The Making of Star Wars

The Making of Star Wars

Title screen
Genre TV Special/Documentary[1]
Written by Richard Schickel
Directed by Robert Guenette
Starring Anthony Daniels
(Presenter, as C-3PO)
William Conrad (Narrator)
George Lucas
Mark Hamill
Harrison Ford
Carrie Fisher
Alec Guinness
Gary Kurtz
Composer(s) John Williams
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s) Gary Kurtz
Producer(s) Robert Guenette
Editor(s) N.H. Cominos
Running time 49 min[2]
Production company(s) Lucasfilm
20th Century Fox Television
Distributor Disney-ABC Television Group (current)
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Picture format Color (4:3)
Audio format Monaural
Original airing September 16, 1977

The Making of Star Wars is a television special produced by 20th Century Fox, which aired on the ABC Television Network on September 16, 1977.[3] It was written by Richard Schickel and directed and produced by Robert Guenette.[4]

Synopsis

The special was hosted by C-3PO (voiced and played by Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2.[5] A voiceover narration was additionally supplied by William Conrad. It features behind-the-scenes footage from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and interviews with writer/director George Lucas, producer Gary Kurtz, and castmembers Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Alec Guinness.[6]

Original footage of the scene between Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt, played by Declan Mulholland.

Premiering four months after the release of the film, the special was the first Star Wars documentary ever made. It is also notable for showing footage not seen in the film, particularly the scene between Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt in its original form in which Jabba was played by Irish actor Declan Mulholland (this scene would be included in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars but Jabba would now be a CGI rendered character).

A brief glimpse of another deleted scene between Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine is also included.

Home video release

The special was the first Star Wars material to be released to the home video market (in 1979, by Magnetic Video). It was reissued to video in 1980 with a trailer for The Empire Strikes Back, which had been released that year. This trailer was not featured on the DVD box set issued in 2004.

In 1982, it was reissued again by 20th Century Fox on VHS, Betamax, CED, and Laserdisc as part of a double feature with the 1980 special SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back.[7] It was reissued separately in Japan on Laserdisc in 1992, and was reissued as a triple feature with SPFX and the 1983 special Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi.[8]

The special is included as an additional feature in the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray box set, which was released in September 2011.[9][10] The version included is the original version with William Conrad's voiceover.

Alternate version

In 1995, an alternate version of the special was released to VHS as a special mail-in offer with Kellogg's[11] to tie in with the last video and laserdisc releases of the original versions of the Star Wars Trilogy. This version is almost identical to the 1977 version but replaces William Conrad's voiceover with that of famed movie trailer announcer Don LaFontaine. This version has not been issued on DVD nor any other format.

Some portions of the special were edited into The Story of Star Wars, a DVD that was issued as a promotional bonus available at Wal-Mart stores for the DVD release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

References

  1. ↑ Wells, Tish (September 21, 2011). "Blue-ray 'Star Wars' Set Hits Many Generations". Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  2. ↑ Hill, Amelia. "Star Wars on Blu-ray". Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ Jensen, Jeff (February 9, 2012). "How 'Star Wars' changed my life". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ The Making of Star Wars on IMDB
  5. ↑ Venkman (January 11, 2011). "1977 Star Wars Documentary - The Making of Star Wars". GeekTyrant. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  6. ↑ Bricken, Rob (May 4, 2011). "The Star Wars Blu-Rays Won't Include the Original Versions". Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  7. ↑ SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back on IMDB
  8. ↑ Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi on IMDB
  9. ↑ "Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. 12 September 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 201. Retrieved 10 April 2012. Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  10. ↑ Latchem, John (May 4, 2011). "'Star Wars' Blu-ray Extras May Not Satisfy All Fans". Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  11. ↑ Alaimo, Dan (July 10, 1995). "'STAR WARS' TRILOGY SET FOR 'FINAL' ORBIT". Supermarket News. Retrieved April 5, 2012.

External links