The Making of Star Wars
| The Making of Star Wars | |
|---|---|
 Japanese LaserDisc cover | |
| Genre | TV Special/Documentary[1] |
| Written by | Richard Schickel |
| Directed by | Robert Guenette |
| Presented by | Anthony Daniels |
| Narrated by | William Conrad |
| 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) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Color (4:3) |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | 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
Premiering four months after the release of the film, the special was the first Star Wars documentary ever made. 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, and interviews with writer/director George Lucas, producer Gary Kurtz, and castmembers Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Alec Guinness.[6]
Among the behind-the-scenes footage is a brief glimpse of a deleted scene between Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine.
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
- ↑ Wells, Tish (September 21, 2011). "Blue-ray 'Star Wars' Set Hits Many Generations". Retrieved April 11, 2011.
- ↑ Hill, Amelia. "Star Wars on Blu-ray". Retrieved April 11, 2012.
- ↑ Jensen, Jeff (February 9, 2012). "How 'Star Wars' changed my life". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
- ↑ The Making of Star Wars on IMDB
- ↑ Venkman (January 11, 2011). "1977 Star Wars Documentary - The Making of Star Wars". GeekTyrant. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
- ↑ Bricken, Rob (May 4, 2011). "The Star Wars Blu-Rays Won't Include the Original Versions". Retrieved April 11, 2011.
- ↑ SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back on IMDB
- ↑ Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi on IMDB
- ↑ "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:
|archive-date=(help) - ↑ Latchem, John (May 4, 2011). "'Star Wars' Blu-ray Extras May Not Satisfy All Fans". Retrieved April 11, 2012.
- ↑ Alaimo, Dan (July 10, 1995). "'STAR WARS' TRILOGY SET FOR 'FINAL' ORBIT". Supermarket News. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
External links
- The Making of Star Wars at the Internet Movie Database
- The Making of Star Wars at the Star Wars Wiki
