Monumental Sounds: Star Wars

There are a few sounds out there in movies that I feel have been very monumental in the film world. A few of the ones that I have thought about that are always going to be recognizable to me are mostly sci-fi type sounds that were created specifically for a character or device. There are quite a bit that are interesting to me are from Star Wars. This is a movie full of new sounds for characters and weapons that didn’t have a natural voice or sound previously. Darth Vader’s breathing apparatus is a sound that will always be connected to him. If you hear something similar, it is difficult to not think about it. Children having sword fights replicate the Lightsaber sound. Before Star Wars, it would have been more common to hear clanging sounds being mimicked while swinging away at each other. Did you ever smack the cables that go from the telephone poles into the ground and get a “laser” or “blaster” type sound? That is very similar to how the blasters in Star Wars were created. One more among the many that those movies have created is the famous Chewbacca sound. I have at least 5 friends that have mastered the sound of a Wookie. There is a man behind most of these sounds named Ben Burtt. I will revisit him in another post, but I just want it to be known in this one that he is a major name in the sound for film business. I am curious if there are any sounds that have always stuck out to you from your favorite movies. Clearly there are some other big movies out there with just as recognizable sounds, but I’m also curious about the smaller time films out there that have sounds that have caught your attention.