@@theunknowncommenter725 I am NOW watching this more than the movies, but I STILL love the movies My 7th birthday in 1978 was complete with a tie fighter/x wing cake and my uncle dressed up in an INCREDIBLE Darth Vader suit Scared half my class half to death because they had not seen the movie Made some cry MOST AWESOME BIRTHDAY EVER for me
I just thought about that today when I was thinking about this documentary alone. I am looking into making a hero’s journey movie franchise of my own, and I am using this vid as a note to make sure I have creative control, the necessary budget, storyboards, script, crew, cast, concept art, merchandise, and most importantly my own production company and the suitable distribution company to release my first movie, experience within the industry, and the rights to make the sequels.
@Harold Necmann the prequel? The video is about the making of the original trilogy. And I mentioned that the Sequel's was a Villain's journey because of how bad they were. The PT indeed was a failed Hero's Journey as it was about Anakin becoming Vader, but that was not what I meant
I can’t imagine what that must be like when you literally work yourself to the brink of death to make a project that hardly anyone believes in and then it goes on to make history, to say the least…
I say it was a genius move to make it and put it in a time where just as they said, the people were cynical and heroes didn't exist and everybody was used to low expectations of everything. Drugs and alcohol had a hard grip on things and people were looking for identity in the wrong places. Inspirational art of any form was absent and it was just a time of drab living then may 15th happened
I couldn't think of a better use of 2.5 hours of my life. Say what you like about George, he changed the entire film industry, turned it on its head, his crazy single mindedness gave us what we never knew we even wanted.
This documentary is top notch, the amount of multiple materials retrieved about the films, the behind the scenes props, making-of footage, posters, graphic depictions, old pictures, interviews of the cast and crew, many of them already passed away, snippets from the franchise, the sound editing. To put together all this and with HD cameras in 2004, still not so widely available as today, is a treat for the future generations when none of those in the footage will be around anymore. Two thumbs up!
1:18:40 "Ive never seen this in my life. Ill never see it again" Might as well be a damn movie itself. That over both the music and the end of A New Hope was very powerful.
This is easily one of the best Star Wars documentaries. Reminds me of what it was like to be a Star Wars fan back in the 80s/90s. Before the dark times. Before Disney.
Not just that....after Star Wars, every entertainment company wanted to be first to be next. They all launched projects based on properties they owned, and those companies that didn't own anything cranked out original scripts in a week and started raising the money. Paramount owned Star Trek and they had always been talking about making a new Star Trek movie, so they decided now's the time. The movie wasn't that hot, but it did well enough that they wanted a sequel, and Star Trek II went through the roof. And so, in a way, we can thank George Lucas for bringing Star Trek back from the dead, too.
Alan Ladd Jr. is an unsung hero of Star Wars. He was the only man at 20th Century who believed in George Lucas and Star Wars even when everyone else didn't.
A long time ago in the summer of 1977, I was a 10 year old kid who was just about to graduate from Elementary School, and who, one day, walked into a movie theatre to see "some far-out space movie" that had rapidly become "the talk of the town" on the schoolyard playground... I walked in an innocent, naive little child, only interested in Mad Libs, Marshall Brodien's TV Magic Cards, Bigfoot, Duncan Yo-yos, and Evel Knievel and his Action Stunt Cycle... I walked out ABSOLUTELY CHANGED FOREVER. On that glorious day, I would see the GREATEST movie that would EVER be made. That groundbreaking film was STAR WARS, from writer/director George Lucas, and it would TOTALLY change my life (as well as simultaneously changing the lives of COUNTLESS others around the entire world). SW absolutely blew me away, filling my heart with joy, stimulating my imagination, and kick-starting my love for cinema. That day was so momentous for me. I would never be the same again... I will never forget it. From the moment the 20th Century Fox fanfare and John Williams' theme blasted through the theatre speaker system, and the text "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and that "1930's Flash Gordon Serial" inspired opening crawl came on the screen... And as that gigantic Star Destroyer appeared, flying over my head, towering above me as I sat in my theatre seat... and kept going... and going... and going... And as the entire audience gasped with amazement... At that VERY moment, I was instantaneously mesmerized, transfixed, and transformed... And I was barely 5 minutes into the film... I still had 2 MORE HOURS to go! As I sat in total wonderment, I was terrified by a helmeted figure in black, Darth Vader... In fact, the whole audience "booed" him as he made his entrance.. .We knew NOTHING about the story yet, but just KNEW that this guy deserved a collective "booing"!... It was like we were watching a SILENT MOVIE!... And as the movie continued, I was thrilled by the heroic exploits of the dashing smuggler Han Solo and the feisty Princess Leia, and emboldened by the brave, heroic, idealistic actions of the farm boy turned hero of the galaxy, Luke Skywalker! And by the film's spectacular climax of the rebel assault on the Death Star (the greatest ending EVER committed to celluloid, BTW), my heart was pounding, and my spirit was soaring... And I will NEVER forget the standing ovation of applause that erupted as the end credits rolled... Everyone in that audience didn't know it yet, but we had all just been first-hand witnesses to cinematic HISTORY! Now, I had ALWAYS loved Sci-fi/Fantasy films, television, and comics BEFORE Star Wars existed, watching reruns of Star Trek and Batman on TV, watching the Planet of the Apes and James Bond 007 movies on TV, and reading Amazing Spider-Man comics... but SW took things to a whole new level... This was a monumental spectacle on such a grand scale that I (or ANYONE) had NEVER seen before, even eclipsing the magnificent achievement that was 2001: A Space Odyssey from 9 years earlier ("Man, I wish I could have seen THAT ONE in the theatre!"). Plus, unlike most Sci-fi around this time (which were very dystopian), this was actually FUN! Moreover, this was NOT The Apple Dumpling Gang, Herbie Rides Again, Benji, The Bad News Bears, or any of the other 70's kiddie "dreck" that I was being subjected to in the theatre at that time... No, this was something VERY DIFFERENT... Now, thankfully, it wasn't ALL awful "dreck"... Even at that young age, I had managed to see a very small handful of very good and (for their time) very impressive big-screen spectacles in the theatre, such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), At the Earth's Core (1976), Logan's Run (1976), and King Kong (1976)... but NOTHING could have prepared me (or the rest of the world) for the earth-shattering phenomenon that was STAR WARS and the change it would bring... the film that would propel a 1970's audience (both young AND old alike) FAR beyond their wildest film-going expectations, and revolutionize the motion picture industry FOREVER in the process. Words can never fully describe what it was like to be alive in the summer of 1977 during the peak height of "Star Wars Mania"... except to say that it was pure MAGIC. I will never forget the day that I went to see Star Wars for the first time... May 25th, 1977... My father took my younger brother and me... I remember we went in my father's company truck (my brother and I rode in the bed of the truck), I remember that we stopped at Burger Chef first to have dinner, and I got one of the four SW promotional posters that they were selling there (I got the one with C-3PO and R2-D2... the first time that I ever laid eyes on ANY characters from SW!)... I remember that the theatre ticket line went on for what seemed to me like forever... I remember my father bought us both a Hershey bar, and he got a bucket of popcorn with extra butter for us all to share...("How do I remember all that?!?")... And when the movie was over, I remember the audience erupting into insane thunderous cheers and applause that I had never experienced before! Naturally, my brother loved the movie, too... but the amazing thing was that even my father (who probably just thought he was taking his children to see some "dumb kid's film") was crazy about it as well!... My mother didn't go that night, and she always regretted it... She told me much later in life that if she had known that it was to be such an important moment in my life, she would have loved to experience my VERY FIRST viewing of Star Wars!... Of course, she DID take my brother and I to see it many times after my first viewing ...And she LOVED it, too! I became an instant fanatic... I saw the film eleven times in the movie theatre during its initial run (which wasn't hard to do, as it stayed at our local theatre for an entire year!)... I sneaked my portable tape recorder into the theatre and audio-recorded the entire film so that I could listen to the adventure over and over in the comfort of my own bedroom... I dressed up in a make-shift Darth Vader costume for Halloween... I filled many sketchbooks with countless drawings of the creatures and spaceships... I collected the action figures, trading cards, posters, books, and model kits (and I STILL have all of that "stuff!")... I always drank out of my Star Wars cup... I always wore my Star Wars T-shirt... I listened to John Williams' Star Wars soundtrack album constantly, becoming a fan of symphonic and film score music... I watched "The Making of Star Wars" TV special, becoming fascinated by the way movies were made, even making a few myself with my Super-8 camera... I watched the Academy Awards for the very first time to see my favorite movie sweep the Oscars with 10 nominations and 7 wins... I watched the "infamous" Holiday Special in 1978 ... Lumpy... Itchy... Harvey Korman... Bea Arthur... Wookiee-ookiees... And I LOVED it... I will NEVER forget when my parents took me to the record store to get the John Williams soundtrack... We were driving home, and I was in the back seat of the car, looking at the LP... "Something is WRONG here", I said to myself... Well, it turned out that my parents had accidentally purchased the MECO DISCO VERSION! ... We had to turn around and go back to the store to exchange it! And my Star Wars "madness" didn't end there, either... Oh, no... I ate up ANYTHING Sci-Fi related... I religiously watched Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers on TV, and went to see Close Encounters, Superman:TM, Alien (my 1st R-rated film!), Moonraker, The Black Hole, and Star Trek:TMP in the theatre (all CLASSICS in their own right) ...Hell, I even went to see some real "oddities" like Message From Space and Starcrash! ...If a movie featured kit-bashed model spaceships dangling in front of studio-bound starfields... I WAS THERE!... ANYTHING to give this Middle School SW "junkie" that Star Wars" high" again... It would take, of course, 3 LONG YEARS until I finally got another OFFICIAL Star Wars "fix"! And after 46 years, I continue to love STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE more and more... It has aged like the finest wine, and it is STLL my #1 favorite movie of all time... Followed by my 2nd favorite movie of all time: The Empire Strikes Back... And my 3rd favorite movie of all time: Return of the Jedi... These three movies are flawless and perfect, collectively making up not only the greatest cinematic trilogy ever made, but the 3 greatest films of ANY kind ever made, and the greatest cinematic story ever told... PERIOD. I love ALL of Star Wars... Prequels... Sequels... But in the end, when you get right down to it, it all comes back to that first film: Its tale is timeless.. Its themes universal... Its craftsmanship impeccable... It is the perfect story... The perfect film... A phenomenon... A bona fide classic.. A MASTERPIECE.. I will always be thankful to George Lucas for taking me to his galaxy far, far away... Words can never express the utter joy and happiness that his SIX STAR WARS FILMS have given me, and continue to give me to this very day... I'd thank him for showing me how to remain "young at heart", no matter HOW old I get... And in particular, I'd thank him for that life-altering day in the summer of 1977 when I walked into that movie theatre to see "that far-out space movie", aka: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE, for the very 1st time. It's odd to think a that a mere film could have that kind of power to change one's life in such a profoundly positive way. But then again, this is no "MERE" film, is it? And just think, things could have gone VERY DIFFERENTLY and HORRIBLY WRONG that day if I had instead gone to see some "awful piece of dreck" that was ALSO playing in the theatre at the same time... like Tentacles ("Yikes!")... or Viva Knievel ("Ouch!")... or Breaker! Breaker! ("Jeez!")... or Pete's Dragon ("Ugh!").
Isn't it funny tho that it's basically made up from the threads of the great stories of mythical heroes finding their way in the world to defeat evil and bring peace back to the world and star wars ends up now in history as a mythological hero story to look at and be inspired by.
When no one believes in your vision, turn a blind eye and keep going. you never know how it might turn out unless you do it. If George had given up on Star Wars, we never would have had any of these films. I'm so glad he didn't give up.
As much as I smile watching this, I also feel profound sadness for the desicration disney has inflicted on Lucas legacy. This should be reqired viewing for anyone who ever works on star wars, from now until the end of time.
@@autocrat9791The So-Called ‘True Fans’ did the damage you attribute to Disney, when toxic fans waged a harassment campaign against prequel actors and George Lucas for making the special editions and the prequels, then they switched up and pretended to have always been ride or die for the prequels and TCW, and claim that any new Star Wars show or movie sucks
This documentary hit me in the feels. I grew up on these movies and they had a profound impact on me. I had New Hope on Beta tape and had watched it so many times the audio was all warped. Awesome documentary.
Man , after watching this yet again, i still feel so blessed to have seen Star Wars as a 7 year old in the 70's, without all the corrosive internet noise of today. MY memories are fine thanks! ❤
I feel honored to have been alive when the original came out in 1977. Nobody then knew what a gigantic franchise it would turn into. (Before the house of mouse, that is). Lol. May the force be with you.
I always keep coming back to this documentary. George Lucas has always been a man of few words, but I think this is the only setting where he actually explains “Star Wars” in detail from start to finish. Absolutely brilliant.
alec guinness was super, anything the others said was just so kind about him and he clearly knew how to act while helping to serve the story being told. His role as Ben Kenobi or as the elderly Obi-Wan was amazing to watch.
An amazing actor. Had such a varied career : Ealing comedies, films with David Lean, playing Hitler, London stage, George Smiley on TV - and his involvement with Star Wars.
I first saw this documentary when the DVDs first came out, and its just as good almost 20 years later. Everything fits together so perfectly; thanks for posting it!
His belief in his vision and story and sheer drive to finish and complete it when up against everything, is an amazing testament of his person. He is now reaping the rewards of that near-self destruction he went through. I would have caved in so easily, but it goes to show folks, don't give up on your dreams.
One day when I was young on a whim I decided to rent the original trilogy from my local Family Video having never seen ANY star wars film, only to find out the renter before me failed to so gracefully return the discs containing the movies :/ So ultimately chose to trudge thru the special features instead and stumbled upon this documentary. Its at that point without seeing a minute of any of the actual films I instantly began to fall in love in the Star Wars movies.
This is the best documentary of all time. Watching this made me cry. And I'm happy I did. The greatest thing I ever did was be a part of lucasfilm. I'm a production manager for a fake wrestling promotion but I know talent, and I always tell them wrestling is stars wars. Heroes and villains just pick you're part
I got choked up a dozen times watching this. The creation and release of the franchise was an amazing journey for the world, and watching this is a journey down our collective memory.
It's a shame there won't ever be another era where studio heads retire and sell to inexperienced successors who will take a chance on a generation of film school alum, who will then take the film industry by storm.
Cause every director for the next decade tried to recreate Star Wars, studios jumped the shark and we got films like Flash Gordon (it’s a cult classic now thanks to Ted). There’s always one person who creates the first in a new wave of filmmaking. Lucas in the 70’s with fantasy sci-fi, Tarantino in the 90’s with relatability and violence, and now Jon faverau with the MCU (although Sam rami can be considered as well, Spider-Man was the first major movie superhero)
Yeah, because everything went corporate, like George said. I think that's why people looked at the prequels with so much disdain when they came out - by 1999, every sequel, prequel, and spinoff was a marketing gimmick just to make more money, while George, in making the trilogy, was doing it to finish the story he started. It's just too bad he got shit on by all the Gen X maniacs who wanted edgelord childkiller Anakin from day 1.
watching this.. shows all that is wrong with the current disney star wars and it makes one really sad. .. wish I could travel back in time to the good old days.
@@VladTheSour Yes and no... I know they're doing their best... but a lot of what they are doing is actually destroying what Star Wars was... Though I don't think we should blame it on any person. Frankly, that's the only way Star Wars can continue... Disney wanted a second cinematic universe, but Star Wars was a complete story.... Star Wars was originally one man's vision, but now, they want projects that could survive beyond the man.... And frankly, since many fans know anyways that it's being ruined, they want specific requests to be fulfilled... Kenobi was a show that shouldn't have existed, but if Star Wars is going to be ruined anyways, we might as well get fan service and hope it's at least good....
Empire strikes back is my favourite film of all time thus making Star Wars my favourite movie franchise. I wasn’t born when the original trilogy came out but always ask my dad about what it was like for him to experience the hype of star wars and the waiting 3 years for empire and then Jedi. I adore the prequel trilogy and although not as good as the original (very little if any can be as good, let’s face it) I loved the hype as a 7 year old when phantom menace came out. For those old enough to experience the hype of star wars in 77, I salute you
2:31 - "It was a time of economic inflation and rising oil prices...watergate had torn us apart and we had the Vietnam war on top of that..." Sounds like right now.
This documentsry is amazing. Seeing all the trials & tribulations, problems, etc that went into making “An New Hope” along with all of the behind the scenes stuff is kncredible. It was informative but historic too. And it’s emotional & moving. It’s an incredible story as 2 studios passed on the script inislly but Fox Studio Head Alan Ladd Jr was smart enough to recognize George Lucas’ genius. At times it seems like the movie was in peril several times due to busgetary concerns, schedule issues, etc It’s a wonder it was made. Also, while Star Wars was George’s genius he smartly hired some of the most innovative minds & talents to help make the movie incredible. From the art & design to the sound effects to the special effects to the soundtrack, they set the bar high for a new standard that was unprecedented at the time. Althought the documentary is peppered with fascinating tidbits about George, making the movie, all the setbacks that were endured & so on I found the response on Star Wars A New Hope’s Opening night by not only the theater audiences but also the cast & crew absolutely poignant & emotional. It was triumphant. These quotes at around @1:16:01 typify this emotion: Lorne Peterson-Mode lMaker “The combined chest of everybody just kind of went ‘Uhh’ Air was sucked out of the place & then when the white startship came over (begining of movie) & I teared up. It was so powerful.” Carrie Fisher “There was this sort of weird electric kind of reaction. One had never seen anything like it” Steven Spielberg “I had never experienced special effects that were so real. I was…I was, I was dazzled….I loved it because I loved the story & I loved the characters.” Mark Hamill “I thought that it was revolutionary. This is a work of genius.” Ken Ralston-visual effects artist who’s quote is hilarious “We were in shock. I felt like we were blasted in the back of our seats. Man, that was…Who worked on this?!?!” 😆🤣😂. Also states later “After it was over everyone was on Cloud Nine. We were kind of shocked. We had no clue what we were on.” Ralph McQuarrie-Conceptual Design Artist “The theater was hammed full of people right down to the front & umm, there was a lot of hollering & cheering going on.” RIP Ralph. Such an incredibly talented artist & seemed like such a genuine, kind & warm man. His designs helped sell George’s script at a time when sci-fi & space movies weren’t very popular. McQuarrie was a genius in his own right along with most of the people who worked on the film. Peter Mayhew “It was wonderful.” Joe Johnston-Model Builder “I remember leaving the theater & having these kids ask us for autographs. No, you don’t want our autographs…We’re model builders. No,no we want you to sign this. We were thinking wow, this must mean something. People are asking for our autographs.” Alan Ladd Jr-Ex-Fox Studio Head who believed in George’s vision which helped get Star Wars made. Besides George, Ralph & Alan were probably the two most important factors in Star Wars happening. Without them, it likely never gets made. History is incredible & like most things in life, timing & someone’s support is crucial. “People were standing up & applauding. I’ve never seen this before in my life & I’ll never see it again.” George Lucas “I was completelt shocked. Heh..” Thank you Saint George a biollionaire who is still kind & humble who gave the world an amazing tale that helped us escape the occasional doldrums that life hands us. Again, to think it might never have gotten made in the first place is insane.
"If that was the sword to stop before they touched cause the blades were breaking. We broke broke so many blades, they just kept snapping." That just sounds too funny. Yet I bet it was like fun and games a bit for Guinness and Browse when doing the lightsaber combat. It kinda reminds us all as kids when we use to do lightsaber fights with our own to remake the scenes or play our own battles as Jedi and Sith.
What I like about this story the most is how George was able to see the potential of his movie and that the clueless studio execs let him have full control over merchandising and all the toymakers that passed on Star Wars because they also didn't think it was going to be profitable. George got the last laugh on all the naysayers.
Those Ralph McQuirre Star Wars paintings nowadays must be practically priceless. Also, Did Anthony Daniels just hint at Robin Williams being a possible candidate to voice C3PO?! Lol
@@isaacmapes pretty sure you're correct it was Mel Blanc in fact even more so because Mel Blanc actually ended up being the voice of the robot Twiki in the late 70s Buck Rogers movie and TV series, which of course, along with the original Battlestar Galactica, came about after the major success of Star Wars
It's very fitting that Darth Vaer was there pratically from the start because Anikin Skywalker is pretty much the main protagonist of the story of Star Wars.
I have and will always be a big fan of Lucas for what he was able to do along with everyone else who worked on these movies. I still really find it awesome how he outsmarted fox and got to have basically everything that he made involving Star Wars. It's why I say Fox's greatest success we're flukes because they rarely believed in alot of their projects and look where it got them. I still enjoy the prequels and I will ALWAYS call out the toxic fans for everything they did during that era of Star Wars especially in regards to their supposed "Respect" for George Lucas now, sure as hell did'nt see any of that in the prequel era. But I won't get into that more here. Bottom line is I love Star Wars and George has always been a great inspiration for me.
I don’t what it is about this Documentary but I just love watching it, I remember seeing it for the first time as a kid when I got the DVD boxset and I was just mesmerised by how the original trilogy came together
You know what? No matter what happens with the extended universe, more movies, more shows, we will always have these movies, and these interviews. SW may have grown beyond the Skywalker Ranch, Industrial Light and Magic and Lucasfilm, but these are magical. It will never not be magic.
He did it again for the Prequels too. Guess what happened during filming of Ep I..... yup another Sandstorm in Tunisia. First Sandstorm since shooting the original Star Wars.
1:15:25 That still is the great opening in cinematic history. Was just a kid when I saw it in the 70s but when they re-released it in 1997 and that came on the big screen it still burned in to my brain. 20 year old movie at that point and I saw it a few hundred times by then and I was still left in awe after leaving the theater. I just can't believe Disney doesn't release the OT once in a while on the big screen. It's great to watch it on a home theater but nothing beat seeing it on the big screen.
It's insane how such a relatively small group of highly talented and creatively-driven people can make a franchise that has since generated ~$70 billion of gross value. Like ten to fifteen young guys were the entire driving force behind Star Wars' special effects. Building models and making movie magic in a shitty little warehouse in Van Nuys. And now you have hundreds of VFX artists in massive office buildings churning out visual effects content that is far less inspiring
It’s amazing to see now in retrospect how many obstacles they faced internally & externally in Star War’s production which made it’s eventual release tenuous & possibly unlikely. Furthermore, several studios prior to Fox accepting it passed on & even scoffed at the story. Many merchandizers & companies like toy companies passed on making merchandise lines for the movie except for Kenner who agreed to do a modest Star Wars action figure lineup. Also when production was actually finished after a delay fewer than 40 theaters agreed to book it & booking of Star Wars was kind of forced in some instances by making sure it was booked contingent upon being show only with expected hit “The Other Side of Midnight” which was based on a best selling novel. How shortsighted & misguided were these movie executives. Absolutely incredible & crazy. The creation, production & eventual release of some of these movies is incredible. I mean the executives were worried that “Smokey & The Bandit” would destroy Star Wars at the box office. History is truly mesmerizing & incredible in many instances. We all know what happenned but it is incredible knowing how shaky things were regarding Star War’s eventusl release was at the time.
How good people can be with each other when coming together in a creative enterprise like this is really touching. What a fantastic vision that George Lucas had and how he could manage to let everyone else refine it further and bring it to life by their own expertise.
I'd also recommend the "Icons Unleashed" series shown recently on Vice, which covers not just the original trilogy but the prequels as well. It has good interviews with Marcia Lucas in it.
24:00 Don't feel too bad for Perry King. He got to play Han Solo after all, in the Star Wars Radio Dramas. Those are available here on YT, if you've got a few hours to kill, you love the OT and wish there was more of it, and have a good imagination. Look up Nigel's Edit.
Yeah, Perry King was actually pretty good in those. While I didn't like his performance at first, he really starts to grow on you after a while. I guess you could say that he won the silver medal, since he still had another chance to play Han Solo while other actors like Kurt Russell and Bill Murray didn't.
And because George Lucas dropped out of those guilds, he couldn't even cast Gary Oldman to voice General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith 25 years later. Not that I'm complaining much though, since Matthew Wood was iconic as Grievous.
40:30 After seeing this BTS scene where you hear Peter saying "That Old Man's Mad", whenever I watch the final cut of the movie, I still hear that line translated into Chewie's language
Love this documentary.....watched it dozens of times. Couple of little points tho .... It was a little mean mocking David Prowse's accent... And it rarely mentioned that Gil Taylor was the man who came up with the idea of placing the light IN the wall panels, enabling the lighting of the sets from all angles AND creating the look of the Death Star interior. Star Wars was MANY talents.... George Lucas was the conductor 👍
Thank you for posting. This documentary is very inspiring and shows how much effort and sweat it takes to make such a film. When my son and I build our little stop-motion movies, it often runs in the background. My son then feels like a little George Lucas 😉
This is an informative documentary on the creation of a pop culture phenomenon. One thing I wonder, though, is why they don’t talk about the Emperor in this documentary. Maybe they didn’t have enough time to do so. It’s unfortunate, because the creation of the Emperor is a fascinating story that more documentaries should cover.
Honestly, did any of us realize how much of an important character the emperor truly was until the prequel trilogy? I really don't think any of us did. We all saw Darth Vader as the icon of evil, and didn't really realize how the Emperor was the real villain of the entire saga.
"Silence was the greatest compliment a Japanese audience could give a film." Whoever said this is just full of it. They're always quiet in the theater as to not disturb others watching the movie and they always stay until the credits are over to respect the filmmakers.
George Lucas didn't reinvent the wheel, he just brought back the common myths that we had just forgotten about and amplified them to 11. The perfect timing.
I must have watched this documentary 100 times as a kid, I’m pretty sure (at least on a subconscious level) it’s the reason why I’m pursing a career in film and TV so I owe a it a lot
I’m surprised Disney haven’t decided to make a movie about the making of Star Wars following George Lucas as a USC student, writing and creating the whole screenplay called “Adventures Of Luke Starkiller Saga One: The Star Wars” during his time at USC and making American Graffitit, then we follow him casting the actors, filming the trilogy and ending with him becoming an inspirational icon for those working in the film world.
@@theunknowncommenter725Thank you! Imagine each act is about making each film in the OT (Star Wars in Act 1, Empire in Act 2, and Jedi in Act 3) or about the process of making the 1977 classic and Lucas pitching it to Fox, casting Hamill, Ford and Fisher, showing how stressful it was with no one believing in George and ending with him seeing it turn out to be a critical and commercial hit
Kinda. They left out a few things, like The Star Wars Holiday Special. If you want to watch that, it's here on YT. After you do, I'm sure you'll understand why it seems to have slipped their minds.
Always love going back and watching this documentary. Can't get enough of it. It also really shows that these people understood how to plan & tell stories and not just repeat themselves or add "surprises" for the sake of adding surprises. (cough)Sequel Trilogy(cough)
Real OGs will remember this documentary came with the original trilogy 2004 silver and gold boxes
Same here
Me too.
When I was younger, I tended to watch this documentary more than the films themselves.
Yup. And I still got it 😍😍😍
Oh yes 😎🌌🌠💯
@@theunknowncommenter725 I am NOW watching this more than the movies, but I STILL love the movies
My 7th birthday in 1978 was complete with a tie fighter/x wing cake and my uncle dressed up in an INCREDIBLE Darth Vader suit
Scared half my class half to death because they had not seen the movie
Made some cry
MOST AWESOME BIRTHDAY EVER for me
The making of this movie was in itself a hero's journey...
I just thought about that today when I was thinking about this documentary alone. I am looking into making a hero’s journey movie franchise of my own, and I am using this vid as a note to make sure I have creative control, the necessary budget, storyboards, script, crew, cast, concept art, merchandise, and most importantly my own production company and the suitable distribution company to release my first movie, experience within the industry, and the rights to make the sequels.
@@jameshaggerty8348 i wish you luck dude
And the Making of the Sequels is a villain's journey.
@@BruceKenobi I thought it was the prequel?
@Harold Necmann the prequel? The video is about the making of the original trilogy. And I mentioned that the Sequel's was a Villain's journey because of how bad they were. The PT indeed was a failed Hero's Journey as it was about Anakin becoming Vader, but that was not what I meant
"One way or another, May 25th, 1977 would be a day they'd never forget"
*chills*
I can’t imagine what that must be like when you literally work yourself to the brink of death to make a project that hardly anyone believes in and then it goes on to make history, to say the least…
I say it was a genius move to make it and put it in a time where just as they said, the people were cynical and heroes didn't exist and everybody was used to low expectations of everything. Drugs and alcohol had a hard grip on things and people were looking for identity in the wrong places. Inspirational art of any form was absent and it was just a time of drab living then may 15th happened
I couldn't think of a better use of 2.5 hours of my life. Say what you like about George, he changed the entire film industry, turned it on its head, his crazy single mindedness gave us what we never knew we even wanted.
I mean, this movie doesn't shy away from the fact that he was a flawed director
@@cybercrasherstv Not a single soul is perfect. What is the point of pointing out flaws? We all have them.
@@Born... cause some flaws are pretty bad? Like murder??
I have nothing bad to say about lucas, only that he sold it to disney
Amen
This is one of the greatest movie documentaries ever. I look forward to watching this almost as much as the actual Star Wars movies.
Words can’t describe how stimulating and inspiring Star Wars is. Quite breathtaking.
Perfectly said. 🖤
@@Oioisavaloy Makes you wonder what Walt Disney thinks looking down. They wrecked the Ferrari.
And Disney destroyed the Franchise in barely a couple of years. Infinite incompetence....
This documentary is top notch, the amount of multiple materials retrieved about the films, the behind the scenes props, making-of footage, posters, graphic depictions, old pictures, interviews of the cast and crew, many of them already passed away, snippets from the franchise, the sound editing. To put together all this and with HD cameras in 2004, still not so widely available as today, is a treat for the future generations when none of those in the footage will be around anymore. Two thumbs up!
That's because this is a doco made for a box set that had the og films and the updated ones, I have it. there's also a lot more in the extras
This documentary should be promoted more on TH-cam, but peoples’ attention-spans are so short lol.
I agree,well I think I do I got distracted half way through the comment and started reading something else😉
1:18:40 "Ive never seen this in my life. Ill never see it again"
Might as well be a damn movie itself. That over both the music and the end of A New Hope was very powerful.
Love this documentary
This documentary is almost 20 years old!
Yes, and half of the people in it are no longer alive...
I was born 72, watched SW at 5, cannot believe even this documentary is now nearly 20 years old!
This is easily one of the best Star Wars documentaries. Reminds me of what it was like to be a Star Wars fan back in the 80s/90s. Before the dark times. Before Disney.
I would love to see a better one. Do you have any recommendations?
Still hoping someone who actually gives a shit about star wars is willing to buy it off of disney's money grabbing hands..
Hahahhahah I love this . Some people don’t get the obi wan kenobi line reference !
There's still hope with a rebel faction called Filoni.
@@walidbentaherFind me the name of a company that does not care about profits.
Hearing a british accent come out of chewbacca was something I didn’t know I needed.
So George Lucas is the reason Pixar exists...... Man it's crazy how connected some things are
Everything is connected
Pixar became separate from George Lucas as Steve Jobs bought the company.
Not just that....after Star Wars, every entertainment company wanted to be first to be next. They all launched projects based on properties they owned, and those companies that didn't own anything cranked out original scripts in a week and started raising the money. Paramount owned Star Trek and they had always been talking about making a new Star Trek movie, so they decided now's the time. The movie wasn't that hot, but it did well enough that they wanted a sequel, and Star Trek II went through the roof. And so, in a way, we can thank George Lucas for bringing Star Trek back from the dead, too.
Too bad he took away the original unaltered trilogy😔
@@mariobabbo3497 yes but they started out as a subdivision of George’s company ILM
12:56 Rest In Peace Mr. Ladd Thank You Sir God Bless You
Alan Ladd Jr. is an unsung hero of Star Wars. He was the only man at 20th Century who believed in George Lucas and Star Wars even when everyone else didn't.
Agreed he was a damn hero.
I had no clue he died earlier this year. I just found out while looking through a list of notable deaths this yr.
"In the name of the movie studio, we are here to stop production because you are over budget."
Lucas: "I AM THE STUDIO"
A long time ago in the summer of 1977, I was a 10 year old kid who was just about to graduate from Elementary School, and who, one day, walked into a movie theatre to see "some far-out space movie" that had rapidly become "the talk of the town" on the schoolyard playground... I walked in an innocent, naive little child, only interested in Mad Libs, Marshall Brodien's TV Magic Cards, Bigfoot, Duncan Yo-yos, and Evel Knievel and his Action Stunt Cycle... I walked out ABSOLUTELY CHANGED FOREVER.
On that glorious day, I would see the GREATEST movie that would EVER be made. That groundbreaking film was STAR WARS, from writer/director George Lucas, and it would TOTALLY change my life (as well as simultaneously changing the lives of COUNTLESS others around the entire world). SW absolutely blew me away, filling my heart with joy, stimulating my imagination, and kick-starting my love for cinema. That day was so momentous for me. I would never be the same again... I will never forget it.
From the moment the 20th Century Fox fanfare and John Williams' theme blasted through the theatre speaker system, and the text "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and that "1930's Flash Gordon Serial" inspired opening crawl came on the screen... And as that gigantic Star Destroyer appeared, flying over my head, towering above me as I sat in my theatre seat... and kept going... and going... and going... And as the entire audience gasped with amazement... At that VERY moment, I was instantaneously mesmerized, transfixed, and transformed... And I was barely 5 minutes into the film... I still had 2 MORE HOURS to go!
As I sat in total wonderment, I was terrified by a helmeted figure in black, Darth Vader... In fact, the whole audience "booed" him as he made his entrance.. .We knew NOTHING about the story yet, but just KNEW that this guy deserved a collective "booing"!... It was like we were watching a SILENT MOVIE!... And as the movie continued, I was thrilled by the heroic exploits of the dashing smuggler Han Solo and the feisty Princess Leia, and emboldened by the brave, heroic, idealistic actions of the farm boy turned hero of the galaxy, Luke Skywalker! And by the film's spectacular climax of the rebel assault on the Death Star (the greatest ending EVER committed to celluloid, BTW), my heart was pounding, and my spirit was soaring... And I will NEVER forget the standing ovation of applause that erupted as the end credits rolled... Everyone in that audience didn't know it yet, but we had all just been first-hand witnesses to cinematic HISTORY!
Now, I had ALWAYS loved Sci-fi/Fantasy films, television, and comics BEFORE Star Wars existed, watching reruns of Star Trek and Batman on TV, watching the Planet of the Apes and James Bond 007 movies on TV, and reading Amazing Spider-Man comics... but SW took things to a whole new level... This was a monumental spectacle on such a grand scale that I (or ANYONE) had NEVER seen before, even eclipsing the magnificent achievement that was 2001: A Space Odyssey from 9 years earlier ("Man, I wish I could have seen THAT ONE in the theatre!"). Plus, unlike most Sci-fi around this time (which were very dystopian), this was actually FUN! Moreover, this was NOT The Apple Dumpling Gang, Herbie Rides Again, Benji, The Bad News Bears, or any of the other 70's kiddie "dreck" that I was being subjected to in the theatre at that time... No, this was something VERY DIFFERENT...
Now, thankfully, it wasn't ALL awful "dreck"... Even at that young age, I had managed to see a very small handful of very good and (for their time) very impressive big-screen spectacles in the theatre, such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), At the Earth's Core (1976), Logan's Run (1976), and King Kong (1976)... but NOTHING could have prepared me (or the rest of the world) for the earth-shattering phenomenon that was STAR WARS and the change it would bring... the film that would propel a 1970's audience (both young AND old alike) FAR beyond their wildest film-going expectations, and revolutionize the motion picture industry FOREVER in the process. Words can never fully describe what it was like to be alive in the summer of 1977 during the peak height of "Star Wars Mania"... except to say that it was pure MAGIC.
I will never forget the day that I went to see Star Wars for the first time... May 25th, 1977... My father took my younger brother and me... I remember we went in my father's company truck (my brother and I rode in the bed of the truck), I remember that we stopped at Burger Chef first to have dinner, and I got one of the four SW promotional posters that they were selling there (I got the one with C-3PO and R2-D2... the first time that I ever laid eyes on ANY characters from SW!)... I remember that the theatre ticket line went on for what seemed to me like forever... I remember my father bought us both a Hershey bar, and he got a bucket of popcorn with extra butter for us all to share...("How do I remember all that?!?")... And when the movie was over, I remember the audience erupting into insane thunderous cheers and applause that I had never experienced before! Naturally, my brother loved the movie, too... but the amazing thing was that even my father (who probably just thought he was taking his children to see some "dumb kid's film") was crazy about it as well!... My mother didn't go that night, and she always regretted it... She told me much later in life that if she had known that it was to be such an important moment in my life, she would have loved to experience my VERY FIRST viewing of Star Wars!... Of course, she DID take my brother and I to see it many times after my first viewing ...And she LOVED it, too!
I became an instant fanatic... I saw the film eleven times in the movie theatre during its initial run (which wasn't hard to do, as it stayed at our local theatre for an entire year!)... I sneaked my portable tape recorder into the theatre and audio-recorded the entire film so that I could listen to the adventure over and over in the comfort of my own bedroom... I dressed up in a make-shift Darth Vader costume for Halloween... I filled many sketchbooks with countless drawings of the creatures and spaceships... I collected the action figures, trading cards, posters, books, and model kits (and I STILL have all of that "stuff!")... I always drank out of my Star Wars cup... I always wore my Star Wars T-shirt... I listened to John Williams' Star Wars soundtrack album constantly, becoming a fan of symphonic and film score music... I watched "The Making of Star Wars" TV special, becoming fascinated by the way movies were made, even making a few myself with my Super-8 camera... I watched the Academy Awards for the very first time to see my favorite movie sweep the Oscars with 10 nominations and 7 wins... I watched the "infamous" Holiday Special in 1978 ... Lumpy... Itchy... Harvey Korman... Bea Arthur... Wookiee-ookiees... And I LOVED it...
I will NEVER forget when my parents took me to the record store to get the John Williams soundtrack... We were driving home, and I was in the back seat of the car, looking at the LP... "Something is WRONG here", I said to myself... Well, it turned out that my parents had accidentally purchased the MECO DISCO VERSION! ... We had to turn around and go back to the store to exchange it!
And my Star Wars "madness" didn't end there, either... Oh, no... I ate up ANYTHING Sci-Fi related... I religiously watched Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers on TV, and went to see Close Encounters, Superman:TM, Alien (my 1st R-rated film!), Moonraker, The Black Hole, and Star Trek:TMP in the theatre (all CLASSICS in their own right) ...Hell, I even went to see some real "oddities" like Message From Space and Starcrash! ...If a movie featured kit-bashed model spaceships dangling in front of studio-bound starfields... I WAS THERE!... ANYTHING to give this Middle School SW "junkie" that Star Wars" high" again... It would take, of course, 3 LONG YEARS until I finally got another OFFICIAL Star Wars "fix"!
And after 46 years, I continue to love STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE more and more... It has aged like the finest wine, and it is STLL my #1 favorite movie of all time... Followed by my 2nd favorite movie of all time: The Empire Strikes Back... And my 3rd favorite movie of all time: Return of the Jedi... These three movies are flawless and perfect, collectively making up not only the greatest cinematic trilogy ever made, but the 3 greatest films of ANY kind ever made, and the greatest cinematic story ever told... PERIOD.
I love ALL of Star Wars... Prequels... Sequels... But in the end, when you get right down to it, it all comes back to that first film:
Its tale is timeless.. Its themes universal... Its craftsmanship impeccable...
It is the perfect story...
The perfect film...
A phenomenon...
A bona fide classic..
A MASTERPIECE..
I will always be thankful to George Lucas for taking me to his galaxy far, far away... Words can never express the utter joy and happiness that his SIX STAR WARS FILMS have given me, and continue to give me to this very day... I'd thank him for showing me how to remain "young at heart", no matter HOW old I get... And in particular, I'd thank him for that life-altering day in the summer of 1977 when I walked into that movie theatre to see "that far-out space movie", aka: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE, for the very 1st time. It's odd to think a that a mere film could have that kind of power to change one's life in such a profoundly positive way. But then again, this is no "MERE" film, is it?
And just think, things could have gone VERY DIFFERENTLY and HORRIBLY WRONG that day if I had instead gone to see some "awful piece of dreck" that was ALSO playing in the theatre at the same time... like Tentacles ("Yikes!")... or Viva Knievel ("Ouch!")... or Breaker! Breaker! ("Jeez!")... or Pete's Dragon ("Ugh!").
It really was a genius creation, $70 billion value for a single franchise is just insane. More than harry potter and lord of the rings combined.
To be fair, Harry Potter is half it's age, and LOTR was mainly from book sales while Star Wars was created with toys and merchandise in mind....
Ironically all 3 are beautiful retelling of the hero’s journey that have been iconic unto themselves
Isn't it funny tho that it's basically made up from the threads of the great stories of mythical heroes finding their way in the world to defeat evil and bring peace back to the world and star wars ends up now in history as a mythological hero story to look at and be inspired by.
@@hybrid5568 I think it’s because we all need heroes to look up to, but I wish movies these days were more like this.
@@TheDeathmail ok? Yet there's literally only a few less HP movies than SW movies.
C3pO's actor looks exactly how I'd imagine a human C3PO to look like
When no one believes in your vision, turn a blind eye and keep going. you never know how it might turn out unless you do it. If George had given up on Star Wars, we never would have had any of these films. I'm so glad he didn't give up.
Featured commercial-free and in it's entirety on the Bonus Material DVD of the Star Wars 2004 Special Edition DVD Set.
Yep. Remember watching this multiple times as a kid lol it's a super throwback
@@dragonmaiddentist3177 Same here
As much as I smile watching this, I also feel profound sadness for the desicration disney has inflicted on Lucas legacy. This should be reqired viewing for anyone who ever works on star wars, from now until the end of time.
Indeed 😢
Yes
@@autocrat9791The So-Called ‘True Fans’ did the damage you attribute to Disney, when toxic fans waged a harassment campaign against prequel actors and George Lucas for making the special editions and the prequels, then they switched up and pretended to have always been ride or die for the prequels and TCW, and claim that any new Star Wars show or movie sucks
I’ve watched/listened to this documentary hundreds of times. Love it.
"its right THERE!" " just do THAT!"
I don't think anybody but Harrison could've made it more clear how George wasn't the most actor-friendly director.
Sometimes you can't just Do That
This documentary hit me in the feels. I grew up on these movies and they had a profound impact on me. I had New Hope on Beta tape and had watched it so many times the audio was all warped. Awesome documentary.
Man , after watching this yet again, i still feel so blessed to have seen Star Wars as a 7 year old in the 70's, without all the corrosive internet noise of today. MY memories are fine thanks! ❤
I feel honored to have been alive when the original came out in 1977. Nobody then knew what a gigantic franchise it would turn into. (Before the house of mouse, that is). Lol. May the force be with you.
I always keep coming back to this documentary. George Lucas has always been a man of few words, but I think this is the only setting where he actually explains “Star Wars” in detail from start to finish. Absolutely brilliant.
alec guinness was super, anything the others said was just so kind about him and he clearly knew how to act while helping to serve the story being told. His role as Ben Kenobi or as the elderly Obi-Wan was amazing to watch.
A very great actor. I thought he was really good in Little Dorrit too, a film from the 1980s.
An amazing actor. Had such a varied career : Ealing comedies, films with David Lean, playing Hitler, London stage, George Smiley on TV - and his involvement with Star Wars.
I first saw this documentary when the DVDs first came out, and its just as good almost 20 years later. Everything fits together so perfectly; thanks for posting it!
His belief in his vision and story and sheer drive to finish and complete it when up against everything, is an amazing testament of his person. He is now reaping the rewards of that near-self destruction he went through. I would have caved in so easily, but it goes to show folks, don't give up on your dreams.
One day when I was young on a whim I decided to rent the original trilogy from my local Family Video having never seen ANY star wars film, only to find out the renter before me failed to so gracefully return the discs containing the movies :/ So ultimately chose to trudge thru the special features instead and stumbled upon this documentary. Its at that point without seeing a minute of any of the actual films I instantly began to fall in love in the Star Wars movies.
This is the best documentary of all time. Watching this made me cry. And I'm happy I did. The greatest thing I ever did was be a part of lucasfilm. I'm a production manager for a fake wrestling promotion but I know talent, and I always tell them wrestling is stars wars. Heroes and villains just pick you're part
I got choked up a dozen times watching this. The creation and release of the franchise was an amazing journey for the world, and watching this is a journey down our collective memory.
You can appreciate the filmmakers of those days. It actually took talent, patience, and hard work. No computers doing the work for you.
Carrie Fisher was truly amazing at acting more wise and experienced than her age was.
It's a shame there won't ever be another era where studio heads retire and sell to inexperienced successors who will take a chance on a generation of film school alum, who will then take the film industry by storm.
Cause every director for the next decade tried to recreate Star Wars, studios jumped the shark and we got films like Flash Gordon (it’s a cult classic now thanks to Ted).
There’s always one person who creates the first in a new wave of filmmaking. Lucas in the 70’s with fantasy sci-fi, Tarantino in the 90’s with relatability and violence, and now Jon faverau with the MCU (although Sam rami can be considered as well, Spider-Man was the first major movie superhero)
Yeah, because everything went corporate, like George said. I think that's why people looked at the prequels with so much disdain when they came out - by 1999, every sequel, prequel, and spinoff was a marketing gimmick just to make more money, while George, in making the trilogy, was doing it to finish the story he started. It's just too bad he got shit on by all the Gen X maniacs who wanted edgelord childkiller Anakin from day 1.
@@doomsdayrabbit4398 Uhh I’d argue a George made the prequels to make money and sell more toys.
@@ParentsNightIn You're thinking of Disney.
@@doomsdayrabbit4398 You’re being naive if you think the prequels were a legit artistic statement.
I like how anthony daniels over the years naturally speaks more like c3po then he did at the time of filming.
I have watched this documentary more times than I can count
Same, I was obsessed with bonus features growing up, it’s like comfort food lol
watching this.. shows all that is wrong with the current disney star wars and it makes one really sad. .. wish I could travel back in time to the good old days.
the dave filoni stuff in the tv shows stays true to lucas' beliefs
Before the Dark Times; before the Disney Empire… 👿
Obi wan works. As does the Mandalorian and boba fett
Disney ruined Star wars
@@VladTheSour Yes and no... I know they're doing their best... but a lot of what they are doing is actually destroying what Star Wars was...
Though I don't think we should blame it on any person. Frankly, that's the only way Star Wars can continue...
Disney wanted a second cinematic universe, but Star Wars was a complete story....
Star Wars was originally one man's vision, but now, they want projects that could survive beyond the man....
And frankly, since many fans know anyways that it's being ruined, they want specific requests to be fulfilled...
Kenobi was a show that shouldn't have existed, but if Star Wars is going to be ruined anyways, we might as well get fan service and hope it's at least good....
Empire strikes back is my favourite film of all time thus making Star Wars my favourite movie franchise. I wasn’t born when the original trilogy came out but always ask my dad about what it was like for him to experience the hype of star wars and the waiting 3 years for empire and then Jedi. I adore the prequel trilogy and although not as good as the original (very little if any can be as good, let’s face it) I loved the hype as a 7 year old when phantom menace came out. For those old enough to experience the hype of star wars in 77, I salute you
This is easily one of the best documentaries I’ve ever watched
Now THIS would make a great movie....
Crazy how the late 60's to early 70's echos today's events.
2:31 - "It was a time of economic inflation and rising oil prices...watergate had torn us apart and we had the Vietnam war on top of that..." Sounds like right now.
Seems that not only are movies being rehashed, so is history.
@@jameshaggerty8348 It's like poetry. It rhymes.
Sounds like the concept of causality from Berserk.
1:09:27 The score! 🎶
1:15:00 “A day they’d never forget…” 😎
this documentary is legendary in all ways, it embodies star wars
This is the greatest documentary of all time.
This documentsry is amazing. Seeing all the trials & tribulations, problems, etc that went into making “An New Hope” along with all of the behind the scenes stuff is kncredible. It was informative but historic too. And it’s emotional & moving. It’s an incredible story as 2 studios passed on the script inislly but Fox Studio Head Alan Ladd Jr was smart enough to recognize George Lucas’ genius. At times it seems like the movie was in peril several times due to busgetary concerns, schedule issues, etc It’s a wonder it was made. Also, while Star Wars was George’s genius he smartly hired some of the most innovative minds & talents to help make the movie incredible. From the art & design to the sound effects to the special effects to the soundtrack, they set the bar high for a new standard that was unprecedented at the time.
Althought the documentary is peppered with fascinating tidbits about George, making the movie, all the setbacks that were endured & so on I found the response on Star Wars A New Hope’s
Opening night by not only the theater audiences but also the cast & crew absolutely poignant & emotional. It was triumphant. These quotes at around @1:16:01 typify this emotion:
Lorne Peterson-Mode lMaker “The combined chest of everybody just kind of went ‘Uhh’ Air was sucked out of the place & then when the white startship came over (begining of movie) & I teared up. It was so powerful.”
Carrie Fisher “There was this sort of weird electric kind of reaction. One had never seen anything like it”
Steven Spielberg “I had never experienced special effects that were so real. I was…I was, I was dazzled….I loved it because I loved the story & I loved the characters.”
Mark Hamill “I thought that it was revolutionary. This is a work of genius.”
Ken Ralston-visual effects artist who’s quote is hilarious “We were in shock. I felt like we were blasted in the back of our seats. Man, that was…Who worked on this?!?!” 😆🤣😂. Also states later “After it was over everyone was on Cloud Nine. We were kind of shocked. We had no clue what we were on.”
Ralph McQuarrie-Conceptual Design Artist “The theater was hammed full of people right down to the front & umm, there was a lot of hollering & cheering going on.” RIP Ralph. Such an incredibly talented artist & seemed like such a genuine, kind & warm man. His designs helped sell George’s script at a time when sci-fi & space movies weren’t very popular. McQuarrie was a genius in his own right along with most of the people who worked on the film.
Peter Mayhew “It was wonderful.”
Joe Johnston-Model Builder “I remember leaving the theater & having these kids ask us for autographs. No, you don’t want our autographs…We’re model builders. No,no we want you to sign this. We were thinking wow, this must mean something. People are asking for our autographs.”
Alan Ladd Jr-Ex-Fox Studio Head who believed in George’s vision which helped get Star Wars made. Besides George, Ralph & Alan were probably the two most important factors in Star Wars happening. Without them, it likely never gets made. History is incredible & like most things in life, timing & someone’s support is crucial.
“People were standing up & applauding. I’ve never seen this before in my life & I’ll never see it again.”
George Lucas “I was completelt shocked. Heh..” Thank you Saint George a biollionaire who is still kind & humble who gave the world an amazing tale that helped us escape the occasional doldrums that life hands us. Again, to think it might never have gotten made in the first place is insane.
"If that was the sword to stop before they touched cause the blades were breaking. We broke broke so many blades, they just kept snapping."
That just sounds too funny. Yet I bet it was like fun and games a bit for Guinness and Browse when doing the lightsaber combat. It kinda reminds us all as kids when we use to do lightsaber fights with our own to remake the scenes or play our own battles as Jedi and Sith.
I just want to shake George Lucas' hand and thank him for the amazing childhood that he created.
1:51:07
It’s crazy the amount of effort that was put in by George to create Star Wars
Indeed, both trilogies pushed the limits of what was possible with practical and digital means
How many of you bet that the Industry Insiders who predicted doom to Star Wars in 1977 were eating their own words?
What I like about this story the most is how George was able to see the potential of his movie and that the clueless studio execs let him have full control over merchandising and all the toymakers that passed on Star Wars because they also didn't think it was going to be profitable. George got the last laugh on all the naysayers.
Those Ralph McQuirre Star Wars paintings nowadays must be practically priceless. Also, Did Anthony Daniels just hint at Robin Williams being a possible candidate to voice C3PO?! Lol
I think he was hinting at Mel Blanc of Looney Tunes fame
@@isaacmapes pretty sure you're correct it was Mel Blanc in fact even more so because Mel Blanc actually ended up being the voice of the robot Twiki in the late 70s Buck Rogers movie and TV series, which of course, along with the original Battlestar Galactica, came about after the major success of Star Wars
It's very fitting that Darth Vaer was there pratically from the start because Anikin Skywalker is pretty much the main protagonist of the story of Star Wars.
No R2-D2 is
More like Dexter Jetster is
Guys we all know it's Jar Jar. He's the key to all of this.
@@kernowpictures2002 R2 is the one who documented the saga. He wasn't the protagonist.
I have and will always be a big fan of Lucas for what he was able to do along with everyone else who worked on these movies. I still really find it awesome how he outsmarted fox and got to have basically everything that he made involving Star Wars. It's why I say Fox's greatest success we're flukes because they rarely believed in alot of their projects and look where it got them. I still enjoy the prequels and I will ALWAYS call out the toxic fans for everything they did during that era of Star Wars especially in regards to their supposed "Respect" for George Lucas now, sure as hell did'nt see any of that in the prequel era. But I won't get into that more here. Bottom line is I love Star Wars and George has always been a great inspiration for me.
The original Star Wars are really awesome. They are fun, brilliant artistry and... they make you cry, which is a notable thing. They move feelings.
It’s hilarious listening to the rough cut of Yoda. He sounds exactly like Fozzy Bear! I wonder if it was distracting for anyone?
I don’t what it is about this Documentary but I just love watching it, I remember seeing it for the first time as a kid when I got the DVD boxset and I was just mesmerised by how the original trilogy came together
This is one of my favorite documentaries.
2:26-3:51 If there’s anything I’ve learned about history is that it has a bad habit of repeating itself.
no way I gotta watch all of this on thanksgiving break and take notes
You know what? No matter what happens with the extended universe, more movies, more shows, we will always have these movies, and these interviews.
SW may have grown beyond the Skywalker Ranch, Industrial Light and Magic and Lucasfilm, but these are magical. It will never not be magic.
I think this is my 5th time watching this now
God i wish practical effects were still used like this
They still are.
@@theunknowncommenter725but the films are all shit now.
Star Wars: gets shot in a location with extreme temperatures and the biggest local storm in half a century
The sequel: I'LL FUKIN DO IT AGAIN
He did it again for the Prequels too. Guess what happened during filming of Ep I..... yup another Sandstorm in Tunisia. First Sandstorm since shooting the original Star Wars.
@@kentamikuriya1873 And he didn't even have to wait 50 years for it to happen either.
1:15:25 That still is the great opening in cinematic history. Was just a kid when I saw it in the 70s but when they re-released it in 1997 and that came on the big screen it still burned in to my brain. 20 year old movie at that point and I saw it a few hundred times by then and I was still left in awe after leaving the theater. I just can't believe Disney doesn't release the OT once in a while on the big screen. It's great to watch it on a home theater but nothing beat seeing it on the big screen.
This is my favorite Starwars documentary . ♥️ thanks for posting
It's insane how such a relatively small group of highly talented and creatively-driven people can make a franchise that has since generated ~$70 billion of gross value. Like ten to fifteen young guys were the entire driving force behind Star Wars' special effects. Building models and making movie magic in a shitty little warehouse in Van Nuys. And now you have hundreds of VFX artists in massive office buildings churning out visual effects content that is far less inspiring
46:50 - My favorite moment in the making of Star Wars.
Less than 7k views on this makes my heart hurt.
There’s 108,000 as of now.
this changed my life when I was 9; it made me want to be a filmmaker
So have you become one?
Fantastic documentary.
The Original Film was a great film in among itself, but it was The Empire Strikes Back that made Star Wars a Masterpiece.
It’s amazing to see now in retrospect how many obstacles they faced internally & externally in Star War’s production which made it’s eventual release tenuous & possibly unlikely. Furthermore, several studios prior to Fox accepting it passed on & even scoffed at the story.
Many merchandizers & companies like toy companies passed on making merchandise lines for the movie except for Kenner who agreed to do a modest Star Wars action figure lineup. Also when production was actually finished after a delay fewer than 40 theaters agreed to book it & booking of Star Wars was kind of forced in some instances by making sure it was booked contingent upon being show only with expected hit “The Other Side of Midnight” which was based on a best selling novel. How shortsighted & misguided were these movie executives. Absolutely incredible & crazy.
The creation, production & eventual release of some of these movies is incredible. I mean the executives were worried that “Smokey & The Bandit” would destroy Star Wars at the box office. History is truly mesmerizing & incredible in many instances. We all know what happenned but it is incredible knowing how shaky things were regarding Star War’s eventusl release was at the time.
How good people can be with each other when coming together in a creative enterprise like this is really touching. What a fantastic vision that George Lucas had and how he could manage to let everyone else refine it further and bring it to life by their own expertise.
I'd also recommend the "Icons Unleashed" series shown recently on Vice, which covers not just the original trilogy but the prequels as well. It has good interviews with Marcia Lucas in it.
24:00 Don't feel too bad for Perry King. He got to play Han Solo after all, in the Star Wars Radio Dramas. Those are available here on YT, if you've got a few hours to kill, you love the OT and wish there was more of it, and have a good imagination. Look up Nigel's Edit.
Yeah, Perry King was actually pretty good in those. While I didn't like his performance at first, he really starts to grow on you after a while. I guess you could say that he won the silver medal, since he still had another chance to play Han Solo while other actors like Kurt Russell and Bill Murray didn't.
2:02 Savage Opress before he even existed
Thank you for uploading this!
I watch this like once a month lmao .
The fact that the opening credits sequence of the movies kept us from having Steven Spielberg direct Jedi is heartbreaking.
And because George Lucas dropped out of those guilds, he couldn't even cast Gary Oldman to voice General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith 25 years later. Not that I'm complaining much though, since Matthew Wood was iconic as Grievous.
40:30
After seeing this BTS scene where you hear Peter saying "That Old Man's Mad", whenever I watch the final cut of the movie, I still hear that line translated into Chewie's language
The voice of Vader says, "I am just an observer."
That deserves comment.
Love this documentary.....watched it dozens of times.
Couple of little points tho .... It was a little mean mocking David Prowse's accent... And it rarely mentioned that Gil Taylor was the man who came up with the idea of placing the light IN the wall panels, enabling the lighting of the sets from all angles AND creating the look of the Death Star interior.
Star Wars was MANY talents.... George Lucas was the conductor 👍
2:10 "there were no cell phones or personal computers" - hard to believe that when this documentary was made, there were no smartphones.
Thank you for posting. This documentary is very inspiring and shows how much effort and sweat it takes to make such a film. When my son and I build our little stop-motion movies, it often runs in the background. My son then feels like a little George Lucas 😉
This is revolutionary from beginning to end
This is an informative documentary on the creation of a pop culture phenomenon. One thing I wonder, though, is why they don’t talk about the Emperor in this documentary. Maybe they didn’t have enough time to do so. It’s unfortunate, because the creation of the Emperor is a fascinating story that more documentaries should cover.
Honestly, did any of us realize how much of an important character the emperor truly was until the prequel trilogy?
I really don't think any of us did. We all saw Darth Vader as the icon of evil, and didn't really realize how the Emperor was the real villain of the entire saga.
"Silence was the greatest compliment a Japanese audience could give a film." Whoever said this is just full of it. They're always quiet in the theater as to not disturb others watching the movie and they always stay until the credits are over to respect the filmmakers.
That's what makes it the "greatest compliment".
George Lucas didn't reinvent the wheel, he just brought back the common myths that we had just forgotten about and amplified them to 11. The perfect timing.
Technology wise, he did reinvent the wheel.
46:47 the look on georges face
I must have watched this documentary 100 times as a kid, I’m pretty sure (at least on a subconscious level) it’s the reason why I’m pursing a career in film and TV so I owe a it a lot
51:16 Of all the things to worry about.... the Wookie has no pants 😂
Corporate slugs
Arguably my favorite Star Wars film right here 😂
This my favourite documentary about film-making, ever. Which is saying a lot because there are some great ones.
I’m surprised Disney haven’t decided to make a movie about the making of Star Wars following George Lucas as a USC student, writing and creating the whole screenplay called “Adventures Of Luke Starkiller Saga One: The Star Wars” during his time at USC and making American Graffitit, then we follow him casting the actors, filming the trilogy and ending with him becoming an inspirational icon for those working in the film world.
Don't give them ideas !
@@jimreily7538 What would you prefer, something like a Making of Star Wars movie or more unnecessary live action Disney remakes
I would love to see a movie about the Making of Star Wars!
@@theunknowncommenter725Thank you! Imagine each act is about making each film in the OT (Star Wars in Act 1, Empire in Act 2, and Jedi in Act 3) or about the process of making the 1977 classic and Lucas pitching it to Fox, casting Hamill, Ford and Fisher, showing how stressful it was with no one believing in George and ending with him seeing it turn out to be a critical and commercial hit
1:11:07 That must have been mind-blowing. To be making the music for Star Wars for the first time as the film is playing.
The story of how the greatest SciFi franchise was created
Gene Roddenberry wasn't in this 😎😉😉
@@Razorgeist huh?
Kinda. They left out a few things, like The Star Wars Holiday Special. If you want to watch that, it's here on YT. After you do, I'm sure you'll understand why it seems to have slipped their minds.
@@gspendlove There actually was going to be a 10-minute segment about the Star Wars Holiday Special, but it got cut due to pacing reasons.
@@Bauglir100 "Pacing reasons," riiiiiigh
Always love going back and watching this documentary. Can't get enough of it. It also really shows that these people understood how to plan & tell stories and not just repeat themselves or add "surprises" for the sake of adding surprises. (cough)Sequel Trilogy(cough)
I have such a weird nostalgia for this doc. I watched it almost as much as the OT itself. Watching this inspired me to want to make movies
33:10 I... did not know someone was actually inside r2 in the original trilogy..