Landspeeders are fictional anti-gravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars expanded universe . They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.
98-459: Landspeeders first appear in Star Wars . Two of them— Luke Skywalker 's ( Mark Hamill ) X-34 and a V-35—were designed by noted special effects artist John Stears and were fitted around cars. Skywalker's landspeeder was designed and built by Ogle Design around the chassis of a Bond Bug three-wheeler car. One of the major challenges the production crew faced was disguising the wheels to create
196-482: A stop-motion creature over a human actor; he accomplished a similar effect with computer-generated imagery (CGI) in the 1997 Special Edition . According to Greedo actor Paul Blake , his character was created as a result of Lucas having to cut the Jabba scene. During production, the cast attempted to make Lucas laugh or smile, as he often appeared depressed. At one point, the project became so demanding that Lucas
294-462: A treatment after the release of American Graffiti (1973). After numerous rewrites, filming took place throughout 1975 and 1976 in locations including Tunisia and Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. Lucas formed the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic to help create the film's visual effects. Star Wars suffered production difficulties: the cast and crew believed
392-518: A 1905 science fantasy written by Edwin Arnold . Lucas took the science fantasy concept and began developing what he would later call a "space fantasy". In May 1971, Lucas persuaded the head of United Artists , David Picker , to take a chance on two of his film ideas: American Graffiti and the space opera. Although Lucas signed a two-picture deal, the studio ultimately declined to produce Graffiti . Universal Pictures picked it up, and Lucas spent
490-502: A Death Star being included in both films. In 1975, Lucas envisioned a trilogy which would end with the destruction of the Empire, and possibly a prequel about Obi-Wan as a young man. After Star Wars became tremendously successful, Lucasfilm announced that Lucas had already written twelve more Luke Skywalker stories, which, according to Kurtz, were "separate adventures" rather than traditional sequels. On February 27, 1975, Fox granted
588-541: A Thousand Faces , James George Frazer 's The Golden Bough , and Bruno Bettelheim 's The Uses of Enchantment . Author Michael Kaminski has objected to Lucas's claim regarding the Bettelheim book, arguing that it was not released until after Star Wars was filmed ( J.W. Rinzler speculates that Lucas may have obtained an advance copy). Kaminski also writes that Campbell's influence on Star Wars has been exaggerated by Lucas and others, and that Lucas's second draft
686-591: A broom attached to the vehicle's underside to create, at certain angles, the illusion that the craft was hovering and kicking up dust. Star Wars creator George Lucas used digital technology to enhance the landspeeder effects in the Special Edition of A New Hope . Industrial Light and Magic 's (ILM) Doug Chiang designed the Naboo Flash speeder with a "race car look" while the Gian speeder's appearance
784-506: A character that did not make the final cut of the film. Lucas initially resisted casting Ford as Han, since Ford had previously worked with Lucas on American Graffiti , and was therefore not unknown. Instead, the director asked Ford to assist with auditions by reading lines with other actors. However, Lucas was eventually won over by Ford, and cast him as Han over many other actors who auditioned. Lucas recognized that he needed an established star to play Obi-Wan. He considered Cushing for
882-403: A drivable Radio Flyer toy, and a cat bed. Star Wars (film) Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ) is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas , produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox . It is the first film released in the Star Wars film series and the fourth chronological chapter of
980-451: A drivable replica in 2007 using parts from an electric golf cart and fiberglass molding . The replica achieved fame when it was highlighted by former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone and rapper Kanye West . Celebrity YouTube inventor Colin Furze created another replica in 2019 in celebration of the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker . The only known full-scale metal model of
1078-495: A fellow veteran, for analysis. Luke initially declines Obi-Wan's offer to accompany him to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force, but he is left with no choice after Imperial stormtroopers murdered his family and destroyed his home while searching for the droids. Seeking a way off the planet, Luke and Obi-Wan travel to the city of Mos Eisley and hire Han Solo and Chewbacca , pilots of the starship Millennium Falcon . Before
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#17328014872271176-526: A former ally named Obi-Wan Kenobi . R2-D2 goes missing, and while searching for him, Luke is attacked by Sand People . He is rescued by the elderly hermit Ben Kenobi, who soon reveals himself to be Obi-Wan. He tells Luke about his past as one of the Jedi Knights, former peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic , who drew mystical abilities from the Force but were hunted to near-extinction by
1274-523: A galactic civil war, Rebel Alliance spies have stolen plans to the Death Star , a colossal space station built by the Galactic Empire that is capable of destroying entire planets. Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan , secretly a Rebel leader, has obtained the schematics, but her ship is intercepted and boarded by Imperial forces under the command of Darth Vader . Leia is taken prisoner, but
1372-589: A half weeks in Tunisia, production moved to Elstree Studios in London for interior scenes. Kurtz has described Lucas as a shy "loner" who does not enjoy working with a large cast and crew. According to Carrie Fisher, he gave very little direction to the actors, and when he did, it usually consisted of the words "faster" and "more intense". Laws in Britain stipulated that filming had to finish by 5:30 pm, unless Lucas
1470-407: A lot of samurai pride" and turned down the roles of Obi-Wan and Vader because he thought Star Wars would employ cheap special effects and would therefore "cheapen the image of samurai". Lucas credited Guinness with inspiring the cast and crew to work harder, which contributed significantly to the completion of filming. Ford said he admired Guinness's preparation, professionalism and kindness towards
1568-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia
1666-472: A mystical energy field called "The Force," the concept of a Jedi turning to the dark side, and a historical Jedi who was the first to turn, and who subsequently trained the Sith. The script also included a Jedi Master with a son who trains to be a Jedi under his father's friend; this would ultimately form the basis for the finished film and, later, the original trilogy. This version was more a fairy tale quest than
1764-464: A planet's surface. Landspeeders more specifically use repulsor technology to hover just above the ground, while they cannot achieve any great height they are cheap and fast. Many different types of landspeeders exist in the Star Wars universe to fulfill a variety of roles, including for personal transport. Luke Skywalker's X-34 landspeeder was one of fifty fictional vehicles selected for display at
1862-548: A project called Air Cars. Reimagined models included the Porsche 356 and Aston Martin DB5 . Although they operate on different principles, flying cars are often compared to Star Wars landspeeders in popular media. The SkyDrive SD-03 flying car specifically was inspired in part by Luke Skywalker's landspeeder. Landspeeders have featured heavily in Star Wars merchandising since their inception. Examples includes Lego models,
1960-517: A week or it would be shut down. The crew split into three units, led by Lucas, Kurtz, and production supervisor Robert Watts . Under the new system, they met the studio's deadline. The screenplay originally featured a human Jabba the Hutt, but the character was removed due to budget and time constraints. The idea of Jabba being an alien did not arise until work began on the 1979 Star Wars re-release. Lucas would later claim he had wanted to superimpose
2058-457: Is ILM's response to Lucas' request that the Naboo troops have "a pick-up truck with guns ." The landspeeder was put on display in the exhibit Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination that moved between various museums in 2008. Within the Star Wars universe, speeder is a generic term for any "repulsorcraft" or vehicle which uses anti-gravity repulsorlift technology to hover and fly above
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#17328014872272156-471: Is not a story about the future, but rather a "fantasy" that has more in common with the Brothers Grimm than 2001: A Space Odyssey . He said his motivation for making the film was to give young people an "honest, wholesome fantasy life," of the kind his generation had. He hoped it would offer "the romance, the adventure, and the fun that used to be in practically every movie". While impressed with
2254-474: Is now known as the Dykstraflex system. Visually, Lucas wanted Star Wars to have the "ethereal quality" of a fairy tale, but also "an alien look." He hoped to achieve "the seeming contradiction of [the] strange graphics of fantasy combined with the feel of a documentary." His first choice for cinematographer was Geoffrey Unsworth , who had worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey . Unsworth initially accepted
2352-694: Is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a heroic character. An epic's ambitious nature helps to set it apart from other genres such as the period piece or adventure film . Epic historical films would usually take a historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from
2450-485: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about
2548-545: The Falcon reaches Alderaan, the Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin has the planet obliterated by the station's superlaser. Upon arrival, the Falcon is captured by the Death Star's tractor beam , but the passengers avoid detection and infiltrate the station. As Obi-Wan leaves to deactivate the tractor beam, Luke persuades Han and Chewbacca to help him rescue Leia, who is scheduled for execution after refusing to reveal
2646-500: The Petersen Automotive Museum 's Hollywood Dream Machines exhibition which focused on the most significant or important vehicles to feature in the science fiction and fantasy genre. The X-34 was chosen not just for its role in the plot but also it's thematic contribution to the film. Many Star Wars fans have been inspired to build "working" full-scale replicas of Luke's X-34 landspeeder. Daniel Deutsch built
2744-564: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of
2842-458: The droids R2-D2 and C-3PO escape with the plans, crashing on the nearby planet of Tatooine . Darth Vader learns of this and orders the Imperials to pursue the droids. The droids are captured by Jawa traders, who sell them to the moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew, Luke Skywalker . While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, he discovers a recording of Leia requesting help from
2940-674: The highest-grossing film until the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); subsequent releases have brought its total gross to $ 775 million. When adjusted for inflation, Star Wars is the second-highest-grossing film in North America (behind Gone with the Wind ) and the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time . It received Academy Awards , BAFTA Awards, and Saturn Awards , among others. The film has been reissued many times with Lucas's support—most significantly
3038-547: The " Skywalker Saga ". Set "a long time ago" in a fictional galaxy ruled by the tyrannical Galactic Empire , the story follows a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance , who aim to destroy the Empire's newest weapon, the Death Star . When the Rebel leader Princess Leia is captured by the Empire, Luke Skywalker acquires stolen architectural plans of the Death Star and sets out to rescue her while learning
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3136-536: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state
3234-478: The 20th-anniversary theatrical "Special Edition"—and the reissues have contained many changes, including new scenes, visual effects, and dialogue. Often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, Star Wars quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, launching an industry of tie-in products, including novels , comics , video games , amusement park attractions and merchandise such as toys, games, and clothing. It became one of
3332-472: The Adventures of Luke Starkiller . This version had most of the elements of the final plot, with only some differences in the characters and settings. It presented Luke as an only child whose father was already dead, and who was cared for by a man named Ben Kenobi. This script would be rewritten for the fourth and final draft, dated January 1, 1976, and titled The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as taken from
3430-515: The Empire. Luke learns that his father, also a Jedi, fought alongside Obi-Wan during the Clone Wars until Vader, Obi-Wan's former pupil, turned to the dark side of the Force and murdered him. Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's lightsaber , the signature weapon of the Jedi. R2-D2 plays Leia's full message, in which she begs Obi-Wan to take the Death Star plans to Alderaan and give them to her father,
3528-1079: The Force to aim his torpedoes into the exhaust port, causing the Death Star to explode moments before it can fire on the Rebel base. In a triumphant ceremony, Leia awards Luke and Han medals for their heroism. Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser appear as Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru , respectively, and Jack Purvis portrays the Chief Jawa. Rebel leaders include Alex McCrindle as General Dodonna and Eddie Byrne as General Willard. Imperial commanders include Don Henderson as General Taggi , Richard LeParmentier as General Motti, and Leslie Schofield as Commander #1. Rebel pilots are played by Drewe Henley (Red Leader, mistakenly credited as Drewe Hemley), Denis Lawson (Red Two/ Wedge , credited as Dennis Lawson), Garrick Hagon (Red Three/Biggs), Jack Klaff (Red Four/John "D"), William Hootkins (Red Six/Porkins), Angus MacInnes (Gold Leader, credited as Angus McInnis), Jeremy Sinden (Gold Two), and Graham Ashley (Gold Five). Uncredited actors include Paul Blake as
3626-576: The Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars . Lucas's friends Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck helped him revise the fourth draft into the final pre-production script. Lucas finished the screenplay in March 1976, when the crew started filming. During production, he changed Luke's surname from Starkiller to Skywalker, and changed the title first to The Star Wars , and then, finally, to Star Wars . For
3724-490: The Rebellion's X-wing squadron in a desperate attack against the Death Star, while Han and Chewbacca leave to pay off a debt to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt . In the ensuing battle, Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters and destroys several Rebel ships. Han and Chewbacca unexpectedly return in the Falcon , knocking Vader's ship off course before he can shoot Luke down. Guided by the voice of Obi-Wan's spirit , Luke uses
3822-495: The Starkiller, Episode One: The Star Wars . He had made substantial simplifications and introduced the young, farm-dwelling hero as Luke Starkiller. In this draft, Luke had several brothers. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi Knight who played a minor role at the end of the story. Early versions of the characters Han Solo and Chewbacca were present, and closely resemble those seen in the finished film. This draft introduced
3920-471: The United States. The filmmakers experienced many problems in Tunisia. Production fell behind schedule in the first week due to malfunctioning props and electronic breakdowns. The radio-controlled R2-D2 models functioned poorly. The left leg of Anthony Daniels's C-3PO costume shattered, injuring his foot. A rare winter rainstorm struck the country, which further disrupted filming. After two and
4018-402: The Whills , which chronicled the tale of CJ Thorpe, an apprentice "Jedi-Bendu", who was being trained by the legendary Mace Windy. He felt that this story was too difficult to understand, however. Lucas began writing a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars on April 17, 1973, which had narrative parallels with Kurosawa's 1958 film The Hidden Fortress . He later explained that Star Wars
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4116-592: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder
4214-511: The X-34, it was sold on eBay for £50,000, with all proceeds going to BBC ’s ‘ Children In Need ’. Landspeeders have served as a source of inspiration for Star Wars fans across artistic communities. Digital artist Brad Builds created a landspeeder version of the Pontiac GTO themed around Darth Vader . French photographer Renaud Marion reimagined 9 classic cars as landspeeders as part of
4312-432: The action-filled adventure story of the previous draft, and ended with a text crawl that previewed the next story in the series. According to Lucas, the second draft was over 200 pages long, which led him to split up the story into multiple films spanning multiple trilogies. While writing a third draft, Lucas claims to have been influenced by comics, J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Hobbit , Joseph Campbell 's The Hero with
4410-532: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both
4508-511: The beginning of the film. He explained that having "the first half hour of the film be mainly about robots was a bold idea." Meanwhile, ILM was struggling to achieve unprecedented special effects. The company had spent half its budget on four shots that Lucas deemed unacceptable. With hundreds of shots remaining, ILM was forced to finish a year's work in six months. To inspire the visual effects team, Lucas spliced together clips of aerial dogfights from old war films. These kinetic segments helped
4606-479: The bounty hunter Greedo , Alfie Curtis as the outlaw who confronts Luke in the cantina, and Peter Geddis as the Rebel officer who is strangled by Darth Vader. Heavily synthesized audio recordings of John Wayne (from his earlier films) were used for the voice of Garindan, an Imperial spy. Lucas had the idea for a space opera prior to 1971. According to Mark Hamill, he wanted to make it before his 1973 coming-of-age film American Graffiti . His original plan
4704-456: The character served no purpose after his duel with Vader. At Fox, Alan Ladd endured scrutiny from board members over the film's complex screenplay and rising budget. After the filmmakers requested more than the original $ 8 million budget, Kurtz said the executives "got a bit scared." According to Kurtz, the filmmaking team spent two weeks drafting a new budget. With the project behind schedule, Ladd told Lucas he had to finish production within
4802-415: The conventional way. He was forced to break open the walls, ceilings and floors, placing quartz lamps inside the openings he created. This lighting system gave Lucas the ability to shoot in almost any direction without extensive relighting. In total, filming in Britain took fourteen and a half weeks. While visiting an English travel agency, Lucas saw a poster depicting Tikal , Guatemala, and decided to use
4900-403: The deal and gain control of merchandising and sequel rights. It's the flotsam and jetsam from the period when I was twelve years old. All the books and films and comics that I liked when I was a child. The plot is simple—good against evil—and the film is designed to be all the fun things and fantasy things I remember. The word for this movie is fun. —George Lucas, 1977 Since commencing
4998-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on
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#17328014872275096-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with
5194-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of
5292-479: The film Lucky Lady (1975). Christian remembers that Lucas did not want anything in Star Wars to stand out, and "wanted it [to look] all real and used." In this "used future" aesthetic, all devices, ships, and buildings related to Tatooine and the Rebels look aged and dirty, and the Rebel ships look cobbled together in contrast to the Empire's sleeker designs. Lucas believed this aesthetic would lend credibility to
5390-419: The film a budget of $ 5 million, which was later increased to $ 8.25 million. Lucas then started writing with a budget in mind, conceiving the cheap, "used" look of much of the film, and—with Fox having just shut down its special effects department—reducing the number of complex special effects shots called for by the script. The finalized third draft, dated August 1, 1975, was titled The Star Wars From
5488-669: The film while Lucas was still filming in Tunisia; as Lucas noted, the editor was in an "impossible position" because Lucas had not explained any of the film's material to him. When Lucas viewed Jympson's rough cut , he felt the editor's selection of takes was questionable. He felt Jympson did not fully understand the film nor Lucas's style of filmmaking, and he continued to disapprove of Jympson's editing as time went by. Halfway through production, Lucas fired Jympson and replaced him with Paul Hirsch , Richard Chew , and his then-wife, Marcia Lucas . The new editing team felt Jympson's cut lacked excitement, and they sought to inject more dynamism into
5586-492: The film would be a failure, and it went $ 3 million over budget due to delays. Few were confident in the film's box office prospects. It was released in a small number of theaters in the United States on May 25, 1977, and quickly became a surprise blockbuster hit, leading to it being expanded to a much wider release. Star Wars opened to positive reviews, with praise for its special effects. It grossed $ 410 million worldwide during its initial run, surpassing Jaws (1975) to become
5684-489: The film's opening crawl , Lucas originally wrote a composition of six paragraphs with four sentences each. He showed the draft to his friend, director Brian De Palma , who called it "gibberish" that "goes on forever." De Palma and screenwriter Jay Cocks helped edit the crawl into its final form, which contains only four sentences. Lucas had a preference for casting unknown (or relatively unknown) actors, which led him to select Hamill and Fisher for leading roles. Hamill
5782-533: The film's fictional places, and Christian was enthusiastic about this approach. Barry and Christian started working with Lucas before Star Wars was funded by Fox. For several months, in a studio in Kensal Rise , England, they planned the creation of props and sets with very little money. According to Christian, the Millennium Falcon set was the most difficult to build. He wanted the interior of
5880-430: The film. Jympson's rough cut of Star Wars (often called the "Lost Cut") differed significantly from the final version. Author David West Reynolds describes Jympson's version as "more leisurely paced", and estimates that it contained 30–40% different footage from the final cut. Although most of the differences relate to extended scenes or alternate takes, there were also scenes which were completely removed to accelerate
5978-644: The first 25 films selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1989, and its soundtrack was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2004. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) followed Star Wars , rounding out the original Star Wars trilogy . A prequel trilogy and a sequel trilogy have since been released, in addition to two standalone films and various television series . Amid
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#17328014872276076-398: The generally low popularity of the genre at the time. Francis Ford Coppola subsequently brought the project to a division of Paramount Pictures he ran with fellow directors Peter Bogdanovich and William Friedkin , but Friedkin questioned Lucas's ability to direct the film, and both directors declined to finance it. Walt Disney Productions also turned down the project. Star Wars
6174-563: The general—who came from a family of dwarfs—into a supporting role. Lucas envisioned the Corellian smuggler, Han Solo, as a large, green-skinned monster with gills. He based Chewbacca on his Alaskan Malamute dog, Indiana, who often acted as his "co-pilot" by sitting in the passenger seat of his car. The dog's name would later be given to the character Indiana Jones . Lucas completed a second draft in January 1975 entitled Adventures of
6272-660: The globe. He ultimately decided that Southern Tunisia, on the edge of the Sahara , would make an ideal Tatooine. Principal photography began in Chott el Djerid on March 22, 1976. Meanwhile, a construction crew in nearby Tozeur spent eight weeks creating additional Tatooine locations. The scenes of Luke's Tatooine home were filmed at the Hotel Sidi Driss, in Matmata . Additional Tatooine scenes were shot at Death Valley in
6370-478: The illusion that the craft was hovering. For certain shots, they shot from camera angles that masked the wheels; for long-distance shots, they used reflective material, gelatin on the camera lens, and shadow effects. A small blur could be seen under the speeder, which George Lucas called "The Force Spot" (stated in Special Edition Tape). Production designer Roger Christian used an angled mirror and
6468-477: The innocence of the story and the sophistication of Lucas's fictional world, United Artists declined to fund the project. Lucas and Kurtz then presented the treatment to Universal Pictures, the studio that financed American Graffiti . Universal agreed it could be a successful venture, but had doubts about Lucas's ability to execute his vision. Kurtz has claimed the studio's rejection was primarily due to Universal head Lew Wasserman's low opinion of science fiction, and
6566-588: The job, but eventually withdrew to work on the Vincente Minnelli -directed A Matter of Time (1976). Unsworth was replaced by Gilbert Taylor , who had overseen photography for Dr. Strangelove and A Hard Day's Night (both 1964). Lucas admired Taylor's work on both films, describing them as "eccentrically photographed pictures with a strong documentary flavor." Once photography was under way, Lucas and Taylor had many disputes. Lucas's lighting suggestions were rejected by Taylor, who believed Lucas
6664-457: The latter accidentally while searching for a buzzing, sparking sound to add to the projector-motor hum. For Chewbacca's speech, Burtt combined the sounds of four bears, a badger, a lion, a seal, and a walrus. Burtt achieved Vader's breathing noise by breathing through the mask of a scuba regulator; this process inspired the idea of Vader being a burn victim. Epic film Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term
6762-466: The location for the moon Yavin 4 . The scenes of the Rebel base on Yavin were filmed in the local Mayan temples. The animation of the Death Star plans shown at the base were created by computer programmer Larry Cuba , using the GRASS programming language . It is the only digital computer animation utilized in the original version of Star Wars . The visual simulation of Yavin 4 orbiting its mother planet
6860-416: The location of the Rebel base. After disabling the tractor beam, Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a lightsaber duel against Vader, which allows the rest of the group to escape. Using a tracking device placed on the Falcon , the Empire locates the Rebel base on the moon Yavin 4 . Analysis of the Death Star schematics reveals a weakness in a small exhaust port leading directly to the station's reactor. Luke joins
6958-457: The mannerisms of animals he observed in public zoos. Prowse was originally offered the role of Chewbacca, but turned it down, as he wanted to play the villain. Prowse portrayed Vader physically, but Lucas felt his West Country English accent was inappropriate for the character, and selected James Earl Jones for Vader's voice. Lucas considered Orson Welles for the voice role, but was concerned his voice would be too familiar to audiences. Jones
7056-431: The next two years making the coming-of-age film, which was immensely successful. In January 1973, he began working on the space opera full-time. He began the process by inventing odd names for characters and places. By the time the screenplay was finalized he had discarded many of the names, but several made it into the final script and later sequels. He used his early notes to compile a two-page synopsis titled Journal of
7154-407: The other actors. He recalled Guinness having "a very clear head about how to serve the story." On top of his salary, Guinness received 2.25% of the film's backend grosses, which made him wealthy later in life. Daniels said he wanted the role of C-3PO after he saw a Ralph McQuarrie concept painting of the character and was struck by the vulnerability in the droid's face. After casting Daniels for
7252-399: The pace of the narrative. The most notable of these were a series from Tatooine, when Luke is first introduced. Set in the city of Anchorhead, the scenes depicted Luke's everyday life among his friends, and showed how their lives are affected by the space battle above the planet. These scenes also introduced Biggs Darklighter, Luke's closest friend who leaves to join the Rebellion. Hirsch said
7350-400: The physical performance, Lucas intended to hire another actor for the droid's voice. According to Daniels, thirty well-established actors auditioned—including Richard Dreyfuss and Mel Blanc —but Daniels received the voice role after one of the actors suggested the idea to Lucas. Baker (R2-D2) and Mayhew (Chewbacca) were cast largely due to their height. At 3 feet 8 inches (1.12 m), Baker
7448-676: The poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on
7546-524: The production. Taylor claims that Lucas avoided contact with him, which motivated the cinematographer to make his own decisions about how to shoot the film. Originally, Lucas envisioned Tatooine as a jungle planet, and Kurtz traveled to the Philippines to scout locations. However, the thought of spending months filming in the jungle made Lucas uncomfortable, so he made Tatooine a desert planet instead. Kurtz then researched various desert locales around
7644-470: The role, but decided the actor's lean features would be better employed as the villainous Tarkin. The film's producer, Gary Kurtz , felt a strong character actor was required to convey the "stability and gravitas" of Obi-Wan. Before Guinness was cast, the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune —who stars in many Akira Kurosawa films—was considered for the role. His daughter, Mika Kitagawa, said her father "had
7742-475: The scenes were removed because they presented too much information in the first few minutes of the film, and they created too many storylines for the audience to follow. The removal of the Anchorhead scenes also helped distinguish Star Wars from Lucas's previous film; Alan Ladd called the deleted scenes " American Graffiti in outer space". Lucas also wanted to shift the narrative focus to C-3PO and R2-D2 at
7840-473: The ship to look like a submarine, and used inexpensive airplane scrap metal to achieve the desired effect. Set construction later moved to Elstree Studios , where Barry created thirty sets. All nine sound stages at Elstree were needed to house the fabricated planets, starships, caves, control rooms, cantinas, and Death Star corridors. The Rebel hangar was so massive it had to be built at nearby Shepperton Studios , which contained Europe's largest sound stage at
7938-474: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of
8036-635: The studio visualize the film, which positively influenced their decision to fund the project. His artwork also set the visual tone for Star Wars and the rest of the original trilogy. The trouble with the future in most futurist movies is that it always looks new and clean and shiny ... What is required for true credibility is a used future. —George Lucas on the aesthetic of Star Wars Lucas wanted to create props and sets (based on McQuarrie's paintings) that had never before been used in science-fiction films. He hired as production designers John Barry and Roger Christian , who were then working on
8134-440: The team understand his vision for scenes in Star Wars . Sound designer Ben Burtt had created a library of sounds that Lucas referred to as an "organic soundtrack". Blaster sounds were created by modifying the noise of a steel cable being struck while under tension. Lightsaber sound effects were a combination of the hum of movie projector motors and interference caused by a television set on a shieldless microphone. Burtt discovered
8232-530: The time. In 1975, Lucas founded the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) after discovering that Fox's visual effects department had been shut down. ILM began its work on Star Wars in a warehouse in Van Nuys , California. Most of the visual effects used pioneering digital motion control photography developed by John Dykstra and his team, which created the illusion of size by employing small models and slowly moving cameras. The technology
8330-538: The ways of a metaphysical power known as " the Force " from the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi . The cast includes Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Peter Cushing , Alec Guinness , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Peter Mayhew , David Prowse , and James Earl Jones . Lucas had the idea for a science fiction film in the vein of Flash Gordon around the time he completed his first film, THX 1138 (1971), and he began working on
8428-627: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which
8526-412: The writing process in January 1973, Lucas wrote four different screenplays for Star Wars , searching for "just the right ingredients, characters and storyline." By May 1974, he had expanded the original treatment into a full, 132-page rough draft, which included elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a general named Annikin Starkiller. He then changed Starkiller to an adolescent boy, and shifted
8624-441: Was "even closer to Campbell's structure" than the third. Lucas has claimed he wrote a version of the screenplay that was 250–300 pages long, which outlined the plot of the entire original trilogy. Realizing it was too lengthy for a single film, he decided to spread the story over three films. This division caused problems with the first episode; Lucas had to use the ending of Return of the Jedi for Star Wars , which resulted in
8722-515: Was accepted by Twentieth Century-Fox in June 1973. Studio president Alan Ladd Jr. did not grasp the technical side of the project, but believed in Lucas's talent. Lucas later stated that Ladd invested in him, not in the film. The Fox deal gave Lucas $ 150,000 to write and direct the film. In August, American Graffiti opened to massive success, which afforded Lucas the necessary leverage to renegotiate
8820-483: Was cast as Luke over Robby Benson , Robert Englund , William Katt , Kurt Russell , and Charles Martin Smith , while Fisher was cast as Leia over Karen Allen , Amy Irving , Terri Nunn , Cindy Williams , and Linda Purl . Jodie Foster was offered the role, but turned it down because she was under contract with Disney. Koo Stark was also considered for Leia, but was instead cast as Luke's friend Camie Marstrap,
8918-523: Was created on the Scanimate analog computer. All the other computer monitors and targeting displays in the film featured simulated computer graphics, which were generated using pre-digital animation methods, such as hand-drawn backlight animation. Although Obi-Wan did not die in the final version of the script, Alec Guinness disliked the character's dialogue and said he begged Lucas to kill him off. Lucas, however, claimed he added Obi-Wan's death because
9016-465: Was diagnosed with hypertension and exhaustion and was warned to reduce his stress level. Post-production was equally stressful due to increasing pressure from the studio. Another obstacle arose when Hamill's face became visibly scarred after a car accident, which restricted re-shoots featuring Luke. Star Wars was originally slated for release on December 25, 1976, but production delays pushed it back to mid-1977. Editor John Jympson began cutting
9114-524: Was in the middle of a shot, in which case he could ask the crew to stay an extra 15 minutes. However, his requests were usually turned down. Most of the British crew considered Star Wars a children's film, and the actors sometimes did not take the project seriously. Kenny Baker later confessed that he thought the film would be a failure. According to Taylor, it was impossible to light the Elstree sets in
9212-559: Was offered the role of the dimunitive droid immediately after meeting Lucas. He turned it down multiple times, however, before finally accepting it. R2-D2's beeps and squeaks were made by sound designer Ben Burtt by imitating baby noises, recording his voice over an intercom, and finally mixing the sounds together using a synthesizer. Mayhew initially auditioned for Vader, but Prowse was cast instead. However, when Lucas and Kurtz saw Mayhew's 7-foot-3-inch (2.21 m) stature, they quickly cast him as Chewbacca. Mayhew modeled his performance on
9310-407: Was overstepping his boundaries by giving specific instructions, sometimes even moving lights and cameras himself. After Fox executives complained about the soft-focus visual style of the film, Taylor changed his approach, which infuriated Lucas. Kurtz said that Lucas's inability to delegate tasks resulted from his history directing low-budget films, which required him to be involved with all aspects of
9408-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of
9506-575: Was to adapt the Flash Gordon space adventure comics and serials into films, having been fascinated by them since he was young. Lucas attempted to purchase the rights, but they had already been acquired by producer Dino De Laurentiis . Lucas then discovered that Flash Gordon was inspired by the John Carter of Mars book series by Edgar Rice Burroughs , the author of Tarzan . Burroughs, in turn, had been influenced by Gulliver on Mars ,
9604-530: Was uncredited until 1983. However, upon the film's release, audiences and critics immediately recognized Jones' voice as Darth Vader. During pre-production , Lucas recruited several conceptual designers: Colin Cantwell , who visualized the initial spacecraft models; Alex Tavoularis, who created storyboard sketches from early scripts; and Ralph McQuarrie, who created conceptual images of characters, costumes, props, and scenery. McQuarrie's paintings helped
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