The Making of Star Wars - 1977 Documentary

[@alanrevell9479]

I worked on this film in 1976, I can be seen measuring lukes land speeder, in the behind the scenes of star wars the original trilogy, special effects makers, I was 19, still a boy lol.

[@legendaryaNdepic]

GREAT your a legend.

[@ShmuelWeintraub]

Very cool, Alan.

[@dr.snowman4883]

You must be old.

[@raksh9]

That is legendary! Did you stay in the industry? What did you do after Star Wars?

[@cezar211091]

That's really neat

[@lestomo_animations]

My son just recently became a Star Wars fan. He loves the movies so much, especially the special effects and storytelling, that he decided to make his own little movies and tell stories. This is the timeless power of Star Wars: After all these years, young creative Jedi's continue to be inspired.

[@stevemarllon1546]

E assim nasce um futuro stiven Spielberg ou George lucas!

[@kentuky1233]

These kinds of comments always start with "My son just recently passed away..." Thank goodness he liked it and is alive.

[@jaggedstarrPI]

Love it! My son who just turned 30, did the same thing - and it morphed into a creative life that he still has - but on the side of sound, sound effects, editing, etc., in which he received his degree and now he teaches while still recording and performing professionally. So good luck to your boy and your whole family!

[@SarahB1863]

I was 13 years old when Star Wars came out, and remember this special airing on TV. In fact I recorded the audio into a cassette tape player and played it over and over. It's impossible to explain to someone not around at the time how 'Star Wars' changed the world, but it really did. I consider myself very lucky to have been there from the beginning. It was awesome! (PS I had a huge crush on Luke!)

[@bobrew461]

Sarah B This was the first "Making of..." documentary that I ever saw. For any more.

[@LILWOLF1972]

Sarah B i was 5 in 1977 and my dad took me to see and i was hooked ever since. and i will there in December. star war will always be in my life. and now show the movies to my 2yr old son im going to get him hooked them too

[@gaozhi2007]

Sarah B That's great to hear, Sarah. I wonder if you could talk about girl fans of the movie. I see in the documentary all sorts of girls with Star Wars shirts but when I was growing up (after 1980) girls did NOT like Star Wars. How common was it in your experience?

[@julietacosta8484]

+Severian W intermitência de qualquer

[@RovnoMagic]

Sarah B Hello Sarah. You and I were born the same year. I will never forget how Dad took my two brothers and I to see Star Wars summer of 1977. We were blown away. He called Mom on the pay phone ( She had stayed home because she did not want to see a film about a War) and said we were going to see it again. Amazing since we had never seen Dad see a movie twice.

[@Exxcessivve]

"Perhaps it will never end". What a prophecy given the future of this franchise

[@xismxist]

43 years later and counting!! popular as ever

[@jothishprabu8]

Because money!!!

[@AImighty_Loaf]

@@jothishprabu8 well... to Disney thats the case

[@영분이-b4s]

48 스타워즈 스타벅스 스벅 스즈 스즈키 일본주빌리 가자 동경교회 스즈키친구야놀자전남전북경상남북대한민국일억칠천만명다가보자일본삼십오년전물가 6:00

[@eliotmccann2589]

4:15-4:20. Harrison Ford at his most "enthusiastic ". Bang. Bang, bang.

[@oldbaby2304]

Hehehehehe 69 likes

[@muhammadsahalzain2265]

How??

[@jamesdoyle8078]

even then he was a fucking dick, i love him so much

[@TheItalianoMafiosi]

It's absolutely amazing how much effort they put into making this film and how revolutionary it was. They truly changed cinema forever, and while we might find that normal today, you just have to look at other stuff that was made in the 70s, especially scifi. This movie is just insane.

[@ze_rubenator]

Oh fuck I clicked this. Well now I'm trapped for 49 minutes.

[@SHOOTTHAFAIR1]

Ze Rubenator It was worth it

[@normalchannel3469]

I have those problems too

[@ForBeerAndSmoke]

Ze Rubenator Good to know that I'm not the only one LOL! :P

[@ViajAlberto]

+Ze Rubenator I just let the autoplay and well... here I am, enjoying 49 minutes of greatness

[@twomindz79]

+Ze Rubenator Yup its 8am .Been up all night. Tiring , just bout to call it a night. But fuckers now I'm up another hour :)

[@liefarrell]

Who else feels like watching A New Hope after this?

[@ctsr1117]

Farrell 2003 I do

[@sonnyblack0870]

Farrell 23O I’m watching this after watching A New Hope

[@simonfarrell6585]

From one Farrell to another, yes I will👍

[@sexobscura]

I feel like destroying it

[@twalling]

It was actually called "Star Wars" Check out how the words "A New Hope" never show up in this documentary whatsoever.

[@ricochet188]

I love seeing actors having fun on set.

[@GirGir183]

+ricochet188 Anthony Daniels (c3po) actually hated kenny baker (r2d2) in real life...which is where they lived. He looked down on him as an inferior, and Baker was acutely aware of this.

[@ricochet188]

TIL :(

[@joachimkaddah6040]

+Selinor578 I do not undestand , why anthony would do that ? anymore explanation?

[@GirGir183]

omran kaddah Anthony Daniels (C3PO) was just a snooty sort of person. He saw himself as being above others. And Kenny Baker (R2D2) was a dwarf, and was not "normal" enough for Daniels. Like any school yard where the kids that are "different" get shunned and looked down upon.

[@CosmicTeapot]

+Selinor578 Sources? I have seen Anthony Daniels many times and he never struck me as this kind of person. This is the first time I'm hearing about this.

[@ReSliSt]

It's amazing how extremely good the design of everything is compared to other scifi stuff.

[@Jack655321]

+RhoadsAlive All thanks to Ralph McQuarrie. He made Star Wars what it was as much as George Lucas.

[@hulkhatepunybanner]

+RhoadsAlive *The Force Awakens is the worst movie ever made.*

[@hulkhatepunybanner]

***** So you like horrible movies. You're not alone. And that will be your consolation.

[@alexkrall2660]

+hulkhatepunybanner Who the fuck mentioned the Force Awakens? You just said it because you felt like saying it when you had no context.

[@derfalke9178]

+hulkhatepunybanner the disney movie is horrible

[@mtndewman1022]

i get the feeling at the scene at 34:39 that mark hamill is basically just ford's younger brother. harrison pesters them with "and?" mark does the same. harrison groans, mark groans. harrison regurgitates "the mic was in picture" mark does the same. but hey having two older brothers myself, we've all been there

[@vesper180]

4:16 Bang..Bang..Bang Harrison during a rehearsal xD

[@spentlizard353]

He was the Chris Pratt of 1977.

[@vesper180]

Spent Lizard Lol xD

[@felipeb1234]

+Spent Lizard Chris Pratt is the Harrison Ford of 2014

[@miningburrito]

+Felipe Balaguera Harrison Ford can never be replaced

[@vesper180]

Red Flavored Animations Yeah I mean, who in the actual hell, are they gonna get to play a "young Han Solo" in that spin-off, coming up?!

[@ImVeryOriginal]

"Perhaps, Artoo, it will never end." C3PO's words sound so prophetic now, after three prequels, two animated series, countless books, comics, games and with six more movies planned and a schedule of one new movie per year laid out by Disney. The generation that saw the original release of Star Wars in 1977 may not live to see the very last movie hit theaters. Perhaps the Force will indeed be with us, always.

[@legendaryaNdepic]

It was glorious and amazing very human connection or theme I loved it!

[@KuziemekK]

actually it's better for those people not to live to rise of the skywalker

[@Saint-Louis-du-Ha-Ha]

It ended

[@Robb1977]

I really hope it ends soon. I wish it ended sooner.

[@brenosantos5579]

And now we have one live action TV show (with 2 seasons) and 10 more shows to be released in the next 3 years... it will never end indeed

[@kingv911]

Aw, practical effects have so much more charm and intrigue than CGI. I know CGI can be a great tool, but I love the the look and creativity behind practical effects so much more.

[@AwesomeHairo]

kingv911 Also cost a lot of money, and more importantly, a lot of stress and time.

[@Legomyegoorj]

+kingv911 fun fact: the Phantom Menace had more models and miniatures built for it than all three of the OT movies combined. Now, I think the OT movies are considerably better, just not because of "practical effects"

[@kingv911]

Legomyegoorj Fun fact: the prequels had gobs of terrible CGI that look like cartoons, to which of course I was referring. And of course it isn't just because of the practical effects -- the stories, acting, pacing, set design, etc. all fail in the prequels.

[@Zooumberg]

+kingv911 Jabba the Hutt was awful in CGI. The puppet was much more evil looking.

[@kylebeile3317]

+kingv911 AGREE. That's what made the new Mad Max so good. Most of it was practical effects with CGI used to enhance said effects not create them altogether.

[@enterprisingcaptian875]

I truly love these documentary films they an elegant glimpse of a more civilized age, before the dark times...before the Empire.

[@kingzeus4754]

Before the Prequels....

[@StupidTVclips]

Oh, you mean Steve Jobs and his phuckin' Iphones!

[@enterprisingcaptian875]

thatdumbgamer 2016 You know bad acting, writing, directing, production, CGI, poor pacing, Jar Jar Bink's, Anakin as a kid Boba Fett as a kid, midichorians, political motivations, I hate sand, not enough like the classics, blah, blah, blah. Hey Prequel Haters did I miss anything? I'm sure I overlooked a number of things, but that's okay I'm sure someone will add to or correct my list but not after taking shots at me for having bad taste, being stoopid. I think that covers it.

[@kingzeus4754]

Give that man blue milk, please...

[@enterprisingcaptian875]

Gonzalo Ochoa Oscós-- Gulp, gulp, gulp ahhhhhh!!!! Damn that blue milk tastes good! Thank you Aunt Beru!

[@jordantaylor8549]

wow I can only imagine the cultural impact this must've had in 70's ! So cool

[@raksh9]

It was immense. Kids at school talked about it for weeks. Everything had some kind of Star Wars theme or influence. The Western dubbing of the classic Japanese animation Gatchaman was called 'Battle of the Planets' to cash in on the popularity. Toy shops were full of Star Wars toys or things that resembled them. The original TV series of Battlestar Galactica was able to get funding in 1978 because of the popularity of Star Wars.

[@StarGeek]

How have I never seen this before?! I've watched "The making of Episode I", "From Puppets to Pixels", and "Empire of Dreams" at least 3 times each! But this is amazing!

[@superior-effectimages6604]

C-3PO was right about Star Wars never ending

[@gochem3013]

ESB ROTJ Prequel and Sequel Overshadowing Including at 48:44 when it says "Warner Brothers, Inc." down to the credits, Clone Wars Overshadowing.

[@poordolt6482]

still holds up 40 years later

[@jarkoer]

I was a wee kid when Star Wars first came out, and I saw it in a drive-in theater. I think 47:20 says it all about why it succeeded, but another big factor was the culture at the time. We wanted and needed something that could take us out of this world we live in and give us a vision of hope and heroism. It was the right movie at the right time, and it's amazing that almost 40 years later we're still wanting to expand on this story. Probably because we still need this story that takes us out of this world and present moment, and give us a vision of hope and heroism once again.

[@mokthatibnignkakmod2565]

jarkoer Are you still a Virgin?

[@lemonjellies]

jarkoer So absolutely true. We STILL need stories like this and not most of the garbage we are fed today.

[@LaytonWrigth]

***** Don´t get it wrong, he is a true jedi

[@Sammy1970]

Well said, I couldn't put it better myself!

[@AImighty_Loaf]

@@lemonjellies 6 years later and this post has aged like fine wine. How I would love for the thematic stories of old to come back

[@anonymous-hk6ge]

If anyone wonders how Star Wars was such a big deal when it came out, watch any other movie from the late 70s and then watch Star Wars. There is no comparison

[@jothishprabu8]

It was something No one had ever seen before. You could say 2001:ASO but that movie ain't for kids!

[@cgeorge6786]

C.H.O.M.P.S. perhaps.

[@Loverboy19691]

I remember watching this on television in the Summer of 1977. Brought back memories.

[@THESNEAKERADDICT]

I LOVE STAR WARS!!!!!!!! ....just wanted to say that. lol

[@lordsod69]

You can say whatever you want; you are among friends here

[@jnroz5588]

@@lordsod69 I LIKE Star Wars Now

[@lordsod69]

@@jnroz5588 That is good to hear; you have great taste indeed

[@jnroz5588]

@@lordsod69 Thanks

[@-RIWIS-]

We all know.

[@anthonybroussard1102]

I saw this documentary as a child. I was 6 years old. I actually saw this documentary before I saw the movie. Such great childhood memories. Thank you George Lucas! :-)

[@warwagon]

Holy crap, George Lucas once had a neck!

[@jackbrokeheart]

+Adam Bottjen Yeah, but later he replaced it with CGI.

[@samhailess]

😂

[@jec0435]

+Adam Bottjen With all that money, he could easily get some lipo. ;)

[@alexischmidt9210]

+LUCAS bueno 😂

[@aidanbuford7030]

Waaaaaaaaat?!

[@harrisinstruments]

I can remember watching this when I was a kid. I waited for a week for it to come on so we could see some of Star Wars at home... Remember in 1977 there were no VCR's, CD's, Computers, etc. If you couldn't get it over the airwaves, forget it. Great to see it again..... And without the static.

[@bubbythebear6891]

I'm pretty sure VCRs or at least Beta was around by 1977. Granted, it was too expensive to be mainstream yet.

[@iainclark5964]

​@bubbythebear6891 I saw at Barkers in Kensington in London in 1979 a VHS tape of Star Wars priced at £80, today that would be over £800 nearer £1,000. As for TV the first time it aired on UK TV was in 1982.

[@wkanost]

I remember seeing this in 1977 then going back out to see it at the theater. It got me jazzed to see the film again.

[@arzed2]

Anybody catch the part when George Lucas said he had a dog named Indiana? If you remember from Indiana Jones 3, Indiana's dog is named Indiana and that's where the nickname came from.

[@raksh9]

Nice catch, there 😁

[@MrZackavelli]

Indiana Jones named his dog after himself?

[@themanwithnoname1970]

How I miss the 70's and I will always remember how magical that experience was..

[@TheGadgetPanda]

I remember watching this when I was little, Not only did I watch it, I recorded the audio on my brand new, fancy hi-tech tape deck. I played that tape over and over again. I can still remember whole sections of it word for word, including sound effects. Oh god, I'm so old.

[@KingRoper]

+TheGadgetPanda I was 14 and recorded it on my Radio Shack cassette recorder (holding it up to the TV speaker and demanding that my sisters shut up) and listened to it over and over -and played it for my friends while describing what was happening. How weird and wonderful to see the images again that I can recall so vividly!

[@jazziered142]

I recorded a TV trailer for the movid and listened to it over and over...

[@sgidlow1731]

+TheGadgetPanda Just found my old cassette of it with audio of the Toy ads still there.

[@Grendelkhan100]

Man, I'm old! I watched this on tv, when it was first broadcast.

[@johankl1928]

Grendelkhan100 before the movie came out?

[@raksh9]

Me, too. And it wasn't until 2016 that I saw it again, here on KZbin.

[@GeorgeSavvidis]

Good old days of practical effects... And Carrie Fisher was SO beautiful...

[@amparonarbona5142]

George Savvidis RIP Carrie Fisher

[@GeorgeSavvidis]

Amparo Narbona RIP Carrie Fisher forever princess in our heart

[@P.Whitestrake]

The best princess in the galaxy. R.I.P.

[@johnharwood194]

I remember recording this on audio tape in 1978. I was obsessed with the Tusken Raider attack scene and played it so much the tape actually wore out!! Happy days!

[@joseph4861]

The sound effects for this film are absolutely amazing and without parallel. The wheezing breath of Vader, the whizzing and whirring of the space craft, the humming of light sabres, to the whinnying roar of Chewbacca. Lucas chose an absolutely brilliant sound production team. The Force Awakens third trailer is using the same sound effects.

[@AImighty_Loaf]

It somehow wasn't as iconic with the SFX in my opinion

[@영분이-b4s]

강성태박사서울특별시자문워원애제자이승훈윤지아 2:24 최석원양아들양희성가수휘성양결혼까지생각해써 8:35 최원석집구석에서짱박혀있지말고송정민따라다녀왕혁준따라다니고송용석송민석따라다녀라박병남박미르따라다니고초콜릿미제앞제비정은이내동생배도널드덕트럼프가빼앗은운반선에실어와라포물러원패트로나스1인승200억원짜리립베크래인덤프트럭비행기냉장고박스에포장해서가져와엔지따로껍대기따로출발김용철도루코면도칼파껍질벗겨줄까?트럼프책임을져판문점우표 12:53

[@7FoX]

2015 and I didn't know this existed

[@ShadowBomber19]

McDeathmask crucial if you wish your eyes to bleed from its awfulness. I love Star Wars but the holiday special was garbage lol

[@ShadowBomber19]

McDeathmask *almost*

[@hornetgags]

McDeathmask Why....why...why...did you have to remind me of that???? I cried watching that....Life Day...WTF??

[@CPT_Nelson]

McDeathmask I pride myself with having a very good memory. I am so glad it failed to record this correctly (or record over it). :)

[@jamesfarquhar9892]

Thanks for all 😈😈😆😆

[@tillyboos]

I was 4 years old, and even I remember going to see it in the Theater. These movies are part of our legacy.

[@TheFunkyJawa]

I still love the scene When Vader treads on the Kenobi robe. You know he's just thinking "WTF just happened?" This doc is all kinds of wonderful though! Seeing as we'll sadly never see the old gang together again.

[@Ferruccio_Guicciardi]

A real challenge to produce episode IV back in 1977. There was no CG as we know it today.

[@MrZackavelli]

They literally had to build new computers to create the effects.

[@fishblades]

Hey look REAL SETS AND LOCATIONS!

[@antgue756]

+odeerg lol and what do the prequels bring lava, skylines and some more ships

[@affalaffaa]

+odeerg Haha, yeah. This time I'm hoping for a trillion plus army pixels to rain down terror. Something to really add to the story.

[@movieman410]

+fishblades because phantom menace and attack of the clones NEVER filmed in tunisia or a real palace in italy...OH FUCKING WAIT

[@movieman410]

some of them were done as miniatures

[@Svanrige]

+Mike Frying I agree with him.

[@jm1906]

Thanks you Mr Lucas, your vision gave millions of people years of fun and adventures that has gone from generation to generation.

[@Pratt-zp5mr]

I remember cassette taping this when it aired on WCBS here in the tri-state area. As kids, we were NUTS for any clips of the film that were shown. The sound effects were enough to get a young kid's imagination fired up! I must've replayed this 100s of times while building the commercially available scale models that were available. Memories...

[@michaelminton1224]

I got hooked in "Star Wars" seeing it twice and now today I have already seen it 75 times and I still enjoy it today.

[@doubleg137]

Narration by William Conrad. One of the great voices in Hollywood.

[@vmunit2931]

Thank you, was hoping to find this. He kinda sounds like James Earl Jones

[@gonzchi]

Star Wars, what a fantastic movie. I had this documentary on VHS when I was a kid, in 1980 and saw it 1000 times. It was nice to see it again. Thanks to the uploader!

[@FearStan]

I love the fact that the droid that speaks 6000 000 different language had to ask the other droid what did Chewbacca say...:)

[@greenmumm]

+FearStan Yeah I think this was hastily written by someone who only saw the movie once probably.

[@darthbigred22]

+greenmumm Shit 3PO never translates until Jedi anyways as everyone speaks Wookie and Astromech droid already.

[@greenmumm]

Yeah he really doesn't. He does say he knows 6,000,000 languages though.

[@greenmumm]

***** Then how does he understand chewbacca?

[@jennifursun3303]

+FearStan found out how long it takes to make one of those Chewbacca suites, not a job for those who have no patience

[@Thekukills]

I love how Harrison is on a damn boat for the interview

[@MrZackavelli]

So? The interviewers come wherever the interviewees tell them.

[@garrettweaver3824]

C3PO's comment at the end was more true than anyone could have imagined in 1977: "When will it end? Perhaps it will never end."

[@mackenziekarsonovich1073]

I’ll never forget watching the first trilogy for the very first time. I was like 7 and my parents were so excited to show me. I was so young I could barely wrap my head around the plot, but I was enthralled. It was a magical experience. I wanted to be a Jedi and learn how to use the force. I had such a crush on Luke it was embarrassing lol. My so thankful my parents were both pretty big nerds and passed it down to me, because these movies really inspired my imagination and creativity.

[@petes9845]

This movie was my entire childhood and still love it. RIP Carrie Fisher. I forgot how attractive she was when she was younger.

[@messybluesboy371]

Carrie Fisher was so damn HOT

[@verguco6051]

no

[@joshpecker4352]

@@verguco6051 yes

[@Matli1804]

messybluesboy371 not really but ok

[@pinoygabbz]

VERGUCO ok moo ll poll ooolo polo lmo poll I’ll lol lol poo mo lo loki pllppppl po ppppoo po lo LOl l olpmlloolp op plol olllopkoll

[@larrytoons6220]

Emphasis on WAS

[@adamn903]

Funny how Harrison seemed really enthusiastic about the shoot and talked so highly of it and how much fun it was but as time went on he seemed speak of it so less highly.

[@candycanevibe4431]

When this first came out, there was so much pressure on George and he was worried that the movie wouldn’t work as no one in the business really thought that it would (he was literally rushed to hospital because of how much stress was on him) .But when the movie was released, he was still worried it wouldn’t work until he went to a restaurant with his wife that was right next to a cinema which was airing Star Wars and he saw that people who had already watched the movie were lining up again to re watch it and he said that both him and his wife fell to the floor crying cause of how happy they were. They even requested a seat near a window so that they could see the theatre. God bless him

[@sorathetommo6307]

The part when Harrison and Mark go like "And?" "And?" is hilarious and I love it! It's hilarious!

[@amparonarbona5142]

Sora The Tommo Me too.

[@Bu33ab3]

Disney, please release the "unaltered" original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD or Blu-ray

[@soccerguy325]

I have the OT DVDs, which I probably purchased around 2007, and on each Disc 2 is an "unaltered" version of the film, as it was released in theaters 30+ years ago.

[@yaritzaperezsantiago6349]

But this is muffled

[@vykuntapufangtxpreet9546]

No.

[@IXAX15]

in 1995 they re-released this on video but for some reason they re-recorded all the narration with Don LaFontaine, even the documentaries aren't safe from re-edits

[@pensacolian211]

Maybe because there wasn't a single thing wrong with the original narration. It didn't need improving.

[@animalyze7120]

Phillip You fucking Troll STFU.

[@ethanwood9124]

IXAX15 I have the original on VHS

[@ethanwood9124]

With the original voice

[@raksh9]

Ugh, that's dreadful. So glad we get to see the original documentary here.

[@indieshortfilm]

Omg! THERE IT IS!! One of my childhood favorite documentary’s!!! I LOVED this documentary, must have seen it a thousand times!! 😂 THANK YOU!! 💜

[@keithmacintyre1889]

A long time ago in the summer of 1977, I was a 10 year old kid who was just about to graduate from Elementary School, and who, one day, walked into a movie theatre to see "some far-out space movie" that had rapidly become "the talk of the town" on the schoolyard playground... I walked in an innocent, naive little child, only interested in Mad Libs, Marshall Brodien's TV Magic Cards, Bigfoot, Duncan Yo-yos, and Evel Knievel and his Action Stunt Cycle... I walked out ABSOLUTELY CHANGED FOREVER. On that glorious day, I would see the GREATEST movie that would EVER be made. That groundbreaking film was STAR WARS, from writer/director George Lucas, and it would TOTALLY change my life (as well as simultaneously changing the lives of COUNTLESS others around the entire world). SW absolutely blew me away, filling my heart with joy, stimulating my imagination, and kick-starting my love for cinema. That day was so momentous for me. I would never be the same again... I will never forget it. From the moment the 20th Century Fox fanfare and John Williams' theme blasted through the theatre speaker system, and the text "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and that "1930's Flash Gordon Serial" inspired opening crawl came on the screen... And as that gigantic Star Destroyer appeared, flying over my head, towering above me as I sat in my theatre seat... and kept going... and going... and going... And as the entire audience gasped with amazement... At that VERY moment, I was instantaneously mesmerized, transfixed, and transformed... And I was barely 5 minutes into the film... I still had 2 MORE HOURS to go! As I sat in total wonderment, I was terrified by a helmeted figure in black, Darth Vader... In fact, the whole audience "booed" him as he made his entrance.. .We knew NOTHING about the story yet, but just KNEW that this guy deserved a collective "booing"!... It was like we were watching a SILENT MOVIE!... And as the movie continued, I was thrilled by the heroic exploits of the dashing smuggler Han Solo and the feisty Princess Leia, and emboldened by the brave, heroic, idealistic actions of the farm boy turned hero of the galaxy, Luke Skywalker! And by the film's spectacular climax of the rebel assault on the Death Star (the greatest ending EVER committed to celluloid, BTW), my heart was pounding, and my spirit was soaring... And I will NEVER forget the standing ovation of applause that erupted as the end credits rolled... Everyone in that audience didn't know it yet, but we had all just been first-hand witnesses to cinematic HISTORY! Now, I had ALWAYS loved Sci-fi/Fantasy films, television, and comics BEFORE Star Wars existed, watching reruns of Star Trek and Batman on TV, watching the Planet of the Apes and James Bond 007 movies on TV, and reading Amazing Spider-Man comics... but SW took things to a whole new level... This was a monumental spectacle on such a grand scale that I (or ANYONE) had NEVER seen before, even eclipsing the magnificent achievement that was 2001: A Space Odyssey from 9 years earlier ("Man, I wish I could have seen THAT ONE in the theatre!"). Plus, unlike most Sci-fi around this time (which were very dystopian), this was actually FUN! Moreover, this was NOT The Apple Dumpling Gang, Herbie Rides Again, Benji, The Bad News Bears, or any of the other 70's kiddie "dreck" that I was being subjected to in the theatre at that time... No, this was something VERY DIFFERENT... Now, thankfully, it wasn't ALL awful "dreck"... Even at that young age, I had managed to see a very small handful of very good and (for their time) very impressive big-screen spectacles in the theatre, such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), At the Earth's Core (1976), Logan's Run (1976), and King Kong (1976)... but NOTHING could have prepared me (or the rest of the world) for the earth-shattering phenomenon that was STAR WARS and the change it would bring... the film that would propel a 1970's audience (both young AND old alike) FAR beyond their wildest film-going expectations, and revolutionize the motion picture industry FOREVER in the process. Words can never fully describe what it was like to be alive in the summer of 1977 during the peak height of "Star Wars Mania"... except to say that it was pure MAGIC. I will never forget the day that I went to see Star Wars for the first time... May 25th, 1977... My father took my younger brother and me... I remember we went in my father's company truck (my brother and I rode in the bed of the truck), I remember that we stopped at Burger Chef first to have dinner, and I got one of the four SW promotional posters that they were selling there (I got the one with C-3PO and R2-D2... the first time that I ever laid eyes on ANY characters from SW!)... I remember that the theatre ticket line went on for what seemed to me like forever... I remember my father bought us both a Hershey bar, and he got a bucket of popcorn with extra butter for us all to share...("How do I remember all that?!?")... And when the movie was over, I remember the audience erupting into insane thunderous cheers and applause that I had never experienced before! Naturally, my brother loved the movie, too... but the amazing thing was that even my father (who probably just thought he was taking his children to see some "dumb kid's film") was crazy about it as well!... My mother didn't go that night, and she always regretted it... She told me much later in life that if she had known that it was to be such an important moment in my life, she would have loved to experience my VERY FIRST viewing of Star Wars!... Of course, she DID take my brother and I to see it many times after my first viewing ...And she LOVED it, too! I became an instant fanatic... I saw the film eleven times in the movie theatre during its initial run (which wasn't hard to do, as it stayed at our local theatre for an entire year!)... I sneaked my portable tape recorder into the theatre and audio-recorded the entire film so that I could listen to the adventure over and over in the comfort of my own bedroom... I dressed up in a make-shift Darth Vader costume for Halloween... I filled many sketchbooks with countless drawings of the creatures and spaceships... I collected the action figures, trading cards, posters, books, and model kits (and I STILL have all of that "stuff!")... I always drank out of my Star Wars cup... I always wore my Star Wars T-shirt... I listened to John Williams' Star Wars soundtrack album constantly, becoming a fan of symphonic and film score music... I watched "The Making of Star Wars" TV special, becoming fascinated by the way movies were made, even making a few myself with my Super-8 camera... I watched the Academy Awards for the very first time to see my favorite movie sweep the Oscars with 10 nominations and 7 wins... I even watched the "infamous" Holiday Special in 1978 ... Lumpy... Itchy... Harvey Korman... Bea Arthur... Wookiee-ookiees... And I LOVED it... I will NEVER forget when my parents took me to the record store to get the John Williams soundtrack... We were driving home, and I was in the back seat of the car, looking at the LP... "Something is WRONG here", I said to myself... Well, it turned out that my parents had accidentally purchased the MECO DISCO VERSION! ... We had to turn around and go back to the store to exchange it! And my Star Wars "madness" didn't end there, either... Oh, no... I ate up ANYTHING Sci-Fi related... I religiously watched Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers on TV, and went to see Close Encounters, Superman:TM, Alien (my 1st R-rated film!), Moonraker, The Black Hole, and Star Trek:TMP in the theatre (all CLASSICS in their own right) ...Hell, I even went to see some real "oddities" like Message From Space and Starcrash! ...If a movie featured kit-bashed model spaceships dangling in front of studio-bound starfields... I WAS THERE!... ANYTHING to give this Middle School SW "junkie" that Star Wars" high" again... It would take, of course, 3 LONG YEARS until I finally got another OFFICIAL Star Wars "fix"! And after 46 years, I continue to love STAR WARS more and more... It has aged like the finest wine, and it is STLL my #1 favorite movie of all time... Followed by my 2nd favorite movie of all time: The Empire Strikes Back... And my 3rd favorite movie of all time: Return of the Jedi... These three movies are flawless and perfect, collectively making up not only the greatest cinematic trilogy ever made, but the 3 greatest films of ANY kind ever made, and the greatest cinematic story ever told... PERIOD. I love ALL of Star Wars... Prequels... Sequels... But in the end, when you get right down to it, it all comes back to that first film: Its tale is timeless.. Its themes universal... Its craftsmanship impeccable... It is the perfect story... The perfect film... A phenomenon... A bona fide classic.. A MASTERPIECE.. I will always be thankful to George Lucas for taking me to his galaxy far, far away... Words can never express the utter joy and happiness that his SIX STAR WARS FILMS have given me, and continue to give me to this very day... I'd thank him for showing me how to remain "young at heart", no matter HOW old I get... And in particular, I'd thank him for that life-altering day in the summer of 1977 when I walked into that movie theatre to see "that far-out space movie", aka: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE, for the very 1st time. It's odd to think a that a mere film could have that kind of power to change one's life in such a profoundly positive way. But then again, this is no "MERE" film, is it? And just think, things could have gone VERY DIFFERENTLY and HORRIBLY WRONG that day if I had instead gone to see some "awful piece of dreck" that was ALSO playing in the theatre at the same time... like Tentacles ("Yikes!")... or Viva Knievel ("Ouch!")... or Breaker! Breaker! ("Jeez!")... or Pete's Dragon ("Ugh!").

[@memaxidk]

Jesus Christ, this is a long long comment

[@aminp2968]

this documentary is amazing. Lucas and his team has futuristic view of space technologies.

[@Dahellraider]

lol hearing Harrison ford just saying bang bang bang is hilarious.

[@raksh9]

As a kid watching this documentary, I thought that's what they did on movies.

[@LEGOMotionStudios]

In the beginning at the theater, it's kind of weird thinking about how none of us knew Vader's backstory (or who his son is). But now everyone knows it by heart

[@TheViolent1]

So cool to find this again!! I had the VHS of this back from 1996 or 97 with the original edition re-release! It was sick, the VHS cover was a cross section of Vader’s helmet!

[@asjzmtbkn]

I think this is a great documentary on the first Star Wars movie. I first seen Star Wars the movie in 1977 at age 17 years old at the Price theatre. It was great to watch. I was amazed by all the special effects etc.. I'd never seen anything like it before in the movies I had seen to that time. Nothing compared to it.

[@thomas_2285]

30:20 Carrie Fisher... What a beauty. We'll miss you.

[@Thornus_______]

Absolutely agree

[@mikesigrist3068]

I remember watching this on TV as kid. Man, I wish we didn't grow old!

[@the430movie]

I remember watching this like over 30 years ago. Thanks for the memories!

[@leighann-sl8fc]

Thank you for posting this, I'd never seen it before. I was eight when Star Wars came out and living in Balikpapan, Indonesia. We were in the states for "home leave" during the summer so we had a chance to see the movie but missed all this "after stuff". It was fun to watch, even after all these years.

[@murdocktrashbag1609]

Thanks for the upload....lots of memories seeing this a child of 8 at the time. Yes, I'm actually someone who saw the beginning May 1977---in a theater ----that makes me old now. But I still love it.

[@midlifecomix2529]

THIS = my childhood. I was 1 when A New Hope came out and almost 2 when my Dad brought home one of the very first huge ass VCR's along with a (somehow) bootleg copy of Star Wars. A few months later he brought home this same special on a separate tape and between the 2 I must have watched those tapes a billion times. I haven't seen this in 35+ years now. Thanks for posting. OMG the FEELS!

[@Stangil1]

Carrie Fischer was such a cutie.

[@Stangil1]

***** umm thanks?

[@thedys70]

I like the clip of her in her prime at 30.00 minutes in; no wonder Ford was slammin' her for half of the shoot.

[@ThomasBob]

she just died 😢

[@Stangil1]

Thomas Bob :(

[@ThomasBob]

Update: Now carry fisher's mother just died, too! :'(

[@the0rangekind]

this is amazing. I've watched so many behind the scenes videos on the making of star wars but never this in depth. The focus on the special effects and rare behind the scenes footage of actors rehearsals and outtakes is so new to me as well.

[@georgemilgren9665]

Remember the 70's when we got to see popular movies that were groundbreaking and ORIGINAL like Star Wars, Rocky, Jaws, the Exorcist, the Godfather, the French Connection, etc? The days before Hollywood cashed in on an endless amount of sequels, prequels and remakes. Not enough filmmakers and producers take risks or think of new ideas anymore. It's really sad.

[@jonvisser1509]

Exorcist that series won't die either same with Rocky

[@elflaco6654]

I was ten in 77 and crazy about everything Star Wars, 1st album I bought along w/ all the figures and production books on the film. Loved the Sand People. It will be cool to see the old cast together again next month in 3-D. Xtra Large!!!

[@Koldeman]

I watched this on laserdisc way back in the 1980's. GREAT memories.

[@haydenjohnson5385]

I was 8 years old when a new hope came out and still to this day I remember all every minute of when I went to see it, man, what a show.

[@pikkuadi]

"Darth Vadar lives" this dog is onto something

[@kataisa3]

William Conrad’s narration is perfect.

[@joshuabeck3510]

At 22:22 Chewie lets out a growl and C3PO says "What did he say?" Fluent in over six million forms of communication my ass!

[@raksh9]

I've only seen this once, on television at the time the original movie was screening in the cinema. THANK YOU for uploading this!

[@14DaveHunter]

How true C-3P0's prediction was. "Perhaps R2, it will never end."

[@fookutube501]

Rip Carrie my love

[@matheusbernardes6884]

45:43 Leia ALWAYS ignores Chewie!

[@TOPCAT99021]

The last line: "Perhaps it will never end...."

[@collegeman1988]

I remember seeing this special on TV and seeing Carrie Fisher at 30:26. I was still at that age where I didn’t fully understand the difference between a character and an actor playing that character, so it was a shock that she wasn’t wearing her Princess Leia costume and her hair was a different color and she wasn’t wearing it in the cinnamon roll hairstyle that Princess Leia had. It was the same reaction I had when reading in Dynamite magazine that Henry Winkler wasn’t the Fonz when he was off the set of Happy Days.

[@Lifetime-Memories]

Greatest science-fiction documentary ever produced and it brings lots of great memories from the 70s/80s action figures toy market. Many thanks to George Lucas for making it and to Sanchez del Campo for uploading it.

[@QuackersAhoy]

As 3PO says in the final shot, ''perhaps R2, it will never end''. Quite prophetic words, it's now 2015 and Star Wars is still going strong!!!

[@tigfit81]

2022. Still going

[@TheHaydena76]

Strong?

[@pinballshawn]

Yeah, not so much now 😔

[@MikeSidious]

I got this on Betamax video cassette for my 9th birthday in 1979 and watched it every day for months on end.

[@Dr_Bombay]

i love the parts about how lucas was originally intending to use the droids as the framing for the series, and how he hadn't figured out the connection between luke and leia yet. haha

[@NoName-im2fc]

Frank Ozaki The fans man! He wasn't intending to make neither Vader nor Boba as a major characters as well for example, but their popularity forced change of plans! Plus Lucas said in one interview that C-3PO was basically the Jar Jar of the Star Wars (New Hope), everybody hated him! So I guess that cancelled the droids idea! Though to be fair they appeared in all movies and were major influence in all of them!

[@Dr_Bombay]

Yallow Ayez in a way it still is all about the droids, but it's just not from their perspective, as he was originally thinking. that was such a brilliant angle, sigh.

[@AvengerII]

Yallow Ayez Nope... Never thought 3PO was as annoying as Jar Jar OR Anakin Skywalker. (I'm sorry but that kid was a bad seed. You could see the word "Sith" hovering over his head even when he was around his mommy.)

[@Dr_Bombay]

agreed, AvengerII.

[@NoName-im2fc]

AvengerII Well maybe not you, but other people thought so back in 1977!

[@jackspickphone6656]

I remember watching this when it first aired! I believe it was in November 1977 on NBC....I was 11 so I am not certain lol but I think it was on a Friday night. I had already seen the movie three times. Amazing stuff!

[@davedogge2280]

This was a great find I've never heard of before..

[@jake_gon_jinn]

Star Wars have changed the concept of filmmaking and storytelling forever. George Lucas was a visionary and his bold futuristic methods paved the road for many others to follow the same path. The fact that he could achieve this level of practicality (Set Design, CGI, and inovating ideas) for a Sci-Fi movie, not with today's technology, but 40 yrs ago is mind-blowing to me. SW have always been more than a movie for me. It's a masterpiece of this era.

[@misterartist1603]

44:46 Footage of the Holiday Special's preparation

[@metazare]

This really brings back memories...I remember I got this documentary on a VHS tape when I was a kid, it was an offer on the back of a cereal box that if you mailed in like 5 dollars it would be mailed to you. Weeks later I had one of the coolest things I owned at the time. I was big into star wars and it was really cool to have something like this.

[@dotmafia]

First ever public mention of the coming Indiana Jones? At 20:40 Lucas mentions his dog, Indiana.

[@JAXXNCREATED]

Man, the practical effects used in these movies are so dope

[@AndrewChapman]

29:02 Quite ironic as 3PO and R2 became the only two characters to appear in all 9 movies of the main movie saga.

[@RovnoMagic]

So much fun to see this again.......thank you for sharing it with all of us. Anthony does a great job of hosting. George's dog Indiana....cool. Thank the maker and Let the Wookie win.

[@anthonymullen6300]

this is when movies were magical.

[@RovnoMagic]

The Magic of Star Wars.......may it never end.

[@Zombiesnyder13]

30:25 My God She was so cute RIP :'(

[@nekozombie]

what happened to her? D:

[@mcasasol]

This is my favorite documentary for Star Wars