The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

Chewbacca and Han Solo try to get to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk to celebrate Life Day, but are impeded by an Imperial blockade. Chewie's family passes the time with various forms of entertainment.

Directors:

Steve Binder, David Acomba (uncredited)

Writers:

Rod Warren, Bruce Vilanch

Stars:

Mickey Morton, Patty Maloney, Paul Gale

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Hamill	...	Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford	...	Han Solo
Carrie Fisher	...	Princess Leia Organa
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO
Peter Mayhew	...	Chewbacca
James Earl Jones	...	Darth Vader (voice)
Bea Arthur	...	Ackmena (as Beatrice Arthur)
Art Carney	...	Saun Dann
Diahann Carroll	...	Mermeia Holographic Wow
Marty Balin	...	Holographic Band Singer (as The Jefferson Starship)
Craig Chaquico	...	Holographic Band Member (as The Jefferson Starship)
David Freiberg	...	Holographic Band Singer (as The Jefferson Starship)
Paul Kantner	...	Holographic Band Member (as The Jefferson Starship)
Harvey Korman	...	Krelman / Chef Gormaanda / Amorphian Instructor
Mickey Morton	...	Malla

Storyline

It is Life Day, a holiday that is celebrated on Chewbacca's home planet of Kashyyyk. Chewie and Han Solo are trying to get to the planet where Chewie's family is waiting for him, but the Empire is out searching for the rebels, giving everyone a hard time. While we are waiting, we get a look at the everyday life of a Wookiee family. We meet all the familiar characters from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and we are introduced to Boba Fett during a short cartoon. We also pay a visit to the Cantina and meet all the monsters again.

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Plot Keywords:

wilhelm scream | campy | virtual reality | tree house | drag | 

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Taglines:

(bootleg edition) The scariest movie ever made...isn't a horror film.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Musical | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1978, the script for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) was still being written, and release was scheduled for summer 1980. According to Mark Hamill, George Lucas devised this one-off television special to keep the unexpected success of the original 1977 release fresh in fans' minds and keep the merchandise selling in shops, concerned that the Star Wars brand would quickly be forgotten. When Lucas watched the final production, he was horrified, and felt it could easily be seen as an attempt at a cheap cash-in. While he was too late to stop the broadcast in the US and Canada, he was able to prevent the show from being aired in most other territories where Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) had been a massive success.

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Goofs

In the original film, the Millennium Falcon's flight deck had room for five people to be in the same shot together, a back panel of flashing lights, and a distinctive round blue VDU display high above Chewbacca's left shoulder. The flight deck is much smaller in this show, and the backdrop is obviously just a painted wall. The television special was filmed, on video tape, on a soundstage in Burbank, Hollywood, while the original Millennium Falcon set footage was filmed on 35mm film at Elstree film studios in England.

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Quotes

Boba Fett: Follow me, friend.
C-3PO: Don't you think it might be imprudent to trust him so quickly, sir?
Luke Skywalker: He's our only chance... and besides, he seems like a friend.

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Crazy Credits

R2-D2 as R2-D2

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Connections

Referenced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Mandalore Plot (2010)

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Soundtracks

This Minute Now
(uncredited)
Written by Mitzie Welch and Ken Welch
Performed by Diahann Carroll

User Reviews

It Isn't a Train Wreck- it Moves too Slowly

OK, if you are reading this, you have probably already heard about the nightmarish details of this film. Carrie Fisher sings, badly, an "inspirational" version of the Star Wars theme. Art Carney shows way too much skin. Mark Hammill looks like a drag queen, and Harrison Ford looks like he was dragged on set against his will by a gang of thugs.

The "musical numbers" are bizarre, irrelevant, and bear no resemblance to anything else. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I hope that mysterious orifice on the top of Harvey Korman's head has one, and only one, use.

But, gentle reader, I do not criticize the painful individual moments of this disaster, no matter how many there are. I do not even criticize the fact that Wookies are made to look like either obnoxious twits or creepy perverts. No, I want to talk about pacing, or in this work's case, p-a-c-i-n-g...

Taken as a whole, there was about enough plot here for a 30 minute network special. But, that would not be long enough. So, the viewer gets 20 minutes of wookie-speak, which goes nowhere. And dance numbers, which go nowhere... And Bea Arthur singing, which might go somewhere we don't want to know about... The fact is, amazingly little happens during this thing's excruciatingly long running time.

Having a martini handy is a must. Just do not drink every time you get bored.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 'Star Wars' Christmas Special

Filming Locations:

Stage 2, The Burbank Studios, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Smith-Hemion Productions, 20th Century Fox Television, Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 120 min 78 min (re-cut) 79 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1