How the Wilhelm Scream Became Iconic - Star Wars Explained #Shorts

How did the Wilhelm Scream wind up in Star Wars? Sound designer Ben Burtt recalled the sound of a soldier named Wilhelm screaming after being struck in the leg by an arrow in the film Charge at Feather River. But he knew that it was first used as the sound of a man screaming while being eaten by an alligator in an earlier film called Distant Drums. He also knew that the sound was traditionally exclusively used by Warner Brothers. So he contacted Warner and asked if they could help him out and send him the sound of a man being eaten by an alligator. He got the sound he was looking for, used it for a stormtrooper plummeting to his death, and so it cemented itself as one of Star Wars’ most iconic and most used sounds.

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[ethandavis]

I’m so disappointed that the sound wasn’t played at all

[alexrusset]

Not just in Star Wars, but all over cinema even to this day.

[thesirion]

I chuckle every time I hear the Wilhelm Scream in a movie, specially when it's completely unexpected.

[MaverickBlue]

According to IMDB, the Wilhelm scream is used in over 500 movies and TV shows, not to mention several hundred Youtuber's that use it. Star wars barely scratches the surface of it's usage....

[recklessinferno]

Even though you didn't play the scream, I still heard it.

[tristanburgos]

Only problem is that it’s not used more in Star Wars. However anytime it is used, it works perfectly lol

[Minnesota_Central]

"My voice is heard in every film ever made"

What an absolute flex this dude could have on people

[Tomasz]

Not just star it's freaking EVERYWHERE!!!!

[STRAKAZulu]

Heard it used in F9, and no one knew why I was laughing so hard.

[Platypus]

“Thanks for the sending me the sound of someone getting eaten by an alligator, but I meant the scream from Distant Drums. What movie is this one from?”

Warner Bros: “Movie?”

[jamiedore]

They would use it again in Infinity War when Ebony Maw was sucked into space.

[skitzoid]

It's incredibly common in tons of movies. It's like a meme for sound engineers

[onatic]

Another cool fact is that it is also used in Battlefront 2 which is pretty good attention to detail

[BackSet]

Imagine getting a call from this random guy you've probably never heard of (not that George Lucas didn't have quite a few films to his name at that point but Star Wars is what threw him into the spotlight) asking you for the sound of a man being eaten by an alligator.

[acolytegnobgib]

It's Hollywood's post production team's longest running gag joke.

[Naminskia]

Check out the original recording session of Wilhelm scream.

[bobclass]

I knew it wasn't a coincidence that oofin noise was in every movie I've ever seen

[paulandries]

It's like the door noise which is used everywhere

[gabrielmuncy]

That scream is in almost every action movie I've seen

[Compucles]

Burtt: <waves hand> This *is* the sound clip I'm looking for.