- "I think if I can get a room full of people and they enjoy it, then I've done whatever I hoped to do."
- ―George Lucas about Star Wars
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy is a documentary by Kevin Burns about the making of the three original Star Wars films: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. It is strictly chronological, divided into three parts, one for each film. It is narrated by Robert Clotworthy, and features interviews with George Lucas and major cast and crew. It tries to put Star Wars into a sociological and political perspective by using interviews with spectators.
Interviews
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- Crew members
- Jim Bloom
- Ben Burtt
- Richard Chew
- Peter Diamond
- John Dykstra
- Richard Edlund
- Stuart Freeborn
- Sidney Ganis
- Steve Gawley
- Paul Hirsch
- Paul Huston
- Joe Johnston
- Lawrence Kasdan
- Howard G. Kazanjian
- Irvin Kershner
- Gary Kurtz
- Alan Ladd, Jr.
- George Lucas
- Rick McCallum
- Ralph McQuarrie
- Dennis Muren
- Lorne Peterson
- Ken Ralston
- Norman Reynolds
- Steven Spielberg
- Phil Tippett
- Robert Watts
- Charles Weber
- Gareth Wogan
- Cast members
- Other celebrities and journalists
VersionsEdit
The original cut of the documentary ran at around two hours and forty minutes. It included a ten-minute segment which elaborated on The Star Wars Holiday Special and Lucas seeing a mistake in not holding full control over the Star Wars franchise. It was cut down to around two and a half hours, with this ten minutes cut. The final version was released as the main feature on the bonus disc of the 2004 DVD release of the original Star Wars Trilogy. However, a shortened version of premiered on the A&E network in late 2004. This version ran at around ninety minutes, cutting out nearly an hour of content.
Notable exclusionsEdit
- Any mention of the Emperor, played by Ian McDiarmid.
- Any mention of Sebastian Shaw, playing the unmasked Darth Vader.
- Any mention of The Star Wars Holiday Special. As noted above, there was going to be a ten-minute section covering it, but it was cut due to pacing issues.
- Any interview with David Prowse (Darth Vader).
- Any mention of Mark Hamill's car accident in January 1977 that caused him long-term facial damage.
BibliographyEdit
- Homing Beacon #119 - Behind Empire of Dreams on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Human Story Behind Star Wars: Empire of Dreams on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- "Join Us!"—Star Wars Insider 160
External linksEdit
- Empire of Dreams at the Internet Movie Database
- Empire of Dreams on Wikipedia
