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IMDbPro

The Star Wars Holiday Special

  • TV Movie
  • 19781978
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
2.1/10
16K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,548
1,855
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
On this IMDbrief and with some help from C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, we download the weird and wild history of the two Star Wars Holiday Specials.
Play clip4:48
Watch "The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special" History Download
1 Video
99+ Photos
AdventureFamilyMusical
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 e... Read allChewbacca 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.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.
IMDb RATING
2.1/10
16K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,548
1,855
    • Steve Binder
    • David Acomba(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Rod Warren
    • Bruce Vilanch
    • Pat Proft
  • Stars
    • Mickey Morton
    • Patty Maloney
    • Paul Gale
    • Steve Binder
    • David Acomba(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Rod Warren
    • Bruce Vilanch
    • Pat Proft
  • Stars
    • Mickey Morton
    • Patty Maloney
    • Paul Gale
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 331User reviews
    • 96Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    "The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special" History Download
    Clip 4:48
    Watch "The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special" History Download

    Photos206

    Mark Hamill in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Peter Mayhew and Mickey Morton at an event for The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Bea Arthur in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Carrie Fisher in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Anthony Daniels and Carrie Fisher in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Carrie Fisher in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Carrie Fisher in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Harvey Korman in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    Anthony Daniels in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
    The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mickey Morton
    • Malla
    Patty Maloney
    Patty Maloney
    • Lumpy
    Paul Gale
    Paul Gale
    • Itchy
    Mark Hamill
    Mark Hamill
    • Luke Skywalker
    Harrison Ford
    Harrison Ford
    • Han Solo
    Carrie Fisher
    Carrie Fisher
    • Princess Leia Organa
    Anthony Daniels
    Anthony Daniels
    • C-3PO
    Peter Mayhew
    Peter Mayhew
    • Chewbacca
    James Earl Jones
    James Earl Jones
    • Darth Vader
    • (voice)
    Bea Arthur
    Bea Arthur
    • Ackmena
    • (as Beatrice Arthur)
    Art Carney
    Art Carney
    • Saun Dann
    Diahann Carroll
    Diahann Carroll
    • Mermeia Holographic Wow
    Marty Balin
    Marty Balin
    • Holographic Band Singer
    • (as The Jefferson Starship)
    Craig Chaquico
    Craig Chaquico
    • Holographic Band Member
    • (as The Jefferson Starship)
    David Freiberg
    David Freiberg
    • Holographic Band Singer
    • (as The Jefferson Starship)
    Paul Kantner
    Paul Kantner
    • Holographic Band Member
    • (as The Jefferson Starship)
    Harvey Korman
    Harvey Korman
    • Krelman…
    Jack Rader
    Jack Rader
    • Imperial Guard Officer
      • Steve Binder
      • David Acomba(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Rod Warren
      • Bruce Vilanch
      • Pat Proft
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to Carrie Fisher, George Lucas gave her a copy of the special as a gift for recording the DVD commentary for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). She claimed that she played it at parties when she wanted her guests to leave.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Chef Gormaanda: Stir, whip, stir, whip, whip, whip, stir, beat.

    • Crazy credits
      R2-D2 as R2-D2
    • Connections
      Featured in Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Harrison Ford/Amy Adams/KT Tunstall (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Star Wars Themes
      by John Williams

    User reviews331

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    The End of Innocence
    I was 14 when this thing originally aired. It galls me to this day, and here is why:

    A little more than a year earlier, an awesome film with spectacular cinematic production values was released. It was called Star Wars. Not "A New Hope", not "Episode IV"...just..."Star Wars". And it blew everything else away. You can tell when certain films create a defining moment: the science-fiction film genre is neatly divided into 'before Star Wars' and 'after Star Wars'. This was something that even "2001: A Space Odyssey" couldn't do, even if it was (and still is) the pinnacle of writing and directing science-fiction for the big screen. The reason was simple: Star Wars connected profoundly with *every* kid's 'wanna be an astronaut/fireman/policeman when I grow up' youthful fancy, even if the 'kids' were thirty-somethings (or older!). Star Wars, in its pre-episodic release, was a wonderfully simple story, not the muddled-with-forward-and-backward-references, vastly more complex story the saga was to become. It is this simplicity I sometimes miss, perhaps because it reminds me of a time when my own life was less complicated.

    When rumors of the 'Holiday Special' began, I recall it actually being looked upon as eagerly anticipated, at least among the people I knew at the time. This was mid-1978, probably when the actual holiday special footage was being recorded. Already the first indications of a new Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back, were public knowledge, so this holiday special just *had* to be built along the same production values as the films. Or so I (and a lot of others) thought. I should have known better, the special being for television and not cinema. When the Holiday Special aired, I was ready to be transported to that galaxy far, far away and be dazzled all over again...

    The opening was promising, what with Han and Chewie being chased down by Imperial Star Destroyers and so on, yet even this opening teaser had an omen of doom attached, that being when Han said something like "That's the spirit, you'll be celebrating Life Day before you know it!" Han wasn't the only one beginning to get a bad feeling about this. The opening credits are when I actually started to fear the worst. These were NOT film-optical titles! They were video-overlays. The problem is, I just saw a scene obviously shot on film. And why are all these sitcom/variety show actors in the billing? Then it began to hit me: stock footage was going to represent actual Star Wars content, and the rest is going to be a nightmare version of the Carol Burnett Show. This wasn't going to be on the same planet of production values as Star Wars, let alone the same room. And I was exactly right! For the next 2 hours I watched, hoping in vain for some sort of payoff that justified the unfolding tragedy. Today, I remember only two distinct moments in the Holiday Special that got a reaction out of me: 1) I was p***ed off when the Imperial Stormtrooper broke the kid's crystal radio 2) I reasonably liked the animated bit.

    After it was all over, I remember being angry. Not because I'd just been subjected to a crappy variety show with the Star Wars nameplate attached, but that this was broadcast nationwide and that a LOT of people (kids my age in particular) weren't going to be able to deal with that ineffable 'spark of magic' that made Star Wars such a delight being doused in a bucket of water. The almost-naive innocence that Luke Skywalker brought forth in all of us was gone forever, because we had just seen the magic turned into crap.

    It would be another two years before Empire's release. Only then did most of the harm get undone. But not entirely. ESB is by far the best written of the five theatrical films that exist as of this writing, but with ESB began the complex story telling. And while the story in ESB was well-told, it comes with a price: Luke's actual loss-of-innocence visibly marks the point when Star Wars ceased to be a childhood delight and transcended into epic storytelling. If the Holiday Special had aired after ESB, I wouldn't have been so angry. At least our innocence would have been plausibly lost as we settled into watching a mature story, instead of rudely torn from our souls by a bunch of hack TV writers.
    helpful•28
    1
    • theoldcrow
    • May 28, 2002

    FAQ2

    • Why on Earth did George Lucas make this?
    • Are the events depicted in this program canon?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 17, 1978 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Site
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Stage 2, The Burbank Studios, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Smith-Hemion Productions
      • 20th Century Fox Television
      • Lucasfilm
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 37 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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