'Star Wars' hit the big screen 20 years ago...
Campus Times
February 21, 1997
A long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, a generation discovered
the Force. Now a generation of parents is returning to the theaters to feel
the Force one more time by bringing their children to see the first installment
in the re-release of the "Star Wars" trilogy, which opened last
month.
"The original inspiration for bringing the films back to the big
screen was the 20th anniversary of the original release of "Star Wars."
So I said why don't we try to release all three films, as a trilogy, within
a few weeks of each other, so that people can see them like the Saturday
matinee serials they were originally meant to be," said creator and
producer George Lucas from an interview on the "Star Wars" homepage
(http://www.starwars.com).
The second installment, "The Empire Strikes Back," opens nationwide
today and the final film, "Return of the Jedi," opens March 7.
Don Pollock, associate professor of communications, said, "I think
Lucas was driven by a desire of informing or educating the newer generations
to the Star Wars saga on the big screen as many of us were able to interpret
it."
Donald Cully, a part-time "Star Wars" enthusiast (having viewed
the original feature more than 50 times and the re-release three times),
and full-time desktop system analyst for Disney Studios, said, "I feel
the addition of the new scenes flushed out a lot of questions about certain
characters such as Jabba the Hutt. The enhanced special effects were a definite
for the audience of the '90s to enjoy a movie created 20 years ago."
The films are being released with new digital footage created by Industrial
Light and Magic (ILM).
When Lucas was making the first film of the trilogy, there were many
scenes and sequences that did not turn out as he had hoped due to the lack
of technology. The technology pioneered by ILM made it possible to actually
combine footage from 1976 with digital characters created in the present.
"After deciding to go ahead with the re-release, he (Lucas) saw
that the special effects from the original 'Star Wars' did not hold up to
the present special effects technologies of today," Pollock added.
"I had an ulterior motive that I had been thinking about for a
long time-actually ever since the films were finished. There were various
things, especially in the original film, that I wasn't satisfied with-special
effects shots that were never really finished, scenes that I'd wanted to
include that couldn't be included for some reason, mostly money and time.
I really wanted to fix these films and make them complete. A famous filmmaker
said, 'Films are never completed, they're only abandoned.' Rather than living
with my abandoned movie, I really wanted to go back and complete it,"
said Lucas in the same interview.
Many people questioned Lucas' re-release of the trilogy as being a mere
marketing venue, possibly hoping to up his ranking of the 54th richest man
in the United States.
Sophomore Scott Newbould said, "It is back because when we were
kids, we saw it and have forgotten most of it, and now it is back just to
make some more money from us."
"When the movie was originally released, time, money and [Lucas']
reputation were in the critical view of an old movie industry, while this
release was a revelation in movie terms," said Cully.
The truth is that, yes, Lucas will become richer indeed with the re-release
of the Trilogy but, the money was not as much an issue Lucas said, as the
feeling of wanting to complete an unfinished task.
Besides hoping to make more money from the re-release of the old movies,
the refurbishment will help serve as an advertising campaign for the pre-production
for the new Star Wars prequels due out in 1999.
"He wanted to make the re-releases more appealing to the younger
generations now that he had that technology, and all this has brought great
anticipation of the prequels in the making," said Pollock.
"Our generation was born during the time that our parents did not
want to expose us to such violence on the screen because we were too young.
Now we are older and we all want to be able to see 'Star Wars' on the big
screen just as our parents did," said sophomore Jeremy Gonzales. "Plus,
it gave Lucas a chance to redeem himself because he was unhappy with the
original outcome of the movie in the first place, and now he is able to
add those scenes and special effects he was hoping for the first time around."
The addition of outtakes and revises of scenes in the movies cost Lucas
around $15 million, while the first movie, "Star Wars," cost a
mere $10 million to create and produce.
Cully added, "Well cinematically, the first three stories are due
out on the big screen in the near future. I also feel that this will open
the door to a new area of 'Star Wars' features in television production
areas and new stories are probable in text form. Also a whole new merchandise
line following the prequels will be very probable."
Perhaps the nostalgic return of the "Star Wars Special Edition"
Trilogy will be able to remind people of the wonder and innocence of movies
of yesteryear. It was 20 years ago when the young and creative mind of George
Lucas stirred the imaginations of the entire planet, in a galaxy far, far
away. And it is today when he has passed it on to Generation X.