The Twenty Seconds of Music That Transports You to a Galaxy Far, Far Away
The Story of Alfred Newman and the Fox Fanfare
In 2005, I was living in New Zealand.
It’s a beautiful country, but in the time before social media and streaming services, it felt so far, far away from the rest of the world.
And often, my friends in the US were buying DVDs of films that hadn’t even made it to New Zealand’s big screens yet.
As a film lover and pop culture enthusiast, it was hard to constantly feel behind.
But in May 2005, New Zealand was the FIRST place in the world to premiere a new film.
And at 12:01 am on May 19th, I was at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, ready to watch it…
And I can still remember that feeling as the lights dimmed, the curtain was pulled away from the screen, and then we heard that familiar sound – the tap tap tap of the snare drums building to a drum roll.
The 20th Century Fox logo appeared on the screen, and the searchlights moved in the background as the orchestral horns began.
The logo dissolved and then the green outline of ‘Lucasfilm Ltd’ came on the screen as the strings crescendoed.
And just like that, the audience was primed for something exciting.
That 20 seconds of magical music is officially called ‘The 20th Century Fox Fanfare.’
But when Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, the 20th Century Fox logo and Fanfare disappeared.
I remember seeing Episode VII (the first Star Wars film made under Disney) in the movie theatre when it came out in 2015.
I missed hearing that drum roll and those horns.
But what’s the story of the Fanfare?
I was curious...
That theme you may remember was composed by Alfred Newman in 1933.
Newman was born in Connecticut in 1900, and was recognized early as a piano prodigy.
By his teens, he was working in New York as an accompanist to both vaudeville stars and opera singers, and by the 1920s, he was an in-demand pit conductor on Broadway.
In 1930, Newman was summoned to work as the conductor on two early Hollywood musicals.
The ‘talking pictures’ were starting, and Alfred Newman arrived in Hollywood at the perfect time.
He was among the first musicians to compose and conduct original music during Hollywood's Golden Age of movies, and he and his fellow composers, Max Steiner and Dimitri Tiomkin, were considered the ‘three godfathers of film music.’
Newman served as the musical director of Fox for 20 years.
During that time, he scored and conducted the music for more than 200 films, including best-picture Oscar winners How Green Was My Valley, Gentleman’s Agreement, and All About Eve.
Though he composed the original 20th Century Fox Fanfare in 1933, he added the soaring strings in 1954 for Fox’s new CinemaScope presentation.
The Fanfare accompanied nearly all Fox pictures for decades, though its popularity was fading by the 1970s.
But the Fanfare saw a second life when director George Lucas wanted it included at the start of his 1977 film, Star Wars.
Composer John Williams (who, interestingly, started his career as a pianist working on Newman’s scores at Fox) was hired to compose the music for Star Wars.
Williams composed the Star Wars theme in the same key as the Fanfare, treating it as part of the score.
The two pieces of music flow together seamlessly.
The popularity of Star Wars revived Newman’s Fanfare, and it was used to signal the beginning of the six Star Wars films made from 1977 to 2005.
The sound of the Fanfare became ingrained in generations of Star Wars fans who watched the films in theaters, on VHS tapes, and DVDs.
For many, the Fanfare was more associated with Star Wars than it was with Fox.
That’s why so many fans noticed when the Fanfare (and Fox logo) were scrapped after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.
While fans could accept that the new films made under Disney wouldn’t include the Fox Fanfare, they were irritated when Disney scrubbed the Fanfare from new digital releases of all the older films (except for the 1977 original – the only Star Wars film Fox owned).
Alfred Newman wasn’t alive to witness the renaissance of his Fanfare, as he died in 1970, long before Star Wars mania took hold.
Although he was nominated for 45 Academy Awards and won nine (the third highest ever won by an individual), his Fanfare may be the most recognizable piece of music he created.
But Alfred’s musical talent lives on.
If you see the surname ‘Newman’ in the credits for a film score, the person is probably related to Alfred.
The Newmans are the most nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 95 nominations in various music categories.
Two of Alfred’s brothers scored dozens of films, while Alfred’s sons David and Tom have scored more than 175 films combined, from The Shawshank Redemption and American Beauty to Skyfall and 1917.
Alfred’s nephew Randy Newman is also an Academy Award winning composer, whose music can be heard in many films, including nine Disney/Pixar films.
The Newman family’s connection with John Williams has continued over the years.
Alfred’s brother Lionel and Alfred’s sons Tom and David have worked for (or alongside) Williams on various films and projects.
And in the fall of 2017, David conducted the New York Philharmonic through Williams’s Star Wars scores, and saw the influence his father’s 1933 Fanfare still had on people – after all these years.
“As soon as that logo started, people started screaming,” he said.
And though it seemed like the logo and Alfred’s Fanfare might be lost to a galaxy far, far away, this story has a happy ending.
In 2019, Disney acquired Fox, and (sound the orchestral horns!) the Fanfare returned to the original Star Wars films.
And trust me, it’s just as magical as ever.
Check out the Star Wars Main Title with the Fox Fanfare to see what I mean:
One more thing…
There’s no better place to watch Star Wars than on the big screen!
And the force is still strong, as fans are flocking to see the 20th Anniversary of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith in theatres.
According to Variety, the film took in $42 million last weekend.
Not bad for a 20-year-old film many people can watch for free on Disney+ …or DVD or VHS!
(If you’ve just seen Revenge of the Sith in the theatres, please tell me if your screening included the Fox Fanfare!).
How Can I Help?
I’ll keep saying it: Communication matters.
And if you want to improve your communication (and get all the good things that come with that), I’m your gal.
So many companies could reap significant benefits – from performance and culture to retention and engagement – by improving their communication.
So, if you know someone who could benefit from some help (as even the most seasoned leaders do), please get in touch and check out my website for more information.
You can also see my Top 10 list of what I can (and can’t) do for you here.
And if you see any communication examples (the good, the bad, and the ugly) that you think are worth analyzing or sharing, please send them my way!
Until next time, stay curious!
-Beth
I was confused because my mind instantly went here first: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Neuman
Sigh.
I'm not really inclined to pay money to see Revenge of the Sith at the cinema again...
It is bizarre, though, how associated with Star Wars the fanfare is in my mind. When VHS technology became widespread enough that the trilogy was released on video, I'd watch one or other of them every weekend for years, and the fanfare and the opening titles theme is one single piece of music in my head.