Star Wars | |
---|---|
Directed by | George Lucas |
Written by | George Lucas |
Produced by | Gary Kurtz |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Gilbert Taylor |
Edited by | |
Music by | John Williams |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 121 minutes[1] |
Country | United States[2] |
Language | English |
Budget | $11 million[3][4] |
Box office | $775.4 million[3] |
Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox. It was the first film released in the Star Wars film series and the fourth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set "a long time ago" in a fictional galaxy ruled by the tyrannical Galactic Empire, the story follows a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance, who aim to destroy the Empire's newest weapon, the Death Star. When the Rebel leader Princess Leia is abducted by the Empire, Luke Skywalker acquires stolen architectural plans of the Death Star and sets out to rescue her while learning the ways of a metaphysical power known as "the Force" from the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, and James Earl Jones.
Lucas had the idea for a science fiction film in the vein of Flash Gordon around the time he completed his first film, THX 1138 (1971), and he began working on a treatment after the release of American Graffiti (1973). After numerous rewrites, filming took place throughout 1975 and 1976 in locations including Tunisia and Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. Lucas formed the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic to help create the film's visual effects. Star Wars suffered production difficulties: the cast and crew believed the film would be a failure, and it went $3 million over budget due to delays.
Few were confident in the film's box office prospects. It was released in a small number of theaters in the United States on May 25, 1977, and quickly became a surprise blockbuster hit, leading to it being expanded to a much wider release. Star Wars opened to positive reviews, with praise for its special effects. It grossed $410 million worldwide during its initial run, surpassing Jaws (1975) to become the highest-grossing film until the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); subsequent releases have brought its total gross to $775 million. When adjusted for inflation, Star Wars is the second-highest-grossing film in North America (behind Gone with the Wind) and the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. It received Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Saturn Awards, among others. The film has been reissued many times with Lucas's support—most significantly the 20th-anniversary theatrical "Special Edition"—and the reissues have contained many changes, including new scenes, visual effects, and dialogue.
Often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, the film became a pop-cultural phenomenon, launching an industry of tie-in products, including novels, comics, video games, amusement park attractions and merchandise such as toys, games, and clothing. It became one of the first 25 films selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1989, and its soundtrack was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2004. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) followed Star Wars, rounding out the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy and a sequel trilogy have since been released, in addition to two standalone films and various television series.
Plot
Amid a galactic civil war, Rebel Alliance spies have stolen plans to the Death Star, a colossal space station built by the tyrannical Galactic Empire that is capable of destroying entire planets. Imperial Senator Leia Organa of Alderaan, secretly a Rebel leader, has obtained the schematics, but her ship is intercepted and boarded by an Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of the ruthless Darth Vader. Leia is taken prisoner, but the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO escape with the plans, crashing on the nearbstry of Germany (also, Star Wars cinematographer Gilbert Taylor filmed the special effects sequences in Dam Busters).[5] The Death Star assault sequence has also been compared to the climax of the film 633 Squadron (1964), in which British aircraft attack a German heavy water plant by flying down a narrow fjord and dropping bombs at a precise point.[citation needed] Lucas used clips from both Dam Busters and 633 Squadron to illustrate his vision for dogfights in Star Wars.[6]
The opening shot of Star Wars—in which a spaceship fills the upper part of the frame—has been compared to the scene introducing the spacecraft Discovery One in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.[citation needed] Other similarities between Kubrick's film and Star Wars include the use of EVA pods and hexagonal corridors.[citation needed] Journalist and blogger Martin Belam has pointed out similarities between the Death Star's docking bay and the docking bay on the space station in 2001.[7] In 2014, Young observed a number of parallels between Lucas's space opera and Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis.[8] Star Wars has also been compared to The Wizard of Oz (1939).[9]
Marketing
While the film was in production, a logo was commissioned from Dan Perri, a title sequence designer who had worked on The Exorcist (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976). Perri created a logotype consisting of block-capital letters filled with stars and leaning towards a vanishing point. The graphic was designed to follow the same perspective as the opening text crawl. Ultimately, Perri's logo was not used for the film's opening title sequence, although it was used widely in pre-release print advertising and on cinema marquees.[10][11]
The logotype eventually selected for on-screen use originated in a promotional brochure that was distributed by Fox to cinema owners in 1976. The brochure was designed by Suzy Rice, a young art director at the Los Angeles advertising agency Seiniger Advertising. On a visit to ILM in Van Nuys, Rice was instructed by Lucas to produce a "very fascist" logo that would intimidate the viewer. Rice employed an outlined and modified Helvetica Black typeface in her initial version. After some feedback from Lucas, Rice joined the S and T of STAR and the R and S of WARS. Kurtz was impressed with Rice's composition and selected it over Perri's design for the film's opening titles, after flattening the pointed tips of the letter W. The Star Wars logo became one of the most recognizable designs in cinema, though Rice was not credited in the film.[10]
For the film's US release, Fox commissioned a promotional poster from the advertising agency Smolen, Smith and Connolly. The agency contracted the freelance artist Tom Jung, and gave him the phrase "good over evil" as a starting point. His poster, known as Style 'A', depicts Luke standing in a heroic pose, brandishing a shining lightsaber above his head. Leia is slightly below him, and a large image of Vader's helmet looms behind them. Some Fox executives considered this poster "too dark" and commissioned the Brothers Hildebrandt, a pair of well-known fantasy artists, to modify it for the UK release. When Star Wars opened in British theaters, the Hildebrandts' Style 'B' poster was used on cinema billboards. Fox and Lucasfilm later decided to promote the film with a less stylized and more realistic depiction of the lead characters, and commissioned a new design from Tom Chantrell. Two months after Star Wars opened, the Hildebrandts' poster was replaced by Chantrell's Style 'C' version in UK cinemas.[12][13][14][15]
Fox gave Star Wars little marketing support beyond licensed T-shirts and posters. The film's marketing director, Charley Lippincott, had to look elsewhere for promotional opportunities. He secured deals with Marvel Comics for a comic book adaptation and with Del Rey Books for a novelization. A fan of science fiction, Lippincott used his contacts to promote the film at San Diego Comic-Con and elsewhere within the science-fiction community.[16][17]
Release
MPAA rating
When Star Wars was submitted to the Motion Picture Association of America's rating board, the votes for the rating were evenly split between G and PG. In an unusual move, Fox requested the stricter PG rating, in part because it believed the film was too scary for young children, but also because it feared teenagers would perceive the G rating as "uncool". Lucasfilm marketer Charley Lippincott supported Fox's position after witnessing a five-year-old at the film's preview become upset by a scene in which Darth Vader chokes a Rebel captain. Although the board initially opted for the G rating, it reneged after Fox's request and applied the PG rating.[18]
First public screening
On May 1, 1977, the first public screening of Star Wars was held at Northpoint Theatre in San Francisco,[19][20] where American Graffiti was test-screened four years earlier.[21][22]
Premiere and initial release
Lucas wanted the film released in May, on the Memorial Day weekend. According to Fox executive Gareth Wigan, "Nobody had ever opened a summer film before school was out." Lucas, however, hoped the school-term release would build word-of-mouth publicity among children.[23] Fox ultimately decided on a release date of May 25, the Wednesday before the holiday weekend. Very few theaters, however, wanted to show Star Wars. To encourage exhibitors to purchase the film, Fox packaged it with The Other Side of Midnight, a film based on a bestselling book. If a theater owner wanted to show Midnight, they had to show Star Wars, too.[16]
Lucas's film debuted on Wednesday, May 25, 1977, in 32 theaters. Another theater was added on Thursday, and ten more began showing the film on Friday.[24] On Wednesday, Lucas was so absorbed in work—approving advertising campaigns and mixing sound for the film's wider-release version—that he forgot the film was opening that day.[25] His first glimpse of its success occurred that evening, when he and Marcia went out for dinner on Hollywood Boulevard. Across the street, crowds were lining up outside Mann's Chinese Theatre, waiting to see Star Wars.[26][27]
Two weeks after its release, Lucas's film was replaced by William Friedkin's Sorcerer at Mann's due to contractual obligations. The theater owner moved Star Wars to a less-prestigious location after quickly renovating it.[28] After Sorcerer failed to meet expectations, Lucas's film was given a second opening at Mann's on August 3. Thousands of people attended a ceremony in which C-3PO, R2-D2 and Darth Vader placed their footprints in the theater's forecourt.[29][16] By this time, Star Wars was playing in 1,096 theaters in the United States.[30] Approximately 60 theaters played the film continuously for over a year. In May 1978, Lucasfilm distributed "Birthday Cake" posters to those theaters for special events on the one-year anniversary of the film's release.[31][32] Star Wars premiered in the UK on December 27, 1977. News reports of the film's popularity in America caused long lines to form at the two London theaters that first offered the film; it became available in 12 large cities in January 1978, and additional London theaters in February.[33]
On opening day I ... did a radio call-in show ... this caller, was really enthusiastic and talking about the movie in really deep detail. I said, "You know a lot about the film." He said, "Yeah, yeah, I've seen it four times already."
—Gary Kurtz, on when he realized Star Wars had become a cultural phenomenon[34]
The film immediately broke box office records.[29] Three weeks after it opened, Fox's stock price had doubled to a record high. Prior to 1977, the studio's highest annual profit was $37 million. In 1977, it posted a profit of $79 million.[16] Lucas had instantly become very wealthy. His friend, director Francis Ford Coppola, sent a telegram to his hotel asking for money to finish his film Apocalypse Now.[25] Cast members became instant household names, and even technical crew members, such as model makers, were asked for autographs.[16] When Harrison Ford visited a record store to buy an album, enthusiastic fans tore half his shirt off.[25]
Lucas had been certain Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind would outperform his space opera at the box office. Before Star Wars opened, Lucas proposed to Spielberg that they trade 2.5% of the profit on each other's films. Spielberg accepted, believing Lucas's film would be the bigger hit. Spielberg still receives 2.5% of the profits from Star Wars.[35]
Box office
Star Wars remains one of the most financially successful films of all time.[citation needed] It earned over $2.5 million in its first six days ($12.9 million in 2023 dollars).[36] According to Variety's weekly box office charts, it was number one at the US box office for its first three weeks. It was dethroned by The Deep, but gradually added screens and returned to number one in its seventh week, building up to $7-million weekends as it entered wide release ($35.2 million in 2023 dollars) and remained number one for the next 15 weeks.[3] It replaced Jaws as the highest-earning film in North America just six months into release,[37] eventually grossing over $220 million during its initial theatrical run ($1.11 billion in 2023 dollars).[38] Star Wars entered international release towards the end of the year, and in 1978 added the worldwide record to its domestic one,[39] earning $314.4 million in total.[3] Its biggest international market was Japan, where it grossed $58.4 million.[40]
On July 21, 1978, while still showing in 38 theaters in the US, the film expanded into a 1,744 theater national saturation windup of release and set a new U.S. weekend record of $10,202,726.[41][42][43] The gross prior to the expansion was $221,280,994. The expansion added a further $43,774,911 to take its gross to $265,055,905. Reissues in 1979 ($22,455,262), 1981 ($17,247,363), and 1982 ($17,981,612) brought its cumulative gross in the U.S. and Canada to $323 million,[44][45] and extended its global earnings to $530 million.[46] In doing so, it became the first film to gross $500 million worldwide,[47] and remained the highest-grossing film of all time until E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial broke that record in 1983.[48]
The release of the Special Edition in 1997 was the highest-grossing reissue of all-time with a gross of $138.3 million, bringing its total gross in the United States and Canada to $460,998,007, reclaiming the all-time number one spot.[49][3][50][51] Internationally, the reissue grossed $117.2 million, with $26 million from the United Kingdom and $15 million from Japan.[40] In total, the film has grossed over $775 million worldwide.[3]
Adjusted for inflation, it had earned over $2.5 billion worldwide at 2011 prices,[52] which saw it ranked as the third-highest-grossing film at the time, according to Guinness World Records.[53] At the North American box office, it ranks second behind Gone with the Wind on the inflation-adjusted list.[54]
Reception
Critical response
Star Wars received many positive reviews upon its release. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "an out-of-body experience".[55] Vincent Canby of the New York Times described it as "the most elaborate ... most beautiful movie serial ever made".[56] A.D. Murphy of Variety called the film "magnificent" and said Lucas had succeeded in his attempt to create the "biggest possible adventure fantasy" based on the serials and action epics of his childhood.[57] Writing for The Washington Post, Gary Arnold gave the film a positive review, calling it "a new classic in a rousing movie tradition: a space swashbuckler."[58] Star Wars was not without its detractors, however. Pauline Kael of The New Yorker said "there's no breather in the picture, no lyricism", and no "emotional grip".[59] John Simon of New York magazine also panned the film, writing, "Strip Star Wars of its often striking images and its highfalutin scientific jargon, and you get a story, characters, and dialogue of overwhelming banality."[60]
In the UK, Barry Norman of Film... called the movie "family entertainment at its most sublime", which combines "all the best-loved themes of romantic adventure".[61] The Daily Telegraph's science correspondent Adrian Berry said that Star Wars "is the best such film since 2001 and in certain respects it is one of the most exciting ever made". He described the plot as "unpretentious and pleasantly devoid of any 'message'."[62]
Gene Siskel, writing for the Chicago Tribune, said, "What places it a sizable cut above the routine is its spectacular visual effects, the best since Stanley Kubrick's 2001."[63][64] Andrew Collins of Empire magazine awarded the film five out of five and said, "Star Wars' timeless appeal lies in its easily identified, universal archetypes—goodies to root for, baddies to boo, a princess to be rescued and so on—and if it is most obviously dated to the 70s by the special effects, so be it."[65] In his 1977 review, Robert Hatch of The Nation called the film "an outrageously successful, what will be called a 'classic,' compilation of nonsense, largely derived but thoroughly reconditioned. I doubt that anyone will ever match it, though the imitations must already be on the drawing boards."[66] In a more critical review, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader stated, "None of these characters has any depth, and they're all treated like the fanciful props and settings."[67] Peter Keough of the Boston Phoenix said, "Star Wars is a junkyard of cinematic gimcracks not unlike the Jawas' heap of purloined, discarded, barely functioning droids."[68]
In a 1978 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, scientist Carl Sagan called attention to the overwhelming whiteness of the human characters in the film.[69] Actor Raymond St. Jacques echoed Sagan's complaint, writing that "the terrifying realization ... [is] that black people (or any ethnic minority for that matter) shall not exist in the galactic space empires of the future."[70] Writing in the African-American newspaper New Journal and Guide, Walter Bremond claimed that due to his black garb and his being voiced by a black actor, the villainous Vader reinforces a stereotype that "black is evil." Bremond went on to call Star Wars "one of the most racist movies ever produced."[71][72]
The film continues to receive critical acclaim from contemporary critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 137 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "A legendarily expansive and ambitious start to the sci-fi saga, George Lucas opened our eyes to the possibilities of blockbuster filmmaking and things have never been the same."[73] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 24 critics.[74] In his 1997 review of the film's 20th-anniversary release, Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune gave the film four out of four stars, saying, "A grandiose and violent epic with a simple and whimsical heart."[75] A San Francisco Chronicle staff member described the film as "a thrilling experience".[76] In 2001 Matt Ford of the BBC awarded the film five out of five stars and wrote, "Star Wars isn't the best film ever made, but it is universally loved."[77] CinemaScore reported that audiences for the film's 1999 re-release gave the film a "A+" grade.[78]
Accolades
Star Wars won many awards after its release, including six Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, one Golden Globe Award, three Grammy Awards, one Hugo Award, and thirteen Saturn Awards. Additionally, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave a Special Achievement Academy Award to Ben Burtt, and granted a Scientific and Engineering Award to John Dykstra, Alvah J. Miller, and Jerry Jeffress for the development of the Dykstraflex camera system.[79][80]
Organization | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards[81] | Best Picture | Gary Kurtz | Nominated |
Best Director | George Lucas | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Alec Guinness | Nominated | |
Best Original Screenplay | George Lucas | Nominated | |
Best Art Direction | John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley and Roger Christian | Won | |
Best Costume Design | John Mollo | Won | |
Best Film Editing | Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas and Richard Chew | Won | |
Best Original Score | John Williams | Won | |
Best Sound | Don MacDougall, Ray West, Bob Minkler and Derek Ball | Won | |
Best Visual Effects | John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune and Robert Blalack | Won | |
Special Achievement Academy Award | Ben Burtt | Won | |
Scientific and Engineering Award | John Dykstra, Alvah J. Miller and Jerry Jeffress | Won | |
American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Album | John Williams | Nominated |
BAFTA Awards[82] | Best Film | Gary Kurtz | Nominated |
Best Costume Design | John Mollo | Nominated | |
Best Editing | Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas and Richard Chew | Nominated | |
Best Original Music | John Williams | Won | |
Best Production Design | John Barry | Nominated | |
Best Sound | Sam Shaw, Robert Rutledge, Gordon Davidson, Gene Corso, Derek Ball, Don MacDougall, Bob Minkler, Ray West, Michael Minkler, Les Fresholtz, Richard Portman and Ben Burtt | Won | |
Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directing – Feature Film | George Lucas | Nominated |
Golden Globe Awards[83] | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Gary Kurtz | Nominated |
Best Director | George Lucas | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Alec Guinness | Nominated | |
Best Original Score | John Williams | Won | |
Grammy Awards[84] | Best Instrumental Composition | John Williams | Won |
Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special | John Williams | Won | |
Best Pop Instrumental Performance | John Williams | Won | |
Hugo Awards[85] | Best Dramatic Presentation | George Lucas | Won |
Saturn Awards[86] | Best Science Fiction Film | Gary Kurtz | Won |
Best Director | George Lucas | Won | |
Best Actor | Harrison Ford | Nominated | |
Mark Hamill | Nominated | ||
Best Actress | Carrie Fisher | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Alec Guinness | Won | |
Peter Cushing | Nominated | ||
Best Writing | George Lucas | Won | |
Best Costume Design | John Mollo | Won | |
Best Make-up | Rick Baker and Stuart Freeborn | Won | |
Best Music | John Williams | Won | |
Best Special Effects | John Dykstra and John Stears | Won | |
Best Art Direction | Norman Reynolds and Leslie Dilley | Won | |
Best Cinematography | Gilbert Taylor | Won | |
Best Editing | Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas and Richard Chew | Won | |
Best Set Decoration | Roger Christian | Won | |
Best Sound | Ben Burtt and Don MacDougall | Won | |
Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Original Screenplay | George Lucas | Nominated |
In its May 30, 1977, issue, Time named Star Wars the "Movie of the Year". The publication said it was a "big early supporter" of the vision which would become Star Wars. In an article intended for the cover of the issue, Time's Gerald Clarke wrote that Star Wars is "a grand and glorious film that may well be the smash hit of 1977, and certainly is the best movie of the year so far. The result is a remarkable confection: a subliminal history of the movies, wrapped in a riveting tale of suspense and adventure, ornamented with some of the most ingenious special effects ever contrived for film." Each of the subsequent films of the Star Wars saga has appeared on the magazine's cover.[87]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (1998) – #15[88]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills (2001) – #27[89]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains (2003):
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes (2004):
- "May the Force be with you." – #8[91]
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores (2005) – #1[92]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers (2006) – #39[93]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) (2007) – #13[94]
- AFI's 10 Top 10 (2008) – #2 Sci-Fi Film[95]
American Film Institute[96]
Star Wars was voted the second most popular film by Americans in a 2008 nationwide poll conducted by the market research firm Harris Interactive.[97] It has also been featured in several high-profile audience polls: In 1997, it ranked as the 10th Greatest American Film on the Los Angeles Daily News Readers' Poll;[98] in 2002, Star Wars and its sequel The Empire Strikes Back were voted the greatest films ever made in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Films poll;[99] in 2011, it ranked as Best Sci-Fi Film on Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, a primetime special aired by ABC that ranked the best films as chosen by fans, based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and People magazine; and in 2014, the film placed 11th in a poll undertaken by The Hollywood Reporter, which balloted every studio, agency, publicity firm, and production house in the Hollywood region.[100]
In 2008, Empire magazine ranked Star Wars at 22nd on its list of the "500 Greatest Movies of All Time". In 2010, the film ranked among the "All-Time 100" list of the greatest films as chosen by Time film critic Richard Schickel.[101][102]
Lucas's screenplay was selected by the Writers Guild of America as the 68th greatest of all time.[103] In 1989, the United States Library of Congress named Star Wars among its first selections to the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"; at the time, it was the most recent film to be selected and it was the only film from the 1970s to be chosen.[104] Although Lucas declined to provide the Library with a workable copy of the original film upon request (instead offering the Special Edition), a viewable scan was made of the original copyright deposit print.[105][106] In 1991, Star Wars was one of the first 25 films inducted into the Producers Guild of America's Hall of Fame for setting "an enduring standard for American entertainment."[107] The soundtrack was added to the United States National Recording Registry 15 years later (in 2004).[108] The lack of a commercially available version of the 1977 original theatrical edit of the film since early '80s VHS releases has spawned numerous restorations by disgruntled fans over the years, such as Harmy's Despecialized Edition.[109]
In addition to the film's multiple awards and nominations, Star Wars has also been recognized by the American Film Institute on several of its lists. The film ranks first on 100 Years of Film Scores,[92] second on Top 10 Sci-Fi Films,[95] 15th on 100 Years ... 100 Movies[88] (ranked 13th on the updated 10th-anniversary edition),[94] 27th on 100 Years ... 100 Thrills,[89] and 39th on 100 Years ... 100 Cheers.[93] In addition, the quote "May the Force be with you" is ranked eighth on 100 Years ... 100 Movie Quotes,[91] and Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi are ranked as the 14th and 37th greatest heroes respectively on 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains.[90]
Post-release
Theatrical re-releases
Star Wars was re-released theatrically in 1978, 1979, 1981, and 1982.[110] The subtitles Episode IV and A New Hope were added for the 1981 re-release.[111][112][a] The subtitles brought the film into line with its 1980 sequel, which was released as Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back.[113] Lucas claims the subtitles were intended from the beginning, but were dropped for Star Wars to avoid confusing audiences.[114] Kurtz said they considered calling the first film Episode III, IV, or V.[115] Hamill claims that Lucas's motivation for starting with Episode IV was to give the audience "a feeling that they'd missed something". Another reason Lucas began with Episodes IV–VI, according to Hamill, was because they were the most "commercial" sections of the larger overarching story.[116][117] Michael Kaminski, however, points out that multiple early screenplay drafts of Star Wars carried an "Episode One" subtitle, and that early drafts of Empire were called "Episode II".[117]
In 1997, Star Wars was digitally remastered with some altered scenes for a theatrical re-release, dubbed the "Special Edition". In 2010, Lucas announced that all six previously released Star Wars films would be scanned and transferred to 3D for a theatrical release, but only 3D versions of the prequel trilogy were completed before the franchise was sold to Disney in 2012.[118] In 2013, Star Wars was dubbed into Navajo, making it the first major motion picture dubbed into the Navajo language.[119][120]
Special Edition
After ILM began to create CGI for Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Jurassic Park, Lucas decided that digital technology had caught up to his "original vision" for Star Wars.[16] For the film's 20th anniversary in 1997, Star Wars was digitally remastered with some altered scenes and re-released to theaters, along with The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, under the campaign title Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition. This version of Star Wars runs 124 minutes.
The Special Edition contains visual shots and scenes that were unachievable in the original film due to financial, technological, and time constraints.[16] The process of creating the new visual effects was explored in the documentary Special Effects: Anything Can Happen, directed by Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt.[121] Although most changes are minor or cosmetic in nature, many fans and critics believe that Lucas degraded the film with the additions.[122][123][124] A particularly controversial change in which a bounty hunter named Greedo shoots first when confronting Han Solo has inspired T-shirts bearing the phrase "Han shot first".[125][126]
Star Wars required extensive recovery of misplaced footage and restoration of the whole film before Lucas's Special Edition modifications could be attempted. In addition to the negative film stock commonly used for feature films, Lucas had also used Color Reversal Internegative (CRI) film, a reversal stock subsequently discontinued by Kodak. Although it theoretically was of higher quality, CRI deteriorated faster than negative stocks. Because of this, the entire composited negative had to be disassembled, and the CRI portions cleaned separately from the negative portions. Once the cleaning was complete, the film was scanned into the computer for restoration. In many cases, entire scenes had to be reconstructed from their individual elements. Digital compositing technology allowed the restoration team to correct for problems such as misalignment of mattes and "blue-spill".[127]
In 1989, the 1977 theatrical version of Star Wars was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress.[104] 35 mm reels of the 1997 Special Edition were initially presented for preservation because of the difficulty of transferring from the original prints, but it was later revealed that the Library possessed a copyright deposit print of the original theatrical release.[105] By 2015, this copy had been transferred to a 2K scan, now available to be viewed by appointment.[106] Shortly after the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, director Gareth Edwards claimed he viewed a 4K restoration of the original theatrical version of Star Wars, created by Disney. The company has never confirmed its existence, however.[128][129]
Home media
In the United States, France, West Germany, Italy and Japan, parts of or the whole film were released on Super 8.[130] Clips were also released for the Movie Viewer toy projector by Kenner Products in cassettes featuring short scenes.[131][132]
Star Wars was released on Betamax,[133] CED,[134] LaserDisc,[135] Video 2000, and VHS[136][137] during the 1980s and 1990s by CBS/Fox Video. The final issue of the original theatrical release (pre-Special Edition) on VHS occurred in 1995, as part of a "Last Chance to Own the Original" campaign, and was available as part of a trilogy set or as a standalone purchase.[138] The film was released for the first time on DVD on September 21, 2004, in a box set with The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and a bonus disc of supplementary material. The films were digitally restored and remastered, and more changes were made by Lucas (in addition to those made for the 1997 Special Edition). The DVD features a commentary track from Lucas, Fisher, Burtt and visual effects artist Dennis Muren. The bonus disc contains the documentary Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, three featurettes, teaser and theatrical trailers, TV spots, image galleries, an exclusive preview of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, a playable Xbox demo of the LucasArts game Star Wars: Battlefront, and a making-of documentary about the Episode III video game.[139] The set was reissued in December 2005 as a three-disc limited edition without the bonus disc.[140]
The trilogy was re-released on separate two-disc limited edition DVD sets from September 12 to December 31, 2006, and again in a limited edition box set on November 4, 2008;[141] the original theatrical versions of the films were added as bonus material. The release was met with criticism because the unaltered versions were from the 1993 non-anamorphic LaserDisc masters, and were not re-transferred using modern video standards. This led to problems with colors and digital image jarring.[142]
All six existing Star Wars films were released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on Blu-ray on September 16, 2011, in three different editions. A New Hope was available in both a box set of the original trilogy[143][144] and with the other five films in the set Star Wars: The Complete Saga, which includes nine discs and over 40 hours of special features.[145] The original theatrical versions of the films were not included in the box set. New changes were made to the films, provoking mixed responses.[146]
On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six existing Star Wars films. Fox released A New Hope for digital download on April 10, 2015, while Disney released the other five films.[147][148] Disney reissued A New Hope on Blu-ray, DVD, and for digital download on September 22, 2019.[149] Additionally, all six films were available for 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos streaming on Disney+ upon the service's launch on November 12, 2019.[150] This version of A New Hope was also released by Disney in a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray box set on March 31, 2020.[151]
Merchandising
Little Star Wars merchandise was available for several months after the film's debut, as only Kenner Products had accepted marketing director Charles Lippincott's licensing offers. Kenner responded to the sudden demand for toys by selling boxed vouchers in its "empty box" Christmas campaign. Television commercials told children and parents that vouchers contained in a "Star Wars Early Bird Certificate Package" could be redeemed for four action figures between February and June 1978.[16] Jay West of the Los Angeles Times said that the boxes in the campaign "became the most coveted empty box[es] in the history of retail."[152] In 2012, the Star Wars action figures were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.[153]
The novelization of the film was published as Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker in December 1976, six months before the film was released. The credited author was George Lucas, but the book was revealed to have been ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster. Marketing director Charles Lippincott secured the deal with Del Rey Books to publish the novelization in November 1976. By February 1977, a half million copies had been sold.[16] Foster also wrote the sequel novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978) to be adapted as a low-budget film if Star Wars was not a financial success.[154]
Marvel Comics also adapted the film as the first six issues of its licensed Star Wars comic book, with the first issue sold in April 1977. The comic was written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. Like the novelization, it contained certain elements, such as the scene with Luke and Biggs, that appeared in the screenplay but not in the finished film.[155] The series was so successful that, according to comic book writer Jim Shooter, it "single-handedly saved Marvel".[156] From January to April 1997, Dark Horse Comics, which had held the comic rights to Star Wars since 1991, published a comic book adaptation of the "Special Edition" of the film, written by Bruce Jones with art by Eduardo Barreto and Al Williamson; 36 years later, the same company published The Star Wars, an adaptation of the plot from Lucas's original rough draft screenplay, from September 2013 to May 2014.[157]
Lucasfilm adapted the story for a children's book-and-record set. Released in 1979, the 24-page Star Wars read-along book was accompanied by a 33+1⁄3 rpm 7-inch phonograph record. Each page of the book contained a cropped frame from the movie with an abridged and condensed version of the story. The record was produced by Buena Vista Records, and its content was copyrighted by Black Falcon, Ltd., a subsidiary of Lucasfilm "formed to handle the merchandising for Star Wars."[158] The Story of Star Wars was a 1977 record album presenting an abridged version of the events depicted in Star Wars, using dialogue and sound effects from the original film. The recording was produced by George Lucas and Alan Livingston, and was narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne. The script was adapted by E. Jack Kaplan and Cheryl Gard.[citation needed]
An audio CD boxed set of the Star Wars radio series was released in 1993, containing the original 1981 radio drama along with the radio adaptations of the sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.[159]
Legacy and influence
Star Wars launched the careers of many of its actors, including Hamill, Ford, Fisher,[16] Daniels, Baker, and Jones.[citation needed] Ford, who subsequently starred in the Indiana Jones series (1981–2023), Blade Runner (1982), and Witness (1985), told the Daily Mirror that Star Wars "boosted" his career.[160][better source needed] The film also spawned the Star Wars Holiday Special, which debuted on CBS on November 17, 1978, and is often considered a failure; Lucas himself disowned it.[161] The special was never aired again after its original broadcast, and it has never been officially released on home video. However, many bootleg copies exist, and it has consequently become something of an underground legend.[162]
In popular culture
Star Wars and its subsequent film installments have been explicitly referenced and satirized across a wide range of media. Hardware Wars, released in 1978, was one of the first fan films to parody Star Wars. It received positive critical reaction, earned over $1 million, and is one of Lucas's favorite Star Wars spoofs.[163][164][165][166] Writing for The New York Times, Frank DeCaro said, "Star Wars littered pop culture of the late 1970s with a galaxy of space junk."[167] He cited Quark (a short-lived 1977 sitcom that parodies the science fiction genre)[167] and Donny & Marie (a 1970s variety show that featured a 10-minute musical adaptation of Star Wars guest starring Daniels and Mayhew)[168] as "television's two most infamous examples."[167] Mel Brooks's Spaceballs, a satirical comic science-fiction parody, was released in 1987 to mixed reviews.[169] Lucas permitted Brooks to make a spoof of the film under "one incredibly big restriction: no action figures."[170] In the 1990s and 2000s, animated comedy TV series Family Guy,[171] Robot Chicken,[172] and The Simpsons[173] produced episodes satirizing the film series. A Nerdist article published in 2021 argues that "Star Wars is the most influential film of all time" partly on the basis that "if all copies ... suddenly vanished, we could more or less recreate the film ... using other media," including parodies.[174]
Many elements of Star Wars are prominent in popular culture. Darth Vader, Han Solo, and Yoda were all named in the top twenty of the British Film Institute's "Best Sci-Fi Characters of All-Time" list.[175] The expressions "Evil empire" and "May the Force be with you" have become part of the popular lexicon.[176] A pun on the latter phrase ("May the Fourth") has led to May 4 being regarded by many fans as an unofficial Star Wars Day.[177] To commemorate the film's 30th anniversary in May 2007, the United States Postal Service issued a set of 15 stamps depicting the characters of the franchise. Approximately 400 mailboxes across the country were also designed to look like R2-D2.[178]
Star Wars and Lucas are the subject of the 2010 documentary film The People vs. George Lucas, which explores filmmaking and fandom as they pertain to the film franchise and its creator.[179]
Cinematic influence
In his book The Great Movies, Roger Ebert called Star Wars "a technical watershed" that influenced many subsequent films. It began a new generation of special effects and high-energy motion pictures. The film was one of the first films to link genres together to invent a new, high-concept genre for filmmakers to build upon.[180] Along with Steven Spielberg's Jaws, it shifted the film industry's focus away from the more personal filmmaking of the 1970s towards fast-paced, big-budget blockbusters for younger audiences.[16][181][182]
Filmmakers who have been influenced by Star Wars include J. J. Abrams, James Cameron, Dean Devlin, Gareth Edwards,[183] Roland Emmerich, David Fincher, Peter Jackson, John Lasseter,[184] Damon Lindelof, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, John Singleton, Kevin Smith,[180] and Joss Whedon. Lucas's "used future" concept was employed in Scott's Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982); Cameron's Aliens (1986) and The Terminator (1984); and Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.[180] Nolan cited Star Wars as an influence when making Inception (2010).[185]
Some critics have complained that Star Wars, as well as Jaws, "ruined" Hollywood by shifting its focus from "sophisticated" films such as The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and Annie Hall to films about spectacle and juvenile fantasy.[186] On a 1977 episode of Sneak Previews, Gene Siskel said he hoped Hollywood would continue to cater to audiences who enjoy "serious pictures".[187] Peter Biskind claimed that Lucas and Spielberg "returned the 1970s audience, grown sophisticated on a diet of European and New Hollywood films, to the simplicities of the pre-1960s Golden Age of movies ... They marched backward through the looking-glass."[186][25] In contrast, Tom Shone wrote that through Star Wars and Jaws, Lucas and Spielberg did not betray cinema, but instead "plugged it back into the grid, returning it ... to its roots as a carnival sideshow, a magic act, one big special effect", which amounted to "a kind of rebirth."[182]
Sequels, prequels, and adaptations
Star Wars was followed by the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), which conclude the original film trilogy.[188][189][190] Both were financially successful and fared well with critics. The original trilogy is considered one of the best film trilogies in history.[189][191][192]
A radio drama adaptation of Star Wars was broadcast on the American National Public Radio network in 1981. It was written by Brian Daley and directed by John Madden, and was produced with cooperation from George Lucas, who donated the rights to NPR. Williams's music and Burtt's sound design were retained for the show, and Hamill and Daniels reprised their roles.[193] The narrative began with a backstory to the film, recounting Leia's acquisition of the Death Star plans. It also featured scenes not seen in the final cut of the film, such as Luke's observation of the space battle above Tatooine, a skyhopper race, and Vader's interrogation of Leia. The radio version was originally part of the official Star Wars canon,[194][195] but has since been supplanted by revised canonical narratives.[196]
More than twenty years after the release of Star Wars, Lucas wrote and directed a prequel trilogy, consisting of the films The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The trilogy chronicles the history between Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker, and the latter's fall to the dark side and transformation into Darth Vader. The prequel trilogy was financially successful, but some of the plot threads and new characters polarized critics and fans.[197][198][199][200][201] After Lucas sold the Star Wars franchise to the Walt Disney Company in 2012, Disney developed a sequel trilogy, consisting of The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[202][203][204][205][206] Original trilogy cast members including Ford, Hamill, and Fisher reprised their roles, alongside new characters portrayed by Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac.[207] In 2016, Disney released the standalone film Rogue One, which depicts the successful Rebel attempt to steal the Death Star plans. It serves as a direct prequel to Star Wars, ending where Star Wars begins. Other standalone films and television series have also been released.[208][209][210][211][212]
Notes
- ^ In The Cinema of George Lucas, Marcus Hearn claims the title was changed earlier, in July 1978 (Hearn 2005, p.124).
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{{cite web}}
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Works cited
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- Hidalgo, Pablo; Sansweet, Stephen (2008a). The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Vol. I (First ed.). New York: Del Rey. ISBN 9780345477637.
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Further reading
Books
- Paul Duncan (2020): The Star Wars Archives. 1977–1983, Taschen GmbH; Anniversary edition, ISBN 978-3836581172
- George Lucas (Alan Dean Foster), Donald F. Glut & James Kahn (2017): Star Wars: Original Trilogy (Novelizations), Arrow, ISBN 978-1784759384
- Bailey, T. J. (2005). Devising a Dream: A Book of Star Wars Facts and Production Timeline. Louisville, KY: Wasteland Press. ISBN 1-933265-55-8.
- Blackman, W. Haden (2004). The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology, Revised Edition (Star Wars). New York: Del Rey. ISBN 0-345-44903-7.
- Eagan, Daniel (2010). "Star Wars", America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, pp. 740–741. A&C Black. ISBN 0826429777.
- Galipeau, Steven A. (2001). The Journey of Luke Skywalker: An Analysis of Modern Myth and Symbol, Open Court, ISBN 978-0812694321
- Grimes, Caleb; Winship, George (2006). "Episode IV: A New Hope". Star Wars Jesus: A spiritual commentary on the reality of the Force. WinePress Publishing. ISBN 1579218849.
- Sansweet, Stephen (1992). Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-0101-2.
- Westfahl, Gary (2000). Space and Beyond: The Frontier Theme in Science Fiction. California: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-30846-8.
Other
- Seitz, Matt Zoller (200). "Star Wars", The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films — via National Film Registry.
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope archive review: a monumentally empty blockbuster Sight & Sound. December 28, 2019.
External links
- Official website at StarWars.com
- Official website at Lucasfilm.com
- Star Wars at AllMovie
- Star Wars at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) at Filmsite.org
- Star Wars at IMDb
- Star Wars at the TCM Movie Database
- Star Wars at Rotten Tomatoes
- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki