A superb creative pairing: George Lucas and Gary Kurtz on the set of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK at Elstree-1979. |
Note: This is a classic blog from our older site reprinted.
Yep, the Thirtieth Anniversary of STAR WARS has proved to be a considerable success this year- and George Lucas's "little space movie for young people" is still as superb as ever, continuing to find new fans of all ages across the globe in whatever medium it breathes life in: be it books, movies, TV or comics.
Yep, the Thirtieth Anniversary of STAR WARS has proved to be a considerable success this year- and George Lucas's "little space movie for young people" is still as superb as ever, continuing to find new fans of all ages across the globe in whatever medium it breathes life in: be it books, movies, TV or comics.
From
where it all began, Lucas is the corner stone, the lit blue touch paper from
where it all began like a supernova- the story, the characters, the look and
feel of it all, the entire universe-it all comes from him-and we'll all be
eternally grateful of the day that he put pen to paper to come up with the film
on those handwritten notes he outlined in May 1973, and for the
amazing imagination within that fertile mind of his that, even
now, continues to spur on into new heights of creativity. STAR WARS (or
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE-whatever you want to call it!!), in this writer's mind,
is still the best film of the saga and has yet to be equalled, primarily
because Lucas is there at the beginning in every way, and nothing has
equalled it's raw power of enjoyment, in my eyes, since...
It
was a struggle for Lucas to get the film made- a struggle that would last for
five years. It was a risk, but one that ultimately paid off. To get this film
made, for it to leap from the imagination of Lucas's mind onto the celluloid
screen, the young director needed help, assembling some of the best people
working in the cinema at that time to achieve his goal. On this thirtieth
anniversary, we quite rightly continue to celebrate talents like George Lucas,
Ralph McQuarrie (whose wondrous creative and artistic insights launched a visual
style that hasn't bettered), Alan Ladd Jr., John Williams, Richard Edlund,
Dennis Muren, Joe Johnston, Ben Burtt-all amazing people and all quite rightly
congratulated for their work.
In
this anniversary year, however, let us also remember the great talents that are
no longer with us-the brilliant Production Designer John Barry, who helped
realise Joe Johnston and Ralph McQuarrie's superb environments into practical
set reality (making any visitors to the ELSTREE Studio's in 1976 amazed by the
uniqueness of the upcoming movie). Let's not forget John Stears and his
practical UK team (of which only Stears would be credited for his contribution
to STAR WARS-none of his UK team mates were credited in the end titles, event
though all of the rising star ILM team members were) for their hard work in
bringing the many droids like Artoo Detoo to life, realizing the Landspeeder,
the lightsabers and all of the other iconic effects -all of which might have
seemed impossible to create to other film-makers in 1973- that, though they
have been improved upon since, started with this movie.
Let's also not forget
Gilbert Taylor. His long experience and film-making style may have regrettably
clashed with the young independent film-maker (years later, apparently, he would
even be banished from being allowed in for the premiere party for THE STAR WARS
SPECIAL EDITION in London in 1997!!), used to doing his own camera-set ups and
changing lights (the veteran cinematographer, unbeknownst to Lucas,
also being under orders from FOX to have his
work adhere to their own visual requests for the film), but lets not
forget the beautiful clean and sharp look he brought to the Death Star scenes, as well as the wild beauty of Tatooine, the grimy criminal
atmosphere of the cantina and the organic green and brown colour scheme of a
growing Rebellion on Yavin IV. Again, the artistic palettes for cinematography
may have changed and improved over the years, but STAR WARS still looks
fantastic from a photography vantage.
And
in particular, on this important anniversary year, if there's one person still
being overlooked for his contributions to the STAR WARS universe, let's also
not forget the film-maker still continually active in today's tough world
of the movie-making environment-Gary Kurtz-producer of STAR WARS and THE
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.
Despite the problems of getting STAR WARS off the ground,
and despite the complex nightmares of the even more ambitious EMPIRE, the
majority of which were unforeseen and could not ultimately have been avoided,
Gary Kurtz would be the further important under-pinning that made the STAR WARS
SAGA the success it is today. With a talent for character and storytelling, a
strong eye for direction, film-making and photography, and in the areas of
special effects photography, Kurtz would help Lucas shape the films into the
success they have become today. And as Producer, let's not forget his
contributions-on EMPIRE, it was Kurtz who selected Kershner to direct the
important sequel (a superb choice to helm the film), it was Kurtz who chose
Peter Suschitsky (whom many think gave the STAR WARS saga its best
cinematography with EMPIRE). It would also be Kurtz who maintained a strict
quality control on all areas of the films, especially EMPIRE, from the way the
film was marketed, to the escalating toy creation and promotion, to the dailies
film footage being shot at ELSTREE and ILM, to the help, protection and support
he gave the films young stars, this producers talent and hard work on the films
should not be overlooked.
With
the takeover of the STAR WARS INSIDER by TITAN MAGAZINES, let us hope that the
magazine one day returns to its glory days of the mid-nineties in terms of
content. Lets find out more behind the scene material on our favourite films,
in particular, more interviews, with decent questions rather than the same old
same old, with the cast and crews that made these films, and a reduction
in the toy marketing content. So many people who have contributed to STAR WARS
have died in the last few years and none of their stories or anecdotes have
been recorded or detailed (an example being David Tomblin- when did anyone talk
to him about his extensive work on EMPIRE and JEDI-I don't recall him ever
being interviewed for a STAR WARS magazine). LUCASFILM has the access-lets talk
to these people. Let's talk to Gary Kurtz in depth about both films- I don't
think I've seen an interview with Kurtz in an official STAR WARS magazine since
1980!!!- let’s talk to Gilbert Taylor again (rather than a re-hashing of a ten
year old interview!!). And what about Richard Marquand on JEDI-his
contributions to the final film of the CLASSIC SAGA are also left
un-explored-how about talking with his estate and his family about his work on
the film (and with JEDI there is still so much to find out on its making-it's
top secret making-has anyone ever seen the original shooting script for the
film-of which only three full copies existed? How about a book printing?)
So
much to be explored still, so many people and their talents to be celebrated.
As this 2007 anniversary year comes to an end, let us raise our glasses in toast to all the
creative talents who worked on those classic STAR WARS films, and let us also hope that
their hard work is explored in greater detail in the phenomenon years that are
still to come.
WE
SALUTE YOU!!
2 comments:
Great article as always. I noticed a small oversight, you said 30th when you meant 35th.
Cheers.
Hi Don, thanks for the kind words.
The feature was a classic blog from our older site in 2007-for the 30th Anniversary. I thought much of it was still relevant so decided not to change anything.
Thanks for getting in touch.
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