Making the Millennium Falcon’s Hyperdrive Malfunction Sound

I’ve always found movie sound effects interesting. The sounds that we hear in our favorite films come from all kinds of crazy places in fact. Take, for instance, the comical sounds of the Millennium Falcon’s hyperdrive malfunction in The Empire Strikes Back. It works perfectly in the movie and is a funny scene because the sound is so ridiculous.

In this 1980 video clip, Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt explains how they created this unique sound. Spoiler alert: It is a combination of eight different sounds that include tanks, rattling sink pipes, a 1928 bi-plane starting up, an air jet recorded at a dentist’s office and more.

Burtt really has one of the coolest jobs ever. In fact, he even was the voice of Wall-E.