The Making of Star Wars | |
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Japanese LaserDisc cover
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Genre | TV Special/Documentary |
Written by | Richard Schickel |
Directed by | Robert Guenette |
Presented by | Anthony Daniels |
Narrated by | William Conrad |
Composer(s) | John Williams |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Gary Kurtz |
Producer(s) | Robert Guenette |
Editor(s) | N.H. Cominos |
Running time | 49 min |
Production company(s) |
Lucasfilm 20th Century Fox Television |
Distributor | Disney-ABC Television Group (current) |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Picture format | Color (4:3) |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | September 16, 1977 |
The Making of Star Wars is a television special produced by 20th Century Fox, which aired on the ABC Television Network on September 16, 1977. It was written by Richard Schickel and directed and produced by Robert Guenette.
Premiering four months after the release of the film, the special was the first Star Wars documentary ever made. The special was hosted by C-3PO (voiced and played by Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2. A voiceover narration was additionally supplied by William Conrad. It features behind-the-scenes footage from Star Wars, and interviews with writer/director George Lucas, producer Gary Kurtz, and castmembers Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Alec Guinness.
Among the behind-the-scenes footage is a brief glimpse of a deleted scene between Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine.
The special was the first Star Wars material to be released to the home video market (in 1979, by Magnetic Video). It was reissued to video in 1980 with a trailer for The Empire Strikes Back, which had been released that year. This trailer was not featured on the DVD box set issued in 2004.
In 1982, it was reissued again by 20th Century Fox on VHS, Betamax, CED, and Laserdisc as part of a double feature with the 1980 special SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back. It was reissued separately in Japan on Laserdisc in 1992, and was reissued as a triple feature with SPFX and the 1983 special Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi.