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Obscured by the familiar grandeur of John Williams's score for Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace was the sheer volume of the composer's prodigious musical efforts. Not only did Williams expand on the original Star Wars trilogy's musical language with a whole new range of modern classical inspirations, but his efforts also produced more than two hours of seamless symphonic foundation for the galactic epic, enough wall-to-wall music to power three less ambitious films. This impressively packaged double-disc set offers Williams's complete Episode 1 score for the first time. It's a worthy tribute to the scoring legend's mastery of tone, dynamics, and nuance--a virtual musical tone poem that imparts much of the film's dramaturgy. Divorced from the bombastic visual assault of state-of-the-art digital effects, one is struck by the composition's emotional resonance. It's the small, quiet moments that give the story its subtle, crucial humanity; it's hard to imagine a film conceit so outlandish functioning without it. The Ultimate Edition includes a bonus track of the stirring choral centerpiece, "Duel of the Fates," with an overlaid dialogue montage, as well as a photo-rich booklet that illustrates each of the film's key scenes and musical cues. --Jerry McCulley
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