Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (2004)

An in-depth making of documentary about the original Star Wars trilogy, covering the productions of the three films and their impact on popular culture.

Directors:

Edith Becker, Kevin Burns

Writer:

Ed Singer

Stars:

Robert Clotworthy, Walter Cronkite, George Lucas

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Clotworthy	...	Narrator (voice)
Walter Cronkite	...	Himself - Journalist
George Lucas	...	Himself - Filmmaker
Steven Spielberg	...	Himself - Filmmaker
Irvin Kershner	...	Himself - Director
Howard G. Kazanjian	...	Himself - Producer (as Howard Kazanjian)
Gary Kurtz	...	Himself - Producer
Leo Braudy	...	Himself - Professor and Cultural Historian, University of Southern California
Bill Moyers	...	Himself - Journalist (archive footage)
Carrie Fisher	...	Herself - 'Princess Leia Organa'
Gareth Wigan	...	Himself - Former Production Executive, 20th Century Fox
Alan Ladd Jr.	...	Himself - Former Studio Chief, 20th Century Fox
Ralph McQuarrie	...	Himself - Conceptual Artist
Richard Edlund	...	Himself - Cameraman, Miniature and Optical Effects
Steve Gawley	...	Himself - Model Maker

Storyline

This documentary chronicles the making of the original Star Wars trilogy from start to finish. We get some background on George Lucas' start in the business and then continue with the making of Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). The visual/special effects and financial problems are explained as well as casting, editing, scoring and releasing the films with tons of archival footage and interviews with plenty of cast & crew members.

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Plot Keywords:

special effects | wookiee | ewok | r2 d2 | reference to yoda | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2004 (UK)

Also Known As:

Império dos Sonhos: A História da Trilogia Star Wars

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prometheus Entertainment,Fox Television Studios,Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min 120 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This feature-length documentary is featured on the 4-Disc Star Wars Trilogy DVD set, released in September of 2004.

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Goofs

During a segment on merchandising for the original Star Wars, pictures of Princess Leia dolls wearing 'space fashions' are shown. However, this clothing line never made it into production.

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Quotes

Anthony Daniels: I was there for a while and then I thought, well nearly time to go. And then, kind of over George's shoulder, I saw a painting. And the most extraordinary thing happened. It just struck me because I kind of looked at this face, and the face looked back at me. We had the most extraordinary eye contact you know, he's looking right out of the picture. And he seemed to be saying, "Come. Come. Be with me", and the vulnerability in his face made me want to help him. Isn't that weird? He just looks ...

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Crazy Credits

Bloopers, outtakes and deleted scenes shown during the end credits: George Lucas and Richard Marquand clowning around inside the AT ST cockpit. Rough black and white footage of the Death Star Trench. Luke's medical face mask being removed by 21B. Han kissing his girlfriend (Jenny Cresswell) in the Mos Eisley cantina. Early bluescreen tests in the Millenium Falcon cockpit. Behind the scenes footage of Solo firing at Vader in the Bespin dining room (also used on the blooper reel). Kenny Baker inside R2D2 in Tunisia. Mark Hamill falling over in the Finse snow wearing a blue ESB parka over his orange flight suit. Hamill and Carrie Fisher relaxing on Jabba's tummy. Lucas and daughter Amanda on the sail barge. Jack Purvis and Mike Edmonds enjoying a cigar on a break in their Ewok costumes. R2D2 picking up a squirrel with a mechanical arm. More shots on location in Tunisia. A stormtrooper costume and R2 Unit under construction at ILM. Closeup of a Jawa's glowing eyes. Ewok mask under construction. Lucas on the sail barge. Fisher and her stunt double sunbathing on the barge set. Alec Guinness' birthday party in Tunisia. X-wings and a Taun Taun on location in Finse. A model Snowspeeder being blown up.

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Alternate Versions

A shorter, 90-minute version of this documentary aired on the A&E Channel September 12th 2004.

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Connections

References Lost in Space (1965)

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Soundtracks

Princess Leia's Theme
(uncredited)
Composed by John Williams

User Reviews

Interesting, entertaining, informational... and thorough without being boring

This special starts before the original Star Wars, and after introducing Lucas and setting the scene for the time period, it takes us through the entire trilogy, with clips, interviews and behind the scenes footage en masse(I won't throw on the ever-ambiguous "and more" that is a common favorite to throw on DVD covers and the likes... believe me, if they've got something good to sell you, they know it, and they won't hesitate to tell you, "more" is like "interactive menus"... it makes nothing out of the ordinary sound like a real treat). Each main member of the cast, including Kenny Baker(R2D2), and Anthony Daniels(C3PO) - who sounds a lot like his character even when he's just speaking normally - and Peter Mayhew(Chewbacca). It has a good pace throughout, the version I watched was 90 minutes, and it never grew stale. It is edited expertly throughout. There is a solid flow to the documentary. It holds a lot of information, and the right amount of time is spent on it. The fun factor of this is achieved nicely, and without overshadowing what it is presenting. About the only person not brought in for an interview is David Prowse, who I suppose may still hold a grudge over not being told that they weren't going to use his voice(and if he knew that they were going to add in footage of Vader where his voice was still the one heard, in this special(which... let's just say, doesn't exactly sound as powerful and terrifying as that of James Earl Jones, who is also interviewed in this)... well, he might have stayed away for that reason, I know I would). There is perhaps a bit of patting on the back going on, as the special mentions just *how many* nominations and wins the films got, and how important it was, and so on and so forth, but this doesn't keep it from being worth watching. I recommend this to any fan of the original trilogy. Heck, the anecdotes alone almost make the hour and a half worth it. 8/10