#Star Wars Ewoks Films

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Warwick Davis and Carrie Fisher on the set of Return of the Jedi (1982)

[a-little-revolution]

What are your thoughts on Warwick Davis? He is a famous British actor with dwarfism. I loved him in Willow since it was my first exposure to him outside of the Hogwarts movies.

Hello! I have indeed discussed Warwick Davis on this blog! I absolutely adore him and his career, especially in Willow (1988) and his various roles in Harry Potter (though I no longer support J.K Rowling).

Like all Little actors, he's had to play some not so great roles, but for the most part Warwick has been a major talent within the fantasy genre. He is beloved in Hollywood and holds a special place in my heart!

[chamerionwrites]

See I honestly do find the prequels-era Jedi an interesting (and at times painfully recognizable) portrait of institutional violence in that...they aren't cackling villains. They're mostly sympathetic well-intentioned individuals who via a combo of traditionalist inertia, ideological blinders, proximity to power, a dash of plain old arrogance and a liberal seasoning of end-justifies-the-means compromise end up being at best indifferent to and at worst deeply complicit in some pretty heinous injustice. I don't even think this is a completely against-the-grain reading on my part. At the end of the day it's a pretty mild critique, but it's hard to argue that the PT is entirely uncritical of the Jedi imo.

Unfortunately the narrative is never interested in really sinking its teeth into that. And even more unfortunately, a chunk of the fandom will clutch its pearls in horrified outrage if anybody else is interested in sinking their teeth into that

[gameraboy2]

1983 Return of the Jedi lunchbox

[pepperoniparadise]

“Sometimes we must let go of our pride

and do what is requested of us.”

[climb10]

Anakin's Revenge

Scar free-handing the Death Star laser is simultaneously so unhinged and impressive.

I also love how Scar made it real. It's made in context, rather than copied exactly the way it looks in Ep. IV or VI. He chose a palette that made sense for what it would look like in the sky above the Season 10 world and placed its orientation in a direction that fit where the laser needed to point and accounted for all these different variables within the SW canon by using multiple references dynamically.

I just appreciated how much consideration went into making it real, even for a silly sand shop goof.

[velvet4510]

If your answer is “Other,” clarify in notes which one is your favorite!

[kateclassique]

Current obsession: Wicket the Ewok 🐻

Part 3/3

[greensparty]

Remembering Mark Dodson 1960-2024

Voice actor Mark Dodson has died at 64. He was a notable part of the Star Wars universe, voicing Salacious Crumb in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. He also did some voice work in the TV movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. Other films he did voice work in included Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

Dodson and Salacious Crumb at a convention

The link above is the obit from Entertainment Weekly.

[elisemscott1122]

Optional, not canon Star Wars material (shows&films) to watch:

Visions Season 1

Visions Season 2

Clone Wars Animated Cartoon Network Series 2003-2005

1978 Holiday Special Movie (never officially released).

Star Wars Ewoks Animated Series (2 seasons)

Star Wars Droids Animated Series (1 season)

1984 Caravan of Courage: an Ewok Adventure Film

1985 Ewoks: the Battle for Endor Film

[reyturnofbensolo]

Awww man I gotta have him! YUB NUB!

[yestolerancepro]

Tolerance Project extra a long time ago in a Galaxy far far away

Part 2 a lost sequel an ice planet and a forest moon

Introduction

Hello there and welcome to the second chapter of a revised blog that looks at the first 6 episodes of the Star Wars saga the first chapter covered the making of Star Wars and my memories of the Toyline and seeing Star Wars on Television for the first time in 1982 this chapter covers the lost sequel Splinter of a Minds eye from 1978 The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

So Star Wars is a big success how do you continue the story?

Well the first plan was not the Empire Strikes back but a low budget sequel planned by George Lucas and the writer Alan Dean Foster called Splinter of Minds eye written in case Star Wars was a big flop,

Screenrant recently published this article about the book with it celebrating its 46th birthday.

Before The Empire Strikes Back, there was Alan Dean Foster's "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" - the original sequel to Star Wars, 46 years old today. It's hard to believe, but back in 1977, even George Lucas wasn't confident Star Wars would be a success. He approached well-established science-fiction writer Alan Dean Foster to write a low-budget sequel, which evolved into the first tie-in in what would become the old Star Wars Expanded Universe.

"Splinter of the Mind's Eye" was officially published on February 12, 1978, and it is officially 46 years old today. The book is no longer considered canon - Disney effectively rebooted the entire timeline, rendering the Expanded Universe "Legends" - but that doesn't mean it had no influence. In fact, there are striking similarities to The Empire Strikes Back, while Solo: A Star Wars Story and tie-ins to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have brought some of its most interesting ideas back into canon.

"Splinter of the Mind's Eye" continued the adventures of Luke Skywalker, with the would-be Jedi traveling to the swamplike planet Mimban as an escort for Princess Leia. There, they discover a wizened old lady named Halla who served as something of a mentor to him in the ways of the Force, and he came face-to-face with Darth Vader for the first time - triumphing even though Darth Vader wielded Force powers Luke had never seen before. Han Solo was entirely absent - Foster seemed to assume he had returned to his old life as a smuggler - and the book is brimming with romantic tension between Luke and Leia.

It's easy to see how "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" impacted the real Star Wars sequel - in which Luke Skywalker traveled to a swamplike planet named Dagobah where he met a wizened old Jedi Master named Yoda. In fact, there's evidence Dagobah was itself based on concept art for Mimban. Luke wound up dueling Darth Vader in the movie as well, although he didn't fare quite so well as in Foster's book. The Empire Strikes Back even featured the infamous Luke-Leia kiss, a moment Lucas surely came to regret when he decided to make them brother and sister.

Empire Strikes Back the second Chapter in the trilogy and the first change of director calling the shots

Empire Strikes Back was included in an article on the Screenrant website titled 10 Movie sequels that changed director and beat the original these are there comments on Empire Strikes Back

While George Lucas continued to write for all of Star Wars: Episodes I through VI, he stepped back from directing episodes V, and VI. A New Hope set up the elaborate universe and a stage to play out the space opera that is Star Wars, but The Empire Strikes Back is arguably the best entry in the entire series. Characters like Yoda, and Lando Calrissian made their debut in Episode V, along with the shocking reveal that Darth Vader is Luke's father. This film completely changed the trajectory for all future films in the franchise and formed the foundation of what Star Wars became, and part of that should be attributed to the wonderful direction of Irvin Kershner.

The Perfect Sequel

The Collider website recently punlished an article called 25 movies that are perfect from start to finish included The Empire Strikes Back in their list at number 16  this is what collider film said about Empire Strikes Back.

For as good and groundbreaking as the original Star Wars from 1977 was, it was the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, that cemented Star Wars as more than just a fad that swept cinemas one summer. It's about as perfect as movie sequels get, bringing back all the key characters from the first movie and pushing them further, physically, emotionally, and even psychologically. In every way, it raises the stakes and makes the beloved galaxy far, far away feel even more vast.

As the title implies, the tyrannical empire does not take their defeat at the end of the first movie well, with The Empire Strikes Back kicking off with the heroic Rebels on the defensive and scattered following a spectacular opening battle scene. From there, Luke Skywalker learns some dark truths about himself and his family while Han Solo and Princess Leia find themselves falling for each other, even if fate looks like it might keep them apart. It's space opera storytelling at its best, and a perfect sequel to an already great movie in every way.

The Best Science Fiction film of 1980

The movieweb film website published an article called the best scifi movie of every year in the 80s for 1980 they chose Empire strikes Back these were their reasons why.

In 1977, George Lucas changed the face of cinema forever with what would become one of the most popular and highest-grossing film franchises of all time. Three years later, The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters and featured the first-ever battle between Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Darth Vadar (David Prowse).

After the retrieval of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in A New Hope, the Rebels are pursued by the Death Star across the galaxy. Realizing that he can't win his fight against Darth Vadar without training first, Luke seeks the help of Jedi Master Yoda to guide him on the path to becoming a Jedi. The second film's masterful finale sets up the pace for what is technically the "last film" in the trilogy.

What Makes It the Best

1980 was a relatively slow year for sci-fi as far as major films go. However, the largely anticipated release of the second installment in the Star Wars franchise would outshine any other film by far. The Empire Strikes Back utilized the popularization of space exploration flawlessly, right down to Yoda's puppet effects. The use of practical effects throughout the film adds to the overall charm of those early Star Wars movies. Empire Strikes Back explores more territory and spends more time in space, as more creatures and characters are introduced throughout.

Star Wars and Me Empire Strikes Back

The first thing I knew about the Empire Strikes Back is when Mum and Dad took me and Matthew on Holiday or a day trip somewhere, and Matthew managed to pick up a Star Wars Empire Strikes back comic book that was hidden in a newspaper stand I was most envious.

The first Star Wars computer game I ever played was the 1982 Empire Strikes Back Parker Bros game for the Atari games console remember those ? you used to have to plug the unit into the airiel socket at the back of your TV for hours of arcade fun 

Those of you who have not played the Empire Strikes back computer game you are Luke Skywalker in your Snow speeder trying to stop the AT ATs from attacking your base on the planet hoth you had a limited time in which to do it or you would loose the game.

It was good for its time I thought the graphics were very good when I played it with my family as a 5 year old but its one of those games you could never win as the evil Empire would always get to your base in the end .

The first picture is an example of the graphics featured in the Empire Strikes back game not bad for 1982 the 2nd picture is the cover the Atari cartridge came in.

  I didn’t get to see Empire till Dad hired it for the weekend from the video store on watching I can remember not liking it but on repeat viewings I have changed my mind I can see why its now regarded as the best film of the original trilogy it would be a while befoe I would see on televison . it wasn’t shown on the ITV network till Christmas 1987.

Toys

As mentioned in this the first chapter of this blog Star Wars introduced a whole new toyline Empire Strikes back would build on that success one of the first Star Wars toys I ever got was Luke Skywalkers Snowspeeder from Empire Strikes Back.

Empire would introduce new planets and baddies into the Star Wars universe.

These included the Planet Hoth where the opening battle with the evil empire took place. Dagobar where we meet former Jedi Master Yoda for the first time as well as Cloud City where Han Solo attempts to escape capture by Darth Vader and an army of bounty hunters including Bobba Fett

Further Watching

Those 2 videos from Anolog toys show the best of the Toys from Empire Strikes back including Yoda and the planet Daygobar to watch Dagobar dreaming click here DAGOBAH DREAMING | A Kenner Star Wars Retrospective (youtube.com)

To learn more about the toy version of Bobba Fett click here Star Wars | Best Boba Fett Figure Ever? (youtube.com)

Further Watching

Click here for the original 1980 trailer to Empire Strikes Back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz_YWNhKOkM&list=PL17vqAEJv6CV3Y85xphI3YrPVq3Q5wI_7&index=5

Click here for 10 things you didn’t know about Empire Strikes Back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k_UhJkzKaA&t=9s

To watch a video review of Empire Strikes Back from the Oliver Harper Youtube Channel click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDlnOsWu27E&list=PL17vqAEJv6CV3Y85xphI3YrPVq3Q5wI_7&index=19&t=17s

Further Reading

This interesting article from the Screen rant website how Empire Strikes Back changed Hollywood forever to read it click here 10 Ways The Empire Strikes Back Changed Hollywood Forever (screenrant.com)

Read about Leigh Brachketts draft of Empire Strikes Back by Clicking here Leia Wasn't Originally Luke's Sister In Star Wars — And Darth Vader Wasn't His Dad (slashfilm.com)

Find out why George Lucas changed the ending to Empire Strikes Back 3 weeks after the films release click here Why George Lucas Changed The Empire Strikes Back Ending... Three Weeks After The Movie's Release (screenrant.com)

Return of the Jedi or should that be Revenge of the Jedi ?

Did you know that Return of the Jedi’s original title was going to be Revenge of the Jedi which was a total mistake on the production team of the film you can find out more here Star Wars: Return of the Jedi's Original Title Was a Total Accident | Den of Geek

Further Watching

The Revenge of the Jedi traler from 1982 click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAW1E3JIQZE&t=14s

Star Wars and Me Return of the Jedi

I always felt sorry for Return of the Jedi it always seems to get a bad rep after the the first 2 episodes in the original trilogy Star Wars A New Hope and The Empire which is seen as the best Star Wars fiilm of the original trilogy and often cited as the best film of the series when campared with the other 9 films in The Skywalker saga.

Return of the Jedi is often critised by some for its plot for copying story elements from Star wars being the building of the Death Star and the rebels having to destroy it at the films end the cute teddy bear creatures the Eworks are also not liked by some Star Wars fans

When George Lucas orignally wrote the Star Wars script in the early 70s he had planned to use Chewbacca's own people the Wookies to help out the rebels instead

Return of the Jedi is the Star wars film I have the best memories of

with it being the final film of the trilogy it seemed to be everywhere and the merchandise machine was into overdrive including your local Supermarket yes you could now eat Star Wars as well. around 1983 C3PO from the Star Wars films had his own cereal I never eat these by the way ha ha

There was even an advert to go with it you can watch it here C3PO Cereal from Kellogg's 1984 (youtube.com) but I do remember eating some Star Wars biscuits themed around Return of the Jedi from what I remember they tasted ok

After eating Star Wars I did buy quite a bit of Return of the Jedi merchindise with the help of my Mum and Dad

who went to a parents evening at Rawthorpe infants and Junior school school and while me and Matthew stayed at my Nans,my dad brought back a pair of Storybooks he said bought one of my teachers one of them was the Return of the Jedi storybook.

Dad went on another one of trips to a garden centre and brought back a couple of storybook tapes for me and Matthew one was the 24 page storybook and tape of Return of The Jedi .I listened to that quite a lot I am surprised I didn’t wear the tape out. to listen to the storybook click here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSZeN7fW8Q8...

Then I went to local yearly fair with my Grandparents and cousins and brought back this badge.

I didn’t see Return of the Jedi till it made it début on VHS in 1984 it didn’t appear the TV till the ITV network showed it on Boxing day 1988 .

Dad once again hired it from the Local video story for the weekend and we must have watched it about 10 times in about 3 days

By far the most bizzare piece of merchandise I ever got relating to Star Wars was the 1984 Return of the Jedi annual which my Nan bought me for Christmas. Its rather strange in that even though it says Return of the Jedi on the front cover its got nothing to do with the film. 

The front cover artwork though Very good looks nothing like Mark Hamell’s Luke Skywalker.Though the artist does a good Job with the  other elements on the cover like Princess Leia The Emperor and the Scout Walker.

From my memory of reading it apart from one image in the book it doesn’t feature Harrison Fords Han Solo as part of the story, as a consequence of that Chewbacca is missing from the book as well.

Return of the Jedi the Computer game

I also remember playing a computer game based on return of the jedi according to Wikipedia it was originally released in 1985 but I think mum most have bought a later version .

It was the Spectrum 2 version where you had to load onto computer via a cassette I thought it was very good I played it quite alot the graphics and game play were very good.

it featured 3 levels The player takes control of three different vehicles in stages based upon the Return of the Jedi film. Gameplay is from an isometrically projected perspective and is broken into three stages. In the first, the player pilots a speeder bike to the Ewok village. The next stage involves piloting the Millennium Falcon to destroy a reactor. Another speeder bike stage follows. The final stage involves piloting both an AT-ST and the Millennium Falcon in rapid succession in a fight against a Star Destroyer.

Further Watching

Click Here for the orignal 1983 Trailer for Return of The Jedi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ocn-_ZCPSg&list=PL17vqAEJv6CV3Y85xphI3YrPVq3Q5wI_7&index=2

Click here for 10 things you didn’t know about Return of the Jedi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1HpzaAclFk&t=7s

To watch a video review of Return of the Jedi from the Oliver Harper YouTube channel click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2tL4w8qgpk

What next after Return of the Jedi ?

After Return of the Jedi they were 2 Ewok themed TV Movies Caravan of Courage and The Battle of Endor I have a dim memory of watching both on VHS rented from the video store by my dad you can watch a video about both films by clicking here 10 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars Ewok Movies (youtube.com)

Further Watching

Caravan of Courage an Ewok Adventure trailer click here (4) Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) Trailer - YouTube

Eworks Battle for Endor Trailer click here (4) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor Trailer 1985 - YouTube

Further Reading

Read about Return of the Jedi's much darker ending from an article from the Collider fillm website click here ‘Return of the Jedi’ Originally Had a Much Darker Alternate Ending (collider.com)

Revisiting the Original Star Wars Trilogy for its 20th Birthday and those special editions.

If we are going to complete the Orignal Star Wars story. we need to include something about the Special edition versions that George Lucas made in 1997 to celebrate Star Wars 20th Anniversary.

I know these versions of the Star Wars films can be a bit like Marmite to some fans you ethier love them or you hate them, a bit like Star Wars Episodes 1 to 3 in that respect ha ha .

Anyway here is a half an hour video with the team that made the special edition trilogy why they did it. How they did it, and the reasons they did it. Thanks to Trent Pruitt on youtube for this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzApL8nUyT0

I am Star Wars fan and even I am not sure if I love the changes to the Star Wars films or not. Here are 2 more videos from youtube to help you if like me your undecided.  To watch a video called  Star Wars: 10 Brilliant Changes George Lucas Made To His Saga  click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OscvXBdK3jQ&t=26s 

And just to be balanced  to watch a video called Top 10 Worst Star Wars Special Edition Changes click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p9ozSFOMQY From the youtube Channel watch majo.com

This article lists some of the multiple changes made to the orignal Star Wars trilogy https://insidethemagic.net/2023/09/disney-plus-star-wars-edits-cj1mmb/

Star Wars Special edition Trailers 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ticuVxpz6I8 thank you to flcl4evrlaserdisc

Epilogue Star Wars The Artwork

Years later me and Matthew went on holiday with mum and dad and we would pass this bookshop everyday and we would look lovingly in the window at Star Wars portpholios full of lovely artwork. We told mum and dad about these thinking we would never get them  they were too expensive.

Then on the last day Mum and dad went into the book shop and bought them both me and Matthew were floored but so happy 

The artwork was amazing Matthew told me he found it fascinating

Pictures

1)Splinter of the Minds eye book cover from 1978

2Empire Strikes Back poster from 1980*

3)Parker Bros artwork for the Atari Empire Strikes Back game

4(Graphics for the Atari Game

5)The Return of the Jedi Storybook

6)The Return of the Jedi Badge with Darth Vader and the Emperors guards)

��7)The bizzare Return of the Jedi annual

8 and 9 The covers for the Star Wars and Return of the Jedi portpholios

 10) Star Wars Special edition posters

Remember If you have read this blog and liked it please consider giving a donation to the Tolerance project by clicking on the above link thank you

Notes

Thank you to the Minty Comedic arts youtube chanel for the 10 things about Star Wars Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi videos IMDB for the original Star Wars release dates and Den of Geek website for their article When did the original Star Wars become A New Hope and finally the Oilver Harper Youtube Channel for his respective review video series on the Star Wars films 

Thank you to Google images for the viarous pictures my family and my brorher for playing with me and jogging my memory for the first part of this blog

*The Poster for Empire Strikes back designed by Roger Kastel was included in the Calider film website 25 best movie posters of all time making number 3 in their list they had this to say about Kastel’s work

1977's Star Wars may have blown people's minds upon release, but its acclaimed 1980 sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, was the one that ultimately shattered any and all expectations. Things got darker for the main characters after their victory against the Empire at the end of the first Star Wars, and if anything, said Empire "striking back" - as suggested by the title - is kind of underselling it.

The Empire Strikes Back kicks off with Rebel forces being crushed in battle and then scattered across the galaxy, leading Luke Skywalker to seek training while Han Solo and Leia - among others - flee the Empire forces. It's a non-stop thrill ride through space, and the poster features glimpses of numerous "greatest hits" throughout the film: romance, space battles, a snowy setting, and Darth Vader's helmet looming ominously over all. It might be up for debate which of the Star Wars posters truly is the best-looking, but The Empire Strikes Back's would have to be a contender.

Next week the final chapter Spoofing my Childhood/The Boy will bring balance to the force

[a-life-in-film-by-wc]

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Special Edition (1997)

I lapped this up, I will admit. I was a Star Wars obsessed kid so of course I did. I remember my brothers and I flinched when Han shot second and squirmed a little when he stepped on Jabba's tail but it would be a couple of years before I saw those monstrosities for what they really were. At the time, all I really cared about was collecting tazos from crisp packets and drawing spaceships in my notebooks.

It’s impossible now to feel the way I felt about Star Wars when there were only three films* (plus the Droids and Ewoks cartoons) in my faraway galaxy. There are, to date, eleven Star Wars films and one animated movie, as well as two more films in development, and that is without even considering the further six animated shows and four Disney+ television shows (or the further six seasons in development).

In writing these reviews, I have realised that the convention around naming these films is rather inconsistent. Word order and punctuation seems to go a number of ways depending on where you read it. The use of latin numerals in the titles makes me wonder whether the Galactic Empire were aware of the Roman Empire. I feel those guys would have a lot to talk about if only the Romans could just learn English like the rest of the Galaxy.

*I was not aware of the gloriously baffling Holiday Special at this point, as the studios had successfully buried it in these pre internet video days, nor had I seen Ewoks: Caravan of Courage or Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, which I don’t think I could sit through even now.

[vintagegeekculture]

I remember a friend of mine had some LPs that were Star Wars themed disco albums, and it brought back a very weird memory from back in the 70s (yes, I'm old!) of listening to a Star Wars disco mashup on the radio. What was all that about? I also remember something like that for Close Encounters, too.

You remember correctly, and this went on for a long while. In 1983, disk jockeys around the country played a record that involved an Ewok rapping the plot of Return of the Jedi in Ewokese. This made it to #60 in the Billboard Top 100.

This is hard to explain to people who weren’t there….but in the wake of Star Wars in the late 70s and early 80s, scifi was so beloved and mainstream that the orchestral music for nerdy scifi and fantasy movies about outer space were remixed and sampled into Giorgio Moroder-esque Italo-Disco dance numbers. And the most astonishing thing is, instead of being consigned to convention acts the way “horse famous” Brony dubstep acts are, this received national airplay on the radio, reached the pop music charts, and were played in discotheques. And incredibly, this continued for years and expanded from Star Wars into Star Trek, Wizard of Oz, Black Hole, Close Encounters….

All of this was the work of one specific person: Meco (or Dominico Monardo). The term “ahead of their time” is thrown around a lot, but Meco really was: a combination producer-songwriter and Italo-Disco pioneer in the style of Giorgio Moroder, he did several things that are now absolutely standard: he used remixes and sampling before hiphop made that standard for musicians, he wrote “fandom music” on a Moog synthesizer decades before Bronies turned their conventions into cringey dubstep concerts with songs like “Everypony Dance Now.”

It's stunning to me that Meco has not been rediscovered, considering every single trend in the culture essentially went his way.

The most startling thing about Meco’s Star Wars disco album, the one that got the ball rolling on this trend, is this: I always assumed it was some kind of cash in created by a record label mandate, a label executive’s completely cynical choice to hop on a hot new trend. That isn’t a crazy thing to think at all, since Star Wars is and always has been the most merchandized and sold out scifi property ever. But it wasn’t! You see, it was all the product of a single man’s specific vision: Meco had to convince his record label to make the record because they were skeptical.

When Meco went to see Star Wars in 1977 on Opening Day (what an experience that must have been) with his friend and fellow Italian chest hair/gold medallion enthusiast Tony Bongiovi, he was already an experienced producer-songwriter who had worked with Gloria Gaynor, Diana Ross, and formed DCA, the Disco Corporation of America. If you've ever listened to Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out," Meco actually played the trombone solo in that song. Seeing the Star Wars movie for the first time, though Meco thought the movie was nothing short of a religious experience. Originally, he wanted to do Star Wars music as a b-side on a Gloria Gaynor album, but expanded the idea into an entire album.

In Meco’s own words:

"When I think about what I did, nobody came to me, nobody said 'Meco, why don't you do this.' Nobody says 'Here's some money go make a record of this movie.' It was just my own... It was magical, it was just out of this world when all that happened."

Not only did this album hit platinum, not only did it actually outsell the Star Wars soundtrack, his remix of the Star Wars theme also went to #1 in the charts. It’s actually the best selling instrumental single of all time. A record, that, incidentally, it holds to this day.

Dick Clark, host of American Bandstand, had this to say about Meco:

"In 1977, Meco Monardo accomplished something no one else has ever done to the best of my knowledge. He was the first one in history to out-sell the soundtrack of a motion picture with his own distinctive version of a film's music. The music was totally danceable, and broke new ground. It's no wonder the STAR WARS THEME went to # 1. I loved his treatment of music from THE WIZARD OF OZ. Again, Meco created something innovative. The fun and the excitement gave a whole new feel to that totally familiar and well-loved music."

Like a lot of studio producers, Meco had an insane work ethic and hit when the iron was hot: he did an album about Close Encounters that exact same year, but also did a Star Wars Christmas Album, one of the strangest pieces of Star Wars kitsch around.

One of the most interesting things about the Star Wars Christmas album is that one of the songs, “R2D2’s Wish You a Merry Christmas” is the first professional vocals by John Bon Jovi, who was Meco’s friend Tony Bongiovi’s seventeen year old younger cousin (he was initially known as John Bongiovi). It's incredible to hear a squeaky voiced teen Bon Jovi on a kitsch album about a robot Christmas.

1978-1979 was really his best year. Meco made an Italo-Disco remix album entirely devoted to Superman, and at this point, Meco had the pull to get access to John Williams's sheet music for the score before the music even came out. In my personal opinion it's the best of them because he has to recreate it entirely with his own instruments, leading to a very unique sound.

He also did an album based on the Wizard of Oz:

And a combination album of Star Trek/Black Hole. It's probably the earliest remixing date of Goldsmith pieces of music: the Motion Picture Theme (which is now associated with the Next Generation - hearing it done in Italodisco is uncanny) and the Klingon Theme:

Incidentally, I think the design here of the Meco Enterprise, which had to be modified for legal reasons, would make a wonderful canon starship if anyone wants to be inspired by it. It reminds me of the same concept that would be used in the very next film for the Reliant-class of ships.

Meco eventually retired from music in 1985, but unfortunately he is no longer with us, as he passed into the next dimension in 2023. I think he showed us that creativity is often about transformation, and was inspired to make his art by a legitimate awe of space, the cosmos, and human imagination that the scifi movies of the 1970s and 80s provoke.

[oldschoolfrp]

This looks like the full video -- I usually see only short clips from the hallway sequence around 7:30

Return of the Ewok - behind the scenes movie by Warwick Davis during filming of Return of the Jedi

[david-talks-sw]

The OTHER type of Star Wars fan

We've already covered (through this longer post and this addendum) that research shows George wasn't that involved or interested in the derivative material of the Star Wars franchise, also known as the Expanded Universe (EU). Aside from approving a few points, he let Howard Roffman and Lucasfilm Licensing handle it.

He is the first to say that he ain't as knowledgeable about Star Wars lore as we fans are.

Thing is... he's also not as passionate as we are.

Recently, I was watching some Q&A videos of George R.R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones... and it occurred to me:

Martin is what most Star Wars fans wish Lucas was.

Think about it.

He's a talented writer who likes to focus on morally "gray" characters and complex political plotlines,

who created a series of novels for a mature audience in which his narrative merely asks questions and lets the reader draw their own conclusions,

knows and engages in the lore behind his creation and will often respond to those lore-heavy questions, and has gone on record stating that canon is the glue that holds a story together and keeps it coherent.

Contrast that with George "continuity is for wimps" Lucas, who:

Wrote a movie franchise which is also, partially, political... but he makes it for kids, and he's explicit about how this is thematically a clear-cut story about how the conflict of "good vs evil" is really about "compassion vs greed",

with flat dialogue, boring cinematography,

and whose approach to lore and canon can be summed up in his answer to how Anakin got his scar:

"I don't know. Ask Howard [Roffman]. That’s one of those things that happens in the novels between the movies. I just put it there. He has to explain how it got there. I think Anakin got it slipping in the bathtub, but of course, he's not going to tell anybody that." - Pablo Hidalgo’s set diary, August 2003

And as a Star Wars fan, I will admit that some of his casual retcons felt disrespectful, growing up.

"Boba Fett is NOT Mandalorian?!"

I had the same reaction when I saw an interview of Kathleen Kennedy stating she was a fan of Star Wars... from a filmmaking perspective. That seemed like such a finagling cop-out for me, at the time.

"Just say you're not a real fan, God!"

And it's easy to divide it in two camps, like that. You have 1) the fans, who will delve into deep lore, and you have 2) the average moviegoer.

But looking back on it... holy shit, that is actually a completely valid way of being a Star Wars fan.

Yes, Star Wars is a transmedia franchise, it's books, it's video-games, it's deep lore, it's lightsabers and Jedi and Sith and bounty hunters and Ewoks and Jabba and High Republics and Tython and Revan etc.

But before it was that, Star Wars was a filmmaking revolution. A juggernaut of innovation for the silver screen that inspired most of today's filmmakers.

So, sure, George Lucas isn't an avid lore-loving Star Wars fan like you and me. But he is a movie fan.

"I'm not that passionate about this story. I like it, it's fun and I enjoy doing it. But it's definitely not my life. I'm a bigger movie fan than I am Star Wars fan. I like making movies. At the end of nine years of making Star Wars, I was not ready to continue it. I was completely burned out on it. I was more passionate about raising my kids than making movies and especially making Star Wars. So I made other kinds of movies and TV shows and advanced the technology I needed. It's not a matter of passion. My passion is for filmmaking. I'll go and do filmmaking that is easier to do, where you can realise your ideas better. And nine years is a big part of your life, and to commit to another nine years, I didn't wanna do that right away." - EMPIRE, 1999

And you can tell this, when you watch the Star Wars films.

There are honestly so many homages and interesting filmmaking techniques, peppered throughout the six films, which only a nerd for cinema history like George would know how to implement.

C3-PO being based on the droid from Metropolis (1927) is a perfect example of this.

And that's interesting.

Because there's essentially this entire other dimension to the films, where it's not just the story unfolding, but to filmmakers it's also a series of techniques that make them go "I wonder how they did that!" or homages that make them go "OH! I know where that's from!" like we do when an comics characters appears in live-action.

Here's other examples:

CINEMA HOMAGES

All of Star Wars is absolutely littered with homages to cinema history.

I mean, you may already know this, but Flash Gordon is what George originally wanted to shoot, but the copyright holders said they only wanted Fellini to direct it (ironically, George wasn't artsy-fart enough for them). So he decided to write Star Wars instead.

As such, the inspiration from Flash Gordon is also present visually and spiritually throughout the two trilogies.

"It was like a Republic serial, a 1930s-style matinee adventure. The idea was that you came in, saw Episode IV, had missed the first three episodes, and wouldn't get to see the rest of it." - Starlog Magazine #300, 2002

The dialogue that a lot of people refer to as "campy" and "flat" is actually a mix of George being an experimental filmmaker who doesn't give much of a fuck about dialogue (and is by his own admission, not the best at it)...

"I'd be the first person to say I can't write dialogue. My dialogue is very utilitarian and is designed to move things forward. I'm not Shakespeare. It's not designed to be poetic. It's not designed to have a clever turn of phrase. [...] I just wanted to get from point A to point B. This film doesn't lend itself to that sort of thing because it's not about snappy one-liners.  I think that Lethal Weapon-style dialogue is overused, it's a necessary aspect of high action films where you have to have the smart retort. You have to say "I'll be back baby" and stuff. It's not my style. It takes away from the integrity of the movie. [...] I'm aware that dialogue isn't my strength. I use it as a device. I don't particularly like dialogue which is part of the problem." - EMPIRE, 1999

... which is convenient, because it helped him simulate the dialogue of 1930s matinee serials, such as Flash Gordon.

"Let’s face it, their dialogue in that scene is pretty corny. It is presented very honestly, it isn’t tongue in cheek at all, and it’s played to the hilt. But it is consistent, not only with the rest of the movie, but with the overall Star Wars style. Most people don’t understand the style of Star Wars. They don’t get that there is an underlying motif that is very much like a 1930s Western or Saturday matinee serial. It’s in the more romantic period of making movies and adventure films. And this film is even more of a melodrama than the others." - Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of Attack of the Clones, 2002

But beyond that, literally it's everywhere.

The scene where Palpatine ascends to being Emperor as Anakin slaughters his political rivals parallels the final scene in The Godfather, where Michael becomes the Don while his goons do the same thing.

This video compiles all the tributes beautifully. Check it out.

Even The Clone Wars has whole episodes that are direct homages to cult classics. The Zillo Beast episode is a clear reference to Godzilla, the episode The Wrong Jedi is inspired by The Wrong Man, etc.

"CINEMA VÉRITÉ" CINEMATOGRAPHY

I've already written a whole post (one of my favourites) showing how his fascination with cinéma vérité documentaries is reflected in the cinematography of all six Star Wars films, and it's part of what makes the entire franchise feel so immersive.

You can check it out here:

KUROSAWA

We've gone over how he's a big fan of Akira Kurosawa, and how big an influence Hidden Fortress was on both the Star Wars trilogies...

... but so is the mise-en-scène and the way George approaches production design. The reason Star Wars feels so "lived in" is also a lesson George learned from Kurosawa, which is that by making everything just a bit off-kilter, a bit dirtied-up and imperfect...

... and yet keeping it all consistent, in a way, you manage to make the film feel grounded and immersive, no matter how alien it is.

"[It] may sound odd in a movie like this, but credibility and realism, even in the most unrealistic situation… to sorta create that sense of realism is very important to making the story work and making you feel like you’re actually in the environment that transports you and gives you the suspension of disbelief that you need in order to enjoy a movie. [...] Kurosawa used to call it “immaculate realism” which is to make it slightly off-kilter, slightly eccentric, like things are in real life. Even if it’s a very predictable situation, give it that little funny edge that takes it away from that and makes it realistic. And I had to struggle very hard, in the Star Wars films, to make them appear to be realistic, even though they’re totally fantasy." - The Phantom Menace, Commentary Track #2, 1999

POST-PRODUCTION & VFX

Another one of the more impressive aspects of the first Star Wars was the dogfights and the trench raid of the Death Star. The camera pans with the spaceship, the dynamism of the cuts. The space battles is what made George creat ILM in the first place.

He was determined to do the opposite of what 2001: A Space Odyssey had done with that opening scene where the space ship moves into frame slooooowly...

... so he gave the team a collection of WWII dogfight footage to give them ideas.

(note: this was the same approach he would take years later with Dave Filoni, when teaching the latter how to edit and craft dogfights in The Clone Wars)

The attempt to film the trench run eventually led to the creation of the first motion control camera dolly.

Best analogy I can think of, when describing George's approach to Star Wars, is the following:

An avant-garde esoteric contemporary artist - y'know, the type who puts a blue dot on a white canvas and calls it art - creates a comic.

Why? Because he wants to make this one art installment for a gallery exhibition. After that, he intends to move on to other things.

But the comic is really good! And like, its audience quickly expands beyond just gallery visitors, no, everyone likes it.

Suddenly, the comic develops a cult following, and the entirety of comic book geek culture has zeroed-in on the artist and they're all asking him to make more art! And he makes more! And more!

Then he stops for two decades, moves on to other art projects, raises his kids. Years later, he discovers new ways of drawing, and he's like "I'm making a Prequel to the comic, y'all wanna see it?"

Everyone cries out gleefully: "Oh God, yes! Finally! Show us!"

But this motherfucker makes a manga.

Why? Because he feels like it.

And of course he does, he's just creating art, right? He discovered the graphic tablet, so he's having fun with it, because he's always innovating and pushing the envelope with his art.

And the movies are fine, by manga standards. But by comic book standards, they obviously suck! The comic book audience is mad. They wanted another comic book, not a manga. Why is it in black and white? Why is read right-to-left? This comic sucks!

(And arguably, they have a point... as a savvy businessman, he's made a whole lot of money off this comic, he built a media empire out of it, and instead of giving them what they want, he made something else)

But again... this guy isn't a comic book illustrator, and has been very explicit about saying this.

He's an artist who - for a very specific project - drew a comic.

Many things can be true at once:

the fact that these creative decisions didn't always hit their mark for the average moviegoer, or fans of "Star Wars, the space fantasy movies and expanded universe" (usually the lore-loving geeks like myself)...

... and the fact that they were meticulously and carefully crafted in a way that fans of "Star Wars, the revolutionary film" (aka fans of cinema and filmmaking) can appreciate.

There's a spectrum of the fandom, and there is a spectrum in the way we can appreciate Star Wars. Which kinda reminds me of that scene in Chef (2014) where Carl goes on a rant explaining the intricacies of making his chocolate lava cake to a food critic.

It's not just undercooked chocolate.

It's molten.

Conversely, it's not just flat, campy dialogue. It's an homage to the 1930s matinee serials à la Flash Gordon.

It's not just boring cinematography. It's a reproduction of cinéma vérité documentary-style camera work which effectively grounds the film.

Having considered all this, when I hear that Tony Gilroy or Kathleen Kennedy were more in the latter camp, I go "fair enough".

First of all, because like it or not, so was George. He clearly didn't give a single crap about the comics and books, besides signing off on minor plot points. He's not a "sci-fi movie director", he's an experimental filmmaker who makes movies set in space.

But secondly, because - aside from children - it's clear the audience he was targeting was these cinema-savvy folks who'd get his references and would be inspired by the filmmaking techniques.

Not the fans or the critics.