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, Mark Hamill

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
Kenny Baker	...	R2-D2 (as R2-D2)
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

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:

Luke Skywalker and Han Solo battle evil Imperial forces to help Chewbacca reach his imperiled family on the Wookiee planet - in time for Life Day, their most important day of the year!

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Musical | Sci-Fi

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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:

Burbank, California, USA

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to playing the Wookiee Malla, Mickey Morton also played the cantina bouncer Tork and Chef Gormaanda's second pair of arms.

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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

Han Solo: He says our friend Boba found serum for the talisman virus.
Luke Skywalker: Boba, you're a hero and a faithful friend. You must come with us.
[R2 bleeps]
Luke Skywalker: What's the matter with R2?
C-3PO: I'm afraid, sir, it's because you said Boba's a friend and faithful ally. That does not feed properly into R2's information bank.
Luke Skywalker: What are you talking about?
C-3PO: We've intercepted a message between Boba and Darth Vader, sir. Boba Fett is Darth Vader's right-hand man. I'm afraid this whole adventure has been an Imperial plot.
Boba Fett: We'll meet ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

R2-D2 as R2-D2

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Connections

Featured in PhantomStrider: Top 10 Worst Movies of all Time (2017)

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Soundtracks

A Day To Celebrate
(uncredited)
Performed by Carrie Fisher

User Reviews

in the name of all that is holy please watch this pile of crap!

I've always been a big fan of star wars and I thought I knew a lot about it until my boy friend and his best friend asked me if I have ever seen the holiday special. I didn't even know one existed and I had actually seen both Ewok movies, go figure.

Well as a joke I suppose our friend gave us the movie last night for xmas and we popped it in. It is by far the most heinous piece of crap I have ever seen. I was warned it was bad but, WOW it was terrible. I lost an hour and a half of my life and really nothing happened during that time other than losing any shred of respect I may have had for George Lucas.

The effects are so bad they are hilarious and there seems to be some type of odd porn scene involving Chewbaca's father and some 70's Disco Queen. I watched most of the program with my mouth hanging wide open in utter disbelief. The rest of the time I was laughing at just how awful the whole thing really is.

I still recommend watching the film if only to say that you have. Especially if you claim to be a Star Wars geek. Just make sure you have plenty of alcohol on hand and some friends with an excellent sense of humor.