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History of a Famous Star Wars Scream
An anonymous reader writes "There is a very famous scream in Star Wars (Episode IV) that occurs when one of the stormtroopers falls into the Death Star chasm. No doubt all geeks are familiar with this scream, but may not know that it has been used in dozens of other movies and even has a name - "The Wilhelm". There is a fascinating interview (transcript and audio) from NPRs "On The Media" that discusses the now cult-like following and history of this scream."
That's the sound of their server dying. Linking audio from slashdot? What were they thinking...
#!/bin/csh cat $0
In the Netherlands, the Wilhelm is actually even the national hymne.
The SCO scream:
"What the fuck are they smoking?!"
The Goatse.cx scream:
"Aaah! What the hell?!! My ass hurts just LOOKING at that!"
The Windows BSOD scream:
"Ah well, time for a cigarette."
They had to use a fake scream for a guy falling in a chasm? What's next, fake applause during a sitcom?
There is a very famous scream in Star Wars (Episode IV) that occurs when one of the stormtroopers falls into the Death Star chasm.
No way, I heard that scream coming from the audience during Episode I.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Stormtrooper #9: aaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
it's like the HeLa cell of the movie industry
Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
this scream is nothing compared to the screams that chick in the red from the OSDN Personals ad would be making if she came over to my place!
Someone's been sharing MP3s!
The Goofy scream would have made the first Star Wars movies infinitely more hilarious, and may have even made the prequels bearable. Maybe.
One of the Dell Interns is repeatedly dropped through a trap door in a dream about how Dell computers are tested.
There's a joke waiting to be told, I just can't think of it.
Let's start with analyzing the sound effects in Star Wars...
Breakfast served all day!
I always thought it was a reference to Wilhem Podunk, the aspiring 1940s star of the never released MGM epic "The Romans". Playing Julius Caesar, Podunk was expected to perform on his horse along two thousand extras, each one holding a pike aimed at the Hun army in front of them. The scene required Caesar to command his men to prepare for an attack, turn left and then charge toward the enemy.
Podunk reportedly strode down the line of pikers majestically, presented his lines heroically and, unfortunately, turned right before spurring his horse on.
The clip of the resulting scream is all that remains of "The Romans", even the recording of Louis B. Mayer's shout, "Your Other Left!", has been lost; leaving a sad legacy for a man that could have been a bigger star than Cooper, if only he had a better sense of direction.
myke (last day of work for 2003)
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
"Where the hell is the RIAA when we need them? I got a mortgage, people!"
You know what?
Homer: How'd you get to be so good?
June: Oh, just experience I suppose. I started out as Roadrunner. [as Roadrunner] Meep!
Homer: You mean "meep-meep"?
June: No, they only paid me to say it once, then they doubled it up on the soundtrack. [to herself] Cheap bastards.
-- "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"
Call me old fashioned, but I like a dump to be as memorable as it is devastating - Bender
You're not a half-life geek until you beat the game with only that weapon.
This story from Yahoo! News reports:
That'd make me scream like that.
Join Tor today!
offers some good competition here.... during his infamous 'monkey boy' performance.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
The point is, these sounds never die. And that's a beautiful thing.
I produce music and I carry around about 18GB of uncompressed audio with me. Nothing ever leaves that library - only new things go into it. Same thing for any sound editor.
In 2024 we'll crack open some crufty old Linux kernel file and find the code equivalent of the Wilhelm scream. Probably with a FIX ME comment.
I'm pretty sure that was credited to 'Stormtrooper THX-1138.'
"Method Actor"
You are a sad, sad man. Fortunately, you'll fit right in here.
To make matters worse, the novels say Luke was using the Force to slow his fall, which would require a great deal of concentration. It's hard to concentrate when you're screaming like a bitch.
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking
Star Wars broke a lot of ground to making sci-fi movies more realistic on the screen. Sounds are just one of the many unappreciated things that went into that movie.
So true. Alot of people just can't appreciate how tough it is to accurately duplicate that whooshy noise of spaceships in vacuum.
Don't even get me started on the subtle nuances of explosions in space.
What?!?!? He falls and loses his arm???
;)
I was gonna finally watch that movie - now you've ruined it! THANKS!!!!!!
-- There is no sig line, only Zuul.
Click here.
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
Only on Slashdot can a link that appears in the main story get posted again in the comments and moderated as "Informative" !
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
That is particularly helpful to all the readers viewing slashdot on rack mounted servers with no soundcards.
GODAMNIT!!
-- There is no sig line, only Zuul.
Hey, I read that same scream in the prolog to the original Castle Wolfenstein on the Apple II....
Just bite the pillow, it'll help you focus.