While much of Star Wars’ soundscapes are renowned for the buzz of lightsabers and the exhale of Darth Vader, the most recognizable soundbite from George Lucas’ space opera is the one and only Wilhelm scream. Now, the man credited with naming the sound has come forward to admit he cringes at the distinction.
Speaking with the Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm sound designer Ben Burtt revealed that the iconic scream’s origins didn’t involve the techno-babble of synthesized sounds from the wild. In actuality, the scream (an archival sound lifted from its original appearance in the 1951 movie Distant Drums) was an in-joke with his college buddy turned fellow industry professional Richard Anderson—something they would put in their films for their own amusement.
“We played this game of one-upmanship for 25 years, just the two of us knowing what we were doing. He would put it in a Quentin Tarantino film and call me up and challenge me to find it. I put it in an Indiana Jones movie,” Burtt told THR. “It was a private joke. Nobody said a thing.”
As with anything private in Hollywood, Burt and Anderson’s school-age stunt was made public thanks in large part to the internet, which pieced together hearing the scream all over the place.
“Now it’s everywhere. I just heard it in a commercial on TV yesterday. An insurance commercial. It’s just crazy,” Burt said. “I stopped putting it in. But even when I stopped, my crew would put it in because they felt it had to be there. I couldn’t stop them. I created a monster.”
While having his name tied to the scream’s name on Google means he’s a part of film history, Burtt still finds himself cringing at the accolade. Especially considering the sound designer will soon add the Locarno Film Festival’s Vision Award to his already crowded trophy room.
“I cringe a little bit. Because, you know, it’s kind of like Alfred Hitchcock, when people knew he appeared in all his movies, people would be looking for it. He got worried it became a distraction. So, you’ll notice he started appearing very early on in his movies, in the first two minutes, to get it over with so people could get on with the story,” Burtt said. “But there’s nothing I can do. It seems like for sound editors now, the Wilhelm is a sort of rite of passage, a kind of audio baptism. You put it in and join the club. But none of it was intentional.”
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