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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
If I had to call it I would say I'm a bigger film fan generally than a Star Wars fan specifically but this was in the library and I'd heard good things about it.
It's an immense but thoroughly readable chronicle of Star Wars from inception to release. The level of detail is enough to satisfy most people, certainly a casual fan and there's a lot of fine print detail, far deeper than the usual anecdotes most people are aware of. I found it fascinating for the most part, occasionally a bit too much (the repeated script comparisons for instance) and the contemporary interviews recreate a wonderful sense of the excitement and expectations of the time. Lucus is portrayed as a tortured genius, constantly plagued by an inability to fully express his dreams and forced to create the technology as he went.
The copious illustrations from behind the scenes stills, storyboards, crew shots and memos along with the wonderful concept work from Ralph McQuarrie really bring it all to life.
If I had any complaint, I would say a chapter on the legacy of Star Wars along with the subsequent revisions and changes made by Lucus down the line would have really completed the package, though I'm aware there are other books that cover similar ground.
For Star Wars fans this is a must and for anyone with a general interest in film making it's full of rich detail and insight. Well worth it and it left me with a strong desire to re-watch the film.
It's an immense but thoroughly readable chronicle of Star Wars from inception to release. The level of detail is enough to satisfy most people, certainly a casual fan and there's a lot of fine print detail, far deeper than the usual anecdotes most people are aware of. I found it fascinating for the most part, occasionally a bit too much (the repeated script comparisons for instance) and the contemporary interviews recreate a wonderful sense of the excitement and expectations of the time. Lucus is portrayed as a tortured genius, constantly plagued by an inability to fully express his dreams and forced to create the technology as he went.
The copious illustrations from behind the scenes stills, storyboards, crew shots and memos along with the wonderful concept work from Ralph McQuarrie really bring it all to life.
If I had any complaint, I would say a chapter on the legacy of Star Wars along with the subsequent revisions and changes made by Lucus down the line would have really completed the package, though I'm aware there are other books that cover similar ground.
For Star Wars fans this is a must and for anyone with a general interest in film making it's full of rich detail and insight. Well worth it and it left me with a strong desire to re-watch the film.
This is a wonderful look at probably my favorite film - certainly THE film that defined my childhood and made me appreciate the imagination, dedication, determination, and true artistry involved in creating a modern movie. This book is concerned only with the writing and production of the original film - which should really be viewed as a stand-alone accomplishment, regardless of how well "Empire Strikes Back" turned out. A real treasure of a book.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Yes, this volume is extremely comprehensive and thorough. But what impressed me most after reading it, is that I finally understand why Lucas has continued to tinker and make changes to the movies again and again. "The Making of Star Wars" so clearly conveys his utter dissatisfaction with the process and final product of "Star Wars," that I finally understood that while we as fans may love the movie for what it is, warts and all, Lucas only sees a failed attempt at creating what he envisioned. I can only imagine how frustrating that must be.
Very well researched, written, and presented. Looking forward to ESB and RotJ.
Definitely the definite edition! Must-read if you're a star wars fan like me.
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This book is a fabulous, well-researched look at not only the making of Star Wars but really at George Lucas’s beginnings and how it all led to him making Star Wars and his own company.
I feel that reading this further emphasizes the fact that George Lucas is brilliant. You can see how Star Wars, despite at first being written as one movie, though later revisions started adding ‘Episode I’ into the title, that there was a whole galaxy worth of ideas here. He had so many characters, species, worlds that were never meant for just one movie. As he continued doing revisions, you can see the world-building and character development that became foremost to the story.
My favorite parts were reading through each draft and script revision, watching as the story got closer and closer to the Star Wars we know. And seeing how he knew some elements he wanted right from the beginning, including names!
It was just utterly fascinating learning everything that went into making the first Star Wars. All the behind the scenes you would never know. One of my favorite BTS moments was learning on the last day of on-location shooting they couldn’t stop R2 from moving and he ended up on the production of Jesus of Nazareth which was filming in the same town! That had me laughing out loud at the very idea!
All in all, this book is amazing; I read it from cover to cover. It has so much information about George Lucas, his two movies before Star Wars, the process of trying to get Star Wars started, how they started making their own technology, etc. I learned so much that I had never known before, and I love Star Wars! Making movies is hardly a simple process especially when the studio is against you the whole way. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about Star Wars, George Lucas, or what really goes into making a movie. You certainly won’t be disappointed!
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Gives a great overview of the beginning to movie theater of star wars ep4. Much like the special features.
J.W. Rinzler is an excellent, meticulous researcher who is able to present his information in a clear, interesting manner. He has the talent to do this for both books like this one, that are "out of universe" and for "in universe" books like the Star Wars blue prints series. For die hard fans, he's a real treasure. This is a fantastic book, filled with wonderful details about the making of my favorite movie, ever. It's fun to read, and has great photographs, but it also makes a great reference book. (I actually read it for an essay I wrote on George Lucas's creative process--there's so much good stuff in here about that, man, you'll never look at Star Wars the same way after you read this book.) If you like Star Wars, this is definitely a book you should, at least, check out from your local library. But I highly recommend owning it.
Excellent not only for Star Wars fans, but for anyone interested in how films get made. There's real drama and suspense here: Lucas' difficulty to obtain backing for what was an ambitious kids' movie; putting together a crew that would attempt to do groundbreaking work, and actually getting it done and in the process changing cinema history.
The book is gorgeous: great attention to detail, loads of never-seen-before sketches and photos, and sections that chronicle the evolution of the story, showing how Lucas changed the plot and script from draft to draft.
A note on editions: the coffee-table physical book is really beautiful to look at. But the Kindle version has loads of extras: snippets of interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, and, most interesting of all, notes Lucas made right after the film's release as preparation for the sequels, on the background of the characters and events in the first movie. Very interesting, particularly for what they reveal about how Lucas changed and developed the story all the way to the prequels.
Being a completist, I endend up splurging for both...
The book is gorgeous: great attention to detail, loads of never-seen-before sketches and photos, and sections that chronicle the evolution of the story, showing how Lucas changed the plot and script from draft to draft.
A note on editions: the coffee-table physical book is really beautiful to look at. But the Kindle version has loads of extras: snippets of interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, and, most interesting of all, notes Lucas made right after the film's release as preparation for the sequels, on the background of the characters and events in the first movie. Very interesting, particularly for what they reveal about how Lucas changed and developed the story all the way to the prequels.
Being a completist, I endend up splurging for both...