The Making of Star Wars / SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back

Magnetic Video Art 20th Century Fox Art

Catalog Number 1052-80
1112-80

Format Extended Play CLV

Running Time 100 minutes

Side Running Time

1 50min 05sec

2 49min 27sec

Pressing Location DiscoVision Associates

Retail Price $29.98

Issued 1981

The Making of Star Wars
as Told by C-3PO and R2-D2
Narrator William Conrad

With Appearances by Mark Hamill
Carrie Fisher
Harrison Ford

SP FX
The Empire Strikes Back
Starring Mark Hamill

"Their passport is imagination; their visa is special effects." This poetic insight that leads into SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back stands as the guidewords for George Lucas' astounding creation of The Star Wars Saga. Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, the two most successful films in movie history, are a tribute to the magic and wonderment of the movies. The Making of Star Wars / SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back shows us, in priceless behind-the-scenes glimpses, many of the secrets behind writer-director-creator George Lucas' creation of a new mythology, a new technology and a new (but familiar) universe. Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back are an amalgam of live-action, models, mattes, optical printing, animation and terrific film editing. We see here how all these elements are carefully pre-planned so that when they are merged we see nothing but some of the most exciting filmmaking in the history of the cinema.

There were three main locations in the making of Star Wars: The desert of Tunisia, the sound stages of Ellstree and the special effects workshop of Industrial Light and Magic in California. The Tunisian locale was the scene of Luke Skywalker's home planet, a planet filled with wondrous creatures, some as dangerous as they are strange. The Star Wars' crew built an entire futuristic town in the desert, while many scenes were shot there in their entirety. You'll see how Luke's "automobile" is able to cruise above the ground; you'll see how the droids, C-3PO and R2-D2 move around and you'll see how a dynamic fight scene on film is not quite as exciting when it's staged on location.

The sound stages of Ellstree were the sight of some of the most spectacular sets ever built, including the large interiors of Han Solo's space-cruiser, the Millennium Falcon. The sound stages also housed the interior of the awesome Death Star, the dreaded juggernaut of the evil Empire. We learn how the all-important battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and his wicked nemesis, Darth Vader, was staged, and see, in detail, the way a scene combining live-action, special effects with models, and animation is combined.

Perhaps the key to Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back was the work with models and miniatures that took place in George Lucas' special workshop in Northern California. The creators of The Star Wars Saga were forced to invent their own cameras and photographic processes to bring forth their imaginative musings. Although the sight of a two-foot-long spaceship seems funny when we realize just how small it really is, when a clip from the film comes on and that same little ship zips right along, we are impressed! Perhaps the most impressive (and time consuming) effects involved the exploding fighter ships. To achieve just one explosive moment on screen required 8 hours of painstaking work. A number of high-speed cameras (which slow down the action_ photograph a small model ship with is rigged to explode. As we see, and hear, later, sound effects and music also add to the scene's effectiveness.

In addition to learning about the lovable droids and the unlovable Darth Vader, we also get a glimpse of the workings behind the already-beloved Yoda, the Jedi Master. The tauntauns that Luke and Han ride are also explained, but again, although we come to understand how these effects are achieved, we never lose our respect and admiration for George Lucas and his talented team of effects wizards. In fact, far from removing our love of the myth and magic of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, The Malign of Star Wars / SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back only increases our appreciation of it.

The Making of Star Wars as Told by C-3PO and R2-D2
Narrator	William Conrad
With Appearances by	Mark Hamill Carrie Fisher Harrison Ford
SP FX The Empire Strikes Back
Starring	Mark Hamill
"Their passport is imagination; their visa is special effects." This poetic insight that leads into SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back stands as the guidewords for George Lucas' astounding creation of The Star Wars Saga. Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, the two most successful films in movie history, are a tribute to the magic and wonderment of the movies. The Making of Star Wars / SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back shows us, in priceless behind-the-scenes glimpses, many of the secrets behind writer-director-creator George Lucas' creation of a new mythology, a new technology and a new (but familiar) universe. Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back are an amalgam of live-action, models, mattes, optical printing, animation and terrific film editing. We see here how all these elements are carefully pre-planned so that when they are merged we see nothing but some of the most exciting filmmaking in the history of the cinema. There were three main locations in the making of Star Wars: The desert of Tunisia, the sound stages of Ellstree and the special effects workshop of Industrial Light and Magic in California. The Tunisian locale was the scene of Luke Skywalker's home planet, a planet filled with wondrous creatures, some as dangerous as they are strange. The Star Wars' crew built an entire futuristic town in the desert, while many scenes were shot there in their entirety. You'll see how Luke's "automobile" is able to cruise above the ground; you'll see how the droids, C-3PO and R2-D2 move around and you'll see how a dynamic fight scene on film is not quite as exciting when it's staged on location. The sound stages of Ellstree were the sight of some of the most spectacular sets ever built, including the large interiors of Han Solo's space-cruiser, the Millennium Falcon. The sound stages also housed the interior of the awesome Death Star, the dreaded juggernaut of the evil Empire. We learn how the all-important battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and his wicked nemesis, Darth Vader, was staged, and see, in detail, the way a scene combining live-action, special effects with models, and animation is combined. Perhaps the key to Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back was the work with models and miniatures that took place in George Lucas' special workshop in Northern California. The creators of The Star Wars Saga were forced to invent their own cameras and photographic processes to bring forth their imaginative musings. Although the sight of a two-foot-long spaceship seems funny when we realize just how small it really is, when a clip from the film comes on and that same little ship zips right along, we are impressed! Perhaps the most impressive (and time consuming) effects involved the exploding fighter ships. To achieve just one explosive moment on screen required 8 hours of painstaking work. A number of high-speed cameras (which slow down the action_ photograph a small model ship with is rigged to explode. As we see, and hear, later, sound effects and music also add to the scene's effectiveness. In addition to learning about the lovable droids and the unlovable Darth Vader, we also get a glimpse of the workings behind the already-beloved Yoda, the Jedi Master. The tauntauns that Luke and Han ride are also explained, but again, although we come to understand how these effects are achieved, we never lose our respect and admiration for George Lucas and his talented team of effects wizards. In fact, far from removing our love of the myth and magic of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, The Malign of Star Wars / SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back only increases our appreciation of it.