Built for filming in the Summer of 1979, THE STAR WARS STAGE at ELSTREE would then be the biggest studio soundstage in the UK, and, bar some inconvenient shooting linked to Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING (due to an unfortunate fire which had previously raged on another stage and burnt it down), was primarily first built for use by George Lucas and his teams on THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and, three years later, RETURN OF THE JEDI. Supervised by Production Designer Norman Reynolds and his skilled team of craftsmen, the completed stage would first house the enormous Rebel base ice hanger, comprising a full size X-wing fighter prop, numerous prop snowspeeders and the biggest and best creation, the Millennium Falcon, previously built in Wales and sent to ELSTREE in sections for full re-construction. This great establishing shot, seen near the beginning of EMPIRE, shows not just the scale of the set and the incredible props, droids, costumed extras and backgrounds for the film but also evokes the feeling of awe and wonder of spirit in watching a STAR WARS adventure-the likes of which you won't see anywhere else, that there's nothing else out there capable of matching its emotional grandeur. Not in the whole wide world of cinematic entertainment!
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| The hangar as seen in an early trailer for EMPIRE. |
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