Star Wars
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The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the modified original Star Wars Trilogy. |
Star Wars is a
science fantasy saga and
fictional universe created by
writer/
producer/
director George Lucas during the 1970s. The saga began with the film
Star Wars (later retitled
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), which was released on
May 25,
1977, by
20th Century Fox. The film became a
pop culture phenomenon—spawning five more feature films, three
spin-off films, five
television series, and an extensive collection of licensed
books,
comics,
video games, and other products—all of which are set within a fictional "
galaxy far, far away."
An example of the
space opera genre, the
Star Wars story employs
archetypal motifs common to both modern
science fiction and ancient
mythology, as well as the
Romantic music motifs now often associated with those genres.
For more detailed information, see the individual articles for each film.Six feature films comprise the
Star Wars film series. These films are generally split into two trilogies: The "
original trilogy" of Episodes IVâ€"VI (released between 1977 and 1983) and the "
prequel trilogy" of Episodes Iâ€"III (released between 1999 and 2005). The films, which are generally centered around the
Skywalker family, deal with a series of personal and intragalactic wars that have a major impact on the fate of the
Star Wars galaxy.
Although
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure played in theaters in
Europe and
Australia and is technically a
Star Wars feature film, it is generally associated with television, therefore it is covered in the
television section below.
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Opening logo to the Star Wars films. |
Setting
Unlike the traditional science fiction films preceding it, the
Star Wars world was initially portrayed as dirty and grimy, rather than sleek and futuristic. In interviews, Lucas tells of rubbing the new props with dirt to make them look weather-worn, a concept he has referred to as "a used future", a concept further popularized in the film
Alien of the same era. He may have been inspired by
Sergio Leone, whose 1960s films performed a similar function for the
Western genre.
Each
Star Wars film opens with the text, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." Lucas intended this as an allusion to the classic
fairy tale opening of, "Once upon a time, in a faraway land..." This is the only way the
Star Wars Galaxy has been defined in relation to the real world. To some, Lucas's allusion suggests that the films are to be interpreted as myths of the future, rather than literal events of the past. Lucas intentionally left the details open to interpretation.[
1] Events occur in the
Star Wars galaxy; although the film series itself spans the events of only two generations, other stories set in the
Star Wars universe (those from the so-called "
Expanded Universe") cover events that
span millennia.
The
Star Wars films use an opening text to provide the audience with the background to the story. Lucas emulated the
Flash Gordon serials by having his opening text "crawl" up the screen from bottom to top at a high pitched angle, as if the text were disappearing into the distant starscape. Also in all
Star Wars films, a
starship of some kind whooshes by after the crawl disappears completely. In a
May 15,
2005, interview with the
Chicago Sun-Times, Lucas described the creation of the distinctive crawl: "The crawl is such a hard thing because you have to be careful that you're not using too many words that people don't understand. It's like a poem. I showed the very first crawl to a bunch of friends of mine in the '70s. It went on for six paragraphs with four sentences each.
Brian De Palma was there, and he threw his hands up in the air and said, 'George, you're out of your mind! Let me sit down and write this for you.' He helped me chop it down into the form that exists today."
The saga shows us a very "ancient" galactic civilization thousands of years old. The setting is totally unrelated to
Earth or our galaxy, which gives it more liberty, in a sense. The Star Wars Galaxy prominently features
human aliens that coincidentally look like terrans from Earth. Their civilization was able to develop space travel, terraform, build
ecumenopolises and build space colonies 200,000 years "ago."
Star Wars melds science with supernatural elements that strongly relate to epic stories and fairy tales (for example,
Magic,
Knights,
Witches,
Princesses and 'whimsical' alien races such as
Ewoks and
Wisties).
The scope of
Star Wars history spans over 5,100 years among all the Star Wars fiction produced so far (From
Tales of the Jedi to
Star Wars: Legacy), even though the films span only two generations.
Later novels from a series dubbed
New Jedi Order opened up the
Star Wars setting with alien beings named
Yuuzhan Vong that came from a different galaxy. Most aliens prior to this series came from the one galaxy in which the films are set.
Plot
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The iconic sunset of Tatooine features two suns, the result of a binary system. This scene from A New Hope has become a recognized cultural symbol of the Star Wars saga. |
Episodes I, II, and III chronicle the downfall of the
Old Republic and the rise of the
Galactic Empire. It is also the story of
Anakin Skywalker's rise as a gifted young
Jedi and his eventual fall to the Dark Side of the
Force. In the first film,
Darth Sidious manipulates the
Trade Federation into invading and occupying the planet
Naboo. Sidious concurrently maintains his public identity as Palpatine, a senator in the Galactic Republic, and uses the crisis to convince the Senate to elect him as Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. He then, in the second film, further manipulates the Senate into granting him emergency powers and orchestrates the
Clone Wars, a conflict between the Republic (which he controls as Chancellor Palpatine) and a
Separatist movement (which he controls as Darth Sidious). Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker is discovered by the Jedi and is trained by
Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he falls in love with
Padmé Amidala, queen and later senator of Naboo. The two hold a secret wedding at the end of Episode II. During the later parts of the Clone Wars, Anakin's wife Padmé Amidala becomes pregnant with twins,
Luke and
Leia. As the Clone Wars come to an end, Sidious turns Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side. Anakin, now known as
Darth Vader, helps Sidious to wipe out the Jedi. Sidious (as Palpatine) declares himself emperor and turns the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. Padmé, who is stricken with grief that her husband Anakin turned to the dark side, gives birth to Luke and Leia but dies during childbirth. Two of the surviving Jedi, Kenobi and
Yoda, choose to go into exile. Obi-Wan takes Luke to
Tatooine with the intent to watch over him from afar, while Senator
Bail Organa takes Leia to
Alderaan and raises her. Yoda goes to
Dagobah to await the arrival of Luke.
Episodes IV, V, and VI pick up approximately nineteen years after the events of Episode III, during the
Galactic Civil War, which leads to the downfall of the Galactic Empire at the hands of the
Rebel Alliance. These films follow the story of Luke Skywalker, the son of Anakin Skywalker, and his rise in the Rebel movement against the Empire. Leia, now a princess and a member of the
Imperial Senate, sends a message for help to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke inadvertently intercepts the message and meets Kenobi. After the murder of his aunt and uncle by
Imperial Stormtroopers, Luke joins the ragtag Rebel Alliance — traveling with Kenobi, his sister Leia Organa (who he does not realize is his sister until later, in Episode VI), smuggler
Han Solo, Solo's
Wookiee companion
Chewbacca, and the droids
C-3PO and
R2-D2. He trains with Kenobi and subsequently Yoda to become a Jedi like his father, whom he believes was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader. When Luke learns the truth — that his father is Darth Vader — he is profoundly shaken. Despite this, Luke successfully resists the efforts of Vader and Sidious to turn him to the Dark Side, instead turning his father back to the Light Side of the Force. A mortally wounded Vader then kills Sidious, while the Rebel fleet scores a decisive victory against the Empire by destroying the second
Death Star. The Rebel Alliance's victory eventually leads to the end of the Galactic Civil War, the downfall of the Empire, and the formation of the
New Republic, as described in the Expanded Universe.
Themes
George Lucas embraces a style of epic storytelling that he refers to as "motifs"; common themes and concepts which he adjusts slightly each time they recur. The concept is lifted from Romantic (early 19th century) music, but Lucas applies it both visually and as an integral part of his storytelling.
On a larger scale, there are many parallels between the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy; the stories of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker echo and reflect each other in myriad ways.
The Force is one of the most recognizable elements of the
Star Wars mythos. It is described by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original
Star Wars film as, "An energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together."
Those who can use the Force, such as the Jedi, can perform feats of
telepathy,
psychokinesis,
prescience,
clairvoyance, and mental control. Two aspects of the Force are emphasized: the
light side and the
dark side. The light side of the Force is the facet aligned with good, benevolence, and healing. The dark side of the Force is aligned with fear, hatred, aggression, and malevolence; this side of the Force seems more powerful, especially to those who use it, because it is driven by rage and hatred — its effects are more direct and easier and faster to achieve. In reality, neither the light nor the dark side of the Force is stronger than the other, each possessing its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, the dark side conveys an inherent disadvantage to its users, which is arrogance and overconfidence in their own abilities. However, this aggression allows its acolytes to become more formidable warriors — illustrated when Luke is able to finally overcome his father in battle because of his anger at the thought of his sister turning to the dark side. On the other hand, Jedi can occasionally become crippled by their compassion and act "soft." This is balanced by an ability to remain calm even in extreme circumstances.
Influences
Many different influences have been suggested for the
Star Wars films by fans, critics, and George Lucas himself. For example, Lucas acknowledges that the plot and characters in the 1958 Japanese film
The Hidden Fortress, directed by
Akira Kurosawa, were a major inspiration. Lucas has said in an interview, which is included on the DVD edition of
The Hidden Fortress, that the movie influenced him to tell the story of
Star Wars from the viewpoint of the humble
droids, rather than a major player. It also played a role in the conception of Darth Vader, whose trademark black helmet intentionally resembles a
kabuto. More particularly, the arch-villain in Kurosawa's
The Seven Samurai wears a black
samurai helmet to which Vader's helmet bears a remarkable resemblance. The Jedi, nearly extinct futuristic
knights of the former Republic, also have a high influence from the Samurai as spiritual warriors and duelists with a strong sense of honor and devotion to their duty. Their traditional clothing even resembles
kimonos.
Prior to writing the script for
Star Wars, George Lucas originally wanted to make a film of
Flash Gordon. The rights for
Flash Gordon, however, were held by
Dino De Laurentiis, and Lucas decided to work on his own science fiction project instead.
Another influence in Lucas's creation of
Star Wars was the writings of
Joseph Campbell. Campbell's work explored the common meanings, structures, and purposes of the world's mythologies. Lucas has stated that his intention was to create in
Star Wars a modern mythology based on Campbell's work. The original
Star Wars film, episode IV, for example, closely followed the archetypal "hero's journey", as described in Campbell's
The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This influence was discussed by
Bill Moyers and Campbell in the
PBS mini-series,
The Power of Myth and by Lucas and Moyers in the 1999 program,
Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas & Bill Moyers. In addition, the
National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution sponsored an exhibit during the late 1990s called
Star Wars: The Magic of Myth which discussed the ways in which Campbell's work shaped the
Star Wars films [
2]. A companion guide of the same name was published in 1997.
It is thought that the setting for the
Star Wars universe came from
Isaac Asimov's
Foundation Trilogy, published in the early 1950s. This saga also involves a galaxy teeming with inhabited worlds held together by a collapsing
galactic empire using
hyperdrives (for long-distance transportation). It also features the planet
Trantor, which is entirely covered by the galaxy's capital, similar to
Coruscant, and the protagonist of
Foundation and Empire is Lathan Devers, a character resembling Han Solo. Even lightsabers have precursors in the
The Foundation Trilogy as force field penknives. The planet Korrell is thought to be the basis of the planet
Corellia.
It is often argued that
Star Wars was influenced by
Frank Herbert's classic science fiction book
Dune. Many elements of
Star Wars are also evident in
Dune. There are so many similarities, in fact, some
Dune devotees consider
Star Wars little more than a campy film adaptation of Herbert's work. While this is likely an exaggeration, many of the similarities are striking. For example, both
Dune and
Star Wars are set on desert planets. Both stories feature a mystical knighthood of sorts — the Jedi in
Star Wars and the
Fremen of
Dune. In both stories the hero is a
messiah-like character, uses mystical powers, exhibits mind control (Jedi mind trick/the Voice), and duels opponents with sword-like weapons. Finally, both stories describe a corrupt empire and the hero's efforts to overcome it.
The original Star Wars film has many parrallels with
J.R.R Tolkien's signature work "
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (LOTR), firstly that a strange mysterious and powerful object (in Tolkien's work, it is the Ring of Power; in Star Wars, it is the droid R2-D2 who holds the plans to the Death Star) arrives in a small settlement on the outskits of an empire. A young boy comes into contact with the object and an old mentor who comes to understand what the object's power is and from whence it came. The old man insists that the young hero must set out from his own isolated settlement and take the object safely to a location where its strong power can be safe. The evil forces enter the settlement looking for the object and leave death and destruction in their path. Not far into his journey the hero meets a dashing adventurer in a bar (or pub) and the small group sets out being pursued by the evil forces (the stormtroopers in Star Wars and the
Ring Wraiths in LOTR) and manage to get out of the settlement and into the wider world. The young reserved hero learns more about the mysterious powers he has and how to use them for good. Not long after this the heroes on their journey are unexpectedly detoured by the evil forces, and in the process of braving the new route, the old mentor lays down his life in order that the young hero has time to escape a great demon (the Balrog in LOTR and Darth Vader in Star Wars), and with his last words he tells the young hero to run, and on the way, they still have to fight the enemy to escape.
Some comic book fans have drawn parallels between
Star Wars and
Jack Kirby's epic Fourth World series, published by
DC Comics. The cosmos-spanning series of titles was never completed because DC canceled it, citing low sales. At the heart of the series was the battle between Orion of the New Gods and his villainous father,
Darkseid (pronounced "dark side.")
Orion called upon the mystical force known as "the source" to aid him in this struggle. The Death Star is somewhat reminiscent of Apokolips, Darkseid's home planet. Likewise, Darkseid's headpiece is similar in structure to Vader's.
Furthermore, Orion, like Luke Skywalker, was separated from his evil father at birth, growing up ignorant of his true parentage. Also like Skywalker, Orion was mentored by an old man who carried a staff and was far more powerful than his appearance suggested; the Highfather. Finally, both Orion and Skywalker are forced to struggle not only against their biological father's dreams of universal conquest but also against their own inner darkness.
Also, Darth Vader shares some visual similarities with Kirby's armored über-villain
Dr. Doom, co-created with editor/scripter
Stan Lee at
Marvel Comics.
The
Star Wars saga has also been influenced by historical events; Lucas claims to have drawn on
ancient Rome,
World War II and the
Vietnam War for inspiration. The reference to the historical past can be seen with Lucas's use of 'stormtroopers', commonly associated with the
stormtroopers of
World War I Germany and
Nazi Germany, and also associated with the SS under Hitler in World War 2. These troopers were known as Hitler's secret and evil police, leading at Lucas's portrayal of stormtroopers being Palpatine's personal servants. Lucas also based the space battles in
A New Hope on World War I-era aerial
dog fights. The rise of Palpatine mirrors
Hitler in that a democracy becomes an empire.
Scripts
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George Lucas shooting the original Star Wars film in 1976. |
The
Star Wars saga began with a 13-page treatment for a space adventure movie that Lucas drafted in 1973, inspired by multiple myths and classic stories. According to one source, Lucas initially wrote summaries for fifteen stories that would make up the
Star Wars saga. Out of these fifteen stories, Lucas originally planned to film only one of them as a feature film. Then, in 1978, following the success of the first released
Star Wars film, he publicly announced that he would create a total of twelve films to chronicle the adventures of Luke Skywalker (in the original scripts, the character's name was Luke Starkiller). In 1979, Lucas retracted his former statement, saying that he would instead make nine films.[
3] Four years later, having completed
Return of the Jedi, Lucas announced that he was putting
Star Wars on indefinite hold until special-effects technology had improved to his satisfaction. Finally, in 1995, (after seeing the effects results of
ILM's work on
Jurrassic Park) Lucas decided that he would produce the trilogy of
prequels (Episodes I, II, and III), for a total of six films. He also claimed at the time that he had always envisioned "the whole thing as a series of six films".
Other sources, including publicly available draft scripts of
Star Wars, show that Lucas had an incomplete and quickly-changing conception of the
Star Wars story up until the release of the first film in 1977. Story elements such as the
Kaiburr crystal present in early scripts are missing entirely in the films, while names were freely exchanged between different planets and characters â€" "Organa Major" being the original name for
Alderaan, for instance (Organa later became Princess Leia's surname). Even as late as the production of
The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi, there were significant differences from the films which emerged — for example,
Lando Calrissian being a clone from the Clone Wars and the climactic battle of
Return of the Jedi taking place against two Death Stars orbiting the Imperial capital planet, then known as Had Abbadon. [
4] Another version of the
Return of the Jedi script had Luke turning to the dark side after killing Darth Vader. Leia would then become the next Jedi to fight the dark side. This did not happen, however, because Lucas felt that the ending would be too dark, especially for children, who were a major target audience. Also, George Lucas had the script of
The Empire Strikes Back saying that "Obi-Wan killed your father," all the while having the "I am your father" line in mind. Since Darth Vader's voice was overdubbed by
James Earl Jones, the true line was revealed in post-production. In addition, the story released as the novel
Splinter of the Mind's Eye was intended as a possible direction for a low-budget
Star Wars sequel — however, the success of
A New Hope allowed Lucas to pursue the more ambitious
The Empire Strikes Back instead.
Lucas has been criticized for allegedly deviating from his original conception of the universe that was introduced in the original 1977 film. It has been theorized by some that developments in the later films, including (but not limited to) the revelation of Darth Vader as the father of Luke Skywalker, the revelation of Princess Leia as Luke's sister, and the progression of Darth Vader from a powerful lackey serving under
Grand Moff Tarkin to a much-feared military leader answerable only to the Emperor (as well as the overall Star Wars Saga's shift in focus from Luke to Vader as the main character) go completely against the history/characters/relationships that were established in the original 1977 film. The Star Wars prequel trilogy has also been accused of similar retroactive changes that were allegedly not part of Lucas' original concept for Star Wars.
For his part, Lucas claimed in a segment filmed for the
THX-
remastered VHS release of the original trilogy that the original
Star Wars story was intended as a single film but was later split into three because the story was too long to be told in a single film. In the
DVD commentaries for the original trilogy, Lucas claims that many story elements were changed within the production of the films — for instance, the attack on the Death Star in
A New Hope was moved from the end of the trilogy in order to strengthen
A New Hope on its own merits, while the character of Chewbacca established the Wookiees as a technologically advanced race, necessitating their replacement with Ewoks in
Return of the Jedi. Other changes, including the death of Obi-Wan in
A New Hope, were made during the filming. Lucas also stated in the commentaries that the prequel stories existed only as "notes" explaining the backstories of characters such as Obi-Wan. In an interview with
Wired prior to the release of
The Phantom Menace, Lucas remarked that he had allowed the publication of novels written as sequels to the films (see
Expanded Universe) because he would never make the sequels himself.
Lucas's history of different statements regarding his future and past plans for the
Star Wars saga have caused a great deal of popular confusion, while drawing criticism from some. For example, some still believe that Lucas's original plan was for a "trilogy of trilogies," based on early statements made by Lucasfilm regarding sequels. For more information on the supposed sequel trilogy, see
Sequel trilogy (Star Wars).
It has been reported that Lucas's original script was almost 500 pages long. The title, originally
The Adventures of Luke Starkiller, was changed several times before becoming
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Production and release
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A 2005 photo of the majority of the cast from all six films, along with Star Wars creator, George Lucas. |
The
Star Wars film series was shot in an original
aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The "original trilogy" was shot with
anamorphic lenses (Episodes IV and V were shot in Panavision, while Episode VI was shot in J.D.C. scope), while Episode I was shot in Arriscope film format, and Episodes II and III were shot with Sony's CineAlta high-definition digital camera.
There were countless problems during the production of
Episode IV, and few critics expected the film to achieve the measure of success it did. Many problems with effects, editing, funding, and shooting caused the film to be pushed back from its expected release date of December 1976. The production company, not to mention many involved in the actual production, had little faith in the movie. According to reports, it was a daily struggle merely to complete the film on time. Despite these difficulties, the first film was released on
May 25,
1977, and became a surprise hit. Though its
novelization had hit the shelves a year earlier, the book had not seen nearly the amount of interest that the film would draw.
Filming locations
Episodes IV, V, and VI were shot at, among other locations,
Elstree Studios, in
Hertfordshire,
England. The outdoor scenes from the ice planet
Hoth in
Episode V were shot at
Finse,
Norway. Also, one shot of the Rebel Base on
Yavin IV in Episode IV was of
Mayan temples in
Tikal,
Guatemala.
The Phantom Menace was filmed at
Leavesden Film Studios and the subsequent prequels were filmed in
Sydney,
Australia.
Tunisia, and the sand dunes of Yuma, Arizona, have served as the location for filming scenes set on the desert planet
Tatooine in
A New Hope,
Return of the Jedi,
The Phantom Menace,
Attack of the Clones, and
Revenge of the Sith. Italy's
Caserta Palace was used to create the
Theed palace on Queen Amidala's home planet, Naboo, and some scenes were also shot at
Italy's
Lake Como.
Both the "original trilogy" and the "prequel trilogy" were released over a period of six years (1977â€"1983 and 1999â€"2005, respectively), each movie taking three years to produce.
Musical score
The scores for all six
Star Wars films were composed by
John Williams. Lucas's intentions for
Star Wars involved a grand musical sound, with
leitmotifs for different characters and important objects; an approach used to great effect, for instance, in the operas of
Richard Wagner. Toward this end, Lucas put together a collection of classical and Romantic pieces for composer Williams to review, as an idea of what effects Lucas desired for the films. The music Williams composed was often distinctly reminiscent of the original pieces. Williams' score for
Star Wars in 1977 set a new standard for science fiction films by drawing its inspiration primarily from a palette of Romantic symphonies, rather than creating completely new music (in choosing this classical approach, Williams was following the lead of
2001: A Space Odyssey and a mix-tape of
Wagnerian opera and other selections compiled by George Lucas.) Although Williams had already established himself as a film composer with scores for blockbusters such as
The Poseidon Adventure and
Jaws, the
Star Wars score gave him international recognition.
Williams' scores for the original trilogy were primarily motif-based: individual characters and settings were each given their own, unique musical theme which would identify their presence in the film, whether physically or figuratively. By combining and varying these motifs, Williams could create a score possessed of a rich, interwoven fabric.
By the time of the prequel trilogy, however, Williams had grown and changed as a composer. His new scores de-emphasized motifs, tending to weave them subtly into a broader and more dynamic musical composition. He had also expanded his use of thematic motifs, using the technique to highlight the emotional or archetypal structure of the film, rather than the more literal associations to character and setting used in the earlier scores.
Re-releases
In 1997,
A New Hope,
The Empire Strikes Back, and
Return of the Jedi were re-mastered and theatrically re-released as the "Special Editions." It was one of the first films series to be re-mastered in this way, and the trend of re-mastering and re-releasing films has proven to be extremely successful and many other movies and series have followed suit. For the re-release, in addition to extensive clean-up and restoration work, Lucas also made several
changes to the films in order to "finish the film the way it was meant to be" (as Lucas said in a September 2004 interview with the
Associated Press). Many of Lucas' changes for the Special Editions were cosmetic, generally adding special effects which were not originally possible. Other changes, however, are considered to have affected plot or character development. These changes, such as the change often referred to by fans as "
Han shot first," have proven to be controversial, inciting considerable
criticism of George Lucas by fans, and was one of the first causes of what came to be known as
Lucas bashing.
In 2004, in addition to an extensive and comprehensive hi-definition digital cleanup and restoration job by Lowry Digital, the original films were changed once again for their release on DVD. In these new versions of the films, in addition to new scenes and major image adjustments designed to make the films visually resemble the prequels, a few changes which had been made for the 1997 Special Editions were removed. With this release, Lucasfilm created a new high-definition master of the films, which will be used in future releases as well.
Although the original films have undergone significant alterations over the years, the prequel films have received only minor changes from their theatrical versions. The DVD releases of
The Phantom Menace,
Attack of the Clones, and
Revenge of the Sith have had such elements altered as small additions of scenes, touch-ups in effects, and small sound changes.
Future re-releases
At a ShoWest convention in 2005, George Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he is planning to release all six films back in cinemas in a new
3-D film format, beginning with
A New Hope in 2007. Lucas has also hinted in the past that he will release his definitive, often called "archival" editions of all six
Star Wars films on a next-generation home-video format in 2007. (It will most likely be the "
Blu-ray Disc," since
20th Century Fox prefers this format.) This release would coincide with, and celebrate, the 30th anniversary of the
Star Wars saga.
For many years, Lucas has stated that the original, unaltered versions of the trilogy would never be released again, having been released for the last time on VHS and
Laserdisc in 1995. However, on
May 3,
2006, Lucasfilm announced on the official Star Wars site that due to "overwhelming demand", the original versions would be released on DVD on
September 12,
2006. Each film will be released as a two-disc set with the 2004 versions of the films on one disc, and the original, unaltered film on the second disc. The set would only be available until
December 31,
2006, then withdrawn from the market. The DVD
trailer can be downloaded
here.
There has been great controversy surrounding this release, however, since it has been revealed that the DVDs will feature non-anamorphic versions of the original, unaltered films based on laserdisc releases from 1993 (as opposed to newly-remastered, film-based transfers). Since non-anamorphic transfers fail to make full use of the resolution available on widescreen sets, many fans were upset over this choice.
In response to fan outcry over the perceived mis-treament of the original cuts, Lucasfilm representatives stated that new, anamorphic transfers of the original cuts cannot be made because the original negatives of the theatrical cuts (from which the anamorphic transfers would typically be made) no longer exist. This created further anger when fans worldwide discovered that George Lucas himself had during the 1990s ordered that as many of the existing 35 millimeter copies of the film as could be found be destroyed.
In a May 2006 posting, the editor of
The Digital Bits, a DVD enthusiast website, noted that one of the supposedly lost 35 millimeter copies is owned by Robert A. Harris, one of the world's renowned film archivists and the owner of Film Preserve, a highly lauded company specializing in the digital transfer and restoration of 35 millimeter film stock. Harris, who is a contributor to the site, submitted a letter stating that he is positive that anamorphic, high definition transfers of the films can be made along with a "master" presentation negative from which new 35 millimeter reels can be made. The letter (a copy of which was sent directly to Lucasfilm) has gone unanswered.
The term "Expanded Universe" has come into existence as an umbrella term for all of the officially licensed
Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. This includes television productions, books, comics, games, and other forms of media. The material expands and continues the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before
The Phantom Menace to 120 years after
Return of the Jedi. It officially began in January 1978 with
Marvel Comics'
Star Wars #7 and was further expanded by
Alan Dean Foster's February 1978 novel,
Splinter of the Mind's Eye.
George Lucas retains ultimate creative control over the
Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes considerable effort to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across multiple companies.
Some purists reject the Expanded Universe as "
Apocrypha", believing that only the events in the film series are part of the "real"
Star Wars universe. However, elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films. These included the name of the Republic/Empirpe capitol planet,
Coruscant, which first appeared in
Timothy Zahn's novel
Heir to the Empire before being used in
The Phantom Menace, while a character introduced in
Dark Horse Comics'
Star Wars series, a blue Jedi Knight named Aayla Secura, was liked enough by Lucas to be included as a character in
Attack of the Clones (and is seen meeting her demise in
Revenge of the Sith in an ambush on a jungle planet).
Television
To date, three films and three animated series have been produced for television, with a live-action series in pre-production. For the most part, Lucas has played a large role in the production of the television projects — usually serving as storywriter and/or executive producer.
Audio dramas
A radio adaptation of
A New Hope was first broadcast on
National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author
Brian Daley and directed by
John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of
The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and
Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films.
Mark Hamill,
Anthony Daniels, and
Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker,
C-3PO, and
Lando Calrissian, respectively. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and
Ben Burtt's original sound designs.
Books
Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first movie, with the 1976 novelization of "A New Hope" (ghost-written by
Alan Dean Foster and credited to George Lucas). However, Foster's 1978 novel,
Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between the movies, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series.
Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original series (1977-1983) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1991, however,
Timothy Zahn's celebrated
Thrawn Trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the
Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by
Bantam and
Del Rey.
LucasBooks radically changed the face of the
Star Wars universe with the introduction of the
New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after
Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. However, several significant events which occur during the course of this series (such as the death of a major film character) have sparked much fan criticism.
Comics
Marvel Comics published
Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including
Archie Goodwin,
Howard Chaykin,
Al Williamson,
Carmine Infantino,
Gene Day,
Walt Simonson,
Michael Golden,
Chris Claremont,
Whilce Portacio,
Jo Duffy, and
Ron Frenz. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new
Star Wars comic by
Tom Veitch and
Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991,
Dark Horse Comics acquired the
Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the very popular
Dark Empire stories. They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the
Star Wars universe.
Games
Since 1983, over 120
video games have been published bearing the
Star Wars name, beginning with
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the
Atari 2600 by
Parker Brothers. Since then,
Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, roleplaying games, RTS games, and others.
Two different official tabletop
role-playing games have been developed for the
Star Wars universeâ€"
a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, and
one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s.
Fan works
See also: Star Wars fan filmsThe
Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own stories set in the
Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan-fiction to creating
fan films.
In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual
Official Star Wars Fan Films Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest remains open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the
Star Wars universe are ineligible. Initially this limitation caused an outcry for those interested in creating serious fan-fiction for a competition.
While many of the serious fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are obviously not considered an official part of the
Star Wars canon. Lucasfilm has, for the most part, has allowed the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the
Star Wars franchise in any way.
Lucasfilm's open support and sanction of fan creations is a marked contrast to the attitudes of many other copyright holders. Some owners, such as
Paramount Pictures with the
Star Trek properties, have been known to actively discourage the creation of such works by fans.
The
Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern global
pop culture. Science fiction since
Star Wars, particularly in film, has often been influenced by and compared to
Star Wars. References to the main characters and themes of
Star Wars are casually made in Western society with the well-qualified assumption that others will understand the reference. George Lucas is also famous for using the best possible cameras and technology (see also
Industrial Light and Magic) in his movies. Many say that the visual and virtual effects that take over today's movies would have never been created if not for Lucas's revolutionizing of the movie industry with Star Wars.
Parodies
Both the movie and characters have been parodied or spoofed in popular movies and television. Notable movie parodies of Star Wars include:
Hardware Wars a 13 minute spoof which George Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody, and
Spaceballs, a feature film by
Mel Brooks. There is also
Thumb Wars a thumb style theater.
*On philosophy and religion influences:
The Tao of Star Wars, Or, Cultural Appropriation in a Galaxy Far, Far Away*On Technology influences:
This site explains the many influences in its analysis of the writing of
Star Wars.
*Books about religion/philosophy and Star Wars:
**"Peace Knights of the Soul: Wisdom in 'Star Wars'," by Jon Snodgrass, Ph.D., Foreword by Jonathan Young, Ph.D.ISBN 0-9755214-7-0
*
The Tao of Star Wars by John M. Porter ISBN 0893343854
*
The Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew Bortolin ISBN 0861714970
*
Star Wars And Philosophy by Kevin S. Decker, Jason T. Eberl, William Irwin ISBN 0812695836
*"Conception" section based on: The Star Wars Timeline Gold-Appendice L-Understanding the Lost Episodes (p. 141â€"142).
*
The Tao of Star Wars by John M. Porter ISBN 0893343854
*On the influence of
Joseph Campbell on the
Star Wars films:
**"Peace Knights of the Soul: Wisdom in 'Star Wars'," by Jon Snodgrass, Ph.D., Foreword by Jonathan Young, Ph.D.ISBN 0-9755214-7-0
**Henderson, Mary.
Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. Companion volume to the exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. New York: Bantam, 1997.
**Larsen, Stephen and Robin Larsen. Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind.
Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2002.
**Moyers, Bill and Joseph Campbell. The Power of Myth. Anchor; Reissue edition (1991) ISBN 0385418868
*Star Wars
origins; A comparison of the most often cited similarities between Star Wars
and Dune''
Here are some of the general articles featured in the
Star Wars portal. For a detailed outline of the
Star Wars Wikipedia articles, please see
:Category:Star Wars.
General information
Star Wars universe
*
The official Star Wars website*
TheForce.net - One of the oldest Star Wars fan sites.
*
Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki - A wiki devoted to
Star Wars*National Geographic News:
So how believable is the Star Wars galaxy?*
Directory to Star Wars sites on the internet.
