The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. A book review.

Posted by Martin:

The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind The Original Film

I am a big Star Wars fan.  Like most people my age it was the defining cinematic experience of our young lives.  I collected Star Wars figures and still have my original collection of action figures, most are sitting in my office as I write this.

In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the very first Star Wars movie, Lucasfilm allowed author J.W. Rinzler to roam through the Lucasfilm archives, using "lost" interviews from the days of the original film.  This allows for things not seen for over thirty years to be shared with the public.  The photographs alone make the book, but it is the story told here that is truly compelling.

Lessons Learned from Lucas

If you are film fan, a student of film, or an aspiring filmmaker this book is required reading.  For Star Wars fans, well, it goes without saying that this will be on your bookshelf.

No matter what you think about Lucas, Star Wars, and the subsequent movies, it goes without saying that Star Wars altered the course of movie making, which is why this book is required reading for anyone interested in cinematic history.

The book allows you to understand just how difficult it was to make this movie, to the point that it almost didn't get made and was almost stopped several times during production.  Even though we of course know that the movie gets made and is successful, it is suspenseful to think about how one or two Fox executives almost shut down production.

The lessons that filmmakers and all creative types for that matter should learn from Lucas is the importance of tenacity, working hard at your vision, and keeping the rights to your work.  It is that last one that Lucas has the most to teach us.  Star Wars would have been a completely different movie saga, and much less fulfilling if he had followed the standard procedure of the day and signed rights over to 20th Century Fox for sequels.  His persistence to keep the rights to his work is really what changed everything.

No Special Editions Here (Are The Originals On Their Way Back?)

This book wisely keeps away from talking about the much debated special editions of the original trilogy, but from the interviews it obvious that the seed for redoing the movies was laid way back in 1976.  Lucas was depressed from what he was able to get in the shoot at Tunsia, he didn't even go to the wrap party.  He didn't get everything he wanted there.

His own pessimism about the success of the movie was evident, but he admits that his negative thinking serves to protect himself.  If the film was not successful then he was right, if the film is successful then he is pleasantly surprised.  But he admits that the movie, even though it wasn't perfect to him, did connect with the audience.

Since 1997 when the Special Editions came out, there has been a loud clamoring cry for Lucas to release the original theatrical cuts of the first three movies.  Although he did do that this past November, it was such an obvious lazy effort, simple copies from 10 year old laserdiscs, that fans did not buy the new DVDs, including this hardcore fan.

But I have to wonder, due to the focus of this book with absolutely zero mention of the 1997 release, the mention from Lucas himself that audiences did connect with the film, and his appearance on "Robot Chicken" recently, that this point a Lucas that is loosening up  and that he may be considering releasing the original cuts again.  This purely conjecture on my part, but Lucasfilm certainly would make a lot of money if they did, and even more importantly he would please his hardcore fan base.

A Great Read

This book is thick with previously unreleased photos and stories.  The pictures alone make the book worth the purchase price.  But this book belongs on the book shelf of any person considering themselves a film historian and fan.

Comments

[Heather]

It certainly had an effect on me growing up; I still remember seeing SW in the theater on my 5th birthday. The theater was full, and when the manager found out it was my birthday he put a bench at the back of the theater so we could see it anyway. I can't imagine someone doing that today.

[Martin]

According to my parents Star Wars was the first movie I saw in a movie theater. I was four. So I guess it had a profound effect on me, as it became my favorite movie of ALL TIME!