The sonic background of Star Wars is nearly unmatched for legendary, instantly recognizable callouts. The snap-hiss of an igniting lightsaber. The penetrating wail of a TIE Fighter shrieking into view, the alien cacophony of Mos Eisley cantina. The prequels added to this catalogue massively, from the quivering bass of podracer engines to the thrumming of ray shields. However nothing compares to the sound the blasters utilized by Padmé and the Naboo guard in Phantom Menace to me.
I’ve been fascinated about this ever since I noticed Phantom Menace in theaters once more this previous weekend for its twenty fifth anniversary. It’s a film that’s actually jam-packed with unimaginable new layers to Star Wars’ sound design, marrying a whole lot of the long-lasting sounds we knew with new noise—from the podracers and shields talked about above to the holographic static of Sidious’ transferring comms platform, the click-clack of Battle Droid toes, or that joyful little bounce the Gungan power balls make as Jar Jar by accident units an ammo cart stuffed with them rolling down a hill. However the Naboo blasters, whether or not it’s Padmé’s modern little silver holdout or the heavier pistols utilized by Captain Panaka and the safety forces, are burned into my eardrums as a definitive side of the prequel trilogy.
It’s an enchanting sonic selection, within the first place—for probably the most half, the blaster hearth from the Commerce Federation’s battle droids sounds just like the blaster hearth we heard within the unique Star Wars motion pictures. They sound like, nicely, blasters: they go “pew pew,” albeit with rather less percussive punch than we’re used to, and little purple bolts streak out throughout the display screen. The Naboo, who we’ve repeatedly been instructed about as a peaceable, passively diplomatic folks, whose tradition’s embrace of artwork displays their refined politics, have blasters that sound something however. It’s excessive pitched, it’s echo-y and light-weight, it reverberates within the air in comparison with the tight sound of typical blaster hearth. It’s a sound that’s arduous to seize in onomatopoeia, it’s virtually like a “bwah!”
It’s foolish! It’s oddly elegant! For a individuals who worth aesthetic and creativity greater than martial energy—despite the truth that Padmé apparently has like 4 pistols tucked into the armrest of her throne, simply because she will be able to!—it merely sounds proper. You hear that noise in a shootout scene and might choose it out, however you additionally go “oh yeah, that seems like a gun this tradition would make.” That’s loads to deduce from a “bwah!” however that’s what makes it such an unimaginable piece of sound design within the first place. It sounds not like the rest in Star Wars, however instantly tells you a lot concerning the worldbuilding it’s a part of.
The prequels now have virtually as wealthy a sonic legacy as the unique movies do, including tons and tons of fascinating bits of sound design into the broader tapestry of the galaxy far, distant. However the Naboo blasters maybe stay as considered one of its most interesting additions: a very elegant weapon, for a extra civilized age.
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