Gilbert Taylor, director of photography on Star Wars, dies aged 99

Gil Taylor with George Lucas on the set of Star Wars. Picture: Fansided.com

Gilbert Taylor, the British director of photography on Star Wars and on dozens of other great movies, died on Friday August 23 at his home on the Isle of Wight. He was 99, which surely makes him the longest-lived member of the Star Wars crew.

Did everyone really think Star Wars would be a flop?

Star Wars: The At Long Last Love of science fiction?

Who knew Star Wars would be a hit?

Most written accounts suggest that Fox was bracing itself for a $10 million flop.

John Dykstra, ILM and the special effects of Star Wars

The special effects of Star Wars – 
fine just the way they were

On its first release, the thing reviews of Star Wars seemed to dwell on more than anything else was, perhaps inevitably, the special effects.

It's not that films hadn't had great visual effects before. 2001: A Space Odyssey almost certainly contained individual effects shots of higher quality than those of Star Wars. But films had never had so many great effects, flitting by so fast.

The Star Wars Bookshelf #2: Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster

"The further adventures":
The US edition of
Splinter of the Mind's Eye 

When a Star Wars spin-off novel called Splinter of the Mind’s Eye: From The Adventures of Luke Skywalker appeared in 1978, there were two significant facts which most of us didn’t know about it. 

Writing Star Wars: "The story of Mace Windy"

The opening of George Lucas's handwritten
"idea fragment" that became Star Wars

"This is the story of Mace Windy [sic], a reviered [sic] Jedi-bendu of Ophuchi,as related to us by CJ Thorpe, padawaan learner to the famed Jedi."

George Lucas actually wrote that sentence. 

Wars-weary: The production of Star Wars and how George Lucas's stress made for a great movie

How not to dress for a heatwave:
Chewbacca's fur is combed on
the set of Star Wars

Here in the UK, we've been experiencing a heatwave. Or at least, what passes for one in Britain. So what better time to reflect on the summer of 1976, when Britain was sweltering in the most famous heatwave of modern times – and a young film director was struggling to make a science fiction movie.

Perfect finish – the final scenes of Star Wars

The Rebellion lines up all the troops – including 
a few strangely lifeless ones to make up 
the numbers – as it salutes the heroes

One of the blogs I most enjoy is John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV. John recently ran a list of his Top 10 Science Fiction Movie Endings and invited readers to submit their own lists.