With the Star Wars saga having concluded finally in 2005, Silva Screen Records, purveyor of recreations of film music, sums up John Williams' six scores with this one-hour distillation performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The music is sequenced for the most part in the order in which the films were released, starting with 1977's Star Wars (later known as Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope), and running through Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith, rounding back to "The Throne Room/Finale" from Star Wars at the end. The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace get the most selections, four each. In addition to the heroic march themes, there are also lovely, pastoral passages such as "Princess Leia" from Star Wars. "The Imperial March" from The Empire Strikes Back of course heralds the onscreen appearance of Darth Vader and is echoed less threateningly in "Anakin's Theme" from Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Star Wars and soundtrack fans won't want to throw away their six albums of the original soundtrack recordings for this re-recorded "best-of," but it is competently performed and gives a good sense of the scores' highlights. ~ William Ruhlmann

Rovi