes (February 3, 2005)
• 7M1 The Immolation Scene (February 8, 2005)
• 7M2 Anakin Crawling (February 8, 2005)
• 7M3 The Birth of the Twins (February 7, 2005)
• 7M4 Padme's Destiny (February 7, 2005)
• 7M5 Plans for the Twins (February 8, 2005)
• 7M6 Padmé's Funeral (February 7, 2005)
• 7M7 A New Hope (February 7, 2005)
• 7M8 End Credits (February 17, 2005)

Also recorded on February 3: Revenge of the Sith DVD Version ("Battle of the Heroes," presumably).

The score as it appears in the film diverges in several aspects from the original intentions of John Williams, largely due to the editing decisions made by George Lucas.

Lucas's editing process often involves streamlining scenes and removing music, which affected the final score. Consistent with the prequel trilogy, pre-planned tracked music was incorporated into various scenes. For example, "The Tide Turns" from Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace was used during the scene where Anakin pilots the damaged Invisible Hand for a crash landing on Coruscant.

Another reason for the discrepancies between the film's music and the soundtrack is that John Williams recorded multiple takes of cues during the recording sessions and then combined these takes to create a final version of each track.

The film's opening music, following the opening crawl, begins with only deep taiko drums, which persist until the main music is introduced and continue as a layer beneath it. However, the album recording lacks this prominent percussion and, in some instances, features slightly different orchestrations in comparable sections. These variations arise from modifications made during recording and from using alternate takes of the same cue. Furthermore, the actual ship landing in the film includes a partial ending that is absent from the album.

The album also presents alternative versions of certain battle cues, along with most of the unused segment "The Elevator Scene," which was originally intended for the scene where Anakin and Obi-Wan struggle in the elevator shaft while attempting to rescue Palpatine. "I Am the Senate," a piece significantly altered in the film, initially included music for the scene where Palpatine tries to convince Anakin to join him while attacking Mace Windu with Force lightning. This music was removed from the film but can be found in the video games. Another cue, "Padmé's Ruminations," differs from the album version in terms of its mix and the vocal performance.

Much of the film's score features alternate percussion tracks. For instance, "Moving Things Along" ("Enter Lord Vader" on the album) includes a percussion track in the film that is not present on the album. This is because the percussion for many cues was recorded separately and then added to the cue during mixing.

"Battle of the Heroes" begins with strings on the album but not in the movie, and the movie's ending differs, although this is due to the album version being a concert-suite representation of the cue.

Williams's album "End Credits Medley" is considerably longer than the piece heard in the film. The film's end credits primarily feature the original Star Wars theme and selections from new cues, such as "Battle of the Heroes," as well as a reprise of "Princess Leia's Theme." However, the album medley also includes a reprise of "The Throne Room" suite from A New Hope.

"Duel of the Fates" also makes an appearance in the score. This time, however, the choir was rerecorded and layered over the choirless recording from The Phantom Menace.

Most of the score can be heard in the album and various LucasArts video games, but a complete release has yet to be made.

Star Wars: A Musical Journey is a bonus DVD included with the soundtrack. The DVD, which runs for just over an hour, contains a collection of music video clips from the Star Wars films set to selected themes from Williams's scores. The music has been remastered in Dolby 5.1 surround sound. It also contains a preview trailer for the video game adaptation of the movie. Each clip features an introduction by actor Ian McDiarmid. The program can be watched with or without this introduction.

• Episode III Soundtrack Includes Bonus DVD on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Hear Episode III Soundtrack Previews at Sony Classical on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Episode III Score Nominated for Grammy Awards on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Sony Classical to Release Ultimate Editions of Original Star Wars Soundtracks on StarWars.com (backup link)
• " Launchpad " — Star Wars Insider 180

• Star Wars: A Musical Journey at the Internet Movie Database