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If you know the opening notes of Star Wars by heart, hearing John Williams's score played live while Return of the Jedi unfolds on the big screen is a pretty compelling excuse to revisit the trilogy's grand finale. The San Francisco Symphony has programmed the film as part of its live-to-picture series, with conductor Anthony Parnther leading the orchestra. The appeal is less about nostalgia than scale: Return of the Jedi has some of Williams's richest material, from the ominous Emperor's themes to the warmth of the final celebration, and a full orchestra gives those details room to register in a way home speakers rarely can. For longtime fans, it's also a chance to hear the score as an orchestral work in its own right, with the film providing the familiar visual backdrop rather than simply carrying the experience.
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