The Making of Star Wars

The Making of Star Wars is a television special produced by 20th Century Fox, which aired on the ABC Television Network on September 16, 1977.[3] It was written by Richard Schickel and directed and produced by Robert Guenette.

The Making of Star Wars
Japanese LaserDisc cover
The Making of 'Star Wars' ....as told by C-3PO and R2-D2
GenreTV Special/Documentary[1]
Written byRichard Schickel
Directed byRobert Guenette
Presented byAnthony Daniels
Narrated byWilliam Conrad
ComposerJohn Williams
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerGary Kurtz
ProducerRobert Guenette
EditorN.H. Cominos
Running time49 minutes[2]
Production companies20th Century Fox Television
The Star Wars Corporation
Release
Original networkABC
Picture formatColor (4:3)
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 16, 1977 (1977-09-16)

Synopsis

Premiering four months after the release of the film, the special was the first Star Wars documentary ever made. The special was hosted by C-3PO (voiced and played by Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2.[4] A voiceover narration was additionally supplied by William Conrad. It features behind-the-scenes footage from Star Wars, and interviews with writer/director George Lucas, producer Gary Kurtz, and castmembers Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Alec Guinness.[5]

Among the behind-the-scenes footage is a brief glimpse of a deleted scene between Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine.

Home media

The special was the first Star Wars material to be released to the home video market (in 1979, by Magnetic Video). It was reissued to video in 1980 with a trailer for The Empire Strikes Back, which had been released that year. This trailer was not featured on the DVD box set issued in 2004.

In 1982, it was reissued again by 20th Century Fox on VHS, Betamax, CED, and Laserdisc as part of a double feature with the 1980 special SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back. It was reissued separately in Japan on Laserdisc in 1992, and was reissued as a triple feature with SPFX and the 1983 special Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi.

The special is included as an additional feature in the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray box set, which was released in September 2011.[6][7] The version included is the original version with William Conrad's voiceover.

Alternate version

In 1995, an alternate version of the special was released to VHS as a special mail-in offer with Kellogg's[8] to tie in with the last video and laserdisc releases of the original versions of the Star Wars Trilogy. This version is almost identical to the 1977 version but replaces William Conrad's voiceover with that of famed movie trailer announcer Don LaFontaine. This version has not been issued on DVD nor any other format.

Some portions of the special were edited into The Story of Star Wars, a DVD that was issued as a promotional bonus available at Wal-Mart stores for the DVD release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

References
  1. Wells, Tish (September 21, 2011). "Blu-ray 'Star Wars' Set Hits Many Generations". Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  2. Hill, Amelia. "Star Wars on Blu-ray". Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  3. Jensen, Jeff (February 9, 2012). "How 'Star Wars' changed my life". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  4. Venkman (January 11, 2011). "1977 Star Wars Documentary - The Making of Star Wars". GeekTyrant. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  5. Bricken, Rob (May 4, 2011). "The Star Wars Blu-Rays Won't Include the Original Versions". Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  6. "Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. September 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  7. Latchem, John (May 4, 2011). "'Star Wars' Blu-ray Extras May Not Satisfy All Fans". Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  8. Alaimo, Dan (July 10, 1995). "'STAR WARS' TRILOGY SET FOR 'FINAL' ORBIT". Supermarket News.
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