Star Wars

The films

Entries

• ' (1999) rated PG / U / I
• ' (2002) rated PG / PG / I
• ' (2005) rated PG-13 / 12A / IIA
• ' (1977) rated PG / U / I
• ' (1980) rated PG / U / I
• ' (1983) rated PG / U / I

Plot

For more detailed storylines, see the individual film articles.

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Episodes I, II, and III chronicle Anakin Skywalker's rise as a gifted young Jedi and his eventual fall to the Dark Side of the Force as Darth Vader, under the influence of the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Sidious manipulates the Trade Federation into invading and occupying Naboo and secretly orchestrates the Clone Wars, a conflict between the Galactic Republic and a Separatist movement, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which Sidious controls from behind the scenes. At the end of the Clone Wars it is revealed that Sidious is actually the alter-ego of Palpatine, Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. After the final defeat of the Separatists and the near-extermination of the Jedi (with Vader's help), Palpatine declares himself Emperor of a new Galactic Empire.

Related Topics:
Anakin Skywalker - Jedi - Force - Darth Vader - Sith Lord - Darth Sidious - Trade Federation - Naboo - Clone Wars - Galactic Republic - Confederacy of Independent Systems - Galactic Empire

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Episodes IV, V, and VI center on Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker, during the time of the Galactic Civil War. After the murder of his aunt and uncle by Imperial Stormtroopers, Luke joins the ragtag Rebel Alliance in its struggle to overthrow the evil Empire. He trains to become a Jedi like his father, whom he believes was killed by Darth Vader, and is profoundly shaken upon learning that his father is actually Darth Vader himself. Luke successfully resists the efforts of Vader and the Emperor to turn him to the Dark Side; instead, he turns his father back to the Light Side, who then kills the Emperor, while the Rebel Alliance fleet scores a decisive victory to end the war.

Related Topics:
Luke Skywalker - Galactic Civil War - Rebel Alliance

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Opening Crawls

Like Flash Gordon, Star Wars features opening text to give background to the story. Lucas emulated the way the Flash Gordon serials presented their opening text. The text "crawls" up the screen from the bottom to the top. The text is seen at a highly pitched angle. Instead of disappearing at the top, the text disappears into the distance as new text appears at the bottom. Lucas quote from Chicago Sun-Times May 15, 2005 interview: "The crawl is such a hard thing because you have to be careful that you're not using too many words that people don't understand. It's like a poem. I showed the very first crawl to a bunch of friends of mine in the '70s. It went on for six paragraphs with four sentences each. Brian De Palma was there, and he threw his hands up in the air and said, 'George, you're out of your mind! Let me sit down and write this for you.' He helped me chop it down into the form that exists today."

Related Topics:
Flash Gordon - Lucas - Chicago Sun-Times - Brian De Palma

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Production

Episodes IV, V, and VI were shot at, among other locations, Elstree Studios, in Hertfordshire, England. The Phantom Menace was filmed at Leavesden Film Studios and the subsequent prequels were filmed in Sydney, Australia. Tunisia has served as the location for filming scenes set on the desert planet Tatooine in A New Hope, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. The Palace of Caserta, Italy, was used to create The Palace of Theed, on the planet Naboo: Queen Amidala's home. Shooting in Italy also includes the Lake of Como. The outdoor scenes from the ice planet Hoth in Episode V were shot at Finse, Norway. Also, one shot of the Rebel Base on Yavin IV in Episode IV was of Mayan temples in Tikal, Guatemala.

Related Topics:
Elstree Studios - Hertfordshire - England - Leavesden Film Studios - Sydney - Australia - Tunisia - Tatooine - Italy - Naboo - Finse - Norway - Yavin IV - Mayan - Tikal - Guatemala

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There were countless problems during the production of Episode IV, and few critics expected the film to achieve the measure of success it did. Many problems with effects work, editing, finding, and shooting caused the film to be pushed up from its expected release date of December of 1976. The production company, not to mention many involved in the actual production, had little faith in the movie. According to reports, it was a daily struggle merely to complete the film on time. George Lucas literally nearly sufferred a heart attack due the constant stress put on him from day one to complete the film. Despite these difficulties, the first film was released on May 25, 1977 and became a surprise hit. Though its novelization had hit the shelves a year earlier, the book had not seen nearly the amount of interest that the film would draw.

Related Topics:
1976 - May 25 - 1977 - Novelization

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Nearly twenty-eight years later, the sixth and final Star Wars film to be produced, Episode III, was released, on May 19, 2005. During its three-year production, the film was shot with far fewer difficulties, due to vast improvements in film and digital technology. The film's conclusion was intended to lead the viewer into the beginning of Episode IV. Lucas had finally completed what he had set out to do, and had literally come full circle in his Star Wars storytelling process. Fan and general public response proved that the saga had concluded with a popularity reminicent of that of the original film.

Related Topics:
May 19 - 2005

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Box office performance

The worldwide box office grosses of each trilogy parallel each other. The first episode of each trilogy generated the highest box office gross, while the middle episode of each trilogy generated the lowest box office gross. Although it is often said that the prequel trilogy has higher worldwide box office grosses than the original trilogy (except that A New Hope generated a higher box office gross than Attack of the Clones did), when the figures are adjusted for inflation, we see that this is not the case. Despite these figures, the films of the prequel trilogy, even when their costs are adjusted for inflation, still had a much higher budget than the films of the original trilogy.

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Re-releases

Episodes IV to VI were remastered and re-released (both theatrically and on VHS) during 1997, and re-released on VHS again in 2000, then, on DVD, in September 2004. The films underwent extensive clean-up and restoration work, and Lucas took advantage of this opportunity to make a number of changes. In a September 2004 interview with AP, he explains his reasons for the changes:

Related Topics:
VHS - 1997 - 2000 - DVD - September 2004 - Changes

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:To me, the special edition ones are the films I wanted to make. Anybody that makes films knows the film is never finished. It's abandoned or it's ripped out of your hands, and it's thrown into the marketplace, never finished. ... Most artists, most painters, even composers would want to come back and redo their work now. They've got a new perspective on it, they've got more resources, they have better technology, and they can fix or finish the things that were never done. ...

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:I wanted to actually finish the film the way it was meant to be when I was originally doing it. At the beginning, people went, "Don't you like it?" I said, "Well, the film only came out to be 25 or 30 percent of what I wanted it to be." ... If you read any interviews for about an eight- or nine-year period there, it was all about how disappointed I was and how unhappy I was and what a dismal experience it was. You know, it's too bad you need to get kind of half a job done and never get to finish it. So this was my chance to finish it.

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Some of the changes are cosmetic, such as adding new special effects which weren't possible with previous technology. Other changes affect plot or character development. For example, one of the more controversial of the changes is known by fans as "Han shot first": in the original release of the 1977 film, Han sits at a bar table with an alien named Greedo, a bounty hunter looking to cash in on the bounty placed on Solo by the gangster Jabba the Hutt, to whom Han owes money. Han casually shoots and kills Greedo. In the 1997 re-release this scene has been changed so that Greedo shoots first (and misses terribly) and Han's shot is clearly in self-defense. After fan outcry that this ruins the introduction of Han as a rogue, the 2004 DVD release of the film edits the scene so that both characters fire at almost the same time.

Related Topics:
Greedo - Jabba the Hutt

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Another controversial alteration was made to a scene at the very end of Episode VI, when the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Anakin Skywalker look onto the Rebels' celebration. Anakin's face was changed to that of Hayden Christensen, the Canadian actor who played Anakin in Episodes II and III.

Related Topics:
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Yoda - Anakin Skywalker - Hayden Christensen

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At a ShoWest convention, George Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he is going to release all six movies in 3-D.

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Notable film details

The first film released in the series, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, has been selected to The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html. It was originally titled Star Wars without an episode number; it works as a standalone story, although Lucas claims it was always intended to be a part of a larger saga. After its popularity boomed, the episode number was added and it was followed by Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Together these three films are known as the original trilogy. After a hiatus of close to sixteen years, Lucas followed up with the prequel trilogy of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Related Topics:
The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress - Original trilogy - Prequel trilogy

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Major film characters

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• Padmé Amidala
• Jar Jar Binks
• Lando Calrissian
• Chewbacca
• C-3PO
• Darth Tyranus
• Boba Fett
• Jango Fett
• Jabba the Hutt
• Qui-Gon Jinn
• Obi-Wan Kenobi

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• Darth Maul
• Bail Organa
• Leia Organa
• Darth Sidious
• R2-D2
• Darth Vader
• Luke Skywalker
• Shmi Skywalker
• Han Solo
• Mace Windu
• Yoda

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Major film locations

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• Alderaan
• Bespin
• Coruscant
• Dagobah
• The Death Star
• The Death Star II
• Endor

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• Geonosis
• Hoth
• Kashyyyk
• Mustafar
• Naboo
• Tatooine
• Yavin IV

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