tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37236672480281716722024-03-17T20:03:59.530-07:00Episode Nothing: Star Wars in the 1970sA blog about Star Wars (Episode IV A New Hope) the first time around in the 1970s.
Including production, first release, reviews, merchandising, the novelization, Super 8 movies, Marvel comics and more.Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-62533302862272451642018-12-14T16:29:00.000-08:002018-12-16T06:02:07.760-08:00Star Wars v Superman: The two biggest fantasy films of the 1970s<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_nQUqs9Iy8w/XBREdWZ9iBI/AAAAAAAAXzU/l26K3wN65jM5CTdJLjAYr7OSdvcVtHEqQCLcBGAs/s1600/superman%2Bposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_nQUqs9Iy8w/XBREdWZ9iBI/AAAAAAAAXzU/l26K3wN65jM5CTdJLjAYr7OSdvcVtHEqQCLcBGAs/s640/superman%2Bposter.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Superman </i>(1978) had a lot in common with <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Episode Nothing has occasionally looked at some of the other big films of 1977.</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But today I'd like to look at a film which arrived more than 18 months after <i>Star Wars</i><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Richard Donner's <i>Superman</i>. It was released 40 years ago this week, and I think it's revealing to compare this huge superhero epic with George Lucas's much cheaper creation.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Superman </i>was one of three key movies which established science fiction and fantasy as the business for film-makers to be in during the late 1970s. <i>Star Wars </i>and Steven Spielberg's <i>Close Encounters of the Third Kind</i> were the other two.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Several of <i>Star Wars</i>' key creative contributors also worked on <i>Superman. </i>They included production designer John Barry, composer John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra, art directors Norman Reynolds and Leslie Dilley, and special make-up artist Stuart Freeborn. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T60TcVVm5hc/XBRJhKbd5eI/AAAAAAAAXzw/UtdzZRXgIBo7RosZ_mr1_ITNVygSkkS-wCLcBGAs/s1600/phil%2Bbrown%2Bsuperman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T60TcVVm5hc/XBRJhKbd5eI/AAAAAAAAXzw/UtdzZRXgIBo7RosZ_mr1_ITNVygSkkS-wCLcBGAs/s1600/phil%2Bbrown%2Bsuperman.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Phil Brown as a state <br />senator in <i>Superman</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Geoffrey Unsworth, cinematographer on <i>Superman</i>, came close to doing the same job on <i>Star Wars</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Phil Brown, who played Uncle owen in </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, played a state senator in <i>Superman</i>'s missile control room</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Superman </i>was shot mainly at Pinewood Studios, <i>Star Wars </i>at Elstree, although both made some use of Shepperton. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many of the UK construction and technical crew worked on both movies, and still more </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Superman </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">people would work on </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Empire Strikes Back</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, including assistant director David Tomblin and actors Bruce Boa and John Ratzenberger.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz visited the set of <i>Superman</i> at a particularly fraught time for the production in late 1977 (prompting rumours that he might be coming to bail out the movie), as did John Williams. The fortunes of the two films seemed to be connected.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Which came first: <i>Star Wars </i>or <i>Superman</i>?</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iODs70TkijI/XBRI7SZxznI/AAAAAAAAXzg/qTD7Q39NmAgv2rZxB_ZIU294FrDnIgRDwCLcBGAs/s1600/superman%2Bsalkind%2Bbrando.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="450" height="221" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iODs70TkijI/XBRI7SZxznI/AAAAAAAAXzg/qTD7Q39NmAgv2rZxB_ZIU294FrDnIgRDwCLcBGAs/s320/superman%2Bsalkind%2Bbrando.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marlon Brando and Ilya Salkind on the set of <i>Superman</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Interviewed for David Michael Petrou's 1978 book </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Making of Superman The Movie</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, executive producer Ilya Salkind said:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We were at work way before anyone had heard of a <i>Star Wars </i>or a <i>Close Encounters of the Third Kind</i>. We were the first kids on the block to foresee this renewed fascination with science fiction, space and fantasy. It's just taken us a little longer to get it on the screen."</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Only part of that statement is true. It's correct that <i>Superman </i>was in development before anyone among the general public had heard of <i>Star Wars </i>or <i>Close Encounters</i>. But Spielberg's agreement to make a science fiction for Columbia had been signed as early as 1973, and he had been fascinated by the ideas behind his film since childhood. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">George Lucas had been thinking about a <i>Flash Gordon</i>-style adventure for years as well </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">– and as we saw i<a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/11/when-was-title-star-wars-devised-its.html">n this post,</a> the title <i>The Star Wars </i>had been registered in August 1971. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ilya Salkind recalled coming up with the idea for <i>Superman </i>in the autumn 1973, as he walked past a cinema in Paris that was showing the 1940 film <i>The Mark of Zorro</i>. The moment tempted him to wonder about making a film about the ultimate fictional hero. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So Salkind conceived the idea quite a while after Lucas and Spielberg conceived theirs. Nonetheless, <i>Superman </i>was a long time in coming to fruition. Salkind and his father Alexander had intended to be shooting it in 1975, but production was not in full flow until 1977, and the film did not reach the screen until December 10, 1978.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I mention all this because I think it's revealing. <i>Superman </i>is a film that came after <i>Star Wars</i>, but in some key ways it is like a pre-<i>Star Wars </i>epic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Superman</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">: a film which could have come before </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I-qcitMGs50/XBRJJGI4wfI/AAAAAAAAXzk/XTxk6hO2O1cO_4qZBLX82mgs-XNGficFgCLcBGAs/s1600/john%2Bbarry%2Bsuperman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="209" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I-qcitMGs50/XBRJJGI4wfI/AAAAAAAAXzk/XTxk6hO2O1cO_4qZBLX82mgs-XNGficFgCLcBGAs/s400/john%2Bbarry%2Bsuperman.jpg" width="346" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Barry, production designer for<br /><i>Star Wars </i>and <i>Superman</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In many ways, I think <i>Superman </i>seems like it belongs before <i>Star Wars </i>in movie history.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before the success of <i>Star Wars</i>, there were certain assets that people thought a blockbuster should have.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One was that it should be based on an established literary property. <i>Superman </i>was based on comic books rather than a novel, of course, but early on, the producers hired Mario Puzo to write the script. Puzo had written <i>The Godfather </i>and co-authored the film adaptation (his only screenwriting credit up to to that point). He turned in a <i>Superman </i>screenplay that was full of camp humour and, according to the producers, would have made a six-hour film. Nonetheless, his name attached to the project gave it kudos.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In pre-<i>Star Wars </i>cinema, having a roster of stars helped a movie a lot. <i>Star Wars </i>had two, of course </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing. But in <i>Superman</i>, most roles were filled by stars. Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman were billed above Christopher Reeve's Superman. The rest of the cast included well-known actors from the US (Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Valerie Perrine, Phyllis Thaxter), the UK (Trevor Howard, Terence Stamp, Susannah York, Harry Andrews) and mainland Europe (Maria Schell). A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhfPidk4DvA">teaser trailer</a>, which I vividly remember, did nothing but list those names and follow them with the Superman logo. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As for Superman himself, the producers considered just about every star in Hollywood, along with non-actors including Muhammad Ali, before going for the unknown Reeve.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another factor that traditionally helped a movie was to have a lot of Oscar winners on board. By the time <i>Superman </i>came out, its principal creative talent had picked up at least nine Oscars between them: two for Marlon Brando, one for Gene Hackman, two for Mario Puzo, three for John Williams, one for John Barry. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Big movies were almost invariably expensive movies in those days. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nobody intended the budget for </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Superman </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to get as high as its final $55 million, but with shooting in the UK, Canada and New York, and enormous amounts of effects work, it was always going to be an expensive movie. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The investment paid off for the Salkinds, after the film made $300 million at the box office. But <i>Star Wars </i></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> which made $530 million over the years in its original version and £775.4 million if you count the Special Edition </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">only had a $10.5 million budget to recoup.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How does <i>Superman </i>measure up against <i>Star Wars</i>?</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xpX63uTIlM/XBRJ5AmIYuI/AAAAAAAAXz8/Y_Tbph0OVKshk7jQ0nciNXLisbt5tEiswCLcBGAs/s1600/superman%2Baction%2Bcomics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xpX63uTIlM/XBRJ5AmIYuI/AAAAAAAAXz8/Y_Tbph0OVKshk7jQ0nciNXLisbt5tEiswCLcBGAs/s320/superman%2Baction%2Bcomics.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The opening of <i>Superman</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The release of <i>Superman </i>at the end of 1978/beginning of 1979 was a huge event for young fans of adventure films. How could it not be? <i>Star Wars </i>had needed to sell us on a whole new galaxy; <i>Superman </i>just had to promise us that it had brought a well-loved character convincingly to life on the screen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like <i>Star Wars</i>, <i>Superman </i>takes a moment at the beginning of the movie to let us know that we're watching an old-fashioned story. <i>Star Wars </i>does it through the caption "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...", whereas <i>Superman </i>does it through a glimpse of an old comic book and the words "June 1938". Then, both deliver a spectacular opening, accompanied by tremendous John Williams music. In the case of <i>Superman</i>, the curtain-raiser takes the form of some of the most impressive credits you have ever seen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After that, the films have a very different story-telling style. <i>Superman </i>builds slowly, giving us a lot of back-story in the knowledge that we'll stay with it in anticipation of the moment when its famous hero is revealed. It has the air of an important story, and it deliberately plays up the Biblical parallels (the heavenly father sending is son to save Earth; the son's spell in the wilderness). By contrast, <i>Star Wars </i>doesn't dwell on its mythological aspects or its possible Biblical parallels; Lucas keeps a pretty light tone throughout and he always moves the story along quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Richard Donner's style is very different from Lucas's, too. He makes the most of sets and locations, lingering over John Barry's Krypton and Fortress of Solitude sets, and the Canadian countryside that stood in for the American mid-west. His approach suits this mythic story. Lucas, by contrast, rarely reveals anything slowly or dramatically, always moving on to the next shot an the next action.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But while the two movies are very different in some ways, they have some of the same strengths.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both films showed us things that we had never seen before. <i>Superman </i>pulled off flying effects in a way no previous film or TV adaptation had been able to. Its flying sequences are as impressive as <i>Star Wars</i>' innovative space battle scenes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both films had the astonishing designs of John Barry, whose visual imagination is surely a large part of what makes them so memorable. And each film was given credibility and weight by John Williams' phenomenal music.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both movies took something old and familiar </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">– comic books and <i>Flash Gordon </i>adventures </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">– and updated it, making it look fresh and spectacular. But they both managed to do it while taking the subject matter seriously, without falling temptation to send up the source material. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In re-imagining 1930s entertainment for the 1970s, <i>Star Wars </i>and <i>Superman </i>tried something similar, and both succeeded in very different ways. The result is that both have kept their original fans enthralled for forty years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Did you see both <i>Superman </i>and <i>Star Wars </i>the first time around? I'd love to hear your memories. Do leave a comment below.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b>Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com116tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-45756210392099611302018-12-07T15:05:00.000-08:002018-12-07T15:05:55.007-08:00Gloria Katz, 1942-2018: The writer who gave Star Wars some of its best lines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eDnsaasCQIs/XAr7hJ2M8vI/AAAAAAAAXxs/WMWmZhbIxhsKnYMSax4wIJBr6FaSIbANwCLcBGAs/s1600/gloria%2Bkatz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="279" height="415" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eDnsaasCQIs/XAr7hJ2M8vI/AAAAAAAAXxs/WMWmZhbIxhsKnYMSax4wIJBr6FaSIbANwCLcBGAs/s640/gloria%2Bkatz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gloria Katz with George Lucas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Think for a moment of some of the best lines in <i>Star Wars </i>– the wittier ones, that remind you of the golden age of movies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The chances are that you are thinking of lines that were written by the late Gloria Katz and her husband Willard Huyck.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">LUKE: Listen, if you were to rescue her the reward would be...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">HAN: What?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">LUKE: Well, more wealth than you can imagine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">HAN: I don't know. I can imagine quite a bit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">HAN: Uh ... had a slight weapons malfunction,. But, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">LEIA: You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">HAN: Stlll, she's got a lot of spirit. I don't know, what do you think? Do you think a princess and a guy like me?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">LUKE: No.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Those are just some of the lines that we know were contributed to <i>Star Wars </i>by Huyck and Katz, the friends of George Lucas who worked on the film without credit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gloria Katz dies aged 76</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tV6EOt-0afs/XAr7hK5J-fI/AAAAAAAAXxw/rvNfkpipz1A7hF8hsuAa1LpTp9qnwbwLwCEwYBhgL/s1600/gloria%2Bkatz%2Bwillard%2Bhuyck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tV6EOt-0afs/XAr7hK5J-fI/AAAAAAAAXxw/rvNfkpipz1A7hF8hsuAa1LpTp9qnwbwLwCEwYBhgL/s400/gloria%2Bkatz%2Bwillard%2Bhuyck.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wilard Huyck and Gloria Katz</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gloria Katz died of ovarian cancer on November 25, at the age of 76. She and her husband Willard Huyck had been friends of George Lucas since the 1960s and were there for many of the highs and lows of his career.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Katz had been an English major in the 1960s at Berkeley before going to UCLA, where she switched courses from history to film, becoming one of only four women in a film-making class of 50. Initially interested in editing, she turned to writing with Huyck, the University of Southern California graduate she had married.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When George Lucas was trying to write <i>American Graffiti</i>, a script based on his own experience of cruising the streets of a small Californian town in 1962, he knew he needed help. He called on Huyck and Katz, but they were committed to writing and directing a horror film in the UK – Messiah of Evil.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lucas turned instead to USC classmate Richard Walters. Unimpressed by Walters' script, he tried writing himself, and as soon as Huyck and Katz had finished their film, he brought them on board.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was the first of several Lucas films on which Huyck and Katz would be credited. But their names would be absent from the biggest of their projects with Lucasfilm – <i>Star Wars </i>itself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How much of <i>Star Wars </i>was written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz?</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-26qjt_j9CAc/XAr7iiF5kSI/AAAAAAAAXx0/gBXXZR_2vSYOb678PjU94PEwZCd32JqwQCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bbraver%2Bthan%2Bi%2Bthought.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="345" height="135" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-26qjt_j9CAc/XAr7iiF5kSI/AAAAAAAAXx0/gBXXZR_2vSYOb678PjU94PEwZCd32JqwQCEwYBhgL/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bbraver%2Bthan%2Bi%2Bthought.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"You came in that thing? You're braver <br />than I thought" was among the lines <br />Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck <br />contributed to <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">George Lucas laboured alone for four years over his script for </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Let's not take away any of the credit that's due to him for that.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He had reshaped the idea and overhauled the plot and characters, writing four drafts of the screenplay – he first two of which bore hardly any resemblance to the film we know today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He was determined to produce the script himself. But, as almost everybody who read the scripts said, dialogue was not his strong point. And towards the end of the process, he called in his <i>Graffiti </i>co-writers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">According to JW Rinzler's book <i>The Making of Star Wars</i>, Lucas had been getting up before dawn during the first quarter of 1976 to rewrite his fourth draft script, while preparing to begin shooting that March. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lucas said:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the very last minute, when I'd finally finished the screenplay, I looked at it and wasn't happy with the dialogue I had written. Some of it was all right, but I felt it could be improved, so I had Bill and Gloria help me come up with some snappy one-liners.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Katz recalled <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/interview-gloria-katz-star-wars/">in this interview with TheMarySue.com</a>:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">George was writing the script and he had a lot of reservations about it, but he knew filming had to start. He said, 'Polish it – write anything you want and then I'll go over it and see what I need.' George didn't want anyone to know we worked on the script, so we were in a cone of silence...</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We just tried to help with the characterization, to add as much humour as possible. We didn't want to take the credit away from him – he had been working on Star Wars for a very long time.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">George Lucas has estimated that his co-writers were responsible for around 30 per cent of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">' dialogue.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Princess Leia, Katz said, was intended as a "Hawksian woman", with the character traits of one of the hard-bitten characters of a film from golden age director Howard Hawks – "she can take command; she doesn't take any shit, but at the same time she's vulnerable and to write her as really focused, instead of just a beautiful woman that schlepped along to be saved".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With most screenplays, it's hard to know which screenwriters contributed which elements. But thanks to the 1997 book <i>Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays</i>, we know more about the contribution of Huyck and Katz. The book puts asterisks next to their main contributions. And just about all of the movie's sharpest, wittiest lines belong to them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Huyck and Katz after <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9U2zlgpgwo/XAr7hOaADoI/AAAAAAAAXx4/IoRRhwS-xF8gk7FO-wAVKUWizGCjDhAvACEwYBhgL/s1600/willard%2Bhuyck%2Bgloria%2Bkatz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e9U2zlgpgwo/XAr7hOaADoI/AAAAAAAAXx4/IoRRhwS-xF8gk7FO-wAVKUWizGCjDhAvACEwYBhgL/s400/willard%2Bhuyck%2Bgloria%2Bkatz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and George Lucas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Huyck and Katz visited the set of <i>Star Wars </i>and later told how dejected Lucas seemed. They were there at the first screening of the film to Lucas's friends, when it was mocked mercilessly by Brian De Palma. But who knows whether they would have made more films themselves if their names had been on <i>Star Wars</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As it is, their filmography is a mixed bag. They wrote the critically-slated comedy thriller <i>Lucky Lady </i>(1975), the romantic comedy <i>French Postcards (</i>1970) and the 1984 Dudley Moore-Eddie Murphy vehicle <i>Best Defense</i>. Yet their fortunes were mostly tied up with those of Lucasfilm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Working from Lucas's story ideas, the pair wrote <i>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom</i>. They were rewarded for that huge success with the chance to make <i>Howard the Duck </i>for Lucasfilm, with Huyck directing. That 1986 movie was a critical and commercial flop which Lucas's detractors revelled in ridiculing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hollywood gave them very few further breaks, but Lucas did produce an update of a script they had written in the early 1970s and which had spent two decades in development hell – <i>Radioland Murders </i>(1994).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They were considerable writers who might have become notable directors. As it was, Goria Katz and Willard Huyck's careers were defined by their early friendship with George Lucas, and they left their mark on the biggest film of all time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-48829980071372279822018-11-23T11:00:00.000-08:002018-11-23T11:00:05.046-08:00 When was the title Star Wars devised? It’s earlier than you might think <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSiTkUjUJzJt_jbzyAeLfoR6bIH-w06oKp35DezUbNL24q9hBfnmVbzcynQH1fFTj4kO9MlSOqMvMu50Sq-YiP2K9sKU3jrAwhaZj4L4SSgH88Z3fZELsszLIlFjJsSEK-bX8aik7UzXCX/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-01-14-00h01m38s104.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="768" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSiTkUjUJzJt_jbzyAeLfoR6bIH-w06oKp35DezUbNL24q9hBfnmVbzcynQH1fFTj4kO9MlSOqMvMu50Sq-YiP2K9sKU3jrAwhaZj4L4SSgH88Z3fZELsszLIlFjJsSEK-bX8aik7UzXCX/s640/vlcsnap-2015-01-14-00h01m38s104.png.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The title <i>Star Wars </i>as it appears in the film</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><div>
<b>Apart from its virtues as a film, <i>Star Wars </i>had one of the best titles ever to grace a movie. But it could just as easily have been called <i>The Adventures of Luke Starkiller</i>. </b></div>
<br />Today, we’re looking at the origins of the title <i>Star Wars </i>– and, at the same time, the meeting at Cannes that set George Lucas’s idea on the way to becoming reality. <a name='more'></a></b><br /><br />The origins of <i>Star Wars </i>– the film and its title – go back further than you might imagine. <br /><br />George Lucas had been kicking around the idea of making a Flash Gordon-inspired space fantasy for many years before he began writing it. And the idea became the subject of a deal even before the release of Lucas’s low-budget hit <i>American Graffiti</i>. </span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cannes, 1971: George Lucas makes a deal with United Artists </span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0626mIAQv61sQMqonwENrAvPpykJqKbQpMVjrZ84znG9e7I8481dvNr_QZMGLoF9A2lqn8Ysq5T4p86NxyF1HRWxL3JMntcD8KMzx5-rUjXlepMklXdL28PuTAGlU5HZmm_jjZqXvGV8/s1600/david+picker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="703" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0626mIAQv61sQMqonwENrAvPpykJqKbQpMVjrZ84znG9e7I8481dvNr_QZMGLoF9A2lqn8Ysq5T4p86NxyF1HRWxL3JMntcD8KMzx5-rUjXlepMklXdL28PuTAGlU5HZmm_jjZqXvGV8/s400/david+picker.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Former United Artists president David Picker</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In May, 1971, George Lucas’s debut film </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THX 1138 </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. George and Marcia Lucas, then by no means wealthy, flew to London en route to the festival. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />While in London, Lucas made a phone call to pitch his idea for <i>American Graffiti </i>to David Picker, president of United Artists. Pecker offered him a $25,000 deal for the idea. As Chris Taylor notes in his book <i>How Star Was Conquered the Universe</i>, the elated Lucases then travelled on to France by ferry and rail. <br /><br />George and Marcia sneaked in, unrecognised, to a sold-out screening of <i>THX 1138</i>, but the high point of the trip was the meeting with Pecker in his suite at the Carlton Hotel. There, the UA executive confirmed the deal for <i>American Graffiti </i>– and asked whether Lucas had any other projects in mind. <br /><br />Lucas recalled in JW Rinzler's book <i>The Making of Star Wars</i>: </span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“I said ‘I’ve been toying with this idea of a space-opera fantasy film in the vein of <i>Flash Gordon</i>… And he said ‘Great, we’ll make a deal for that too’. And that was really the birth of <i>Star Wars</i>. It was only a notion up to then – at that point, it became an obligation. Picker agreed to take an option on that too.” </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On August 3 1971, United Artists duly registered the title of a proposed new movie with the Motion Picture Association of America. That title was <i>The Star Wars</i>. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How United Artists and Universal missed out on <i>Star Wars </i></span></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUXGBxJpVNkHMGm4G8f-txyN2QaxljUi7tV1uZfI1OEmhF3B-SAtj4fbJRTnew1MWyX2uAx4Qo-bfoaYbhdAn3RGxtPSy6lKAbQk3cvFnX66ZtBXpTIK8wTtPp6oIpVdagpMyUmkFBm-E/s1600/star+wars+early+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUXGBxJpVNkHMGm4G8f-txyN2QaxljUi7tV1uZfI1OEmhF3B-SAtj4fbJRTnew1MWyX2uAx4Qo-bfoaYbhdAn3RGxtPSy6lKAbQk3cvFnX66ZtBXpTIK8wTtPp6oIpVdagpMyUmkFBm-E/s400/star+wars+early+logo.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">An early logo for <i>The Star Wars</i>,<br />produced by Ralph McQuarrie</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not everybody was as enthusiastic about <i>THX 1138 </i>as the audiences in Cannes. The film had been made by Francis Ford Coppola’s company American Zoetrope, bankrolled by Warner Brothers. But Warner Brothers disliked the film so much that it pulled the plug on the arrangement with Coppola. <br /><br />Lucas’s deal with United Artists fell through after the screenplay was written, because Picker could not convince his own boss to produce it. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lucas took the project instead to Universal, which put <i>Graffiti </i>into production and took out an option on Lucas’s next idea. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />After the huge success of <i>Graffiti</i>, Lucas was obliged to offer his next project to United Artists, then to Universal. In 1973, he wrote a treatment for his space fantasy epic that was, by all accounts, impenetrable, and both studios passed on it. Three months later, UA gave up its trademark on the title <i>The Star Wars</i>. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for that momentous meeting at Cannes, Picker can no longer remember it, telling Chris Taylor in 2014: “You can imagine how many meetings I had on that terrace. More deals were made, more hearts were broken than any level of the business anywhere.” </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But he said George Lucas never stopped reminding him that he had let <i>Star Wars </i>slip through his fingers. <br /><br /><br /> <br /></span><h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars</i>, <i>The Star Wars </i>and <i>The Adventures of Luke Starkiller</i></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIEEbmhsBv0R7V68tmLkQ-OSIgis3eCrfBZuKG8vYPE1zvDoftzrB0cyBYOlwbqhp0uxmUy6jdoRMZ599lvBN-FcgZ_xIN0106V7Jl_9EP0CoNv4__F3_2yLOKUi23eMmLHAQSw6Rc1Kh/s1600/star+wars+1977+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="436" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIEEbmhsBv0R7V68tmLkQ-OSIgis3eCrfBZuKG8vYPE1zvDoftzrB0cyBYOlwbqhp0uxmUy6jdoRMZ599lvBN-FcgZ_xIN0106V7Jl_9EP0CoNv4__F3_2yLOKUi23eMmLHAQSw6Rc1Kh/s400/star+wars+1977+poster.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The title as seen on 1977 <i>Star Wars </i>posters </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we all know, George Lucas’s <i>Flash Gordon</i>-style adventure was eventually made for Twentieth Century-Fox, after production head Alan Ladd Jr persuaded a divided board of directors to bankroll it. <br /><br />In some places, the film’s title was announced as <i>The Adventures of Luke Starkiller </i>or <i>The Adventures of the Starkiller</i>. For most of its production, it was referred to as <i>The Star Wars</i>. <br /><br />Losing the definite article (“the”) improved the title considerably, giving it a pleasing symmetry. It also made the title easier to turn into a memorable logo. (We discussed the contentious history of the famous <i>Star Wars </i>logo here.) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The shortened title also echoes <i>Star Trek</i>, of course, and Taylor’s book points out that Lucas saw a lot of <i>Star Trek</i>, spoke a bout it a lot and even went to a <i>Trek </i>convention, where he got some idea of the power of fandom. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Fox, however, was concerned about the name of the film. It cited market research which said the word “war” in a title would turn off women. <br /><br />Lucas thought differently. “The title <i>Star Wars </i>was an insurance policy,” he said. “We calculated that there are something like eight million dollars’ worth of science fiction freaks in the USA and they will go to see absolutely anything with a title like <i>Star Wars</i>.” <br /><br />Fox’s research was, of course, wrong. <i>Star Wars </i>was the perfect title. It was impossible to forget, especially when emblazoned on marquees the world over. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A great title alone doesn’t guarantee huge success – otherwise <i>The Driller Killer </i>would be among the most successful films ever made. But the fact that the movie delivered on the promise of its name made it irresistible. <br /><br />Who knows whether the film would have had the same impact if it had been called <i>The Adventures of Luke Starkiller</i>? <br /><br /><br /> <br /></span><br /> </div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-52295208756406904202018-11-16T13:52:00.000-08:002018-11-22T14:50:40.688-08:0040 years on: the animated sequence of the Star Wars Holiday Special <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLt7nZmGECuoQyLou0a3ZamC53IabgHRzOuyx_m1s_DEvDLCoAoNRYzOoh9hVaFowelndOe5VMciz6jTe9iCmcDCTI1T5GcWB7QLLaS2BVSDTzeeBmRNB6y_Yfwmnk7pXoX6eHc8iAoJH/s1600/star+wars+holiday+special+animation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="261" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLt7nZmGECuoQyLou0a3ZamC53IabgHRzOuyx_m1s_DEvDLCoAoNRYzOoh9hVaFowelndOe5VMciz6jTe9iCmcDCTI1T5GcWB7QLLaS2BVSDTzeeBmRNB6y_Yfwmnk7pXoX6eHc8iAoJH/s640/star+wars+holiday+special+animation.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Holiday Special </i>animated segment</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>This Saturday, November 17, it's 40 years since the <i>Star Wars Holiday Special</i>, probably the strangest event in <i>Star Wars </i>history.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There’s plenty to mock in the special. I’ve indulged in that mockery myself in posts <a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-star-wars-holiday-special-10-most.html">here</a> and <a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-star-wars-holiday-special-10-most.html">here</a>. We can deride the domestic life of Chewbacca’s comedy, some painful comedy shtick, Princess Leia’s musical tribute to the wookiee holiday Life Day, and Luke Skywalker’s bizarre hair and make-up, to begin with. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>But in the blessed spirit of Life Day, perhaps let’s look at one aspect of the special that has been relatively-kindly received</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>– its animated sequence.</b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b> </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Never seen again: the <i>Star Wars Holiday Special </i></span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jsNwP_1kTZQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jsNwP_1kTZQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">George Lucas has shown every sign of wanting to erase the Holiday Special from history. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Millions saw it that Friday in 1978, in the US and Canada, but it was never broadcast in North America again. Some people must have come to wonder whether the whole strange experience was a hallucination brought on by taking an early nip at the Thanksgiving liquor. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sweden saw the Holiday Special in 1979, while France had a shortened version that same year. It was transmitted Venezuela, Honduras and Brazil in 1981. But that was the end of its broadcast history. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In those pre-internet times, plenty of people in the rest of the world were unaware of the special’s existence, especially since George Lucas blocked any home video release. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I did not even hear of the Holiday Special until the August 1981 issue of <i>Fantastic Films </i>reached the UK. That magazine told the story of Nelvana Ltd, the animation studio that produced the 10-minute animated segment in the middle of the special. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nelvana, Boba Fett and the Star Wars Holiday Special animated sequence </span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcQrEzXA20MHvGcimTslJSLmDoE5RLYYvAdCH3HHxQ-X8gjweYFuCGtgoDmfYu4DVAmvXm8tyHuYM0fXfyemiIM4fd6PZVrzplUngZNAFlR01SvXrGiJnIiGdGWMd8wbG9aW9cJlRXi3_/s1600/fanastic+films+star+wars+holiday+special+nelvana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1193" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcQrEzXA20MHvGcimTslJSLmDoE5RLYYvAdCH3HHxQ-X8gjweYFuCGtgoDmfYu4DVAmvXm8tyHuYM0fXfyemiIM4fd6PZVrzplUngZNAFlR01SvXrGiJnIiGdGWMd8wbG9aW9cJlRXi3_/s400/fanastic+films+star+wars+holiday+special+nelvana.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nelvana's work profiled in <i>Fantastic Films</i> #16</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the time </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Fantastic Films </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">wrote about the company in 1981, the Toronto-based company Nelvana Ltd had just made its first feature-length production, </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Drats </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(aka </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Rock & Rule</i><u style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">)</u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, set in a post-nuclear future where two duelling rock musicians are able to summon sea creatures from other dimensions </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The article notes that Nirvana was founded in the early 1970s by Michael Hirsh and Patrick Loubert, both in their mid-20s. In 1977, it created a popular TV animation, <i>A Cosmic Christmas</i>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In early 1978, when George Lucas’s company began preparing its Holiday Special, it hatched the idea of an animated sequence which would introduce a key character from the yet-to-be-filmed <i>Star Wars </i>sequel. The Holiday Special’s original director, David Acomba, was aware of Nelvana’s work and suggested the company should be invited to bid for the chance to make that segment. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lucas’s people were duly sent a videotape of <i>A Cosmic Christmas </i>and decided the Nelvana team were the right choice to make the animation. But they Nelvana was not making the sequence from scratch. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was provided with a detailed script and a complete soundtrack, so the studio’s job was to animate to that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The plot has the Millennium Falcon crash-landing on a swampy planet, where our heroes from <i>Star Wars </i>are attacked by a monster and then rescued by a hooded stranger, one Boba Fett. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Luke and Han contract a virus which puts Solo in a coma. Boba Fett and Chewie go off to obtain an antidote, but R2-D2 intercepts a communication between Fett and Darth Vader. It turns out that Fett is on a mission to befriend the Rebels so they will reveal the location of their hidden base. Once Han is cured, the game is up, and Fett flees. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Fantastic Films </i>outlined the difficult job Nelvana had taken on: </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“The project was an artistic challenge in that the studio wanted to depict the familiar stars loosely enough that they would not look like human actors rotoscoped, but carefully enough that they would not look like grotesque caricatures. The villain, Boba Fett, was a particular problem since he was an original character never seen before. (Lucas was using this animated sequence to give him a try-out.) Nelvana had to depict him so that he would be faithful to the character’s life appearance in <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, still over a year in the future.” </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The production of the Holiday Special was not a happy one, and David Acomba quit the project. As I've <a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/11/some-final-life-day-thoughts-on-star.html">written before</a>, I don't quite buy the theory that </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">it would all have been better if Acomba had stayed on – it’s just hard to imagine how the Holiday Special could ever have turned out well. Nonetheless, that is the judgement of the <i>Fantastic Films </i>journalist. The report says Acomba quit over the “many arbitrary changes” being made to the special, adding: </span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“The animated sequence, which needed to e started earlier than the live sequences because of the additional time required for animation, was the only one to be filmed as Acomba and Lucas had designed it.”</span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It runs less than ten minutes, and it doesn't have a dramatic climax, but the sequence is well-done, and it would have been very exciting to a young audience at the time.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Will we ever see the full Holiday Special officially released? </span></h3>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF83yltTNPWiVGk1uteNSuQh8v-1yDSanwt0rCCF0EVnbrhEHkH8jAxsuMeBBgw6wSbMMNx-CRWBKlYbFHyb9AygxepREuDtA0iBUZw78rCsRI7viIJQJguwEyOT_-YuWNoldwGLsrbGvb/s1600/star+wars+holiday+special+boba+fett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="688" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF83yltTNPWiVGk1uteNSuQh8v-1yDSanwt0rCCF0EVnbrhEHkH8jAxsuMeBBgw6wSbMMNx-CRWBKlYbFHyb9AygxepREuDtA0iBUZw78rCsRI7viIJQJguwEyOT_-YuWNoldwGLsrbGvb/s400/star+wars+holiday+special+boba+fett.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Boba Fett in the <i>Star Wars Holiday Special </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Holiday Special </i>was an embarrassment for George Lucas, who was busy scripting and preparing <i>The Empire Strikes Back </i>when it was made. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Fantastic Films </i>notes: “It was so poorly received that George Lucas publicly announced that there would never be another Star War TV program. Except that the public had loved the animated sequence.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is certainly some truth in that. And when the <i>Star Wars </i>films were released on Blu-ray in 2011, Lucasfilm finally seemed ready to ease its policy of pretending the Holiday Special had never happened. The animated sequence was there as an Easter egg, the first part of the special ever to get a home video release. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nobody has been expecting a deluxe 40th anniversary of the <i>Star Wars Holiday Special </i>on Blu-ray and DVD. And we don’t know what stipulations George Lucas may have made about this subject when he sold his business to Disney. But it’s surely time for everybody to relax about the subject, see the funny side, and finally release the special in its entirety -- as well as recognising that the animated sequence is a lot of fun.</span></span>Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-71354973085252817242018-11-09T11:00:00.000-08:002018-11-09T11:00:10.183-08:00The commercials in the Star Wars Holiday Special<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Gi6xW1rzsA/W-S-IAIfEDI/AAAAAAAAXk0/E-Kj2WjI7jw2xDBz0QpSZAswDEeMp0SvQCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bkenner%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bcommercial%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="1061" height="380" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Gi6xW1rzsA/W-S-IAIfEDI/AAAAAAAAXk0/E-Kj2WjI7jw2xDBz0QpSZAswDEeMp0SvQCLcBGAs/s640/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bkenner%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bcommercial%2B2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">An ad for Kenner <i>Star Wars</i> toys during <br /><i>The Star Wars Holiday Special</i> on CBS</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br /><b>On November 17, it will be time to celebrate – if that's the word – the 40th anniversary of <i>The Star Wars Holiday Special</i>.<br /><br />I've looked before at its most excruciating moments (in a two-part blog post <a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-star-wars-holiday-special-10-most.html">here</a> and <a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-star-wars-holiday-special-10-most.html">here</a>). I've also tried to appreciate the things a young viewer in the 1970s might have loved about it (which only took <a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/11/everything-thats-good-in-star-wars.html">one post</a>).</b></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In recent times, someone has posted all the commercials from a recording of the Holiday Special, and I think they deserve a post of their own. </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a name='more'></a><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After all, advertising reminds us vividly of the things a culture found desirable at the time. And of course, advertisers must have been paying top dollar to have their wares displayed during two hours devoted to the biggest film of all time.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once they saw the content of the show, those advertisers might have had second thoughts about whether they spent their money wisely.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yJ21QVLBsAo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yJ21QVLBsAo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were 19 minutes of ads in the two-hour slot given to The Star Wars Holiday Special. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The recording also includes some news stories. The Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev has admitted that Russia tested a neutron bomb. Former CIA clerk William Kampiles has been convicted of selling secrets to the USSR. And while there are 11 inches of snow in Minesota, a spell of bad weather nine months ago has not led to the expected baby boom, possibly because men were busy shovelling snow. </span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h4>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cars</span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R_JHjLNoHbk/W-S-KxwYwqI/AAAAAAAAXlU/1ygLawfPdlowQNHfaXktUq3QnfkdsO-5wCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Blincoln%2Bmercury%2Bcommercial.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1033" height="194" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R_JHjLNoHbk/W-S-KxwYwqI/AAAAAAAAXlU/1ygLawfPdlowQNHfaXktUq3QnfkdsO-5wCLcBGAs/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Blincoln%2Bmercury%2Bcommercial.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A Lincoln Mercury commercial during <br />the <i>Star Wars Holiday Special</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nothing dates an era like its cars.<br />The Holiday Special contains two ads for General Motors, but they focus on the culture at the factories, rather than the models themselves.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Utility man Willie Rawles, who can do any job on the production line, tells of his work. In a second ad, quality control inspector James Rock says: "We'll knock down engines for a bad paint job."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later, there's an add for Gladding Chevrolet of Glenburne.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And there's a commercial for Lincoln Mercury. The Bobcat wagon costs $4,142, less than last year's model, we're told, while a Zephyr costs $500 than a Toyota Corona and has 23 cubic feet more space.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Phones</span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9m9vJt46zs/W-S-3PNiLHI/AAAAAAAAXl0/BmmFJHjQ6EQjxQ_2PMVyB_GhjSqF0VF8ACLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bbell%2Bcommercial.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1059" height="191" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9m9vJt46zs/W-S-3PNiLHI/AAAAAAAAXl0/BmmFJHjQ6EQjxQ_2PMVyB_GhjSqF0VF8ACLcBGAs/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bbell%2Bcommercial.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Bell commercial </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">during </span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars Holiday Special</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bell has two commercials during the Special. The first is for its phones themselves, the second (accoompanied by the song 'Feelings') is an emotional tale of the vlaue of a long-distance call.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Trailers for other TV</span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XdaWcT1SWFk/W-S-IGXZyxI/AAAAAAAAXlc/qPy-LhgoJVoVlcj3mlBhrkkxpd92yqgaACEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bflying%2Bhigh%2Btrailer%2B7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1057" height="193" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XdaWcT1SWFk/W-S-IGXZyxI/AAAAAAAAXlc/qPy-LhgoJVoVlcj3mlBhrkkxpd92yqgaACEwYBhgL/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bflying%2Bhigh%2Btrailer%2B7.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A trailer for <i>Flying High</i> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">during </span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars Holiday Special</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One CBS trailer teases <i>60 Minutes</i>, <i>All in the Family</i>, <i>Alice</i>, <i>Lucy Comes to Nashville</i>, and <i>Dallas </i>(in which Sue Ellen is pregnant – but who's the father?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Bobby Vinton's Rock & Rollers </i>is hailed as being "like <i>Grease </i>on wheels" and features two of that film's cast, Stockard Channing and Eve Arden. It looks like it could be a kitschy stablemate of the Holiday Special itself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are trailers for <i>Dolly</i>, <i>Flying High </i>(a show about flight attendants which looks truly execrable) and for a TV showing of John Huston's <i>The Bible</i>. There's a title card only for <i>Hot City</i>, and I've not been able to find out what that show was.</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></h4>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Films on the big screen</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are trailers for the R-rated <i>The Wild Geese</i>, with Richard Harris and Richard Burton; and for the <i>Wizard of Oz </i>update <i>The Wiz </i>("It's joy, it's laughter, it's music, it's here").</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Clothes</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the most striking commercials, for a modern viewer, is one for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. It urges people to buy American-made clothes rather than those produced cheaply abroad, and a growing throng of workers unite in song to urge us to "look for the union label".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are two ads for pantyhose, which you might think is not an obvious fit with <i>Star Wars</i>. There's Sheer Indulgence real panty pantyhose, and No Nonsense Pantyhose ("No nonsense fit, no nonsense comfort, no nonsense price"). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There's an ad for men's underwear too, but based on the assumption that women will be doing the buying. An elderly lady, Emma, tells us "Girls, I bought a lot of underwear for my man", and recommends spending $1.30 on men's cotton briefs from Fruit of the Loom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Food and drink</span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nsX04OPLLxo/W-TAQkclVuI/AAAAAAAAXmA/0JhkEjiN_ccnzGSw1WJuwxKfM_5eSi7LwCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bmcdonald%2527s%2Bcommercial.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1037" height="195" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nsX04OPLLxo/W-TAQkclVuI/AAAAAAAAXmA/0JhkEjiN_ccnzGSw1WJuwxKfM_5eSi7LwCLcBGAs/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bmcdonald%2527s%2Bcommercial.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A McDonald's commercial </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">during </span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars Holiday Special<br /></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reggie is a long-vanished candy bar endorsed by New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson. He appears in an ad to tell us how great it is.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pillsbury Plus Yellow Cake, with pudding in the mix, is better than its competitor, we're told. "You're just a bite away from a better tasting, moister cake."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">McDonald's, inevitably, is there, promoting its breakfast lines. "There's more in the midle of an Egg McMuffin than an egg in the middle of a muffin," is the tongue-twisting tagline.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hungry Jack Flaky Biscuits, which you bake from a mix in eleven minutes, are apparently big enough to satisfy the appetite of giant Hungry Jack himself. "Hungry, Hungry Jack, they gobble 'em down and the plate comes back," goes the jingle.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, there's an ad for the Californian wine company Colony. The commercial seems distinctly under-confident in its brand; the message is to ignore received opinion, because "Taste is the best way to know if you like a wine". It urges the viewer to "Impress yourself".</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h4>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Medication</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's November, so we get two ads for cold remedies: Comtex and Contac.<br />Then there's one for Anacin, in which a worried woman confides to a friend that she needs a stronger headache pill but is worried it could be dangerous. A male pharmacist hands her Anacin and reassuringly endorses its message "safety with strength".</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Laundry detergent</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Clothes washed in Woolite become "Clothes that deserve a second look", we're told.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cosmetics</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Revlon Cream On Blush enables the user to shade and tone and "baby, it's waterproof", so "it stays on when you carry on".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Federal publications</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the oddest ads, for today's audience, is that for the Consumer Information Center of the US General Services Administration. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We're urged to write to Consumer Catalog in Colorado for a catalogue of all kinds of useful consumer publications, many of them free.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Flowers</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">FTD Wishing Well bouquets make all the difference to a hopsital patient and come "complete with penny for good luck".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Air freshener</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twce as Fresh air freshener works twice as hard, which is good news for the hands-on dad who opines: "Love the baby, hate the wet diapers". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Appliances</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Possibly the most striking ad in the collection is for appliances from the Whirlpool Coporation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It doesn't bother giving us details of any appliances. Instead, we see a bird of prey catching a fish, while a voice that seems to be <i>Kojak</i>'s Telly Savalas reads some narration which could have come from a politcical ad:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"This country may be in danger. We could be losing something we can't afford to lose. Once in this country, when a man produced a product, it was the best he could possibly make. He stood behind it with pride. He lived a simple idea <span style="line-height: 107%;">–</span>do it right or don't do it at all. Nobody told him that, no government agency dictated it, and it built a standard of living for the world to aim at. Now that idea is threatened by the slipshod, the second rate..."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fortunately, "some are fighting this threat". Yes, it's the Whirlpool Corporation with its quality appliances.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"If we can't keep this simple idea alive then indeed we are the endantgered species," the commercial concludes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As one YouTube commenter notes, it's an ad that could have been written by Ayn Rand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Toys</span></span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KGlaldZ0F4w/W-S-J8ClChI/AAAAAAAAXlo/ZlzeKwu3rSoVn5OuHbtUpEFv5zjJLmZeACEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bkenner%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bcommercial%2B6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="1061" height="193" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KGlaldZ0F4w/W-S-J8ClChI/AAAAAAAAXlo/ZlzeKwu3rSoVn5OuHbtUpEFv5zjJLmZeACEwYBhgL/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bkenner%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bcommercial%2B6.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ad for Kenner </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> toys during </span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Star Wars Holiday Special</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Finally, the products that young viewers might have wanted to see advertised.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's surprising that there are only three toy ads in this recording.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first is for Trailtacker, a Kenner toy which involves a van following the lines you draw on a mat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The second is for Tobor (it's robot backwards, did you know?). It's a 'telesonic' remote control robot which can go forwards, circle or pick up a "support module".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, there's an ad for Kenner <i>Star Wars </i>toys that would have been hugely exciting for kids at the time. (It's fairly exciting for an adult now, especially with the knowldge of how valuable these toys have become.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QUU1EWWFvmY/W-S-KWUKQUI/AAAAAAAAXlo/3BsCd0QO858jVDlpZVI6n0hmKnB0Q0VkgCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bkenner%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bcommercial%2B7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="959" height="209" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QUU1EWWFvmY/W-S-KWUKQUI/AAAAAAAAXlo/3BsCd0QO858jVDlpZVI6n0hmKnB0Q0VkgCEwYBhgL/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bholiday%2Bspecial%2Bkenner%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bcommercial%2B7.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ad for Kenner </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> toys during </span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Star Wars Holiday Special</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We see a TIE fighter, an X-wing, a radio-controlled R2-D2, a landspeeder, action figures, the Death Star (with "four floors of action" and a trash compactor), and an electronic laser battle game. To make things even more thrilling, it's narrated by C-3PO himself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kenner may have seen the Holiday Special and wondered whether anyone would want <i>Star Wars </i>toys again after watching it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fortunately, it would take more than some lamentable comedy, some bizarre musical sequences and a lot of nonsense about Life Day to put young peopel off <i>Star Wars</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br /></div>
</div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-76378316036938929842018-11-02T15:10:00.000-07:002018-11-02T15:10:43.464-07:00Some unsung heroes of the 1977 Star Wars<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBHtL_6C3B-L08ioeFJrOLsAcXVmUKjF5D44i_Qze0nK3hK1WVRgUb31qWKWFf0_oVLltY0zW8gttPPTVio9FoB1Khx5bnFpYCev80UVF3lgy6chQn25frepj2vU2L_hNDV28JiblZxLz/s1600/star+wars+oscars+visual+effects.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="932" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBHtL_6C3B-L08ioeFJrOLsAcXVmUKjF5D44i_Qze0nK3hK1WVRgUb31qWKWFf0_oVLltY0zW8gttPPTVio9FoB1Khx5bnFpYCev80UVF3lgy6chQn25frepj2vU2L_hNDV28JiblZxLz/s640/star+wars+oscars+visual+effects.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars </i>effects team receive their Oscars from Joan Fontaine</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When you read original, 1970s coverage of <i>Star Wars</i>, you come across a few names which are rarely mentioned today.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>On the other hand, there are a few people who were not named much at the time, but who we later discovered to have been a key part of the film's success.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In offering my list of some unsung <i>Star Wars </i>heroes, I should make one thing clear. I'm not speculating about the reasons some people were less celebrated than others, or whether other people involved in the movie had agendas which edged them out of the picture. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I </span><a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/05/defending-george-lucas-why-you-cant.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wrote in this post</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, there has been a recent trend to try and deny George Lucas the credit he is due as the man who conceived the whole thing, which is misguided. However, some people involved in the film do seem to have been appreciated less than they might be.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I considered including the film's producer, <a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/09/gary-kurtz-1940-2018-obituary.html">the late Gary Kurtz</a>, but while he parted company with Lucasfilm, he was often interviewed about the movie and his contribution, so I think most fans were well aware of his importance. Here are a few names that a wider audience might not be made aware of.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, screenwriters</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetQLkfd-W9HxTH5hawCOpp_kqQGPmd4Qe1G6sl68jVdbddmWiUeFE274SkIGt88vh5GSLmdC2c_lMfDuokgqarjiEJP1UGAuAbZBcu0N5ZDfJPumO4UKW3h_0fWcDw2VpDBL-rA3gWDGa/s1600/willard+huyck+gloria+katz+george+lucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetQLkfd-W9HxTH5hawCOpp_kqQGPmd4Qe1G6sl68jVdbddmWiUeFE274SkIGt88vh5GSLmdC2c_lMfDuokgqarjiEJP1UGAuAbZBcu0N5ZDfJPumO4UKW3h_0fWcDw2VpDBL-rA3gWDGa/s400/willard+huyck+gloria+katz+george+lucas.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz with George Lucas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">George Lucas did not quite write the script of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">alone. He did suffer through the writing of four complete drafts of the film, and the story is very much his. But at the last minute, he asked his friends Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz to give his dialogue a polish. The husband-and-wife team had revised Lucas's script for </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American Graffiti</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, and they had written the poorly-received 1975 comedy drama </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucky Lady </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(1975), whose production designer John Barry would move on to do </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The book <i>Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays </i>puts asterisks next to the lines that Huyck and Katz revised, and their contribution looks significant. If a line struck you as snappy and funny, it's quite likely that they had a hand in it. They clearly contributed to the overall sense of fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Huyck and Katz would work with Lucas three more times: <i>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom</i>, <i>Howard the Duck </i>and <i>Radioland Murders</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jim Nelson, ILM runner/associate producer</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM41-tsyS4TS4p-je2TZAzl56pQ8eNG6TbVkXThZv-AhSjijCnrxYYcprdUxMU7YXbRt1pIZ_pafeiGfuA8uydyKR9nihOJgfqNY0ppCta8CkMf1ulnwuRlGTSncY9slyHEg2UMlNg2osL/s1600/jim+nelson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="707" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM41-tsyS4TS4p-je2TZAzl56pQ8eNG6TbVkXThZv-AhSjijCnrxYYcprdUxMU7YXbRt1pIZ_pafeiGfuA8uydyKR9nihOJgfqNY0ppCta8CkMf1ulnwuRlGTSncY9slyHEg2UMlNg2osL/s320/jim+nelson.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jim Nelson (photo: Dave Berry/Star Wars Aficionado)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like Huyck and Katz, Jim Nelson is missing from the credits of <i>Star Wars</i>. In his case, the reason is that he reportedly asked to go uncredited, following a falling-out with George Lucas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Usually billed as James Nelson, he had a background in sound, in films ranging from <i>Rock Around the Clock </i>to <i>The Exorcist</i>. His job on <i>Star Wars </i>was to establish the visual effects unit Industrial Light and Magic, building it up from a warehouse at Van Nuys, California. It was Nelson who recruited the film's supervisor of miniature and optical effects, John Dykstra. So while it's always hard to guess from the outside who did what on a movie, we can gather that he made a significant contribution.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Garry Jenkins' 1997 book <i>Empire Building </i>says Nelson had been expecting credit as associate producer of <i>Star Wars</i>:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Lucas told him he did not agree and suggested he was credited further down the titles with the techncians. he did not feel Nelson had contributed anything 'artistic' to the film. After a blazing row in which he told Lucas he had 'no idea' of the role he had played in the production, Nelson took his name off the creidts completely. Despite Lucas's pleas that he reconsider, <i>Star Wars </i>was released without any mention of his contribution at all."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nelson was later associate producer on <i>The China Syndrome </i>before going into the effects business with <i>Star Wars </i>colleague Richard Edlund, consulting on the likes of <i>Ghostbusters</i>, <i>2010 </i>and <i>Big Trouble in Little China</i>. He died in 2014, aged 81.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Stears, special production and mechanical effects supervisor</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR9WFBrKx60HVND7zPEFdKMS6qttEiPFr3sUm0Dyi97u7IVl23gVLjqOpI_aHZg9QixV91g3q5x2Mzq51V_0PF1fXcdi7aMFFUkzuitlN_fkU-c6FCMZ7ywCwVWJd2RED5g_CqY6nJmgJ/s1600/john+stears+landspeeder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="652" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR9WFBrKx60HVND7zPEFdKMS6qttEiPFr3sUm0Dyi97u7IVl23gVLjqOpI_aHZg9QixV91g3q5x2Mzq51V_0PF1fXcdi7aMFFUkzuitlN_fkU-c6FCMZ7ywCwVWJd2RED5g_CqY6nJmgJ/s400/john+stears+landspeeder.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Stears with the landspeeder he created</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We rightly hear a lot about the brilliance of the miniature and optical effects created by Industrial Light and Magic for <i>Star Wars</i>. But much less is written of the practical effects created by a UK team under the direction of Bond films veteran John Stears – from the droids and landspeeders to explosions and the advancing walls of the garbage crusher.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wrote about Stears and his contribution to <i>Star Wars </i><a href="https://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/10/john-stears-man-who-built-r2-d2.html">here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marcia Lucas and Richard Chew, editors</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnaqjzpeZn-HUaSdSxS9RMqK4DdGwSqLvymLKcNP8vB1bLX7inKh-k909o3vhhVUI0_4JOokj_K9APEC0957QVueNwO9qeWEvAv6oCplu4XPkDISo6CWX1jR212aRlgDj8EK-vThlDx1ep/s1600/richard+chew+marcia+lucas+paul+hirsch+star+wars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="453" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnaqjzpeZn-HUaSdSxS9RMqK4DdGwSqLvymLKcNP8vB1bLX7inKh-k909o3vhhVUI0_4JOokj_K9APEC0957QVueNwO9qeWEvAv6oCplu4XPkDISo6CWX1jR212aRlgDj8EK-vThlDx1ep/s400/richard+chew+marcia+lucas+paul+hirsch+star+wars.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars</i>' film editors: Richard Chew, <br />Marcia Lucas, Paul Hirsch</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were three editors on Star Wars: Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas and Richard Chew. So why am I just mentioning two of them here?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Paul Hirsch went on to edit a lot of successful films, including <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, most of Brian De Palma's movies, <i>Planes, Trains and Automobiles </i>and <i>Falling Down</i>, so it's clear he remained one of the leaders in his field.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Richard Chew is less often mentioned. He went on to cut some successful films, including <i>Risky Business</i>, <i>That Thing You Do!</i> and <i>Waiting to Exhale</i>, but I can't help thinking his name doesn't get mentioned enough.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Marcia Lucas had been one of the leading film editors of the 1970s, cutting Martin Scorsese's </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taxi Driver </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New York, New York</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. She and George </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">split in 1983 and she got a large part of his fortune in the divorce settlement before marrying a craftsman she met at Skywalker Ranch. She never worked as an editor again after </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Return of the Jedi</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marcia was clearly more involved than the average editor throughout the creation of <i>Star Wars</i>, and we know that she contributed ideas such as the decision to kill off Obi-Wan Kenobi, rather than have him alive but doing nothing for the last part of the film. But her contribution does seem to have been downplayed in some of the official histories.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Recently, I think some people online have gone too far the other way, talking up Marcia's contribution as a way of trying to deny George the credit for his own movie. From the outside, we can never know exactly how to divide credit for a film, but I think her absence from official documentaries and books certainly qualifies her as an unsung hero of <i>Star Wars</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Lippincott, advertising/publicity supervisor</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiViENkMXfGjLyl6IFeoXHtIpqCe6k3-u3VXjSDOJnLAyf2x1LNlTl5Fiv_2A-nnIZtLPWUP9iORjydf64chZNO0QhD7IUciZG0OPQJwrznk3quCNoblrDDdcSVWo4toKgFA_mFQGGpjrYt/s1600/star+wars+charles+lippincott+1976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiViENkMXfGjLyl6IFeoXHtIpqCe6k3-u3VXjSDOJnLAyf2x1LNlTl5Fiv_2A-nnIZtLPWUP9iORjydf64chZNO0QhD7IUciZG0OPQJwrznk3quCNoblrDDdcSVWo4toKgFA_mFQGGpjrYt/s320/star+wars+charles+lippincott+1976.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Lippincott in 1976</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">His job title in the creidts probably doesn't accurately reflect the part Charles Lippincott played in the success of <i>Star Wars</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He was more than a publicity supervisor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In line with Lucas's shrewd belief in the power of merchandising, Lippincott helped get Del Rey to publish <i>Star Wars </i>books, Marvel to produce a comics adaptation and Kenner to commit to <i>Star Wars </i>toys. And he went to conventions with slides, artwork and props to drum up interest among genre fans before the film was released. If he had been less successful, <i>Star Wars </i>might not have permeated every aspect of 1977 culture the way it did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Alan Ladd Jr, studio boss</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5tux66ty395DCWN5qvCW8hP5nW3OAatygN9XTeM-Gu0M_mIyrAAMhx7rLq15r6lutMJfqd0rd9_sPla78BnzgkZm11_9EQV1XLByaimsgMsj-Q6BOjdbZgOYBwX2GgBjHiX16XB_Rn0Q/s1600/alan+ladd+star+wars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5tux66ty395DCWN5qvCW8hP5nW3OAatygN9XTeM-Gu0M_mIyrAAMhx7rLq15r6lutMJfqd0rd9_sPla78BnzgkZm11_9EQV1XLByaimsgMsj-Q6BOjdbZgOYBwX2GgBjHiX16XB_Rn0Q/s400/alan+ladd+star+wars.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Alan Ladd Jr </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, we turn to the man who really got <i>Star Wars </i>made.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Alan Ladd Jr was head of production at 20th Century-Fox when it picked up the project that most other studios had passed on (including Universal and United Artists, both of which had the right to pick up George Lucas projects before other studios). In August 1976, when the film was in post-production, he was promoted to president,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He overcame the reservations of the Fox board to green-light the film with a budget of $8million. He stuck with the movie through a troubled production, as it fell behind schedule and over-budget. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Fox was asked for an extra $20,000 to film some extra shots in Death Valley that had not been done in Tunisia, Ladd was called before the 14 members of the Fox board to explain why the film had over-run. He said: "<span style="text-indent: 1.27cm;">Because it’s possibly the greatest
picture ever made.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 1.27cm;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 1.27cm;">Ladd would also green-light <i>Alien</i>, but he is said to have been blamed by the Fox board for the less attractive deal that was struck with Lucas for <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, and he left the company. Since he believed in the concept from the beginning, but is probably unknown to most non-fans, it's surely appropriate to make Alan Ladd Jr the ultimate unsung <i>Star Wars </i>hero. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 1.27cm;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 1.27cm;"><b>Do you agree with this choice of <i>Star Wars</i>' unsung heroes? Who might you add to the list? I'd be interested in your comments. </b></span></span>Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-28529863901225543932018-10-26T11:35:00.000-07:002018-10-26T11:35:47.082-07:00Screen Scene magazine - where Star Wars sat alongside Logan's Run and The Tomorrow People<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu4fXww0-RTGNJm_yf4ZUkJ1XGl9souZr7sLg1i8mTC5yfoKp3IEDpkPo_0H7wPTcILxEfWo4-IYj9OZsWC0MKjPIQfk6HzJ5fH3WRuYM-7dsQ5F2kgOLLoMLG0_xuDfD13Bdf4JvzP8k/s1600/screenscene++star+wars+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1179" data-original-width="1600" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu4fXww0-RTGNJm_yf4ZUkJ1XGl9souZr7sLg1i8mTC5yfoKp3IEDpkPo_0H7wPTcILxEfWo4-IYj9OZsWC0MKjPIQfk6HzJ5fH3WRuYM-7dsQ5F2kgOLLoMLG0_xuDfD13Bdf4JvzP8k/s640/screenscene++star+wars+poster.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Star Wars poster in Screen Scene issue 5</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The 1970s fashion for poster magazines encompassed pretty much every area of popular culture: pop stars, Kung Fu, horror films and, of course, <i>Star Wars</i>.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>We've already examined some issues of the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i>. Now here's a short look at a one-off edition of a British poster magazine which reminds us of some of the other entertainment that was around at the same time.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Screen Scene </i>looks at <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eE4iwprh9z8/W9NUENlk2oI/AAAAAAAAXeo/2yKDBzysorEI9dz679cAfHqFhsweXOsYgCEwYBhgL/s1600/screenscene%2Bsar%2Bwars%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1086" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eE4iwprh9z8/W9NUENlk2oI/AAAAAAAAXeo/2yKDBzysorEI9dz679cAfHqFhsweXOsYgCEwYBhgL/s400/screenscene%2Bsar%2Bwars%2Bcover.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars </i>cover of <i>Screen Scene </i>number 5</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Screen Scene </i>was a poster magazine from Rulebourne Ltd of North London, edited by Chris Holloway and costing 35p. The only issues I've come across online were dominated by that other big film phenomenon of 1977, John Travolta. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For issue five, the subject switched to science fiction, with a poster split between two separate shots of C-3PO and R2-D2. The Threepio shot looks like it's from the laying of the droids' footprints in the cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The cover was dominated by a picture of R2-D2, with an inset of the Throne Room scene and the words "Inside <i>Star Wars</i>" and "Revealing full-length features".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In fact, the features were not all that revealing, and gave the sense of being rewritten from other sources.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A spread titled "Rebels from <i>Star Wars</i>" began: </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“A space world that is as used, dirty and battered as our
own is created in the fabulous sci-fi film <i>Star Wars </i>by writer-director George
Lucas.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He wanted the scene and the props for the film to look real
and, of course, real things are used and don’t stay shiny and new for long.”</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The piece went on to say that the robots had become the "unintentional stars" of the film. It mentioned that 3'8" tall Kenny Baker was inside R2-D2.(Oddly, the article mentions Baker's role as half of a cabaret duet, the Minitones, but says the other half of it was "brother Jacky", rather than friend Jack Purvis.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for his companion: </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“In the shape of C-3PO was another English actor, 32-year-old Anthony Daniels who grew up in Harpenden.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He has appeared at the Young Vic and many other theatres but never disguised as</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">a machine!”</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's about all the material the writers seemed to be able to generate on <i>Star Wars</i>, so it was on to some other science fiction material that was around in the UK at the time.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Logan's Run </i>on TV</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqCo2yJDUMY/W9NUEaAISqI/AAAAAAAAXe0/FMgtFbpg_rAldPXWDNcAva_mfRlhmwbJQCEwYBhgL/s1600/screen%2Bscene%2Blogan%2527s%2Brun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqCo2yJDUMY/W9NUEaAISqI/AAAAAAAAXe0/FMgtFbpg_rAldPXWDNcAva_mfRlhmwbJQCEwYBhgL/s400/screen%2Bscene%2Blogan%2527s%2Brun.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Screen Scene</i>'s coverage of <i>Logan's Run</i></span><i> </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The TV spin-off from the 1976 film <i>Logan's Run </i>was broadcast in the US from September 1977 to February 1978, but the sudden boom in science fiction was not enough to save it from cancellation.</span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the time <i>Screen Scene </i>came out, it would have been a recent arrival on British TV, and the magazine greeted it enthusiastically:</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"The year is 2319 and a Shattering [sic] atomic holocaust has
destroyed all communication between survivors on Earth.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This super sci-fi series was based on a film of the same name
which was a big hit in 1976 with Michael York and Jenny Agutter."</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There's some interesting material about the two stars. Heather Menzies had got into films through ballet, featuring in <i>The Sound of Music</i>. Gregory Harrison had been a struggling actor when he was spotted in a play by Jack Lemmon and Jason Robards. ”Jason Robards was so impressed by Greg’s
performance that he came backstage to tell him so! Then followed TV and finally
the big part as Logan," we were told. But like the series itself, the article could have gone on longer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Tomorrow People</span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-neeGIGt4Fwk/W9NUFnwKILI/AAAAAAAAXe0/2HnXHQ2JrV0oacJ5Eaqk6E5-04r4O0EAACEwYBhgL/s1600/screenscene%2Btomorrow%2Bpeople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="1600" height="287" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-neeGIGt4Fwk/W9NUFnwKILI/AAAAAAAAXe0/2HnXHQ2JrV0oacJ5Eaqk6E5-04r4O0EAACEwYBhgL/s400/screenscene%2Btomorrow%2Bpeople.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Screen Scene</i>'s coverage of <i>The Tomorrow People</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Tomorrow People </i>was British commercial television's answer to <i>Doctor Who</i>, although its low production values often made the BBC show look expensive by comparison. It ran from 1973-79 on ITV and was revived in Britain in 1994 and the US in 2013-14.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The show was about to return to the screen at the time of this <i>Screen Scene </i>special: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"When <i>The Tomorrow People </i>come back on the air in May you are
going to see the arrival of a new member to the original crusading threesome," the article began.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hsui Tai (played by Japanese actress Misako Koba is a
Tibetan Goddess who is rescued by John and Mike form a terrible fate!”</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The article then went on to outline was sounded like quite a chilling premise:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Hitler and his henchmen had themselves frozen
at the end of the war and in the late 1970s are due to come back to life.
People who have had injections to keep them perpetual teenagers protect the
frozen bodies.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By using flying bombs the Germans were also able to
explode ECOLII bacteria into the air which was absorbed by the intestines of
people living at that time. This bacteria affected the genetic pattern
creating a pro-Hitler gene.”</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The result was that Hitler and his fellow Nazis would be waking to a world full of devoted followers. Quite a disturbing story for afternoon children's television.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neither the short-lived <i>Logan's Run </i>nor the return of the cheap <i>Tomorrow People </i>was going to replace <i>Star Wars </i>in the affections of its fans. But they both entertained plenty of people and helped sustain an enthusiasm for the genre among young fans. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Seeing those shows put side by side with <i>Star Wars </i>in a cheap and cheerful magazine helps bring back memories of early 1978, when <i>Star Wars </i>mania was spreading around the world and any SF was eagerly lapped up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-87290188451253650242018-10-19T11:00:00.000-07:002018-10-19T11:00:03.205-07:00 What Mark Hamill and Gary Kurtz told science fiction fans about Star Wars in 1976 <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds2IMVF129c2GNDACDk9_kuJK0ckE0fGFRYw3uj7ODja3sKfOgsT8JgKuNDaDUh_PoyOzIXpqRmAANqmSrd15YWhcI19lwYvLt_mnICi9qrzC5i5EEOAj3A1NsHLHy54gNktuXrqlihxN/s1600/charles+lippincott%252C+gary+kurtz%252C+mark+hamill+midamericon+1976.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="887" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds2IMVF129c2GNDACDk9_kuJK0ckE0fGFRYw3uj7ODja3sKfOgsT8JgKuNDaDUh_PoyOzIXpqRmAANqmSrd15YWhcI19lwYvLt_mnICi9qrzC5i5EEOAj3A1NsHLHy54gNktuXrqlihxN/s640/charles+lippincott%252C+gary+kurtz%252C+mark+hamill+midamericon+1976.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Lippincott, Gary Kurtz and Mark Hamill promoting <i>Star Wars </i>at MidAmeriCon 1976</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
In 1976, well before Star Wars was ready for release, a campaign was going on to make science fiction fans aware of it. </b></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b><br /><b>Charles Lippincott, who was in charge of merchandising and publicity for the film, organised convention appearances, at which he or producer Gary Kurtz would explain what the film was about. They would take artwork and information sheets with them and slow slides (yes, slides) to give some idea of the look of the movie. <br /><br />As I wrote in a <a href="https://amazingstories.com/2018/10/gary-kurtz-the-man-who-introduced-sf-fandom-to-star-wars/">blog post at <i>Amazing Stories</i></a> recently, Gary Kurtz was the face of Star Wars for many fans back then, patiently explaining what the film was about. </b><br /><b>One of those appearances is available on video – and it reminds us of a time when pictures from <i>Star Wars </i>seemed weird and exotic, and no one knew quite what the movie would be like. <br /></b> <a name='more'></a><br /><br /><br /> </span><h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars</i> at MidAmeriCon, 1976 </span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gmhjvkj8_aw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gmhjvkj8_aw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
Mark Hamill joined Gary Kurtz and Charles Lippincott in talking about <i>Star Wars </i>to an audience at the 34th World Science Fiction Convention, or MidAmeriCon, in Kansas City, Missouri, in September 1976. <br /><br />As the video shows, the audience was not that large, some of the questions were distinctly hostile and the flow of questions eventually started to dry up. It’s a far cry from the vast convention venues full of adoring crowds which we would see today. <br /><br />Kurtz did most of the talking, though Hamill got a chance to contribute and to explain what a fan he was of genre movies. What follows isn’t the whole content of the video, but it a look at some of the key questions and answers. </span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Q&A with Gary Kurtz and Mark Hamill</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-QKapEEWBY4mHT6AbnTFxcnfKLWg4Q1mQ32zwQ2Edm0D1MYLDkt1xqzI17Ao6-OgHoKWkJUTaMGLq2pkVZPMixy_-0LvylLW5DAPrhvt0eBCDrQHfNcI27JnKTUPWpOW1FXznk2HgwvG/s1600/stormtrooper+dewback.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="410" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-QKapEEWBY4mHT6AbnTFxcnfKLWg4Q1mQ32zwQ2Edm0D1MYLDkt1xqzI17Ao6-OgHoKWkJUTaMGLq2pkVZPMixy_-0LvylLW5DAPrhvt0eBCDrQHfNcI27JnKTUPWpOW1FXznk2HgwvG/s400/stormtrooper+dewback.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This seems to have been among the images <br />shown as slides to convention-goers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>The first question was an objection to Princess Leia’s costume. “Haven’t you ever seen any Amazing covers?” the questioner asked. </i><br /><br />Kurtz: “This is a G-rated movie. And we’ve got to remember women’s liberation at this time. We aren’t sexually selling female or males in this film, sexual exploitation. After all, she’s part of the royal family.” <br /><br /><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>The second question was particularly hostile. “I don’t want to throw ground glass into this but are you people intending to lay on us some cliched plot again? Marvellous special effects but where the hell is the plot in any of these science fiction movies?” There was some dissent, with someone calling “Space opera” and another saying “This will be good”. </i><br /><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtz: “It depends on what you mean by plot. This is an action adventure story. It’s set in outer space. it’s just like <i>John Carter on Mars </i>or <i>Flash Gordon </i>or any other action adventure. It’s not a science-oriented story.” <br /><br /><i>Hamill returned to this subject shortly afterwards: </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i>“One time when we were shooting some of the action sequences, trying to get the princess out of the detention cell on the Death Star, one of the British crew members came up to me and he said, ‘Don’t you think it’s just a little phoney that you have these 40,000 stormtroopers after you and you have not been hit once? I mean, can’t you just get a little flak on your arm?’ <br /><br />“And by that time I knew and George had really told me and Gary had really told me, it’s just not that kind of movie, it’s a fairy tale, it’s sweet and it’s a swashbuckler. Cliché, maybe that’s the adjective to use but that sort of sums it all, it’s just a romantic… the most romantic scene I have with Carrie I get a kiss on the cheek, not on the lips, for luck.” <br /><br /><br /><i>Kurtz was asked which studio was backing the film. </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i>“This picture is being financed and distributed by 20th Century-Fox, but it was a bit of a trick to get them to become interested in this type of film at all.” <br /><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>A questioner asked about the future of science fiction films. </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i>Kurtz: “I hope they’ll stay around like they should all the time. there’s no reason we cab’t have some science fiction every year just like we have some westerns, some police shows or some anything else. <i>(Applause.) </i>It’s just that they’re very very expensive and since <i>Forbidden Planet </i>there hasn’t been a really good action adventure and costs have escalated so much in the three years we prepared this picture the budget went up 20% a year just from inflation, just the cost of nails and lumbar and plastic and metal and everything else, so it is very expensive for what you get out of it, but once you have it a sequel to this picture would cost half as much because we still have a whole warehouse full of hardware in London.” <br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2zhhhRemHO_n6T2JyUl252SL4wXPSFRqrIA_QsnmTjOsydPJrFWqtRwZWF2ZzY-rEac7WZQ9fW7-xkdjpjsRbELigFQD6aX52TjrqRxtJxqOlKXDdVS99kbAR_6lKitGnvPYNCjh0awK/s1600/vader+duel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2zhhhRemHO_n6T2JyUl252SL4wXPSFRqrIA_QsnmTjOsydPJrFWqtRwZWF2ZzY-rEac7WZQ9fW7-xkdjpjsRbELigFQD6aX52TjrqRxtJxqOlKXDdVS99kbAR_6lKitGnvPYNCjh0awK/s400/vader+duel.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz was asked about the "light swords" of <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div>
<br /><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></i></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>“How do you handle those light swords?” </i><br /><br />Kurtz: “They’re used like samurai swords are, large swords. You don’t duel with them like Three Musketeers style. “The beam is about three or four feet long and it works like a regular sword. They cut through things and when they hit each other, they spark and arc.” <br /><br /><br /><i>“Has a decision been made about a composer for the film?” </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtz: “Yes, John Williams, who did <i>Jaws</i>. We hope that the score will be a large orchestra, romantic sore in the Max Steiner, Ernst [sic] Korngold, Alfred Newman tradition.” <i>(Applause.)</i> “There’s no electronic music.” <br /><br /><br /><i>“Why did you want to do a science fiction film?” </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtz: “Three or four years ago when we were preparing <i>American Graffiti</i>, we were sitting around looking in the newspaper one night to see what to go see and there wasn’t anything and we said ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be great to be able to go see a <i>John Carter </i>or <i>Flash Gordon </i>kind of movie?’ That was really the basis for it.” <br /><br /><br /><i>“Did you ever give any thought to trying to put on one of the episodes of </i>John Carter on Mars<i>?” </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtz: “Well, the problem with any established thing – <i>Flash Gordon</i>, <i>John Carter</i>, Doc Smith, anything – is that everybody has their own idea what it should be like. It doesn’t mean it can’t be done but it’s much more difficult and also the rights for a lot of that stuff are tied up.” <br /><br /><br /><i>Asked who was doing </i>Star Wars' <i>special effects, Kurtz explained something about John Stears’ work and that of Industrial Light and Magic, before adding: </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“There aren’t very many people left in the Hollywood system who are working in special effects are because we went through so many years when there were no effects pictures at all, they’ve either retired or they’re about to retire... <br /><br />“All of our people are younger, all of our model makers and things, and they may stay in the field, they may not, because there isn’t a whole lot of work. Right now there is because, between Steven Spielberg’s picture and our picture and what Irwin Allen is doing and a couple of other people, everybody is working, but next year there may be nothing and they wont’ be able to work so they may get out and become encyclopaedia salesmen.” <br /><br /><br /><i>Kurtz was asked whether there would be a series of films. </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtz: “Whether we make a series or not depends on how successful the film is and whether the distributor is interested in going further with it. there’s a sequel novel being written and maybe more novels based on the characters and the ideas but whether or not we make any more films is up in the air right now.” <br /><br /><br /><i>“Will you be playing this straight or straight or camp and cute?” </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtz: “No, it’s a straight adventure. There are humorous overtones in certain of the scenes but otherwise it’s a straight action adventure.” <br /><br />Hamill: “It’s not camp, it’s not tongue in cheek, but funny things do happen. Robots have most of the funny lines.” <br /><br /><br /> <br /><i>Asked how much money the film would have to make to break even, Kurtz replied: </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Well the picture will cost a little over $7 million, direct cost, so we would have to gross back to the distributor in rentals, not box office, about $18 million or $19 million to break even. That’s one of the reason more science fiction pictures aren’t made.” <br /><br />Hamill: “Yeah, everybody go see it twice.” <br /><br /><br /> <br /><i>Was Hamill concerned about being typecast in science fiction? </i><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“I love science fiction <i>(applause) </i>and I’m not saying that just to be popular. This is my fourth convention. It’s the first one I’ve been invited to. All the others I paid for and got there myself. I like the work and I love <i>Star Wars</i>.” <br /><br /><br /><br />The session ends with Charles Lippincott telling people about screenings of George Lucas’s student film <i>Electronic Labyrinth </i>and of its feature-length incarnation <i>THX 1138</i>. And then he tells the audience when they can drop by to find out more about the film from the three guests, and see some props and artwork. <br /><br />Can you imagine the stampede today if people were asked to go and speak to Mark Hamill and look at some <i>Star Wars </i>props? <br /><br />We’re fortunate that this video survives, because it’s a reminder of just how hard Lippincott and Kurtz worked as ambassadors for the film – and how, even among science fiction fans, <i>Star Wars </i>was by no means a guaranteed success. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What did you know about <i>Star Wars </i>before it was released? Had you heard about it at any fan events? I'd be keen to hear your memories. Please leave a comment below.</b></span></div>
</div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-83996430770935998452018-10-12T11:00:00.000-07:002018-10-12T11:00:08.849-07:00The Star Wars Official Poster Monthly #3<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-huYp2WhE4nY/W7_OpvJvJmI/AAAAAAAAXWM/YFA06c9SPeATymHDrvO08FaEVzFQ4u4TgCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1052" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-huYp2WhE4nY/W7_OpvJvJmI/AAAAAAAAXWM/YFA06c9SPeATymHDrvO08FaEVzFQ4u4TgCLcBGAs/s640/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2B3.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The fold-out poster in <i>Star Wars <br />Official Poster Monthly </i>#3</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The words “Giant Darth Vader poster inside” were enough to sell almost any child on issue three of <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i>. <br /><br />In the last article (at least for now) about those original 1970s poster magazines, I’ll take a look at articles that ranged from a profile of Han Solo to the very exciting news that we would soon have robot servants. </b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The third edition of the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>featured Han Solo on the cover in the US, and the droids for the UK version. As with the previous editions, the content was produced in the UK and sent back to the US for publication. American readers got it in December 1977, British ones in March 1978. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58IZvj3pZ7U/W7_PERLNMqI/AAAAAAAAXW4/04LC91diWBsKJRmQYT49ItwUdyETZiQEQCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2B3%2Bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="196" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58IZvj3pZ7U/W7_PERLNMqI/AAAAAAAAXW4/04LC91diWBsKJRmQYT49ItwUdyETZiQEQCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2B3%2Bus.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The US cover of <i>Star Wars<br />Official Poster Monthly</i> #3<br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span><div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The poster in that UK edition of the third poster magazine is very 1970s and quite unlike most other Vader pictures. There is the Dark Lord in a group shot with three stormtroopers, against a bright almost mirrored background that looks like it could have come from an early pop video. They also seem to be standing on oven foil. </span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p3xQ99Z3po0/W7_OxkjwijI/AAAAAAAAXWk/hvfArHBXvTs8Jk_1OHp8u84iaA14nrKWgCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmothly%2B3%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1214" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p3xQ99Z3po0/W7_OxkjwijI/AAAAAAAAXWk/hvfArHBXvTs8Jk_1OHp8u84iaA14nrKWgCEwYBhgL/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmothly%2B3%2Bcover.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The UK cover of</span> <i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Star Wars<br />Official Poster Monthly</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> #3</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It may look dated now, but it was extremely impressive at the time, and my own copy of this magazine bears all the signs of spending a long time on a bedroom wall. <br /><br />Before you unfolded the magazine, there were some very good articles to read. In an introduction, the British authors boated that they had “something pretty hot” – the first part of an interview with production effects supervisor John Stears, which we examined last week. <br /><br />The Stears piece was indeed a fascinating, and fairly rare, interview. But there was some good content beyond that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">‘Han Solo – Rogue Spacer’ </span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P020Va1Kxl0/W7_Ox8vTRCI/AAAAAAAAXWs/6GGGl1A-P0sh-Y_y_Qo0L1ZgfGeZMJhQACEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2Bsolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P020Va1Kxl0/W7_Ox8vTRCI/AAAAAAAAXWs/6GGGl1A-P0sh-Y_y_Qo0L1ZgfGeZMJhQACEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2Bsolo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>profile of Han Solo</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After the fascinating look at Darth Vader’s story in issue two, the poster magazine turned its attention to Han Solo, in a profile by John May. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Whereas the Vader article added some back story – drawing on an interview George Lucas had given to <i>Rolling Stone </i>– this one had no surprises to reveal. Instead, it did a good job of going over what was in the film and the <i>Star Wars </i>novel, and making it seem fresh. <br /><br />It told us about Solo’s activity as a spice smuggler, and how he was in trouble with Jabba the Hut (one ‘T’, as it was commonly spelled back then). And it painted a pen portrait of his character. “What Solo lacks in finer feelings he makes up for in reckless courage and skill with his blaster. But when he and the Princess meet, sparks fly,” it said. <br /><br />When dialogue was quoted, it was from the novel, rather than the film – suggesting, again, that the writers did not have a <i>Star Wars </i>screenplay to work from. For example, Solo’s line in the Death Star detention block, “Either I’m going to kill her or I’m beginning to like her”, becomes “Either I’m beginning to like her, or I’m going to kill her myself”.<br /><br />Without any warning that we’re about to encounter spoilers, the article takes us all the way up to the end of the film, telling how Solo shoots Vader’s wing man out of the way so that Luke can fire his missile into the Death Star’s exhaust port. <br /><br />It concludes: “So Han Solo, the reckless, greedy, sarcastic mercenary, showed that when the chips were down he was a friend you could count on.” <br /><br />As I read that line again when researching this blog post, I realised something. I’m pretty sure I borrowed that turn of phrase in writing assignments at school. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">‘Robotics – from Artoos to Quasars’ </span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F6BXO3xFwbU/W7_Q_AcM1hI/AAAAAAAAXXE/y_eKkyL1atUau6-VzmWV616-5_EBS6R7QCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2Bdroids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1097" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F6BXO3xFwbU/W7_Q_AcM1hI/AAAAAAAAXXE/y_eKkyL1atUau6-VzmWV616-5_EBS6R7QCLcBGAs/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2Bdroids.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Official Poster <br />Monthly</i> article on robotics</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In a piece that drew heavily on knowledge of the world outside the film, the Dr M.F. Marten magazine examined the subject of androids. <br /><br />About half the article was an analysis of the way the robots behaved in the film. Marten noted that Threepio was “a mass of human-analog feelings”, adding: “He worries about his old age, gets frightened of being deactivated or having his memory flushed, and suffers terrible anguish when he thinks his human friends are ding in the Death Star garbage disposal unit.” <br /><br />But Marten managed to relate <i>Star Wars </i>to the real life state of computing and robotics: </span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“At first sight such machine emotion seems to be just a far-fetched trick to capture the hearts of the cinema-going public. In fat it is a realistic extrapolation of current trends in computer science. The image of the cold, unfeeling machine is false. Take the diagnostic computers already in service in many modern hospitals. They examiner the patient, question him about his symptoms, and are specially programmed to appear patient, tolerant and sympathetic.”</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Modern robotics is by no means so far behind the <i>Star Wars </i>vision as people think. Robot vehicles traverse the wastes of the Antarctic and explore the depths of the oceans, robot planes spy on enemy armies, and robot landers (Vikings 1 & 2) investigate the terrain of Mars. Whatever their shape or purpose, these ar eintelligent machines, sensing and responding to their environment.” </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psychiatrists in Florida were using paramedic robots to communicate with children, Marten said, while Maryland University had conducted experiments with android teachers. <br /><br />And then came some really exciting stuff: </span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for domestic chores, you’ll soon be able to buy a household robot called Quasar. A 13-stone, battery operated droid, it can serve dinner, op the floor, babysit, and walk the dog. It has a bubble for a head, two long arms, and enough reserve power to run a 60-watt bulb for 30 hours if there’s a blackout. Quasar also has a 250-word vocabulary and a choice of personalities. Its American inventor, Tony Reichelt, is planning to manufacture 125 Quasars a day within two years.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Forty years later, I can still remember reading out this passage to my mother, who was less thrilled than I expected about the prospect of a robot taking over the domestic drudgery. I thought this was pretty seismic news for a household which had yet to swap its twin-tub washing machine for an automatic. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S0cRvLuwU4o/W7_Ro2L6yTI/AAAAAAAAXXU/6fAzm6Jfj_0E_vb4i8xEeYF1nudqiqE2wCLcBGAs/s1600/quasar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S0cRvLuwU4o/W7_Ro2L6yTI/AAAAAAAAXXU/6fAzm6Jfj_0E_vb4i8xEeYF1nudqiqE2wCLcBGAs/s320/quasar.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A 'real' robot <br />from Quasar</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sadly, it seems the <i>Official Poster Monthly </i>was one of several publications repeating claims that could not quite be supported. Tony Reichelt of Quasar Industries had indeed been showing off a domestic robot, usually referred to as Klatu; but <a href="https://mmcirvin.livejournal.com/402286.html">according to people who have studied it</a>, these demonstrations usually involved the robots being operated by remote control, with a human being speaking into a microphone to produce the voice. <br /><br />One commenter who claims to have known him says Reichelt was a <a href="http://thenonist.com/index.php/weblog/comments/2959/">“lovable con man”</a>. Someone else who was there says Quasar’ was actually involved in “<a href="http://cyberneticzoo.com/tag/tony-reichelt/">the magic of remotely operated robots </a>which delivered enjoyable interactive entertainment”. <br /><br />Either way, I was a bit premature in anticipating the end of housework. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Merchandise in Star Wars Official Poster Monthly #3 </span></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TExkX3RtjSw/W7_Ox9GMXKI/AAAAAAAAXWo/VU2kR3x7Oc0G7y38-XgqOSyUps4QnrOewCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthy%2B3%2Bback.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1189" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TExkX3RtjSw/W7_Ox9GMXKI/AAAAAAAAXWo/VU2kR3x7Oc0G7y38-XgqOSyUps4QnrOewCEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmonthy%2B3%2Bback.jpg" width="296" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Merchandise from<i> Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>#3</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the first time, the back of the UK poster magazine offered a chance to buy some <i>Star Wars </i>merchandise, as well as subscribing to the magazine. <br /><br />They were: <br /><br /><b>Badges </b>– offering a choice of Obi-Wan, Artoo or Luke. <br /><br /><b>Patches </b>– a choice of the <i>Star Wars </i>logo, “May the Force be with you” or “Brotherhood of Jedi Knights”. Any two badges or patches cost 50p. <br /><br /><b>T-shirts </b>– Produced by Karjac and bearing a picture of Chewy (sic) and costing £2.50 <br /><br /><b>Swat </b>– Also from Karjac, for £2.50. <br /><br /><b>Blueprints </b>– “Reproduced from the actual original plans form which the sets were constructed”. Including the Mos Eisley cantina, the Millennium Falcon cockpit and the Death Star interior. Fifteen blueprints for £3.60. <br /><br /><b>Books from Sphere </b>– There was the <i>Science Fiction Quiz Book</i>, subtitled <i>From The Blob to Star Wars</i>. And, excitingly, there was <i>Splinter of the Mind’s Eye</i>. “Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, See Threepio and Artoo Detoo battle with Darth Vader in a spectacular new adventure!” £1.70 bought you both books. <br /><br />I was not among those who sent off my cheque or postal order to Galaxy Publications in London NW6, although I did buy <i>Splinter of the Mind’s Eye </i>in a shop some time later. But like countless <i>Star Wars </i>fans, I spent a fair amount of time reading and re-reading those fascinating ads. <br /><br /><b>Do you have fond memories of the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i>? I’d like to hear about them. Please comment below.</b></span></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-42577422271950347192018-10-05T15:09:00.000-07:002018-10-05T15:09:29.072-07:00John Stears: the man who built R2-D2 <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC5U4d-Y3zTs7OCV_Zl2__CWE5mhd5TvJsdNvPcvpCfZEogODybdGdjroB0bOLtpz49HhKf3cfuqYcWOOjHINt0ixrj-9cgk6w1PMfohHTRQHP7trLTv4WSszNn5RGvf-cP2Lg0OgTl12/s1600/john+stears+landspeeder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="652" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdC5U4d-Y3zTs7OCV_Zl2__CWE5mhd5TvJsdNvPcvpCfZEogODybdGdjroB0bOLtpz49HhKf3cfuqYcWOOjHINt0ixrj-9cgk6w1PMfohHTRQHP7trLTv4WSszNn5RGvf-cP2Lg0OgTl12/s640/john+stears+landspeeder.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Stears with the landspeeder</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b></b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>
There are a few Star Wars personnel whose names were mentioned a lot when the film was released, yet who don’t seem to get the attention today. </b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>One of them is John Stears, the British film industry veteran who was the film’s special production and mechanical effects supervisor. He once described his </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">work on the film as “everything that moves, breaks or falls apart” – including R2-D2, the landspeeder, the garbage masher, and hundreds of other effects. </span></b></span></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Stears before <i>Star Wars </i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAnxTf2vuL-bgQqs1H41v9Pdsi5GudeD2PJof2uuzVB4JS0LIgc7bjePsW8VnnQqEErFolUVIWfbGI0V_qBtv6jJxhI9aIe9KfiJQS9Is0it_9qe6Wp1JX1Bdq48dyHqOEAoms9KNvnPJ/s1600/john+stears+aston+martin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="308" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAnxTf2vuL-bgQqs1H41v9Pdsi5GudeD2PJof2uuzVB4JS0LIgc7bjePsW8VnnQqEErFolUVIWfbGI0V_qBtv6jJxhI9aIe9KfiJQS9Is0it_9qe6Wp1JX1Bdq48dyHqOEAoms9KNvnPJ/s400/john+stears+aston+martin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Aston Martin adapted by John Stears for <i>Goldfinger</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John Stears had something in common with Alec Guinness and John Williams: he had won an Oscar before working on </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. His was for the James Bond film </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thunderball</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Stears was a former draftsman who had been a dispatch rider during his National Service, before making models of buildings for a firm of architects. He also made model aircraft, which led to him being picked to create miniature planes for the biopic of World War Two pilot Dougals Bader, <i>Reach for the Sky </i>(1956). <br /><br />Stears was signed to work for the Rank studios, who used his model-making talents on <i>A Night to Remember </i>(1958), Roy Baker’s film about the Titanic; <i>Carve Her Name With Pride </i>(1958); <i>Sink the Bismarck!</i> (1960); <i>The One That Got Away </i>(1957); <i>Sea Fury </i>(1958); and <i>HMS Defiant </i>(1962). <br /><br />Then as a freelance, he created effects for <i>The Guns of Navarone </i>(1961) and the Disney productions <i>In Search of the Castaways </i>(1962) and <i>Three Lives of Thomasina </i>(1962). <br /><br />All this brought him to the attention of Harry Saltzman and Albert R Broccoli, who were bringing James Bond to the screen in <i>Dr No </i>(1962). He created the effects for three more Bond films: <i>From Russia With Love </i>(1963), <i>Goldfinger </i>(1964), including the creation of that modified Aston Martin with the ejector seat; and <i>Thunderball </i>(1965), the one that bagged him the Academy Award. <br /><br />Stears helped make a car fly in <i>Chitty Chitty Bang Bang </i>(1968), worked on <i>O Lucky Man!</i> (1973) and <i>Theatre of Blood (1973</i>) and continued with the Bond series (<i>You Only Live Twice</i>, 1967; <i>On Her Majesty’s Secret Service</i>, 1969; and <i>The Man With the Golden Gun</i>, 1974) before getting tired of that franchise. <br /><br />It was Peter Beale, the UK head of 20th Century-Fox, who asked the 41-year-old Stears to meet producer Gary Kurtz about working on <i>Star Wars</i>. Stears recalled that he was the first British person to be hired for the movie. <br /><br />“I think the start date was something like April 22 and I had to get all of these mechanical effects together,” he told a 1981 issue of <i>Starlog </i>magazine. “As it turned out, everything worked … on that date and not before.” <br /><br />He added then: “Peter Beale came to me after several weeks of filming had been completed and asked: ‘Johnny what should we do? Should we get out or stay in?’ I told him: ‘Stay in! Stay in! This is going to be a terrific film and Fox is going to make a lot of money.” </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How the landspeeder, the X-wing take-off and the garbage masher worked </span></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyvDd_hybXuaO-oIZa1wz7wE_OQLnJer9CF-mhp5GjI81NxjuFeHtzsHOWPhEQ6mT05mCFfIbsXDd1GlnjpvxEEAcADV5lBTekVt67Li-jCvkbYslmzak2keQhYlPBUmN2yovrPNxJuK9/s1600/john+stears+star+wars+poster+magazine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1123" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyvDd_hybXuaO-oIZa1wz7wE_OQLnJer9CF-mhp5GjI81NxjuFeHtzsHOWPhEQ6mT05mCFfIbsXDd1GlnjpvxEEAcADV5lBTekVt67Li-jCvkbYslmzak2keQhYlPBUmN2yovrPNxJuK9/s400/john+stears+star+wars+poster+magazine.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Stears interviewed for the <br /><i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Issue three of the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>contained one of the relatively few interviews with Stears. In it, he revealed some of the ways by which the <i>Star Wars </i>universe was brought to the screen. <br /><br />We can still read a lot about how the miniature effects were done on <i>Star Wars</i>, but I find it equally fascinating to know how the practical effects were achieved on set. In that word before digital effects, someone had to create working simulations of robots, vehicles and trash compactors. <br /><br />The effects we learned about in that interview included: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The landspeeder:</b></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I remember reading in Star Wars Weekly that the landspeeder effect was created by putting mirrors around the wheels of the vehicle. But that's not the whole story. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<br />The poster magazine described how the landspeeder was supported by “a counter-balanced boom, pivoted, so that with the speeder on one end the entire 5-ton rig could swivel in n arc above the ground.” <br /><br />It added: “A neat piece of movie trickery – the camera moved in the opposite direction to that of the speeder – made it look as if the speeder was moving in a straight line.” <br /><br />As for the speeder itself: “John got hold of the smallest automobile he could find (a British 3-wheeler called a Bond Bug) and chopped the chassis down by 2 feet, bringing the wheels in at the same time. The speeder body was specially built from fibreglass.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The x-wing taking off:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">“Everybody thought it was a great problem to make the thing flt, because the stage the set was built in, you can only hang 30 hundredweights from various parts f it, and the X-wing weighed five tons – a superb model when it was being used, really beautiful,” Stears said. </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">He went on: “But I couldn’t see any problem – all I did was remove some of the studio roof, bring a hundred ton crane up to the side of the building, and up went the X-wing.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The garbage masher:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The garbage room was built over a studio tank, half full with water and rubbish, the poster magazine said. The contents were selected to collapse easily “but you’d be surprised how even a bit of plastic takes an incredible amount of pressure to make it crunch", Stears said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The walls were plywood, mounted on tracks and linked by a series of wires and pulleys to a tractor. “As the tractor winch picked up,” said the magazine, “the walls slid along the tracks.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The sandcrawler:</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Only the bottom half of the Jawa sandcrawler was built full-size, Stears explained. For long shots, a radio-controlled miniature was used, although Stears had suggested building a complete vehicle by lashing together ten tanks. <br /><br />Even the half-sandcrawler “was enough to attract the attention of the Libyan army on the other side of the border”, the magazine said. </span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The only man injured on <i>Star Wars:</i></span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Stears also told in that interview how he was injured during the shooting of the attack on the Rebel blockade runner, as he sat detonating the squibs in the stormtroopers’ armour. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />“I was sitting in my corner, happily firing off explosions. Because the stunt boys had limited vision through their stormtrooper helmets, one of them tripped, came over me and I got clobbered by a gun. I was the only casualty.” </span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Stears after <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQa4uZIxban2jpkhsJY9LpoJJCWj-F42YG0DWrN74Tv8zYmCBlxHDw_P6GTBSH00pTXWL2Y2lbo-AWSmG7TCfcfJ8qKhHZLplf7nkLV66okfftNKTA5zY8zxKmr1JyzkrVxXoHYelddWb/s1600/john+stears+plaque+hillingdon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="250" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQa4uZIxban2jpkhsJY9LpoJJCWj-F42YG0DWrN74Tv8zYmCBlxHDw_P6GTBSH00pTXWL2Y2lbo-AWSmG7TCfcfJ8qKhHZLplf7nkLV66okfftNKTA5zY8zxKmr1JyzkrVxXoHYelddWb/s400/john+stears+plaque+hillingdon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Publicity at the time put Stears’ contribution to <i>Star Wars </i>as very much equal to John Dykstra’s, and they were both among the recipients of the film’s visual effects Oscar. <br /><br />Stears was not asked to return for <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>. Instead, he went on to work on <i>Outland </i>(1981), <i>The Bounty </i>(1984), <i>F/X: Murder by Illusion </i>(1986) and <i>Navy SEALS </i>(1993), before retiring to California. He sold his country home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, to Ozzie Osborne. <br /><br />He was tempted out of retirement to work on a couple of <i>Babylon 5 </i>instalments and on <i>The Mask of Zorro </i>(1998), but was said to have left that production over artistic disagreements. <br /><br />Stears died on April 1999, aged 64. I think he is increasingly looking like one of <i>Star Wars</i>’ unsung heroes. He was one of that endangered species of artists who had to create solid, believable alien environments at 1:1 scale – and make them work. <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> </span></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-28268507274699365082018-09-28T11:00:00.000-07:002018-09-28T11:00:04.031-07:00Gary Kurtz, 1940-2018: an obituary <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64-wrVmV0uQ/W61btR97RSI/AAAAAAAAXOk/fRG7cm9UpOEOUb0WWdIuNjFGVjzYxWxkACLcBGAs/s1600/gary%2Bkurtz%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bthrone%2Broom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64-wrVmV0uQ/W61btR97RSI/AAAAAAAAXOk/fRG7cm9UpOEOUb0WWdIuNjFGVjzYxWxkACLcBGAs/s640/gary%2Bkurtz%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Bthrone%2Broom.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz with Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill <br />on the set of <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Gary Kurtz died on Sunday, September 23, at the age of 78. <br /><br />He was, of course, the producer of <i>Star Wars </i>– and screen credits don’t get much bigger than that. And yet I think he has also become one of <i>Star Wars</i>’ unsung heroes. </b><br /><br /></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz: an appreciation </span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B9wCTPp3_5M/W61btVO2RLI/AAAAAAAAXO0/CagbWbMGRc0nBJrvG-dMOlQSysvnp8m4ACEwYBhgL/s1600/gary%2Bkurtz%2Bproducer%2Bstar%2Bwars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B9wCTPp3_5M/W61btVO2RLI/AAAAAAAAXO0/CagbWbMGRc0nBJrvG-dMOlQSysvnp8m4ACEwYBhgL/s400/gary%2Bkurtz%2Bproducer%2Bstar%2Bwars.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz's producer credit on <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just as George Lucas was nobody’s idea of the stereotypical film director, Gary Kurtz was not your classic, despotic movie producer. <br /><br />Lucas’s first biographer, Dale Pollock, said of him: “Kurtz was a solemn, bearded man who made Lucas seem like an extrovert.” <br /><br />I interviewed Kurtz once and my impression was the same as many people’s: He was calm, thoughtful, and very easy-going. You wondered how such an apparently ego-less man had pushed multi-million dollar movies to completion. But he had, and more successfully than almost anybody else. <br /><br />Throughout most of the 1970s, Kurtz and Lucas were very much a team. And when <i>Star Wars </i>was released, Kurtz became almost as familiar an interviewee as Lucas himself – especially when it came to promoting the film overseas. <br /><br />Kurtz was an affable, eloquent ambassador for the movie, and he had been instrumental in getting it made. He and Lucas seemed so well-suited that you could understand Mark Hamill’s reaction to the eventual break-up of their partnership. Hamill, who has called Kurtz a “lifelong friend”, said it was like “Mom and Dad getting a divorce”. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz before <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5L16w1VdDbM/W61buJkixYI/AAAAAAAAXOw/vkHsWnZbEU0NGXki419phcOGFhpCM2bHgCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bgary%2Bkurtz%2Btunisia.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="1300" height="198" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5L16w1VdDbM/W61buJkixYI/AAAAAAAAXOw/vkHsWnZbEU0NGXki419phcOGFhpCM2bHgCEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bgary%2Bkurtz%2Btunisia.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz on the set of <i>Star Wars </i>in Tunisia</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Born in Los Angeles on July 27, 1940, Kurtz went to the University of Southern California’s film school earlier than George Lucas, graduating in 1963. Afterwards, he got a job at the university, working on medical films for the US Public Health Service and running the film library. </span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He subsequently found work with Roger Corman, accumulating a lot of practical experience. He was assistant director on Monte Hellman’s western </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ride the Whirlwind</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, featuring Jack Nicholson, and served as production manager on </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, starring Basil Rathbone. He cropped up variously as assistant director, second unit director, camera operator, assistant camera operator, sound technician and editor on </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beach Ball</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Queen of Blood Bath</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Shooting </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hostage</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. His experience in low-budget movies would be helpful when it came to making </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">with not quite enough money. </span></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In 1966, Kurtz was drafted to serve in Vietnam, but during basic training he decided he was a conscientious objector. A superior convinced him to join a film unit, and went to Vietnam unarmed, documenting the war on celluloid for three years with the US Marines. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Returning to the US, he managed to graduate to bigger movies, serving as associate producer on <i>Chandler </i>for MGM and <i>Two-Lane Blacktop</i>, again directed by Monte Hellman, for Universal. His work for Hellman would lead him to discover an arty young film director called George Lucas.</span><br /><br /></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Gary Kurtz met George Lucas</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-18Xb3pAHaBs/W61c5Dwlp4I/AAAAAAAAXO8/fLozh7ixGP4bBzuPWLM0OLZoafCAlqZYACLcBGAs/s1600/gary%2Bkurtz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-18Xb3pAHaBs/W61c5Dwlp4I/AAAAAAAAXO8/fLozh7ixGP4bBzuPWLM0OLZoafCAlqZYACLcBGAs/s400/gary%2Bkurtz.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">According to George Lucas biographer Brian Jay Jones, it was <i>Two-Lane Blacktop </i>that led to Kurtz meeting Lucas for the first time in 1970. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kurtz was interested in filming in the cheap widescreen process Techniscope, and Francis Ford Coppola told him that Lucas had just finished shooting <i>THX 1138 </i>in the format and was currently editing it. Kurtz was sent to literally knock on Lucas’s door and introduce himself. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The pair quickly hit it off. Jones quotes Kurtz as saying: “We both came up in the school of doing everything ourselves. He was my kind of film-maker.” </span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before long, Kurtz was asked to produce </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apocalypse Now</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, the Vietnam film Lucas had conceived with John Milius. But he had doubts about teaming with Lucas. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Jones writes: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unlike the polar opposites Luas and Coppola, Lucas and Kurtz were cut from the same temperamental cloth; both were quiet and low-key, and Kurtz worried that neither of them had a forceful enough personality to run a movie set. But he and Lucas got on well enough that they decided to move ahead anyway.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lucas did not make <i>Apocalypse Now</i>, of course; Coppola would direct that several years later. In the meantime, Lucas and Kurtz persuaded Universal to stump up $700,000 for them to make <i>American Graffiti</i>. But Universal wanted a big name on it – so Kurtz was billed as “co-producer”, while the “produced by” credit went to Francis Ford Coppola. <br /><br />The 28-day production of <i>Graffiti </i>was fraught, and Lucas barely slept. But the pair formed a successful partnership. Pollock writes: “Kurtz was Lucas’s buffer from the outside world, responsible for smoothing over egos ruffled by Lucas’s abrupt professional manner. Kurtz also didn’t instruct Lucas on how to make the movie – George didn’t like people who told him what to do or how to do it.” <br /><br /><br /> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz and <i>Star Wars </i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1_49cRxpsc/W61btWWVfQI/AAAAAAAAXOs/qRkpsMbx6gYZwUDfaKqun_TvU2Q5Fk6awCEwYBhgL/s1600/mark%2Bhamill%2Balec%2Bguinness%2Bgary%2Bkurtz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="600" height="267" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1_49cRxpsc/W61btWWVfQI/AAAAAAAAXOs/qRkpsMbx6gYZwUDfaKqun_TvU2Q5Fk6awCEwYBhgL/s400/mark%2Bhamill%2Balec%2Bguinness%2Bgary%2Bkurtz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mark Hamill, Alec Guinness, Gary Kurtz and George Lucas toast Guinness' 62nd birthday on the set of <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The success of <i>Graffiti </i>took George Lucas from broke to wealthy, almost overnight. He bought a home in Marin County, California, which his wife Marcia named Parkhouse, and Kurtz took up residence as one of the small band of Lucasfilm staff. <br /><br />Kurtz supported Lucas in the agonising process of writing four drafts of <i>Star Wars </i>and pitching it to film studios. He helped persuade Alan Ladd Jnr at 20th Century-Fox to advance $8 million to make the movie. And he was there to set up and oversee the production in North Africa, the UK and Northern California. <br /><br />Kurtz had to manage the endless practical difficulties with making <i>Star Wars</i> and the tense relationship between Lucas and his UK crew – not least with cinematographer Gil Taylor, whom Kurtz called “a very old school cameraman, very crotchety”. <br /><br />By July 1976, the film was five weeks behind schedule, and Fox’s patience ran out. Kurtz was told that if shooting did not finish on Friday July 16, the studio was pulling the plug. <br /><br />Kurtz argued that it would have bee cheaper to let the film overrun further than to meet the deadline the way he did. He hired two more camera crews, and three units worked simultaneously to shoot the opening attack on the Rebel blockade runner. Lucas directed Darth Vader, production supervisor Robert Watts shot the stormtroopers, and Kurtz directed the droids. Kurtz’s experience in low budget films must have proved useful as the company worked flat-out to have shooting more or less finished by the end of that day. <br /><br />While the film was in production, Kurtz – along with marketing and merchandising supremo Charles Lippincott – toured science fiction conventions to drum up interest among genre fans. And he continued talking about the film at events and in interviews right up until its hugely successful release, and beyond. <br /><br />Kurtz remained a key part of the Lucasfilm set-up as a second <i>Star Wars </i>was planned. Asked about the story, he would say that “the Empire strikes back”, thereby coining the title. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz’s split with George Lucas </span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3ocH7xGFBpI/W61doFBObDI/AAAAAAAAXPE/UvOxpZaaLw43wj5-NZZEh-X3xnJ03Zv_gCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bgary%2Bkurtz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="768" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3ocH7xGFBpI/W61doFBObDI/AAAAAAAAXPE/UvOxpZaaLw43wj5-NZZEh-X3xnJ03Zv_gCLcBGAs/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bgary%2Bkurtz%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz and George Lucas on the set of <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kurtz’s involvement with <i>Star Wars </i>ended before <i>The Empire Strikes Back </i>was released. On December 11 1979, he sent a letter of resignation as a director of Star Wars Productions Ltd. <br /><br />He had been succeeded as producer of the third film by Howard Kazanjian, described as Lucasfilm’s “iron first in the velvet glove”. <br /><br />In an account given years later to JW Rinzler for the book <i>The Making of Return of the Jedi</i>, Kazanjian recalled visiting London to meet production designer Norman Reynolds: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One day Gary Kurtz comes in and says, "What are you doing here?" I had to tell him that he was not on the picture. "Didn’t George speak with you?" When I flew back, I met with George. "Gary said that you never told him." But George said, "I did".</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">(A statement on Kurtz’s death by Jason Joiner of his company the Kurtz/Joiner Archive tells it differently, claiming “Gary Kurtz was asked to produce <i>Revenge of the Jedi </i>(<i>Return of the Jedi</i>) and turned it down as he felt the script was too limited and that most of what was in the script had already been seen in the first two films.”) <br /><br />Despite the split with Lucasfilm, Kurtz sent Kazanjian a telex ahead of the first day of shooting on Jedi, graciously wishing “May the Force be with you”. <br /><br />He collaborated with Jim Henson and Frank Oz on <i>The Dark Crystal </i>(1983) and produced Walter Murch’s <i>Return to Oz </i>(1985). But despite having been assigned five per cent of the gross profits of <i>Star Wars</i>, he filed for bankruptcy in the UK in 1986, citing debts of $3million after a costly divorce. Still he continued producing films, including the science fiction <i>Slipstream </i>(1989), starring Mark Hamill. <br /><br />In later years, Kurtz gave quite a few interviews in which he voiced his disenchantment at the way Lucasfilm had become more of a corporation. He also shared his recollection of the plans Lucas had laid for sequels, which Lucas's own version of <i>Star Wars </i>history.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz's legacy</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_WpU8buABZQ/W61ebT1mduI/AAAAAAAAXPM/gXeyhI793XMTfVf1QJ7pYdGO4u1gdF_VwCLcBGAs/s1600/gary%2Bkurtz%2Brecent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="220" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_WpU8buABZQ/W61ebT1mduI/AAAAAAAAXPM/gXeyhI793XMTfVf1QJ7pYdGO4u1gdF_VwCLcBGAs/s400/gary%2Bkurtz%2Brecent.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gary Kurtz</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s sad that Lucas and Kurtz split after the huge success of their three films together. It’s impossible for anyone outside to know the dynamics of that relationship, of course, but I wonder whether Kurtz was right back in the 1970s, when he feared they were too similar. Clearly, Kurtz could run a movie set very successfully, but maybe this mild-mannered man was not suited to controlling the vast productions that came later. <br /><br />Whatever the truth, it’s clear that Gary Kurtz was a vital part of the creation of <i>Star Wars</i>. It might not have been as good without him – and it might not have been made at all. </span></div>
</div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-51581687705182501562018-09-21T11:00:00.000-07:002018-09-25T14:32:49.471-07:00The Star Wars Official Poster Monthly #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLli8ze_AFsnB-ElPVlN1IuyLQQF1KcMe_s0cz6kOzMD6HYC7A4hnhl8j-OpaG5DuCHQjDnhMnVkX5isSm8H9WtFIkvCpJ6h-ysHhoS3YLoyjyI239UtMDDBBvFSUiWxo59VBJQ1LCLTvu/s1600/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLli8ze_AFsnB-ElPVlN1IuyLQQF1KcMe_s0cz6kOzMD6HYC7A4hnhl8j-OpaG5DuCHQjDnhMnVkX5isSm8H9WtFIkvCpJ6h-ysHhoS3YLoyjyI239UtMDDBBvFSUiWxo59VBJQ1LCLTvu/s640/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+us.jpg" width="462" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The US version of the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>#2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In another look at the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i>, I'm going to examine how this 1977 publication lifted the curtain on the film's visual effects </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>–</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b> and told us about life on Tatooine.</b><br /></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Looking back through the pages of the <i>Star Wars </i>poster magazine, I'm reminded of a time when all this information about the film was new and tremendously exciting.<br /><br />It was produced by a small editorial team in London, with remarkably little information to go on. (See <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-star-wars-phenomenon-in.html">Craig Stevens' book </a><i><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-star-wars-phenomenon-in.html">The Star Wars Phenomenon in Britain</a> </i>for more on that.) But on page after page, they gave the young fan information that we hadn't received before.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Star Wars Official Poster Monthly issue 2</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtp7lYQAd8xgS2Oi1XeRI5vSAAsZTglr1eFqM3xfqfEAPAaRXoHNxy4cYtsiVH53EBFoJA86wGCOG_XkDW8y1mCSIpRKgANBLB5vfi2GG07FfmGiBGqwbcDI7c3mtz5Vbp6BX0R7RYHzd5/s1600/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+poster+uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1600" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtp7lYQAd8xgS2Oi1XeRI5vSAAsZTglr1eFqM3xfqfEAPAaRXoHNxy4cYtsiVH53EBFoJA86wGCOG_XkDW8y1mCSIpRKgANBLB5vfi2GG07FfmGiBGqwbcDI7c3mtz5Vbp6BX0R7RYHzd5/s400/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+poster+uk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The poster from the UK version of <br /><i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>#2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Issue two of the poster monthly came out in the US in December 1977, whereas the UK didn't get it until February 1978.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnXiTVuhZPkTrimKtXWEKM34YyT08OQ4WtYD_Q2ERuaERdpFvnJjcmjil5TF8OsmqmfAx3cb_2tt5btakn4pMV96DVREgIG_XjEX_uOed0hEQN22n_uQi5rBCwIBK6uR07jSDVz1YqBZx/s1600/star+war+official+poster+monthly+2+uk+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1241" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnXiTVuhZPkTrimKtXWEKM34YyT08OQ4WtYD_Q2ERuaERdpFvnJjcmjil5TF8OsmqmfAx3cb_2tt5btakn4pMV96DVREgIG_XjEX_uOed0hEQN22n_uQi5rBCwIBK6uR07jSDVz1YqBZx/s320/star+war+official+poster+monthly+2+uk+cover.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The UK cover of <i>Star Wars <br />Official Poster Monthly</i> #2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The front cover was different on each side of the Atlantic. The US version put pictures of Luke and Darth Vader side by side, whereas the UK saw an X-wing above the surface of the Death Star. The poster was different too: Darth Vader on the Rebel blockade runner for America; Han, Luke, Chewie and Obi-Wan in the Millennium Falcon's cockpit for the UK. (You'll notice that my copy is rather dog-eared. Before it adorned my own bedroom wall, it was pinned up at my local newsagent before being put back on the shelves for sale.)<br /><br />The articles were the same in both countries, and the highlight was the article we discussed last week </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> 'Darth Vader Lives! But WIll He Return' </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> which filled us in on the life story of the Dark Lord of the Sith. But there were two other fascinating articles.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Star Wars Official Poster Monthly #2: 'The History of Tatooine: Life on the Desert Planet' </span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1oHOPvl_m0tZdCqjyIfzGN2klAcFAmxkDoNvl-rivmVMJALBX4UPte7VOJAGQowcAFsIsWBFQ5npNZGwWVvmfQDPmbcFJLu5mqG2-eew-jW2nDRtudRyqlfyZ6Vl88xaWUvM9rmmpMQh/s1600/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+poster+US.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="340" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1oHOPvl_m0tZdCqjyIfzGN2klAcFAmxkDoNvl-rivmVMJALBX4UPte7VOJAGQowcAFsIsWBFQ5npNZGwWVvmfQDPmbcFJLu5mqG2-eew-jW2nDRtudRyqlfyZ6Vl88xaWUvM9rmmpMQh/s400/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+poster+US.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The poster in the US version of the <br /><i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>#2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We knew Tatooine was a hostile, dangerous yet, at the same time, boring place to live. But an article by Mike Marten gave us a fully-fledged account of life on the desert planet.<br /><br />Looking at it today, we can see that the author artfully picked information out of the film and its novelization, added a little bit of educated speculation, and crafted it into a compelling look at life on an imaginary planet.</span></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FePM-QqRT773W-TNGperfInP0ApovL1akj7mt7capN2wHyR6U3-d2npNes6MXeFIr_PBuc1RCc3b8qRbCcQ3XkMatTMZiWEgxzexvVCrLOJVe4aXUtNzeEcRZn1kPRZ5wMEmH9WIquu9/s1600/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+tatooine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1088" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FePM-QqRT773W-TNGperfInP0ApovL1akj7mt7capN2wHyR6U3-d2npNes6MXeFIr_PBuc1RCc3b8qRbCcQ3XkMatTMZiWEgxzexvVCrLOJVe4aXUtNzeEcRZn1kPRZ5wMEmH9WIquu9/s400/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+tatooine.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Official<br />Poster Monthly </i>on the<br />history of Tatooine</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Tatooine's twin suns were called Tatoo I and Tatoo II, the article told us, and the planet was moving very slowly towards them. It repeated a settlers' saying, quoted in the novel, that it was more dangerous to look at the reflected glare on the Tatooine sand than to stare at the suns themselves. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tatooine was "a frontier world where many life forms have adapted to the harsh environment and maintain a precarious, often desperate existence".<br /><br />It added: "Centred on townships like Anchorhead and Bestine, the settlers provide the basis of the planetary economy. Using vapourisers, irrigation units and androids programmed for agricultural work, they work giant 'moisture farms' whose sheer size makes up for their lack of fertility."<br /><br />I suspect that most of us had given very little thought to what Uncle Owen was actually doing on that moisture farm, but the article explained it. Food plants were harvested on Tatooine's moisture farms and sent off-planet from Mos Eisley, fetching high prices in over-populated worlds.<br /><br />The article drew heavily on the Alan Dean Foster novelization of the screenplay, and when dialogue was quoted, it was from the book rather than the film. Perhaps the author preferred the more expansive versions of the dialogue in the book, or maybe he had no access to a movie script.<br /><br />For example, the piece quoted Threepio as telling Owen Lars, during the Jawas' droid sale: "Vapourisers! We are both in luck. My first post-primary assignment was in programming binary load lifers. Very similar in construction and memory-function to your vapourisers..."<br /><br />The article looked at the Jawas and the Tusken Raiders, too, trying to tell us a bit more without destroying the air of mystery that made both these species so fascinating and exotic.<br /><br />"Anthropologists hypothesize that the Jawas were once human themselves, but they have long since evolved into a distinctive form," the article said. I think the author was probably speculating here, since Lucasfilm had so little official information to release.<br /><br />"Dressed in monk-like habits of thick brown cloth with hoods that reveal only their glowing red-yellow eyes, they have never been seen naked but are reputed to be extraordinarily ugly. Certainly they smell, causing Threepio, with his human-like ability to sense odours, to stifle an expression of disgust. Their faces are surrounded by small clouds of insects with which they apparently live in some weird symbiosis."<br /><br />As for the Tusken Raiders, they were in "permanent guerrilla warfare against the farmers, raiding and plundering wherever defences are weak".<br /><br />"Xenologists," the piece said, making few concessions to a young reader's vocabulary, "believe they are part organic, part mechanical. But no one is sure: no one has ever got that close to a Tusken, or seen what lies beneath their swathings of bandages and loose bits of cloth."<br /><br />The weapons the sandpeople carried were here called gaderffii sticks, not gaffi sticks as in the film.<br /><br />In the Darth Vader and Tatooine articles, the authors had attempted to say quite a lot about the <i>Star Wars </i>universe with the limited sources they had at hand. But the article also contained a substantial look at how the most exciting space action on film had been shot.<br /><br /><br /></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Star Wars Official Poster Monthly #2: 'Anatomy of a Dogfight: The Special Effects Explained'</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUN3Y1AV7ykvF6-x9P97eCL7cXBYZDyE5U-I-6Pi03qTTuCWnar9wJrGKRszi_bs3KS938YwEJd2130hBmkENaCKo8W6SI24GxJ2gPX4to7EdMFdr-dhQ-_C8D5LJoaSAA7XRA8pGoTom/s1600/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+effects.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1047" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUN3Y1AV7ykvF6-x9P97eCL7cXBYZDyE5U-I-6Pi03qTTuCWnar9wJrGKRszi_bs3KS938YwEJd2130hBmkENaCKo8W6SI24GxJ2gPX4to7EdMFdr-dhQ-_C8D5LJoaSAA7XRA8pGoTom/s400/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+effects.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Official Poster <br />Monthly </i>explains visual effects</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was an article about the film's visual effects, but it still began with an extract from the novel, in which Luke was a part of blue squadron attacking the Death Star. <br /><br />Nonetheless, this piece in the poster monthly, by John Trux, was to give us the most detailed explanation most of us had seen of how to film a space battle.<br /><br />It started out by relating how World War II footage was used to plan the movements of the fighters in the attack on the Death Star. Most accounts have focused on how the effects drew on footage from movies such as <i>The Dam Busters </i>and <i>The Bridges at Toko-Ri</i>, but this article told of John Dykstra and his team watching real-life fighter footage.<br /><br />"These film clips, taken by cameras slung beneath the guns of the attacking fighter, establish the planes' size, speed and position as they engage," it said.<br /><br />The article then explained in some detail how Dykstra's camera, and the models it was filming, were programmed to make exactly the right moves multiple times. The X-wing and TIE fighter were filmed separately. "Through the combination of model/camera motion, we in the 'third plane' are also weaving our way down towards rocketing fighters </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and it's all an illusion, just two models, a camera and a dedicated film crew," it said.<br /><br />Reading this now, I wonder whether the 11-year-old me was really following all the detail, but I suspect I soldiered on.<br /><br />The piece went on: </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We're now ready for the final print. All the separate model takes are combined with the Death Star surface, the star backdrop and the laser bursts: up to 28 pieces of film for any one effects sequence. These must be lined up so that they're in syncrhonization, then put into an order so that each segment prints the relevant information. If, for instance, the Death Star surface was to shine through the X-wing it would be a total disaster.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It concluded: </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We've now completed just one small part of the dogfight sequence. This is an easy take </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> there are no explosions, and only two ships are involved </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> but it shows how much effort and precision went into the making of <i>Star Wars</i>.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<br /></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Star Wars Official Poster Monthly #2: The merchandise</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAodFbNayPFbyGQA_hJuBBf3vQWtwmuH5Y1uKPTOGtTENxJOQGmvgRPRW0dFhpXQFMDYrb-aA_tq7pac6hN7iBXhFEt1HQgOtnFfHUnWeyLFUz5QHOXfaMduxX1D5s3jrGnDSRAxJ1H1o2/s1600/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+back+page+us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1142" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAodFbNayPFbyGQA_hJuBBf3vQWtwmuH5Y1uKPTOGtTENxJOQGmvgRPRW0dFhpXQFMDYrb-aA_tq7pac6hN7iBXhFEt1HQgOtnFfHUnWeyLFUz5QHOXfaMduxX1D5s3jrGnDSRAxJ1H1o2/s320/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+back+page+us.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The back cover of the US <i>Star Wars <br />Official Poster Monthly </i>#2<br />(Source: <a href="http://the%20star%20wars%20official%20%20poster%20monthly%20on%20the%20%20history%20of%20tatooine/">Star Wars 77-80 Collector's Blog</a>)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the US, the back cover of the second <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>offered a chance to subscribe, or to buy "Authentic Star Wars Collector's Items" such as a 1978 <i>Star Wars </i>calendar ($5.95), a <i>Star Wars </i>Flight Crew Cap ($5), a Darth Vader Key Chain ($2) or an Authentic Darth Vader Communicator, which sounds suspiciously like a mirror with a picture of Darth Vader on the back ($2). </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyraniBXqguIlKqjFQ_mmwuiShK6m8ye3yjFcKOC_l0FG4t5_WkPSXPY7TPbhqI0C9zb7g5bWQMZAIZn1PD9XSgmUWkU9Y0LFPMtksqRWUHBD1z-7_U_YmxXiM0RPZcQ-9oPxREbcHTvw2/s1600/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+uk+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1223" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyraniBXqguIlKqjFQ_mmwuiShK6m8ye3yjFcKOC_l0FG4t5_WkPSXPY7TPbhqI0C9zb7g5bWQMZAIZn1PD9XSgmUWkU9Y0LFPMtksqRWUHBD1z-7_U_YmxXiM0RPZcQ-9oPxREbcHTvw2/s400/star+wars+official+poster+monthly+2+uk+back.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The back of the UK <i>Star Wars <br />Official Poster Monthly </i>#2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />In the UK, the only items on offer were a lapel badge and sew-on patch, sold together for £1. <br /><br />As we closed the magazine </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> or, more likely, unfolded it to put on our wall </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I think the first generation fans had quite a lot to digest. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The authors may have been working from scant information, but they had worked up some memorable stories </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">– </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and left our minds full of trivia which we would pass on to friends for a long time afterwards.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />translated into storyboards.<br /><br />Having set up the X-wing for shooting, based on the storyboard drawings, Dykstra now knows exactly hwo the fighter is to manouevre for the chase sequence. Dummy runs confirm that camera and model are making the right moves, and the camera rolls, making several repeat passes of the same take. A searate pass, for instance, optically boosts the colour adn flare of the X-wing's exhaust which would otherwise be lost."<br /><br />TIE ship<br /><br />Through the combination of model/camera motion, we in the "third plane" are also weaving our way down towards rocketing fighters -- and it's all an illusion, just wo models, a camera and a dedicate film crew.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />four scales of Death STa rminiature, from full globe to detailed section of surface.<br /><br />lasers added by artists<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"WE're now ready for the final print. All the separae model takes are comibned iwth the Death Star surface, the star backdrop and the laser bursts: up to 28 pieces of film for any one effects sequence. These must be lined up so that they're in syncrhonization, then put into an order so that each segment prints the relevant information. If, for instance, the Death Star surface was to shine through the X-wing it woudl be atotal disaster.<br /><br />"WE've now completed just one small part of the dogfight sequence. This i an easy take -- there are no explosions, and only two ships are involved -- but it shows how much effort and precision went into the making of Star Wars."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />invitation to send £1 for a lapel badge and sew-on patch</span></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-71992945184954344202018-09-14T12:47:00.000-07:002018-10-05T15:09:49.440-07:00The original Darth Vader back story – before he was Luke's father<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4qHJPCGzM0rjODlVC_z35flXtY3qxOnkqEMz7OqY1I_KAyHzq87LwcBgwWBf8KZxvVuOrXLeZH-WaBQAKMuGxsS3r6VHtFYWY9xQWmdvN_uDtUj8bdVyIgaPQUIoQdH7YgLVDyErDqvF/s1600/star+wars+poster+monthly+2+darth+vader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1600" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4qHJPCGzM0rjODlVC_z35flXtY3qxOnkqEMz7OqY1I_KAyHzq87LwcBgwWBf8KZxvVuOrXLeZH-WaBQAKMuGxsS3r6VHtFYWY9xQWmdvN_uDtUj8bdVyIgaPQUIoQdH7YgLVDyErDqvF/s640/star+wars+poster+monthly+2+darth+vader.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The back story of Darth Vader, as presented in the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i>, issue 2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Star Wars </i>told us relatively little about its mysterious villain, Darth Vader.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>We knew he was a young Jedi Knight who turned to the dark side, murdered Luke's father and helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the other Jedi. But was he human, alien, part-machine? What was under that mask, and why did he make that mechanical breathing noise?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">So much remained untold that it was thrilling to see a magazine article that gave us Darth Vader's back story </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>–</b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">even if it was different from the one that would be developed in The Empire Strikes Back and afterwords.</span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Darth Vader's back story, 1977-style</span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oa2ACWmq7mE/W5wNZI7QzNI/AAAAAAAAXH8/1c4x2s2Zdsw7qGvzzGpY0KpQc3BWFtJxQCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bofficial%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2B2%2Bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oa2ACWmq7mE/W5wNZI7QzNI/AAAAAAAAXH8/1c4x2s2Zdsw7qGvzzGpY0KpQc3BWFtJxQCLcBGAs/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bofficial%2Bposter%2Bmonthly%2B2%2Bus.jpg" width="288" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Official Poster <br />Monthly</i> (US edition), issue 2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There was an article in the second issue of the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">that was electrifying for a young Star Wars fan.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The headline ran: "Darth Vader Lives! But will he return?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Looking at the text today, I can see that the author, John May, had to fashion a substantial article out of very slight information. But he did so in memorable fashion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The introduction began:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like a figure out of some galactic nightmare, Darth Vader dominates the dark side of the <i>Star Wars </i>universe. Gigantic in stature, robed in black and able to command powers beyond human understanding, the Dark Lord of the Sith is an evil force to be reckoned with.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">May then started Darth Vader's story by telling us about the Old Republic that was once guarded by the Jedi Knights. He was really recounting facts that are contained in the movie. But then, the surprises began.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After explaining that Vader had been consumed by the dark side of the Force "for reasons that are unclear", May wrote:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It led him to that fateful day when, in a fierce battle, he killed Luke Skywalker's father."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, surprise number one: The killing of Luke's father had not been the result of a sly murder, but a <i>fierce battle</i>. But there was a bigger revelation coming.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The article went on:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is less well-known is that Vader himself was then almost killed by Ben Kenobi, who was understandably enraged at his disciple's fall from grace. Vader's life might have ended and then and there with a quick stab of a light sabre; instead, during the fight, Vader stumbled backwards and fell into a volcanic pit where he was nearly fried alive. What remained of his human body was dragged out and preserved by encasing it in an outsize black metal suit </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">–</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> virtually a walking iron lung. His face, now too horrible to behold, remains permanently hidden behind the sinister metal breath screen from which his red eyes glint unmercifully. Only his heavy, rasping breath reveals the suit's true function.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now we knew why Vader and Kenobi had squared up to each other the way they did in the film. And we knew just how Vader had ended up behind that mask. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How horrible did he look? <i>Too horrible to behold.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The piece described what happened after that confrontation:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There was no hope of Vader ever returning to the path of Light after this. A Fallen Angel with his control of the Force intact, Vader turned against his former brethren and everything they stood for, aiding successive evil Emperors in their task of destroying the Republic.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, the article gave us a slightly embellished version of Vader's exit from the film. It told us that "Vader's end is fitting", as his TIE fighter's controls melt down.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With one last, breathy scream, the evil one is propelled out into the endless reaches of space.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One question remains </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> is it possible the Dark Lord still survives? Is it possible that one day he may return, like a nightmare, once again to haunt the freedom of the galaxy? We can only wait and see.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It certainly seemed as though we had read a powerful piece of the Gospel According to George. But where did all this information come from? In fact, it was all really in the public domain already.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>sourced its Darth Vader story</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3dCesmMCa8I/W5wOPV2nzwI/AAAAAAAAXII/gKam76XsvFAh0hQPiGZNdLoiHjFe7P2-wCLcBGAs/s1600/rolling%2Bstone%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Baugust%2B1977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="199" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3dCesmMCa8I/W5wOPV2nzwI/AAAAAAAAXII/gKam76XsvFAh0hQPiGZNdLoiHjFe7P2-wCLcBGAs/s400/rolling%2Bstone%2Bstar%2Bwars%2Baugust%2B1977.jpg" width="314" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Rolling Stone </i>of August 25, 1977 <br />led on an interview with George Lucas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As </span><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-uks-star-wars-poster-magazine-now.html#more" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we saw last time</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">was created in the UK, where a small editorial team sent the content to the States for the American magazine to be printed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John May and his colleagues often had little material to work with as they prepared the stories which, in his words, <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">would "fill in the spaces between the pictures".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Part of that 'Darth Vader Lives' article comes from the movie, of course.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">The reference to the succession of Emperors destroying the Old Republic? That's in the prologue to the novelization of the film script.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">But the back story about Vader and Kenobi, and the duel that caused the Dark Lord to fall into the volcanic pit? That information can be found in a source that the younger fans would probably not have seen at the time </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">–</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> an interview with George Lucas, conducted by Paul Scanlon, in the <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/george-lucas-the-wizard-of-star-wars-2-232011/">August 25 1977 issue of <i>Rolling Stone</i></a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;">In that interview, Lucas said of Vader's history: "</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">It was a whole part of the plot that essentially got cut out. It may be in one of the sequels."</span></span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Asked "What’s the story?", he said:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s about Ben and Luke’s father and Vader when they are young Jedi knights. But Vader kills Luke’s father, then Ben and Vader have a confrontation, just like they have in </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars,</em><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and Ben almost kills Vader. As a matter of fact, he falls into a volcanic pit and gets fried and is one destroyed being. That’s why he has to wear the suit with a mask, because it’s a breathing mask. It’s like a walking iron lung. His face is all horrible inside. I was going to shoot a close-up of Vader where you could see the inside of his face, but then we said, no, no, it would destroy the mystique of the whole thing.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Craig Stevens, in book </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Star Wars Phenomenon in Britain, </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">notes that John May had these sources to draw on when he fashioned his compelling account of Vader's story.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How Vader's story turned out</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That confrontation between Kenobi and Vader would finally be rendered on screen, of course, 28 years later, in <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>. But the story of Darth Vader would have changed by then. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If George Lucas was intending to reveal that Darth Vader was really Luke's father, it's quite feasible that he would not have shared this with <i>Rolling Stone</i>, or anywhere else in public. But when he briefed Leigh Brackett on writing the first draft of <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, he made no mention of this idea, and she even wrote a ghostly appearance of Luke's father into her script. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's overwhelmingly likely that Lucas had not thought yet thought of his great plot twist.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back in 1977, we were given a glimpse into a fascinating Darth Vader back story. And it did not involve him fathering Luke Skywalker. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-48745929264906642422018-09-08T06:57:00.000-07:002018-09-08T06:58:01.714-07:00The Star Wars Official Poster Monthly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CAHSRk35t9E/W5PMPZyEqHI/AAAAAAAAXC0/wngerUV4Vy4oIvEn4E7A-tRZLhDGQxO6gCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="430" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CAHSRk35t9E/W5PMPZyEqHI/AAAAAAAAXC0/wngerUV4Vy4oIvEn4E7A-tRZLhDGQxO6gCLcBGAs/s640/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2B1.jpg" width="434" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The giant poster inside issue one of the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i></span><i><br /></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The 1970s saw a craze for magazines that unfolded to form giant posters. Kung fu, Hammer horror films, the Fonz </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> they all inspired poster magazines.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Naturally, the biggest film of all time would spawn a title of its own.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dq5Cz-bUEgo/W5PMPzd0-8I/AAAAAAAAXDY/FeMiu2w0rognPiYwVtCbqRScO7mTJ3vYwCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bcover%2Bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dq5Cz-bUEgo/W5PMPzd0-8I/AAAAAAAAXDY/FeMiu2w0rognPiYwVtCbqRScO7mTJ3vYwCEwYBhgL/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bcover%2Bus.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The US <i>Star Wars <br />Official Poster Monthly </i>#1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4VPB7Uy4vOU/W5PMPduhYEI/AAAAAAAAXDQ/o-2TeiHToDo1CZz-Nfcldk3i9gdWlkORwCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bcover%2Buk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="438" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4VPB7Uy4vOU/W5PMPduhYEI/AAAAAAAAXDQ/o-2TeiHToDo1CZz-Nfcldk3i9gdWlkORwCEwYBhgL/s320/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bcover%2Buk.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The UK <i>Star Wars Official <br />Poster Monthly </i>#1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The American <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>ran for 18 issues. Its UK equivalent reached only four. But both magazines were created in Britain, produced by a small team at Bunch Associates in London who went the material back to the States for the American edition to be printed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Craig Stevens tells the full story in his book <i>The Star Wars Phenomenon in Britain</i>. Since he did a lot of original research, I don't want to run spoilers here, other than to say that he explains how the magazine was produced by writers and editors who had practically no input from Lucasfilm. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Writer John May on the <i>Star Wars </i>poster magazine</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0lKt9nhjTcs/W5PMQPq6faI/AAAAAAAAXDM/I711tneXc-QK2wumJbsHlAg5W4d5-yhFQCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bheroes%2Bvillains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="428" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0lKt9nhjTcs/W5PMQPq6faI/AAAAAAAAXDM/I711tneXc-QK2wumJbsHlAg5W4d5-yhFQCEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bheroes%2Bvillains.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Heroes and Villains spread in <br />the first <i>Star Wars </i>poster magazine</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John May, one of the main writers of the poster magazine, had been among the lucky few Brits to see <i>Star Wars </i>long before it opened at just two London cinemas on December 27, 1977.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In an <a href="http://hqinfo.blogspot.com/2005/06/star-wars-memories-of-galaxy-far-far.html">excellent post on his blog The Generalist</a>, May tells how he went to an advance screening at the Dominion Theatre in London's Tottenham Court Road on July 20, and another screening on September 28.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He had been hired by Bunch Associates to work on the poster magazine, the first edition of which was due to come out in October in the States.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He writes: "At the time poster magazines were the big thing, selling in huge quantities. Felix Dennis had set up Bunch Books and a whole lot of us were working freelance for him on various projects. He had already made a small fortune out of Bruce Lee, publishing <i>Kung Fu Monthly </i>which ran for years and years. Then came the movie tie-ins, the biggest and the best being <i>Star Wars</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Now you have to bear in mind this was a different world then. There were no videos or DVDs. Film audiences had been falling in both the UK and the US in the mid-1970s and then suddenly this monstrous film ushered in a whole new era of special effects films that captured the imagination and brought audiences flocking back into the cinemas."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He tells how "we began knocking out profiles of the main characters, articles on the science of <i>Star Wars </i>and anything else we could think of, to fill in the spaces between the pictures, which were the main reason for buying it."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>issue 1 </span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1kH5ME3W1sQ/W5PNxp7T1nI/AAAAAAAAXEA/RqEoxBE0FrIimB6ptCX_l2xuQcB43Xo3gCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bspace%2Blegend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="857" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1kH5ME3W1sQ/W5PNxp7T1nI/AAAAAAAAXEA/RqEoxBE0FrIimB6ptCX_l2xuQcB43Xo3gCEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2Bspace%2Blegend.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Birth of a Space Legend spread in the UK <br />version of the <i>Star Wars</i> poster magazine</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first <i>Star Wars </i>poster magazine was turned around quickly by the UK team, in order to have it on US newsstands by October. It contained several articles about the film and its characters and folded out into a giant poster of C-3PO and R2-D2 in the desert. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The UK didn't see the poster magazine until January 1978. The front cover was pretty much identical, except that the US price of $1.50 was replaced by 35p in the UK. (The magazine was cheaper for British buyers, since that $1.50 American price tag would have come out at around 79p at the time.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But inside, some of the content was different.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both issues had a spread headlined "Birth of a Space Legend", dominated by a picture of a stormtrooper riding the lizard that would later be called a dewback. But the text below was different between countries.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the US, the article was a light-hearted introduction to the magazine. (You can read it <a href="http://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/starwars/post/2013/03/27/Star-Wars-Official-Poster-Magazine-01">in full here</a>.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Recently, reports have begun to arrive of a strange and perplexing new phenomenon. Throughout the Galaxy, it appeared, millions of cases of so-called 'Star Wars Fever' had broken out'.... even after 40 or more repeat performances, the crazed victims came back for more."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It went on: "S</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">eriously folks, not since <i>Star Trek </i>has a science fiction event gotten into the hearts and minds of so many people. In a few short months, the epic fantasy that is <i>Star Wars </i>has rocketed into the consciosuness of the crew of Spaceship Earth." </span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the British edition, John May had a chance to rewrite the text. For most British readers in January 1978, <i>Star Wars </i>was a film they had known about for months, but hadn't seen. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many people had some idea of what he film was all about, but almost no conception of its unique look, sound and pace. Against that background, it's fascinating to read the article John May's piece.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"<i>Star Wars </i>is the most spectacular sci-film ever made, an epic of movie magic," he began.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Starcruisers battle in deep space. Excitement lurks behind every doorway. There are duels with laser swords, flying cars and robots, immense space stations and giant hairy aliens. This is a galactic tale of heroes and villains, a special effects extravaganza which actually gives you the feeling of being in deep space.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"A reporter described the American reception of the film this way: "<i>Star Wars</i>, the super sci-fi spectacle, has gone beyond being the biggest movie hit of the year, beyond being a show business bonanza of colossal proportions. The United States has gone <i>Star Wars </i>crazy."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The article goes on to explain how George Lucas "agonised over four long rewrites" of the script and how the movie was shot in Tunisia and on all nine stages at Elstree Studios. When discussing the visual effects, it contains what, for many readers, must have been their first encounter with the name Industrial Light and Magic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unlike some reports from the time, the piece also acknowledges the troubled production <i>Star Wars </i>had. "The problems were to continue to the last moment, and because of this cliffhanger situation there was very little pre-publicity for the film. The studio didn't want to blow its trumpet in case something went wrong at the final hour. And so it came to pass that <i>Star Wars </i>was launched on an unsuspecting public," May writes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"The kids on the street went wild. In the first 14 days of release, in just 45 cinemas, the film made almost $6million, beating even the ravenous shark of <i>Jaws</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"One Chicago manager was forced to open early to stop the huge crowds outside from rioting. His first day's take was two and a half times the cinema's previous record, and this new high was broken again on the second and third days."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And, before most people in Britain had even seen <i>Star Wars</i>, there was the promise of sequels: "<i>Star Wars </i>is invading the rest of the world. And it is only a beginning: George Lucas recently announced that there will be many more <i>Star Wars </i>films, the first in about two years' time. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy one of the most exciting motion pictures ever made."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Star Wars Official Poster Monthly continues</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lrpBQ5nBPnw/W5POYoWbgnI/AAAAAAAAXEM/d2SMLwV8hVk66xNtqhuyTGAKgJ79EG7rACEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2B1%2Bback%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lrpBQ5nBPnw/W5POYoWbgnI/AAAAAAAAXEM/d2SMLwV8hVk66xNtqhuyTGAKgJ79EG7rACEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bposter%2Bmagazine%2B1%2Bback%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The back of the UK <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly </i>#1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars </i>poster magazine is a memento of a time when fans were madly eager to get their hands on any and every image they could from the film. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the back of the UK magazine, there was a Ralph McQuarrie painting of the Death Star trench run. On the spread about the film's production, there was a large picture of a stormtrooper riding a lizard creature (later named a Dewback, of course) which was only glimpsed in the background in the film. It was all hugely intriguing for anyone who hadn't yet seen the movie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Over the following months, the magazine would become even more fascinating, as we'll see in due course.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Short of official Lucasfilm material, the British team would create their own pieces about science fiction, robot technology, and the film characters themselves. And in describing the heroes and villains, they would take to making up some details which would be established in popular imagination as the <i>Star Wars </i>canon for many years to come.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Did you read the <i>Star Wars Official Poster Monthly</i>, in its US or UK editions? What are your memories of it? Do comment below.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-5246819660713998382018-09-01T01:07:00.002-07:002018-09-01T01:12:08.480-07:00The music of Star Wars: from the original LP onwards<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7yCRNh3MDFk/UmhW_zFaZqI/AAAAAAAAATc/j_gq4jKWOz4Chc9P0IvOFSTxQ7iMNJYXACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7yCRNh3MDFk/UmhW_zFaZqI/AAAAAAAAATc/j_gq4jKWOz4Chc9P0IvOFSTxQ7iMNJYXACPcBGAYYCw/s400/076.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Star Wars double LP from 20th Century Records. <br />(This one's a UK copy, manufactured by Pye.)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Those who saw <i>Star Wars </i>before the addition of John Williams' music say the score transformed the movie.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carroll Ballard, who directed second unit footage for the film, said in Dale Pollock's </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">: "It was a mind-boggling difference. It gave the hokey characters a certain dimension. When you saw the film without the score, you couldn'ty take it serously. But the music gave it the style of an old-time serial, and it was geat fun."</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span><br /></span>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the last of our summer recaps of earlier posts (before we move on to new material in September), here's a guide to some of what <i>Episode Nothing </i>has had to say about the music of <i>Star Wars</i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-star-wars-record-collection-3-star.html">This post, from 2013</a>, was for a long time the most popular one I'd published. It takes a look at the original, 1977, <i>Star Wars </i>double LP, and how John Williams fashioned his score into four perfect sides of vinyl. I also posted about <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-star-wars-double-lp-is-coming-back.html">the album's return in 2015</a> as part of <i>Star Wars: The Ultimate Vinyl Collection</i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later, I took a look at the best releases of the <i>Star Wars </i>soundtrack on CD. You can read <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2014/12/star-wars-on-cd-which-soundtrack.html">part one here</a> and <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2014/12/star-wars-on-cd-which-soundtrack_11.html">part two here</a>. I should add that the original double LP arrangement is now replicated on a single CD from Walt Disney records, and I'll aim to do a post on that before long.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There were two musical themes in <i>Star Wars </i>which were unique to the 1977 movie </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">–</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> at least until 2016, when Michael Giacchino cleverly reused them in his soundtrack to <i>Rogue One: A Star Wars Story</i>. You can read about them (and see video clips demonstrating their every use in the movie) in two posts. One is about the <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-music-of-star-wars-that-we-never.html">original Death Star theme</a> and the other is about the motif that John Williams originally referred to as <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-music-of-star-wars-that-we-never_16.html">Darth Vader's theme</a>.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And finally, the <i>Star Wars </i>was one musician's debut as a contracted player with the London Symphony Orchestra. He would go on to play a key role in all of the six <i>Star Wars </i>scores the orchestra recorded. His name was Maurice Murphy, and you can read a little about <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/06/an-unsung-hero-of-star-wars-maurice.html">his fascinating story here</a>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We'll be returning to the music of <i>Star Wars </i>soon after <i>Episode Nothing </i>resumes regular posting in September. </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-17444047638309654862018-08-24T11:00:00.000-07:002018-08-24T11:00:01.548-07:00Our 7 geekiest Star Wars 1977 blog posts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVI3H9xFpvzere0_6YntDlbBDePRKlcpXk6v8cuF2U2Q3TO0z678XPdZsigIiKRcTskzsw1csE-2Su7QMvKY69sG7byaV68orGog5pnIEagIafAUNTdRQmcCwitIAquM6va3cymYnjhMnt/s1600/star+wars+jabba+declan+mulholland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1150" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVI3H9xFpvzere0_6YntDlbBDePRKlcpXk6v8cuF2U2Q3TO0z678XPdZsigIiKRcTskzsw1csE-2Su7QMvKY69sG7byaV68orGog5pnIEagIafAUNTdRQmcCwitIAquM6va3cymYnjhMnt/s640/star+wars+jabba+declan+mulholland.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Declan Mulholland as Jabba the Hutt in deleted footage from <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
I suspect that all of us who like <i>Star Wars </i>may have pondered small points of trivia for longer than is healthy.</b></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>It's not uncommon for fans to be accused of lacking a sense of proportion. But as long as your preoccupation with obscure detail is not hurting anyone else, why should anyone else judge you for it?</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In my latest recap of previous posts, before I return with all-new material in September, I'd like to point you to some of the geekier subjects that have occupied <i>Episode Nothing </i>in its five-year existence.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a name='more'></a><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were three rather different sound mixes of <i>Star Wars</i>. Here's how <i>Star Wars </i>was a <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/07/hear-difference-between-mono-and-stereo.html">slightly different movie </a>depending where you saw it, even during that first 1977 release.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who was the storm trooper who bumped his head?<b> </b>It was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, which became a famous movie blooper. But there was more than one actor who claimed to have been the trooper who <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/10/who-was-storm-trooper-who-bumped-his.html">hit his head on that Death Star door</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Remember the giant skeleton in the Tatooine desert? Of course you do. But did you know it was left over from a successful children's movie of 1976? Here's the story of <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/09/one-of-our-dragons-is-missing-how.html">how a Disney dinosaur ended up in <i>Star Wars</i></a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did Elvis see <i>Star Wars</i>? The king of rock and roll was a big movie fan, and he died when the film had been on release for almost three months. But <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/08/did-elvis-presley-see-star-wars.html">did he manage to watch it?</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars </i>experience would not be complete without that opening fanfare and 20th Century-Fox logo. But Fox was not using that opening consistently on its films of the 1970s. We looked at the history of the Fox fanfare and <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/04/why-do-star-wars-fans-care-so-much.html">how it came to be revived for <i>Star Wars</i></a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You know how George Lucas claimed that a stop-motion Jabba the Hutt should have been in <i>Star Wars</i>, but that he lacked the resources to make the effect work properly? If something struck you as odd about that story, read <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-truth-about-jabba-hutt.html">one of this site's most popular posts</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And finally, there's nothing geekier than imagining an alternative reality. What if <i>Star Wars </i>had flopped, or was a minor hit? Here's how <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/08/5-ways-things-might-have-been-different.html">the world might have been different</a>.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-48216769016597454912018-08-17T11:00:00.000-07:002018-08-17T11:00:00.435-07:00The deleted scenes of Star Wars<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D10naVkfYUM/W3YOivjkogI/AAAAAAAAWw4/pNlbno3sEw8eNKgLFD63D1XohD7IqGDlQCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bbiggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="538" height="284" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D10naVkfYUM/W3YOivjkogI/AAAAAAAAWw4/pNlbno3sEw8eNKgLFD63D1XohD7IqGDlQCLcBGAs/s640/star%2Bwars%2Bbiggs.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Luke and Biggs in deleted scenes from <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
All film-makers leave footage on the cutting room floor. <i>Star Wars </i>was no exception, but naturally its deleted scenes have attracted a great deal of interest.</b></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Many of those scenes remained in the comic books, novelization, radio series and elsewhere, which only served to make them more fascinating.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In the latest of my August recap posts (while I take time off and work on new material), I'd like to point readers to some previous articles on the subject.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In an eight-part post in 2015, I looked at the key deleted scenes from <i>Star Wars</i>:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/04/star-wars-deleted-scenes-1-luke-and.html">The original introduction to Luke Skywalker</a>, as he watched the space battle above Tatooine. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/05/star-wars-deleted-scenes-2-biggs-fixer.html">Luke hanging out with his annoying friends </a>at Anchorhead.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/05/star-wars-deleted-scenes-3-biggs.html">Luke learning that Biggs intends to join the Rebellion</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/05/star-wars-deleted-scenes-4-threepio.html">C3PO taking the wheel </a>of the landspeeder.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/06/star-wars-deleted-scenes-5-han-solos.html">The original cut of the Mos Eisley scenes </a>and the appearance of Han Solo's girlfriend.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/07/star-wars-deleted-scenes-6-original.html">The original Jabba the Hutt scene</a>, with Declan Mulholland as a human Jabba.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/07/star-wars-deleted-scenes-7-darth-vader.html">Darth Vader's conversation </a>with a Death Star commander.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And finally <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2015/07/star-wars-deleted-scenes-8-reunion-with.html">Luke's reunion with Biggs </a>at the Rebel base.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've written about a couple of these scenes on other occasions, too.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm fascinated with Biggs, because he represented a very 1970s image of coolness. But more importantly, he would have been one of <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2014/04/biggs-darklighter-original-rebel.html">several male role models </a>the fatherless Luke is given to choose between in the original film. The others are Uncle Owen, Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, the Jabba the Hutt post above is the most popular article on this site. In another piece on the same subject, I looked at the history of that scene, and found the <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-truth-about-jabba-hutt.html">official version of events </a>to be somewhat unlikely.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-37623259802691958222018-08-10T12:16:00.000-07:002018-08-10T12:16:00.658-07:00Star Wars on TV: glimpsing the characters on the small screen in the 1970s<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Qi84ocIDf-qA8s9AfC_2ywscyIhBZR_EUzXazBPY2Am_MDlLyF1NzXKq2T6FWy_9OuzqN5vk8dLWtuCR6eHY7AUHh4DUd72vNaXm2L1BstMoP_qE2XsUECI88ltWAP6CwbfXp32uumY1/s1600/star+wars+donny+marie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="271" height="439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Qi84ocIDf-qA8s9AfC_2ywscyIhBZR_EUzXazBPY2Am_MDlLyF1NzXKq2T6FWy_9OuzqN5vk8dLWtuCR6eHY7AUHh4DUd72vNaXm2L1BstMoP_qE2XsUECI88ltWAP6CwbfXp32uumY1/s640/star+wars+donny+marie.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars </i>meets <i>Donny and Marie</i>, September 1977 </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the days before home video, films disappeared for years between their big-screen release and their appearance on TV.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>That meant <i>Star Wars </i>fans lapped up any appearance, however fleeting, of the film's characters on TV.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In today's recap of old posts (while I spend August re-charging and working on new material), I'd like to point you towards some of those experiences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There was a lot to take in about <i>Star Wars</i>. Every frame was filled with detail and activity, and it all flicked by so fast. Some people were lucky enough to see it multiple times. Others gazed endlessly at pictures in books, comics and magazines. But if even a few seconds of the movie were shown on television, it was a major cause for excitement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the most exciting <i>Star Wars</i>-related shows on television was <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2013/10/star-wars-on-small-screen-making-of.html"><i>The Making of Star Wars</i></a>, shown in the US on September 16 1977, and in the UK on June 16 1978. Not only did we get to watch substantial clips from the film, but we saw behind the scenes, and I'll bet plenty of kids dreamt of getting into film-making as a result.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just one week after that show's US transmission came the cast's appearance on <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-cast-of-star-wars-on-tv-donny-marie.html"><i>The Donny and Marie Show</i></a>. It's as 1970s as brown polyester, which is a good part of its charm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The publicity drive for <i>Star Wars </i>in the UK really stepped up in December 1977 and in this <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2014/01/youtube-video-shows-alec-guinness-being.html">clip from the chat show <i>Parkinson</i></a>, you'll hear Alec Guinness speaking of the film with an enthusiasm he would not always show later on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Around the same time, Mark Hamill appeared on the <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-1977-interview-with-mark-hamill-from.html">British children's show <i>Blue Peter </i></a>and was a charming and enthusiastic ambassador for the film.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Clips from <i>Star Wars </i>featured in a number of TV commercials, including <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/04/watch-1978-tv-ad-for-look-in-with-free.html">this one for the British youth magazine <i>Look-In</i></a>, in March 1978.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In April 1978, the Academy Awards took place. The top prizes went to Woody Allen's <i>Annie Hall</i>, but <i>Star Wars </i>still figured strongly, as we saw in a three-part look at the occasion. Visit parts <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/03/40-years-on-star-wars-at-oscars-part-one.html">one</a>, <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/04/40-years-on-star-wars-at-oscars-part-two.html">two</a> and <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/04/40-years-on-star-wars-at-oscars-part.html">three</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">TV glimpses of <i>Star Wars </i>were becoming less frequent, but in November 1978, we saw almost the entire cast reunited for the bizarre event that was the <i>Star Wars Holiday Special</i>. I looked at its most excruciating moments (<a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-star-wars-holiday-special-10-most.html">part one</a> and <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-star-wars-holiday-special-10-most.html">two</a>) but also tried to see the <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/11/everything-thats-good-in-star-wars.html">positive side</a> before wrapping up with an <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/11/some-final-life-day-thoughts-on-star.html">even-handed look </a>at this very strange episode in <i>Star Wars </i>history.</span>Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-89794802386414451012018-08-03T11:00:00.000-07:002018-08-09T05:29:09.713-07:00Looking back at the original release of Star Wars<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8OhEBj-iGA/V0jK46E_BoI/AAAAAAAASDQ/A_3IITImgZIX39FKKbV1MG71smmvJH8bwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bmanns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="475" height="428" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8OhEBj-iGA/V0jK46E_BoI/AAAAAAAASDQ/A_3IITImgZIX39FKKbV1MG71smmvJH8bwCPcBGAYYCw/s640/star%2Bwars%2Bmanns.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Crowds wait to see Star Wars first time around</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I'm taking a break from creating new material for <i>Episode Nothing </i>during August, in order to devote some time to other projects and to research new posts which will take us into the autumn.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>But to show I haven't disappeared entirely, I'm still going to check in each week, and will use the opportunity to point to some of the older content on the site. With 152 posts, going back to 2013, I hope there's some material there that's worth bringing to people's attention.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This blog was launched with one mission: To celebrate and discuss <i>Star Wars </i>as a single film, released in 1977, without letting its enormous legacy cloud our view.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In my very first substantial post, I tried to set the scene by <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2013/07/life-before-star-wars-there-really-was.html">discussing what life was like in 1977</a>, in both the US and the UK.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In my next post, I <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2013/07/star-wars-you-never-forget-your-first.html">described my own first viewing of <i>Star Wars </i></a>and got some very good stories from readers about their own experiences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In a follow-up, I looked in a little more detail about May 25th, 1977, and how the success of <i>Star Wars </i><a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2013/09/theresa-famous-story-about-opening-day.html">took the world by surprise</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A much more recent post looks at exactly <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-original-release-of-star-wars-when.html">when and where <i>Star Wars </i>played </a>in those early days, while another post looked at the <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/03/what-other-movies-were-on-release-at.html">other films on release at the time</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Several accounts have suggested 20th Century-Fox didn't know how to promote and release <i>Star Wars</i>, but in this post I looked at the riposte by Fox chief Peter Myers, who argued that the studio was <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2014/07/selling-star-wars-fox-boss-peter-myers.html">giving the film a slower, prestige roll-out</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, for UK readers, I first <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2013/09/britain-in-space-uk-release-of-star-wars.html">discussed the British release of the film here</a> and returned to the subject on the <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2017/12/december-27-1977-star-wars-is-released.html">40th anniversary of its London opening</a>. But for those wanting more information about <i>Star Wars </i>in the UK, I can't recommend too highly <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-star-wars-phenomenon-in.html">Craig Stevens' book <i>The Star Wars Phenomenon in Britain </i></a>(and not just because I'm quoted in it).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>If there's anything about the original, unaltered 1977 <i>Star Wars </i>that you'd like covered in future posts, do let me know in the comments. I always appreciate feedback.</b></span>Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-68368546406782373072018-07-27T11:00:00.000-07:002018-07-28T02:07:02.412-07:00Unimpressed: The negative 1977 reviews of Star Wars<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1o4ZXxoIckc/V9JxrdVuUqI/AAAAAAAATUk/4RoAOoFJW30uAKQYDB0UGBzu1rdBJUJQQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bhyperspace%2Bjump.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="572" height="270" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1o4ZXxoIckc/V9JxrdVuUqI/AAAAAAAATUk/4RoAOoFJW30uAKQYDB0UGBzu1rdBJUJQQCPcBGAYYCw/s640/star%2Bwars%2Bhyperspace%2Bjump.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not everybody was excited by <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The majority of contemporary critics liked <i>Star Wars</i>. When I first began researching the subject, I was struck by the fact that reviewers generally felt the same way as audiences.<br /><br />But there were a few dissenters. Today, we consider the critics who didn't like <i>Star Wars</i>, and why.</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The negative US reviews of <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9gYrlQmiibk/W1sVNevGAjI/AAAAAAAAWo8/qinDBhlKdmYmINx85ZMR_S1cH8XiKUGeACLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bbinary%2Bsunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="304" height="218" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9gYrlQmiibk/W1sVNevGAjI/AAAAAAAAWo8/qinDBhlKdmYmINx85ZMR_S1cH8XiKUGeACLcBGAs/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bbinary%2Bsunset.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The binary sunset in <i>Star Wars</i>: one <br />of the few parts Pauline Kael liked</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Almost all the US newspaper reviews of <i>Star Wars </i>were positive, as far as I've seen. To find the dissenters, you have to look at some of the magazines.<br /><br />Pauline Kael in the <i>New Yorker </i>could not deny that the movie was spectacular, but she was one of several critics to find there was no substance under the excitement.<br /><br />She wrote:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is like getting a box of Cracker Jack which is all prizes. This is the writer-director George Lucas’s own film, subject to no business interference, yet it’s a film that’s totally uninterested in anything that doesn’t connect with the mass audience. There’s no breather in the picture, no lyricism; the only attempt at beauty is in the double sunset. It’s enjoyable on its own terms, but it’s exhausting, too: like taking a pack of kids to the circus. An hour into it, children say that they’re ready to see it again; that’s because it’s an assemblage of spare parts </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">–</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> it has no emotional grip.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She goes on to say: </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s an epic without a dream. But it’s probably the absence of wonder that accounts for the film’s special, huge success. The excitement of those who call it the film of the year goes way past nostalgia to the feeling that now is the time to return to childhood.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kael would not be the last critic to suggest that if you liked <i>Star Wars</i>, you must be either a child or childish.<br /><br />John Simon in <i>New York Magazine </i>was, if anything, even more critical. "Strip <i>Star Wars </i>of its often striking images and its high-falutin scientific jargon, and you get a story, characters, and dialogue of overwhelming banality, without even a 'future' cast to them," he wrote.<br /><br />The film was, he said, "all as exciting as last year's weather reports", full of "trite characterization and paltry verbiage", and he concluded: "Still, <i>Star Wars </i>will do very nicely for those lucky enough to be children or unlucky enough never to have grown up."<br /><br />There's that charge of being childish again.<br /><br />Almost all critics had to admit the film's visual effects were remarkable, but Stanley Kauffmann in the <i>New Republic </i>was not prepared to go even that far:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The only way that <i>Star Wars </i>could have been interesting was through its visual imagination and special effects. Both are unexceptional... This picture was made for those (particularly males) who carry a portable shrine within them of their adolescence, a chalice of a Self that was Better Then, before he world's affairs or <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">–</span> in any complex way <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">–</span> sex intruded.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is the criticism that would continue to be aimed at fans for at least the next forty years: We are all immature males who can't get a girlfriend.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The UK's negative reviews of <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0_jRCwVM66c/Wmu5ryj1ldI/AAAAAAAAVMo/oj4fAOWY3ggXqz_ZqM8L6OE2NWByEkW_wCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bleicester%2Bsquare.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1493" height="218" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0_jRCwVM66c/Wmu5ryj1ldI/AAAAAAAAVMo/oj4fAOWY3ggXqz_ZqM8L6OE2NWByEkW_wCPcBGAYYCw/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bleicester%2Bsquare.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars </i>playing at London's Leicester Square</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Plenty of British critics wrote in fulsome praise of <i>Star Wars</i>, but it seems to me that the film ran into a higher percentage of negative reviews in the UK.<br /><br />Why were British reviews less enthusiastic?<br /><br />For one thing, I think British critics have traditionally been snooty about hugely popular American films, especially when those films emphasise excitement over intellect.<br /><br />What's more, we have to consider that by the time <i>Star Wars </i>reached London in December 1977, the hype had been going on for months. There was none of the surprise that marked the film's US opening in May.<br /><br />Many British reviewers had been shown the film in the summer, but had held their reviews until the release. So they'd had around five months to rein in any initial over-enthusiasm.<br /><br />Derek Malcolm in the <i>Guardian </i>acknowledged the level of hype when he wrote: "Viewed dispassionately </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">–</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and of course that's desperately difficult at this point in time </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">– </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars </i>is not an improvement on Mr Lucas' previous work, except in box office terms."<br /><br />Malcolm's review does not belong among the purely negative reactions, but he has a foot in both camps. The film is "enormous and exhilarating fun for those who are prepared to settle down in their seats and let it all wash over them". Yet he concludes: </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The entirely mindless could go and see it with pleasure. But it plays enough games to satisfy the most sophisticated.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Russell Davies, reviewing the film for the Sunday <i>Observer</i>, knew he was spoiling a party:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The man who doesn't like <i>Star Wars </i>puts himself instantly at the centre of an H.M. Bateman cartoon. All around him are raised hands, shocked faces and cries of 'Shame!' So I had better keep, as they say, a low profile at this moment in time.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not that I dislike <i>Star Wars </i>all that much. My complaint about it is that there is not much to have an opinion about."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Davies is one of the few contemporary critics to see Luke's assault on the Death Star as "amusingly sexual in origin", which he notes before concluding:</span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But otherwise I think I'd better leave the subject to the millions of children who will shortly be experts on it. This is a pre-sold success, but also, for my taste, a pre-digested one.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />In the British Film Institute's <i>Monthly Film Bulletin</i>, Richard Combs also acknowledges the difficulty of separating the film from its publicity:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having elevated itself to the top of the all-time box-office poll, <i>Star Wars </i>has pulled of a feat of spiritual ledgerdemain more impressive than all the religious connotations of 'the Force' within the film. It has transformed itself from a mere movie into a phenomenon -- which is both a gain and a loss, since it becomes almost impossible to react to the film with anything but awed approval or brusque dismissal.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The film is, he says, "interesting primarily as an exercise in programming". Like <i>Jaws</i>, he says, it is a film made by a movie buff. But unlike <i>Jaws</i>, "<i>Star Wars </i>is monumentally empty, based on not a single idea but a wealth of conceits".<br /><br /><i>Star Wars</i>, Combs says, "may be the first movie to appeal to film buffs who would never dream of calling themselves that, drawing as it does on a host of popular movie types". <br /><br />He concludes: </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Without the simple spiritual convictions of his predecessors, or the philosophical speculations of his contemporaries, Lucas has rather left his audience out in the cold, with only regularly administered shots of special effects to keep them warm.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The British Film Institute also published the quarterly <i>Sight and Sound</i>, where it gave the American critic Jonathan Rosenbaum two pages to critique the film. The nicest thing Rosenbaum says about the film is that it is a "well-crafted, dehumanised update of <i>Flash Gordon </i>with better production values, no ironic overtones and a battery of special effects".<br /><br />Rosenbaum decries the film at length, but perhaps his key passage is in the middle of the piece: </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like the remote-control TV channel selectors that children love to play with, and the mechanical shooting games found in arcades, <i>Star Wars </i>offers solitary, narcissistic pleasures more than communal or romantic myths to keep its audience cheer</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">ing.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rosenbaum would still be complaining about Star Wars 20 years later, long after it had conquered the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Did the critics who didn't like Star Wars have a point?</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NpS_v6DhNao/W1sWq5Ms7UI/AAAAAAAAWpI/_uE4f0RUW1wfsqV7Ql1qFWCTixOc2e4RACLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NpS_v6DhNao/W1sWq5Ms7UI/AAAAAAAAWpI/_uE4f0RUW1wfsqV7Ql1qFWCTixOc2e4RACLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bposter.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">People disagree about films. That's part of the fun of film-going. So I don't question anybody's right to dislike <i>Star Wars </i>or any other movie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I actually quite like the guilty tone of Russell Davies' review, in which he confesses to being out of step with everybody else. I'm sure most film lovers have had that feeling at some point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What is dispiriting is the high-handed tone of some of the reviews, and the suggestion that people who liked the movie must be irredeemably infantile. Jonathan Rosenbaum places himself so far above the mass audience that we must be ant-like specs, and some of the others aren't much better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A lot of people who liked Star Wars were adults <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">– sophisticated adults who loved movies. Some of them enjoyed spotting the debts to other films. Some would intellectualise about the way the film synthesised other narratives. Others would just enjoy its unashamed innocence and excitement at a time when those qualities were in short supply. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Being called childish for liking the film would have been deeply annoying. But over the next four decades, fans would get used to it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-45011751959477814502018-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:002018-07-20T11:00:03.095-07:00The OTHER films of 1977: Star Wars vs Damnation Alley<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsGaJd-GXVx4VFzF1gxjx18d7adLhPjSTezfQSCE4bf6u9FTTjgsvQls8kzeItdr2Ys3HhfSq_3I7Qxh_54J8v6Gquof6YfCB905ZTwQjfnH-7K42WnRUxT5pBkEoRlzTSBNCs4ethb6C/s1600/damnation+alley+poster+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="450" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsGaJd-GXVx4VFzF1gxjx18d7adLhPjSTezfQSCE4bf6u9FTTjgsvQls8kzeItdr2Ys3HhfSq_3I7Qxh_54J8v6Gquof6YfCB905ZTwQjfnH-7K42WnRUxT5pBkEoRlzTSBNCs4ethb6C/s640/damnation+alley+poster+2.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Damnation Alley</i>, 1977</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Star Wars </i>was not Twentieth Century-Fox's only science fiction film of 1977.</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In fact, it wasn't even Fox's most expensive science fiction film of 1977. That title belonged to <i>Damnation Alley</i>.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Today, in our occasional series of posts about the other films from the time of <i>Star Wars</i>, we'll look at a movie which was thoroughly overshadowed by its lower-budget stablemate.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Damnation Alley, 1977</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6hgsPKY_yDSihnBrl1GFMPVsATu2jSyM92cYzQAjrVdNba56yUYvg-z6gjNosPsplnfPx4c8bwXex_xqxyfO-v6NejKGolJApd18YRgD1oyaUO8u3oBLp8B1vdlBE9FLbRBimC2IRrgf/s1600/damnation+alley+cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="345" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6hgsPKY_yDSihnBrl1GFMPVsATu2jSyM92cYzQAjrVdNba56yUYvg-z6gjNosPsplnfPx4c8bwXex_xqxyfO-v6NejKGolJApd18YRgD1oyaUO8u3oBLp8B1vdlBE9FLbRBimC2IRrgf/s400/damnation+alley+cast.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The cast of <i>Damnation Alley</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Damnation Alley</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, directed by Jack Smight, was released in the US on October 21, 1977, at a time when the theatrical run of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was finally winding down. But it was already a film out of its time.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shot in 1976 and taking a long time in post-production, it is an adaptation (some would say a travesty) of a novel by Roger Zelazny. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world and follows a small band of survivors as they trek from an air force base somewhere in a desert to Albany in New York State.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The critics were not impressed. "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Foreign powers blow up all of North America in <i>Damnation Alley</i>, a movie to make anyone wish the foreign powers had made Hollywood the first town to go," wrote </span><a href="https://nytimes.com/1977/10/22/archives/film-the-end-north-america-blown-up-in-deadend-damnation-alley.html">Janet Maslin of the <i>New York Times</i></a>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She went on: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">The only real value of <i>Damnation Alley</i> is educational: This is the movie to see if you don't understand, what was so wonderful about the especial effects in, say, <i>Star Wars</i>. Here, the sky features streaks of red and blue light that make it look like a giant Rya rug, and it actually moves in relation to the equally phony‐looking landscape."</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Audiences did not flock to it either. Made for a reported </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">$17million </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> seventy percent more than the budget of <i>Star Wars </i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> it was released with the added gimmick of a new surround sound system, Studio 360, to show off the sound effects and Jerry Goldsmith's music. But it grossed only $8.7million in the USA.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The best things about Damnation Alley</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sbf53FO6tDfK_lx6-FLuxFQLXFlK59hmVynm99zC_CWb2O08gNrD0kWGNj9_sUWVINKXE2clH0s1IJiLWOPKCGYGn2_VzyOfd31iuChzjkKxeXIkRzqAz34WUkAQWEBwqzsLMORzmfoC/s1600/damnation+alley+landmaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="346" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sbf53FO6tDfK_lx6-FLuxFQLXFlK59hmVynm99zC_CWb2O08gNrD0kWGNj9_sUWVINKXE2clH0s1IJiLWOPKCGYGn2_VzyOfd31iuChzjkKxeXIkRzqAz34WUkAQWEBwqzsLMORzmfoC/s400/damnation+alley+landmaster.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Landmaster from <i>Damnation Alley</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I didn't see <i>Damnation Alley </i>at the time. In fact, I only saw it very recently, in rather muddy widescreen print on television. (Maslin writes that the film's landscape </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"looks as if it's been photographed through [a] used coffee filter", so the muddiness may have been there originally.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It begins so well. The first ten minutes of show the personnel of a missile base in the desert watching as enemy missiles are launched against the USA, and American weapons only manage to neutralise 40 per cent of them. The personnel listen in silence as a voice lists all the cities that have been destroyed.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This scene is chilling because it is so calm. For a moment, I thought perhaps we were watching a war game. But no, North America has been largely annihilated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The scene is played with no panic and not even any music </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">and that makes it all the more effective.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The film's second big plus is unveiled fairly soon after the nuclear holocaust. A small group of survivors (played by George Peppard, Jan-Michael Vincent, Pal Winfield and Kip Niven) set off across the desert in two giant armoured vehicles called Landmasters. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Landmaster is the sort of vehicle kids might have imagined for themselves: a virtually impregnable machine that can handle any terrain and is armed with rocket launchers. It reminded me of the vehicle which caught my imagination in Alan Dean Foster's <i>Star Wars </i>spin-off novel <i>Splinter of the Mind's Eye</i>. And as the film's heroes set off across America, I'm reminded that while we all dreaded nuclear apocalypse in the 1970s, the idea of being free to travel across a deserted and lawless landscape in a giant truck was sort of cool.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The worst of Damnation Alley</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrDnpJRWq5pAuYVdZz2ejkqARb_cZB9WqEGHcVncb8MQ6mmiQ71gjoB5PClwNfVxDQpb7vqaqRiF8g_0HUHbdCi_BniAKC-GZ7O8oW4UlMPbyUIcLLXs5bXLyAeaSrzSBUiVlouXbkAOO/s1600/damnation+alley+scorpions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrDnpJRWq5pAuYVdZz2ejkqARb_cZB9WqEGHcVncb8MQ6mmiQ71gjoB5PClwNfVxDQpb7vqaqRiF8g_0HUHbdCi_BniAKC-GZ7O8oW4UlMPbyUIcLLXs5bXLyAeaSrzSBUiVlouXbkAOO/s400/damnation+alley+scorpions.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The giant scorpions of <i>Damnation Alley</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, I've already covered almost everything that's good about <i>Damnation Alley</i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the down side, it tells a slack and meandering story. Our heroes face a succession of hazards that are either predictable or risible, including giant scorpions, sand storms and flesh-eating cockroaches.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In one of the better scenes, our heroes go to Las Vegas and get a thrill from playing the fruit machines, even though the winnings are useless to them. There, they also hook up with a woman (Dominique Sanda) and later they adopt a child (Jackie Earle Haley). After that, there are more predictable dangers, including marauding rednecks who are all set to abuse the only woman they've seen in two years, before the Landmaster's rocket launchers come to the rescue.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's the film's visual effects that make much of this drama ridiculous. The giant scorpions (actually real scorpions matted into the scene) appear early and pretty much destroy the film's credibility. The contaminated post-nuclear skies look unconvincing. And the last key effects sequence in the film is almost incoherent.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's a road movie, so an episodic structure comes with the territory, but the film doesn't build to anything. The story doesn't bear any thinking about, either </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> why is nobody worried about contaminated air in this post-nuclear world? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">and the ending is highly unconvincing.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A pre-<i>Star Wars </i>film in a post-<i>Star Wars </i>world</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8S8jO4LiT7y6McyaFo7Dtj3zZTN1lHRfkEB7vs3YoLUKDgGNqafxIKv2hrRKpKZ-SH_JSzkP9IR5ONIcpqjDm0nH4JklQMnCMBIKBdpi929YLOrxdrjvQpUvqVGoTb1yFH1HF8kKJCpq/s1600/damnation+alley+cast+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="540" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8S8jO4LiT7y6McyaFo7Dtj3zZTN1lHRfkEB7vs3YoLUKDgGNqafxIKv2hrRKpKZ-SH_JSzkP9IR5ONIcpqjDm0nH4JklQMnCMBIKBdpi929YLOrxdrjvQpUvqVGoTb1yFH1HF8kKJCpq/s400/damnation+alley+cast+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The cast of <i>Damnation Alley </i>with the Landmaster</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In many ways, <i>Damnation Alley </i>belongs to a world before <i>Star Wars</i>. The post-apocalyptic future it presents is in keeping with such movies as <i>Soylent Green</i>, <i>The Omega Man</i>, the <i>Planet of the Apes </i>cycle and even <i>Logan's Run</i>. Like many a pre-<i>Star Wars </i>genre movie, it is based on a novel and features at least one established star, in George Peppard. (Murray Hamilton, despite being known for his role as the sheriff in <i>Jaws</i>, is silent and uncredited in the released version.)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite a couple of impressive sequences, it is a frustrating movie. The always perceptive <a href="http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/2011/04/cult-movie-review-damnation-alley-1977.html">John Kenneth Muir explains </a>why it is not without interest:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"The primary reason that some folks like me remember and enjoy <i>Damnation Alley</i>, beyond the wonderful Landmaster, is that the idea of the post-apocalyptic road trip is purely and simply intriguing. It's kind of a reverse-frontier story, with brave men heading ... back east, after the frontier has been obliterated."</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So there is some enjoyment to be had from <i>Damnation Alley</i>, for all its shortcomings. But it's hard to imagine why anyone at Fox might have thought this $17million production was a better investment than the $10million Star Wars. </span><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Did you see <i>Damnation Alley </i>at the time? Have you caught up with it since? Am I being unkind to it? I'd be grateful for your comments below.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-2138053249723980512018-07-13T15:52:00.000-07:002018-07-14T03:21:06.576-07:00What Star Wars owed to westerns<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNfp0K74ntIG7bMXbq7qJweY9iZ1BYlOeQj5BaIYzZz5rcnK5n3ueUozsSB73EYgKFAhU09vdMS0mmIww60IJ5whQycl2rwFSH4XulPzfntYgUdq1IyR9qR2leAypsCiwA1Q8vn_SUCHu/s1600/han+solo+gunslinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZNfp0K74ntIG7bMXbq7qJweY9iZ1BYlOeQj5BaIYzZz5rcnK5n3ueUozsSB73EYgKFAhU09vdMS0mmIww60IJ5whQycl2rwFSH4XulPzfntYgUdq1IyR9qR2leAypsCiwA1Q8vn_SUCHu/s400/han+solo+gunslinger.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars</i> owes a lot to westerns</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Here's something that isn't often acknowledged about <i>Star Wars</i>: Parts of it are like a great western.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In today's post, I want to look at some of the ways in which George Lucas drew on the genre that dominated American cinema for a large part of the 21st century.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The state of the western in the 1970s</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcfwVc60-QDAjelkbeg-DtuMUzgauXEYnKHeg_FVlsvL8_UjtgwMGdtAx9no0t0PU4QHu0kvPt8L1DcHXU216ccF94yxqSBSqy6GSLzg2BnUEMAIF0gulgfKMG5Zggv_10h80i17WG9xh/s1600/john+wayne+ron+howard+shootist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcfwVc60-QDAjelkbeg-DtuMUzgauXEYnKHeg_FVlsvL8_UjtgwMGdtAx9no0t0PU4QHu0kvPt8L1DcHXU216ccF94yxqSBSqy6GSLzg2BnUEMAIF0gulgfKMG5Zggv_10h80i17WG9xh/s400/john+wayne+ron+howard+shootist.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ron Howard and John Wayne in <i>The Shootist</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A lot of studies will tell you that the western in the 1970s was in decline, which is true up to a point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were many fewer westerns about by the time <i>Star Wars </i>was released. The number of them being made in Hollywood had declined drastically. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Wayne had made his last film, <i>The Shootist</i>, in 1976. (It was </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">a brilliant swansong co-starring Ron Howard, who had been in George Lucas's <i>American Graffiti </i>and would go on to direct <i>Solo: A Star Wars Story</i>.) Even Clint Eastwood was making more thrillers and cop movies than westerns.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And yet, there were still an awful lot of westerns around. After all, they had been in production until pretty recently, so there were many cowboy movies available for showing on television. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What's more, there had been plenty of western TV series, until many of them were axed by the networks in an event known as the "rural purge" in 1970-71. That left plenty of episodes still playing in syndication and reruns. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the UK, shows such as <i>Casey Jones </i>and <i>Champion the Wonder Horse </i>had been staples of children's TV, while <i>The Virginian </i>had been peak-time viewing. <i>The High Chaparral </i>and the colour episodes of <i>The Lone Ranger </i>were still being shown pretty close to the time <i>Star Wars </i>was released, and the latter show had inspired a magnificent range of toy heroes and their horses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, whatever shape westerns were in by the mid-1970s, the genre had dominated Hollywood's output, at least quantity-wise, for generations. So when George Lucas tried to fuse all kinds of genres into his own unique adventure story, it's no surprise that he introduced strong elements of the western.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Eight ways Star Wars borrowed from westerns.</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. People live a hard life in a tough natural environment</span></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrlotZfZPbKTCfdyhsbAHiX2UxzW3nc7p0KbUsn8qGLFGLdzAx3s0R_XX3VnUt5WiIONyZ__7x1FgPEBjfF3aMoji0RZs0Z5DFFaU3VEFY34HhDIjpdOVUbDq-U-ZuQdaABRl6LMATFs2/s1600/star+wars+luke+moisture+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="134" data-original-width="376" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrlotZfZPbKTCfdyhsbAHiX2UxzW3nc7p0KbUsn8qGLFGLdzAx3s0R_XX3VnUt5WiIONyZ__7x1FgPEBjfF3aMoji0RZs0Z5DFFaU3VEFY34HhDIjpdOVUbDq-U-ZuQdaABRl6LMATFs2/s400/star+wars+luke+moisture+farm.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Luke Skywalker on the farm</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Luke Skywalker has the same kind of existence as a lot of young people in westerns. A life in a hostile environment, where the adults work hard and their offspring do chores.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We don't know what brought Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru to Tatooine's deserts </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> whether they're natives of the planet or settlers. But we do know that it's a rough natural environment, and that it's difficult to make a living out of farming moisture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. The trading post</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInusukcGgbsUzOeYbjPwzk1xqxz1PxiXnPqlsjaVi7xDt47zxlTyJUPV5jgTJLh2xeAjPN4tHbMqakdP7c_bCFS871l4UW58gFvpYlbhUOGYDYWWVah7iAqq7J2dBpUZ4CMRtc73W24EF/s1600/star+wars+jawa+trading.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="800" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInusukcGgbsUzOeYbjPwzk1xqxz1PxiXnPqlsjaVi7xDt47zxlTyJUPV5jgTJLh2xeAjPN4tHbMqakdP7c_bCFS871l4UW58gFvpYlbhUOGYDYWWVah7iAqq7J2dBpUZ4CMRtc73W24EF/s400/star+wars+jawa+trading.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Uncle Owen trades with the Jawas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many a western movie shows an uneasy coexistence between settler and the indigenous population (more of that later), with their interactions revolving around trade.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, in <i>Star Wars</i>, we see the equivalent of a western trading post, as the Jawas come to the Lars family homestead and sell droids. We get the idea that the farmers rely on these traders coming by from time to time; it's part of their existence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. The environment: take a look at that canyon</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPD_bhdqq1Soi9ck-9JrZpeUdimFR6OC8kP-hzrrQ6NoAZFAQyWF1lo3ixhrakzvNl-CBjPFLuZAz_1MaegVPu4KYyI4RoicWuTvA-woRZBkzMFNkCnKoN6xMhmCn-a0Ci-XoV70Y8tX8M/s1600/star+wars+sandpeople+canyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="347" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPD_bhdqq1Soi9ck-9JrZpeUdimFR6OC8kP-hzrrQ6NoAZFAQyWF1lo3ixhrakzvNl-CBjPFLuZAz_1MaegVPu4KYyI4RoicWuTvA-woRZBkzMFNkCnKoN6xMhmCn-a0Ci-XoV70Y8tX8M/s400/star+wars+sandpeople+canyon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Sandpeople above a canyon</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's not until much later in the movie that we learn there's a place near Luke's home called Beggar's Canyon, which is a Wild West sort of a name if ever there was one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And take a look at the canyon where R2 is zapped by the Jawas, or where Luke first encounters Ben Kenobi. It could have come from the work of the master of the western genre, John Ford.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. The sense of threat from another tribe</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJqtppqoLojHNbn4SM4vViB85KVh3rpWdoGyPjFUZTjuMHgu-D5OJ5itYAIEwg-gVb_qHrn8sYbBRlZVFD1nuTC5Uzrv2ojvRqQy6wcbIEWpbc_a1h2f_4RojSXkRglHaNCXpLCA-EKOO/s1600/star+wars+sandpeople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="720" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJqtppqoLojHNbn4SM4vViB85KVh3rpWdoGyPjFUZTjuMHgu-D5OJ5itYAIEwg-gVb_qHrn8sYbBRlZVFD1nuTC5Uzrv2ojvRqQy6wcbIEWpbc_a1h2f_4RojSXkRglHaNCXpLCA-EKOO/s400/star+wars+sandpeople.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A Tusken raider</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's where we have to deal with something uncomfortable: the way westerns depicted the native American population. It was something many of us accepted uncritically as kids, but which throws up all kinds of problems for a grown-up viewer today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That said, it's clear that the Sandpeople in <i>Star Wars </i>are depicted in a way that's strikingly similar to the way native Americans were presented in movies. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They don't have advanced technology, but the farmers are scared of them and are worried about venturing into "their" territory, especially at night. We know they carry out raids against certain targets, albeit not normally as big as a Jawa sandcrawler. And the idea that they ride "single file to hide their numbers" seems to be the sort of detail straight out of a western film.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All these characteristics remind us of the way indigenous American people were depicted in the less complicated westerns, and it's surely plausible to think that Lucas was reproducing tropes from that genre.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. The burning homestead</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6zWXZHxD3dwE6PD4nuUaVrAvV3M9DU_OVwnLcexjmiOyEGQk08Jm2WDM3vJMpyi6e5EoXHD40HUCotRq1ax-eJFLJ29rjbuktyJid612r64dnYypNm-8aZmXJt92YGoBWfjfljI79Ou2/s1600/searchers+burning+homestead.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6zWXZHxD3dwE6PD4nuUaVrAvV3M9DU_OVwnLcexjmiOyEGQk08Jm2WDM3vJMpyi6e5EoXHD40HUCotRq1ax-eJFLJ29rjbuktyJid612r64dnYypNm-8aZmXJt92YGoBWfjfljI79Ou2/s400/searchers+burning+homestead.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwToE3pIJXcvzXnSERp0r8v9FMQLohj_c2jz8ND248O_dJt4ABW5yv-vV1Ru4USWtsZJCcHXIFYU-ipzr-VhKnJYN8niUtUpR6AtmvpDHzarn5y_Cb00qYL7cVOVMk-yL8R-rZgRYotzU4/s1600/star+wars+burning+homestead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="584" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwToE3pIJXcvzXnSERp0r8v9FMQLohj_c2jz8ND248O_dJt4ABW5yv-vV1Ru4USWtsZJCcHXIFYU-ipzr-VhKnJYN8niUtUpR6AtmvpDHzarn5y_Cb00qYL7cVOVMk-yL8R-rZgRYotzU4/s400/star+wars+burning+homestead.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Burning homesteads in <i>The Searchers </i>and <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the most dramatic moments in <i>Star Wars </i>has been likened to at least two other movies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Luke's return to the burning Lars' homestead shares strong parallels with both John Ford's <i>The Searchers </i>(1956) and Henry Hathaway's <i>Nevada Smith </i>(1966).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. The rough bar with the band that keeps playing</span></h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9FJAiccpVnke7lVXrI2MVHcTrw1mtt4dk1YsPX-Dx_btQE-sS2EZWBRuFfDZ2CFT1bt6TgvDCFdg6idXarn3kJgJC1wnKRUMU0oAnfisd4sL38_yJ1fH2IojuLdy3nhSZ4V0byI5FCUp/s1600/star+wars+cantina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9FJAiccpVnke7lVXrI2MVHcTrw1mtt4dk1YsPX-Dx_btQE-sS2EZWBRuFfDZ2CFT1bt6TgvDCFdg6idXarn3kJgJC1wnKRUMU0oAnfisd4sL38_yJ1fH2IojuLdy3nhSZ4V0byI5FCUp/s400/star+wars+cantina.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Star Wars </i>cantina</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The cantina, where Luke and Ben must go to find a pilot, is the kind of rough, tough drinking establishment that we see in many a western.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's a place where people are used to fights breaking out, but don't get involved. And the sequence contains a joke which reminds us of many a western: When violence erupts and all eyes turn temporarily to the aftermath, it takes only a moment for the band </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> like the pianist in so many Wild West saloons </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> to resume playing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. The gunslinger</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAp029UUyTM_DbZiZJXfxZuxVjf8rSuQIhSVxKBswQv5MXToh-yPzjf72jVYZCxidE9sNn_s8j1Z9KnVAtONfQBhBgzT5-SJxFsdvKuUHpllTSjW7dSxtNHavByRBvGPuxMK4JzbS6gFL/s1600/han+solo+gunslinger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="628" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAp029UUyTM_DbZiZJXfxZuxVjf8rSuQIhSVxKBswQv5MXToh-yPzjf72jVYZCxidE9sNn_s8j1Z9KnVAtONfQBhBgzT5-SJxFsdvKuUHpllTSjW7dSxtNHavByRBvGPuxMK4JzbS6gFL/s400/han+solo+gunslinger.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Han Solo, gunslinger</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Han Solo, of course, looks like a cowboy, with his vest (UK: waistcoat) and his gun in a quick-draw holster.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He behaves like one too, electing to draw his gun and shoot Greedo before Jabba's hood can do it to him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like many a western gunslinger, he lives outside the law, and we know nothing about where he came from. But like the Lone Ranger, he doesn't actually ride alone. His surprising friendship with Chewbacca suggests there is more to him than meets the eye, and that he has a kinship with another culture. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">8. The gunfights</span></span></h4>
<h4>
<br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ypm6aFW0_vJ0jvmPShOVwdXATnFeqKzKK0XAAmK-nuHCIkVgr8ENraRvaxqnoYZLOK7IGXOTOQZDTf9WU9aXn77phnRd8c2U-8BeluNuscJrVIBcGnmRFBUuSKLoZ8k9gOb8mdSFD44a/s1600/star+wars+detention+block+shootout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="345" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ypm6aFW0_vJ0jvmPShOVwdXATnFeqKzKK0XAAmK-nuHCIkVgr8ENraRvaxqnoYZLOK7IGXOTOQZDTf9WU9aXn77phnRd8c2U-8BeluNuscJrVIBcGnmRFBUuSKLoZ8k9gOb8mdSFD44a/s400/star+wars+detention+block+shootout.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A shootout on the Death Star</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the <i>Millennium Falcon </i>blasts off from Mos Eisley, we leave behind the locales that might remind us of westerns. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But the connection with the genre is not jettisoned.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Think of those gun battles - particularly the shootout in the Death Star detention centre, where laser bolts are flying in every direction. There is something of the western about them, and one influence that's been mentioned is <i>Gunfight at the OK Corral</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We may be amid space stations, starrships and tractor beams, but the spirit of the classic western is still at hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Did you spot any links with westerns that I missed? Leave a comment, or engage with me via Twitter at @episodenothing</b></span><br />
<br />Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-90981447280492982622018-07-06T14:47:00.001-07:002018-07-06T14:52:07.874-07:00Hear the difference between the mono and stereo 1977 versions of Star Wars<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1VoTsDr4ZB296IlQeQBRYmJBP1EkZ84f0-mdFmIDIhwyfo3tm7t8P5nTCFPMnjabNWpfe2BUbay-ff0dTnG-sedKpG3M-9EUkvapy5U6xx4XCQ1fIEcA646lZUcIBbM-U-iJufr4Eg8V/s1600/c3po+tractor+beam+line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1VoTsDr4ZB296IlQeQBRYmJBP1EkZ84f0-mdFmIDIhwyfo3tm7t8P5nTCFPMnjabNWpfe2BUbay-ff0dTnG-sedKpG3M-9EUkvapy5U6xx4XCQ1fIEcA646lZUcIBbM-U-iJufr4Eg8V/s640/c3po+tractor+beam+line.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">C-3PO had more to say in the mono mix of <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>If you saw <i>Star Wars </i>two or three times in 1977, it may not have been the same each time.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>That's because, as we've seen before, there were three different sound mixes of the film.</b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: inline !important; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A video on YouTube allows you to listen to those differences for yourself.</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The different sound mixes of <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"></b><br />
<h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLs5pgpzB3JMUNDG4X1Pj2YE7ZxLYJNKGKS-Z5UfvK6aePt4C3CEiecftLPXNIXMhmuV4E9BVrA3d9wqU9SbWmUolzac-vr0ypX1lu7_ch8obuFmuAhlyr6zEi9s20PUqljwDbT0q0mjX/s1600/star+wars+oscar+ben+burtt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLs5pgpzB3JMUNDG4X1Pj2YE7ZxLYJNKGKS-Z5UfvK6aePt4C3CEiecftLPXNIXMhmuV4E9BVrA3d9wqU9SbWmUolzac-vr0ypX1lu7_ch8obuFmuAhlyr6zEi9s20PUqljwDbT0q0mjX/s400/star+wars+oscar+ben+burtt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ben Burtt with C-3PO, Mark Hamill and his special Oscar</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In a nutshell, here is why <i>Star Wars </i>didn't always sound the same.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first prints screened were in 70mm with six-track Dolby stereo. After that, there came 35mm prints in Dolby Stereo. Finally (and not until June 1977), there was the version for cinemas which still had just a single speaker.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">JW Rinzler, in his 2007 book <i>The Making of Star Wars </i>(page 291), says: "The first mix sent out with the film, at the last possible second was the six-track Dolby stereo version, but the first mix also had the most errors. Next up was the two-track stereo, which was derived from the six-track, yet there was still no time at that stage to make any changes." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The mono mix was still being prepared when <i>Star Wars </i>opened. It's what Lucas was working on when he and Marcia discovered there were crowds outside Grauman's Chinese Theater, where the film was showing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ben Burtt recalled (in Rinzler's book, p293-294): "George, [editor] Paul Hirsch and I and everyone in the crew sat down and made a list of the things we didn't like in the stereo mix. Then we tried to achieve every one of those things on the mono."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some voices sounded different. A couple of voices actually were different. There were some different sound effects and even some totally different lines of dialogue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since the mono mix contained various tweaks from the other version, it was said to be Lucas's preferred version in many ways. And when the LP <i>The Story of Star Wars </i>came out (co-produced by George Lucas), even though it was in stereo, the dialogue and effects were based on the refinements made in the mono mix.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the film was first released on home video, the soundtrack was that of the original 35mm Dolby Stereo prints. But in 1985, Ben Burtt started to make some changes, and put back in some elements from that mono mix. Ever since then, we have listened to a succession of mixes that were never exactly like any of those 1977 prints.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hear the difference: The <i>Star Wars </i>Dolby Stereo and mono mixes</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeXpcYcZNDw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aeXpcYcZNDw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've seen several attempts to describe in text the differences between the different mixes of <i>Star Wars</i>. Fortunately, the YouTube video above, posted by SpaceHunterM, makes it all nice and easy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The widescreen sections of this video are the mono version, taken from a print of the film with Swedish subtitles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The other parts, presented in 4:3 shape (presumably because they come from one of those earliest VHS tapes) present the Dolby Stereo 35mm version.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You'll hear the differences for yourself, but the key differences include:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<li>A different actress dubbing the voice of Aunt Beru.</li>
<li>In the mono mix, one of the stormtroopers trying doors in Mos Eisley says "All right, check that side of the street. It's secure. Move on to the next one." In the stereo version, he says: “All right, check this side of the street. The door’s locked? Move on to the next one”.</li>
<li>When the heroes are in the Death Star control room planning to deactivate the tractor beam, C-3PO has another line in the mono version: “The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave."</li>
<li>The voice that warns Grand Moff Tarkin about the escaping rebels adds the name "Governor Tarkin" to his line in the mono mix.</li>
<li>One of the stormtroopers pursuing Han and Chewbacca through the Death Star says "Close the blast doors!" in the mono version (before saying "Open the blast doors!" in all versions).</li>
<li>There is a different voice on the Death Star counting down until the Rebel base is in range.</li>
<li>The death screams of X-wing pilot Porkins are drowned out by an explosion in the mono version.</li>
<li>Luke says "Blast it, Wedge, where are you?" in the mono version, instead of “Blast it! Biggs, where are you?”</li>
</span></ul>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Why we should never have wiped our off-air, VHS recordings of <i>Star Wars</i></h3>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizd91kHTuLovR8_wudxuxTCyfUuCBTDg2cmzbBTRv6tancHEjoHmeVjWalwHJX2KslXtOsOHOq8jN1xHCpZ6ix85a6JJEcVx6XWF_Dh80lxlakS15eVW9HMVSwoZycd9POx1sklunJjmp/s1600/tv+times+star+wars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1182" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizd91kHTuLovR8_wudxuxTCyfUuCBTDg2cmzbBTRv6tancHEjoHmeVjWalwHJX2KslXtOsOHOq8jN1xHCpZ6ix85a6JJEcVx6XWF_Dh80lxlakS15eVW9HMVSwoZycd9POx1sklunJjmp/s400/tv+times+star+wars.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars </i>comes to UK television </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The mono mix became sought-after as people became more aware of the different versions. Everyone wanted to hear it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The irony is that many of us used to own it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the best places to hear that mix was the UK television transmission. ITV showed the film in October 1982 (as we <a href="http://episodenothing.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-day-long-remembered-star-wars-comes.html">remembered in this post</a>) and repeated it several times, in the days before TV went stereo. Many of us had off-air recordings, only to wipe them when the film was available to buy at an affordable price on tape.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not for the first time in the history of <i>Star Wars </i>collecting, we had got rid of something we would wish we had kept.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why Lucas took so much care over the mono mix</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8D5MkjhyphenhyphenQ7jtPaP8QnPvATKRSZ5wraXBNAGRi44SIfVSdvz6rlB7715KqKWf93K667x7jKoO5c7MqsM-P0n8HvT7MSLWxOwcWxHXnU7Wd5WHzAPwn897gZkx5bx0vXUvTzcKuHVBZ8VkY/s1600/story+of+star+wars+l+p.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1580" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8D5MkjhyphenhyphenQ7jtPaP8QnPvATKRSZ5wraXBNAGRi44SIfVSdvz6rlB7715KqKWf93K667x7jKoO5c7MqsM-P0n8HvT7MSLWxOwcWxHXnU7Wd5WHzAPwn897gZkx5bx0vXUvTzcKuHVBZ8VkY/s400/story+of+star+wars+l+p.JPG" width="395" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <i>Story of Star Wars LP </i>used elements <br />of the film's mono mix</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This has all been very geeky, but the existence of the mono mix gives us another reason to admire Lucas and his collaborators.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A great deal of care was taken over this third version of the film's soundtrack. Lucas and his team could have just "folded" the Dolby Stereo mix into one channel of sound, but they didn't. They went to considerable trouble to refine the soundtrack once more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1977, stereo was still a bonus enjoyed at the more up-to-date cinemas, while the majority of venues were only equipped with mono. So Lucas was taking trouble for the benefit of all those millions who would not see a stereo print.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lucas says in the Rinzler book: "We were locked in this little room, but it was important because monaural was what most people were going to see." </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Television was still in mono, of course, and home video didn't exist for the vast majority of viewers. So by devoting attention to the mono mix, Lucas was taking care over the version of the film that he might have expected to be around for many years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And while the mono mix has been left behind by film history, we can hear some of its tweaks reinstated to the several different stereo mixes of the film we have heard on tape, laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-63097177640297950352018-06-29T15:49:00.000-07:002018-07-06T14:52:56.053-07:00Plain old Star Wars: Why this blog doesn't tend to say A New Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bTPTeSu7hpI/Wza0HuoYjtI/AAAAAAAAWTU/0uZJ4ABgkAYcl6LfzuMUIJFSRcX0fK06QCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Btitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bTPTeSu7hpI/Wza0HuoYjtI/AAAAAAAAWTU/0uZJ4ABgkAYcl6LfzuMUIJFSRcX0fK06QCLcBGAs/s640/star%2Bwars%2Btitle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>
Around here, we don't tend to use the phrase <i>A New Hope</i>.<br /><br />I suspect that may have cost me a bit of Google traffic, but there's a reason for it.<br /><br />This is a blog devoted to <i>Star Wars </i>as it was released, enjoyed and debated in the 1970s. Back then, people thought that if there were more <i>Star Wars </i>films, they would be straightforward sequels. There was no suggestion that Luke Skywalker's first adventure was the middle of a multi-chapter story. Hence the title of this blog: <i>Episode Nothing</i>.</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why <i>Star Wars </i>was such a great title</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QjJWDAfru58/Wzaz93EoaQI/AAAAAAAAWTY/uNtQwP-amPIoN5kastXw197BLGAzYOGFgCEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bdean%2Btavalouris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="694" height="163" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QjJWDAfru58/Wzaz93EoaQI/AAAAAAAAWTY/uNtQwP-amPIoN5kastXw197BLGAzYOGFgCEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bdean%2Btavalouris.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A storyboard by Alex Tavoularis, from when <i>Star Wars </i>was still <i>The Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before we go on, let's pause a minute to reflect on the brilliance of that title: <i>Star Wars</i>. The symmetry of those two four-letter words might have owed something to <i>Star Trek</i>, but it's surely the one of the most perfectly evocative film titles ever. (I think <i>The Driller Killer </i>runs it a close second.)<br /><br />United Artists had registered the title <i>The Star Wars </i>back in 1971, back when it was interested in producing <i>American Graffiti </i>and retaining an option on anything else George Lucas had to offer. (It ended up passing on both films.)<br /><br />The title still began with <i>The </i>while it was being shot. But at some point before the logo was commissioned, it became plain <i>Star Wars</i>. <br /><br />What it didn't become, for quite some time, was <i>Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope</i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When did <i>Star Wars </i>first become <i>Episode IV</i>?</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6hJ9jhUSy2w/Wza0C8j7OjI/AAAAAAAAWTc/ZgBWQfrwGIkuojzcXnzkw40ROiWkp4KOACEwYBhgL/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bno%2Bepisode%2Biv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="344" height="168" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6hJ9jhUSy2w/Wza0C8j7OjI/AAAAAAAAWTc/ZgBWQfrwGIkuojzcXnzkw40ROiWkp4KOACEwYBhgL/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bno%2Bepisode%2Biv.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Star Wars</i>, in the days when the crawl had no <i>Episode IV</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Back in 1977, <i>Star Wars </i>was just plain <i>Star Wars</i>, and everyone assumed that any sequel would be <i>Star Wars 2</i>.<br /><br />It was in the first issue of <i>The Empire Strikes Back Weekly</i>, from the UK division of Marvel Comics, that I learned the plan had changed. A feature about the new film told us that its full title was <i>Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back</i>, and that in future the 1977 film would be known as <i>Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope</i>.<br /><br />Now, that was a piece of knowledge to show off to your friends. And when we finally saw <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, Marvel was proved right. It really was called <i>Episode V</i>, which must have been highly confusing for any cinema-goers who had not been doing their homework.<br /><br />The next year, Lucasfilm made good on its promise to re-title the original film. When it went on re-release, on April 10, 1981, the opening crawl had been amended to accommodate subtitle <i>Episode IV: A New Hope</i>.<br /><br />That was the version that was released to home video and laserdisc, and of course it would persist in the Special Editions and its various home video release.<br /><br />With the original version of the title crawl unavailable on home video, some younger fans came to believe the <i>Episode IV </i>had always been there. Then, in 2004, we first generation fans could point to proof that we hadn't been imagining it. The documentary <i>Empire of Dreams</i>, which was included as a bonus feature on the DVD set, included a clip from that original crawl.<br /><br />In 2006, the original cut of the movie was finally issued as a bonus feature on a new DVD of the film, and the argument was settled for good.<br /><br /></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Was <i>Star Wars </i>going to be called <i>Episode IV </i>originally?</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ODYwDSrZkAg/Wza2LtUNNAI/AAAAAAAAWTo/C7ftVVLNoUAEnVkZOE5bE1zh6QHXYt1lQCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2B1977%2Bcrawl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="450" height="177" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ODYwDSrZkAg/Wza2LtUNNAI/AAAAAAAAWTo/C7ftVVLNoUAEnVkZOE5bE1zh6QHXYt1lQCLcBGAs/s400/star%2Bwars%2B1977%2Bcrawl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">More of the <i>Star Wars </i>opening crawl</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Some said Lucas had wanted to call the 1977 film <i>Episode IV </i>all along, but that Twentieth Century-Fox scotched the idea.<br /><br />In fact, Alan Frank's 1982 volume <i>The Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Handbook </i>had producer Gary Kurtz saying just that. Unfortunately, Frank doesn't cite his source, but he has Kurtz saying the film "was supposed to have been titled <i>Star Wars: Episode Four, A New Hope</i>. We got cold feet at the last minute, and took that out. Fox was worried, and to be perfectly honest, we were worried too. People wouldn't understand what all that meant."<br /><br />But Kurtz's version of events contradicts something that George Lucas said to <i>Starlog </i>magazine as far back as late 1978. (I'm grateful to <a href="https://www.cbr.com/movie-legends-revealed-when-did-the-first-star-wars-become-episode-iv/">this article at Movie Legends </a>for the quote.)<br /><br />"We were going to call it <i>Star Wars: Episode II </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>– The Empire Strikes Back</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">, but we ran into some problems. You see, although this story is a direct sequel to the first movie, we have three more stories that we eventually want to film that actually occur before the point where the first <i>Star Wars </i>begins. So we’ve been toying with the idea of ignoring the numbers completely. Instead, we’ll give each movie episode a unique title. I mean, if we had to give each film its true number in the series, this movie would be called <i>Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first film would be called <i>Episode IV</i>! Can you imagine how complicated it would get?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Well, these days, we don't have to imagine.<br /><br />Like so much about the development of <i>Star Wars</i>, the situation is confusing. But we have to remind ourselves that Lucas's plans for the sequels did tend to keep changing. At various times, he suggested the final number of <i>Star Wars </i>films would be: indeterminate, nine, twelve, six and nine again.<br /><br />I think we have to assume that Kurtz, who must have been speaking at around the time <i>The Empire Strikes Back </i>came out, must have been reflecting what Lucasfilm was touting as the official line at the time. The evidence suggests there was no serious plan to put an episode number on the original film until <i>Empire </i>was being made.<br /><br /></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was still called <i>Star Wars</i></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5dxmSX194uo/Wza2zVmSmPI/AAAAAAAAWTw/sEYNpAtFxg0T50mMV3oZv2cFk9ZThZ3pQCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Bspecial%2Bedition%2Bposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="187" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5dxmSX194uo/Wza2zVmSmPI/AAAAAAAAWTw/sEYNpAtFxg0T50mMV3oZv2cFk9ZThZ3pQCLcBGAs/s400/star%2Bwars%2Bspecial%2Bedition%2Bposter.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even the <i>Star Wars </i>Special Edition posters didn't use the <i>Episode IV </i>subtitle</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
Even after the <i>Episode IV </i>title was added, most people didn't use it.<br /><br />That 1981 reissue still said <i>Star Wars </i>on the posters. The 1982 UK double bill was of <i>Star Wars </i>and <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i>, not Episodes IV and V. The TV transmission in the UK that autumn was billed as just <i>Star Wars</i>.<br /><br />In fact, even the Special Edition, released in 1997, didn't make much of the subtitle. Most artwork called it <i>Star Wars</i>, or <i>Star Wars </i>with <i>A New Hope </i>in much smaller letters.<br /><br />In everyday conversation, people still called it Star Wars, but as the franchise grew in the 1990s and beyond, fans took to using that <i>A New Hope </i>title. And when the prequels arrived, the roman numerals were finally made prominent on the artwork for releases of the original trilogy.<br /><br />And what about the public today? The wider public, who are not <i>Star Wars </i>fans. It's hard to fathom the mind of a non-fan, of course, but I suspect many of them have come to see <i>Star Wars </i>as a title that describes a myriad of stories, like <i>Star Trek</i>. <br /><br />That's understandable, and of course it aids clarity to use the phrase <i>Star Wars </i>to refer to the whole saga, while <i>A New Hope </i>describes the 1977 film.<br /><br />But on this blog, I stick to the title <i>Star Wars </i>for two reasons.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Firstly, for historical accuracy, I believe a film should be referred to by the title it originally carried, in its home country. And that means <i>Star Wars </i>(1977).<br /><br />But secondly, I like to remember the film that surprised the world on May 25, 1977 and over the months that followed. It was fresh and exciting and charming, and while people assumed there would be a sequel, nobody knew what path that would follow. And the most enjoyable experience to ever hit cinemas was called simply <i>Star Wars</i>.</span><br />
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3723667248028171672.post-58580735050557159942018-06-22T14:39:00.000-07:002018-06-22T14:39:59.519-07:00Star Wars debuts part 2: The first work of the people behind the film<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C9halJFq_JQ/Wy1oEBpVIZI/AAAAAAAAWSo/kfefMNI8fQYKkpD-bSznflUbNNXT_eVDwCLcBGAs/s1600/star%2Bwars%2Blast%2Bshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C9halJFq_JQ/Wy1oEBpVIZI/AAAAAAAAWSo/kfefMNI8fQYKkpD-bSznflUbNNXT_eVDwCLcBGAs/s640/star%2Bwars%2Blast%2Bshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The principal heroes of <i>Star Wars</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Last time, I looked back at the earliest work of some of the older people behind <i>Star Wars</i>. We found that the earliest film to share personnel with George Lucas's film was probably <i>Rookery Nook</i>, the 1930 British movie which had Gilbert Taylor as assistant cameraman.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Today, we move into the 1960s and 1970s for the film debuts of some of the film's principals.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader). Debut: <i>Dr Strangelove</i>, 1964.</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rK_NqewPOLQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rK_NqewPOLQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">James Earl Jones had almost a decade of stage experience, mostly in small parts, when he made his film debut as a B-52 bombardier, at the age of 33, in Stanley Kubrick's Cold War satire </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr Strangelove </i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">(1964). He would enjoy acclaim on stage and make a couple more films before, at the age of 46, spending two days in March 1977 lending his voice to Darth Vader. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Kenny Baker (R2-D2). Debut: </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Circus of Horrors</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, 1960.</span></span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kmu3nSF84KE/WyzwyQ17OeI/AAAAAAAAWR4/hgcIx7Y6EjIG7f4vf4xZ7ZNH8NdFnUR2wCLcBGAs/s1600/kenny%2Bbaker%2Bcircus%2Bof%2Bhorrors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kmu3nSF84KE/WyzwyQ17OeI/AAAAAAAAWR4/hgcIx7Y6EjIG7f4vf4xZ7ZNH8NdFnUR2wCLcBGAs/s400/kenny%2Bbaker%2Bcircus%2Bof%2Bhorrors.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kenny Baker in <i>Circus of Horrors</i>. (Photo: http://aveleyman.com)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kenny Baker's career in show business started when a woman stopped him on the street and invited him to join a theatrical company of dwarves and midgets. He was involved in circuses, ice shows and cabarets, and in 1960 he had an uncredited role as a circus entertainer in the British shocker <i>Circus of Horrors</i>, starring Anton Diffring. He was 25 when it was released.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Baker wouldn't make a second film until 16 years later, when he landed his part inside the metal body of R2-D2 in <i>Star Wars</i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Harrison Ford (Han Solo). Debut: Dead Heat on a <i>Merry-Go-Round</i>, 1966.</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BrlULhMtmMQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BrlULhMtmMQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is an almost forgotten crime film, which is probably most often Googled because of the young actor who appears for a few seconds. It was the screen debut of Harrison Ford, as a bellhop delivering a telegram, who exchanges a few words with James Coburn.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ford was 24 when the film came out, and his debut was not an auspicious one. Depending on which version of the story you read, a studio executive told him<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 36pt;"> “Kid, you have no future in this business” or </span><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 36pt;">“You ain’t got it, kid </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36pt;">now get out of here.” He would soldier on for a while in supporting roles </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36pt;">including in George Lucas's <i>American Graffiti </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">–</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36pt;"> before almost quitting acting for carpentry. He was 33 when he landed the role of Han Solo.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">David Prowse (Darth Vader). Debut: </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Col cuore in gola</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, 1967.</span></span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feyDwvNkSjQ/WyzxXrfHb6I/AAAAAAAAWSA/6ZWX00CJW88dlrK9Lqzk7KSQJGGqTw8zQCLcBGAs/s1600/col%2Bcuore%2Bin%2Bgola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feyDwvNkSjQ/WyzxXrfHb6I/AAAAAAAAWSA/6ZWX00CJW88dlrK9Lqzk7KSQJGGqTw8zQCLcBGAs/s320/col%2Bcuore%2Bin%2Bgola.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dave Prowse was a body-builder and weightlifter looking for breaks in the movie business when he made an uncredited appearance in this Italian thriller, which also goes by the titles <i>Deadly Sweet </i>and <i>I Am What I Am</i>. He was 32 when it reached cinemas, by which time he was nine years away from his fateful casting in <i>Star Wars</i>.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also in 1967, Prowse figured in a much better-known film, the Bond spoof <i>Casino Royale</i>, and his astonishing career would encompass several franchises with large and loyal fandoms: Bond, Hammer horror films, <i>Doctor Who </i>and <i>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</i>, not to mention Stanley Kubrick's <i>A Clockwork Orange</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">George Lucas (writer-director). Debut: </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Gimme Shelter</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, 1970.</span></span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RZ_Ed8YEJzA/Wyzxn2hWwcI/AAAAAAAAWSI/cBPTHphjPOwBb4sVehn6nI_D4bRMEaJ7wCLcBGAs/s1600/gimme%2Bshelter%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="213" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RZ_Ed8YEJzA/Wyzxn2hWwcI/AAAAAAAAWSI/cBPTHphjPOwBb4sVehn6nI_D4bRMEaJ7wCLcBGAs/s320/gimme%2Bshelter%2Bgeorge%2Blucas.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">George Lucas was a camera </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">operator on <i>Gimme Shelter</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">George Lucas made some ambitious, often avant-garde student films in the 1960s, and also observed two Hollywood productions close up: He won the chance to make a film, called </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">6-18-67</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, about the production of the western </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Mackenna's Gold (</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">1969) and was an uncredited production assistant as he observed his future mentor Francis Ford Coppola directing the musical </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Finian's Rainbow </i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">(1967).</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But Lucas's first credited work on a professional movie was as a camera operator on <i>Gimme Shelter </i>(1970), the documentary about the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont, during which a man was fatally stabbed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite his inclusion on the credit roll, it is said that 24-year-old Lucas's camera jammed during the performance and none of his footage was used in the movie. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While <i>Gimme Shelter </i>represented his first on-screen credit, by the time Lucas filmed that concert in December 1969, he had already finished shooting his first movie as director and co-writer. That was <i>THX 1138</i>, an expansion of an award-winning student film. It would not see a release until 1971.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia). Debut: </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Shampoo</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, 1975.</span></span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HSmkxy24iwc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HSmkxy24iwc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Carrie Fisher came from showbiz stock, had appeared in cabaret with her mother Debbie Reynolds and had made her Broadway debut in 1973 in her mother's show Irene. But she shot her film debut when she was 18, playing a young woman who propositions Warren Beatty in the political satire <i>Shampoo</i>. Reynolds was reportedly shocked to hear her daughter use the F-word in her first film part.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca). </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, 1977.</span></span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K4GUDRH92hw/WyzyRTQD7HI/AAAAAAAAWSQ/zylusqJ4r888skUPn3N6VJ2qa1j56Pm3gCLcBGAs/s1600/sinbad%2Band%2Bthe%2Beye%2Bof%2Bthe%2Btiger%2Bpeter%2Bmayhew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="209" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K4GUDRH92hw/WyzyRTQD7HI/AAAAAAAAWSQ/zylusqJ4r888skUPn3N6VJ2qa1j56Pm3gCLcBGAs/s400/sinbad%2Band%2Bthe%2Beye%2Bof%2Bthe%2Btiger%2Bpeter%2Bmayhew.jpg" width="346" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Peter Mayhew was the Minotaur in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger </i>(1977)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hospital porter Peter Mayhew got his break in the movie business thanks to his large shoe size. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The producers of the Ray Harryhausen fantasy <i>Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger </i>spotted him in a newspaper article about people with big feet and called him in to discuss playing the Minotaur. That, in turn, led to him coming to the attention of George Lucas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mayhew was 33 when uncredited role in <i>Sinbad</i> reached the screen. By that time, <i>Star Wars </i>was already in the US. But in his native UK, Harryhausen's film helped pass the agonising months when genre fans were waiting for <i>Star Wars </i>to finally cross the Atlantic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). Debut: </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Wizards</i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, 1977.</span></span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hObuAIdHbOM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hObuAIdHbOM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span id="goog_426478138"></span><span id="goog_426478139"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mark Hamill had been a busy TV actor since 1970, appearing in episodes of <i>The Bill Cosby Show</i>, <i>The Partridge Family</i>, <i>Cannon </i>and <i>Night Gallery</i>, as well as a longer stint in the soap <i>General Hospital </i>and lending his voice to the 1973 animated series <i>Jeannie</i>. His first role in a feature-length screen production was the TV movie <i>Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic </i>in 1975. But if we're counting theatrically-released films, his debt did not come until he provided the voice of Sean in Ralph Bakshi's animated fantasy <i>Wizards</i>, released just three months before <i>Star Wars</i>, when Hamill was 25. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anthony Daniels (C-3PO). Debut: Star Wars, 1977.</span></h3>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pgPauMLCsWM/Wy1m78y_XZI/AAAAAAAAWSc/OWEY0ao1-8QpEsVHyWYvmbskcjGjZnvcACLcBGAs/s1600/anthony%2Bdaniels%2Bc3po.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pgPauMLCsWM/Wy1m78y_XZI/AAAAAAAAWSc/OWEY0ao1-8QpEsVHyWYvmbskcjGjZnvcACLcBGAs/s400/anthony%2Bdaniels%2Bc3po.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anthony Daniels and the C-3PO costume</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And finally... He had appeared on stage and radio but Anthony Daniels was the only member of the </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Star Wars </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">was to have never made a movie before. He was 30 years old when he put on the C-3PO costume.</span></span></div>
Darren Sladehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032557997444382751noreply@blogger.com0