The Making of 'Star Wars' (1977)

C-3PO and R2-D2 explore the creation of the film that made them famous.

Director:

Robert Guenette

Writer:

Richard Schickel

Stars:

William Conrad, Anthony Daniels, George Lucas

Cast

Credited cast:
William Conrad	...	Narrator (original narration from 1977) (voice)
Anthony Daniels	...	host, C-3PO
George Lucas	...	Himself
Mark Hamill	...	Himself
Alec Guinness	...	Himself
Harrison Ford	...	Himself
Carrie Fisher	...	Herself
Gary Kurtz	...	Himself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Don LaFontaine	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

Ever wonder how they ever managed to make a movie like Star Wars? Well, bickering droid duo C-3PO and R2-D2 host this tour of the mind of creator George Lucas and what inspired him to make the movie. Even interviewed are the cast and crew, even features scenes of when C-3PO, R2-D2, and Darth Vader planted their footprints (or in R2's case, tread-prints) into cement. Also discussed is Star Wars mania, how fans loved the movie, collected the merchandise and danced the disco music. Also shown are behind-the-scenes looks at the movie, as well as how difficult each effect was in doing since they didn't have the convenience of computer animation back then.

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Plot Keywords:

making of | merchandise | droid | host | fan | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

'Krieg der Sterne'

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Star Wars Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Conrad was the original narrator. On later VHS releases Don LaFontaine dubbed over Conrad's original narration.

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Goofs

At about 22:23 minutes, Chewbacca can be seen on the TV monitor, and R2-D2 beeping. C-3PO asks "what did he say?", even when he is fluent in over six million forms of communication.

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Crazy Credits

R2-D2 was credited as himself rather than being listed as being portrayed by Kenny Baker who really did portray him in this documentary.

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Connections

Edited into Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983)

User Reviews

A New Hope Begins.

This must have been THE first making of, behind the scenes documentary that I ever saw. I vividly recall seeing it on TV sometime after watching the movie at the cinema, and I'm lucky enough to own a copy on video. After another recent viewing, it still captivated me with all the original footage LITERALLY behind the scenes and the camera on set during filming. R2D2 and C3PO act as hosts, from their control room on an unidentified ship, as they introduce the various characters involved in making the film and it's effects. Watching the very young looking principles talk about their roles with '70s hairstyles and clothing is also a hoot! Even a snake-hipped young Lucas, who now resembles Jabba in girth, is funny to watch, as he struts around in his de rigueur plaid shirt.

Documentaries on films are now commonplace thanks to the advent of DVD, and the E channel. But even some of the recent ones I've seen aren't really a patch on this. Grab a copy if you can, then have a good try at collecting the other ones.