STAR
WARS STORYBOARDS: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
Edited by
J.W. Rinzler
Foreword
by Joe Johnston
Introduction
by Nilo Rodis-Jamero
Published
by ABRAMS BOOKS
Reviewed by Scott
Weller
Another Holy Grail
for STAR WARS fans finally materializes
from the hidden depths of the LUCASFILM ARCHIVES- the book that Classic Fans in
particular have waited years for.
J.W. Rinzler and ABRAMS BOOKS previous collaboration with STORYBOARDS: THE
PREQUEL TRILOGY was a bona fide visual feast, but STORYBOARDS: THE ORIGINAL
TRILOGY…? Well, this is a veritable banquet!
Beautifully
compiled and designed to the highest stands of visual excellence, bearing an immense 1,200 pieces of art, its no wonder
that artist and director Joe Johnston, possessing such a high-calibre
reputation as one of STAR WARS finest visualists after the equally
distinguished Ralph McQuarrie, calls it one of the best behind the scenes STAR
WARS books ever published. And after
other equally worthy book companies had tried and failed in securing his work/contributions
in book form, its pleasing to see Johnston deciding to play ball and begin to enjoy
his previous association and important historical contributions to the original
STAR WARS universe, joining forces with Lucasfilm in assembling this superb
package.
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| Late 1975: Joe Johnston choreographs future storyboard movements using the original Colin Cantwell models created for THE STAR WARS. |
Back in the day
one couldn’t underestimate the key role storyboards were to Hollywood movie
making, especially for a project as large, vivid and production complex as the
original STAR WARS and its subsequent sequels would be. Early animatics cobbled
together from old war films would be a factor in helping the newly launched ILM
visual effects crew get a sense of speed, urgency and rhythm to the action that
creator George Lucas had planned, but the pencil and ink drawings rendered by
Johnston and his team over nearly eight years would be equally important and
valid- their relatively small frames setting up camera directions and all the
required frame elements (live action and effects) needed in a shot, and forever
more recognized in setting up the incredible and richly diverse realms emerging
from Lucas’s imagination. ILM would soon become the dream cathedral- the place where artistry would become unparallelled,
its pencil and ink fantasists quickly joining the elite “superstar’s club” of
visual effects history.
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| 1979: Ralph McQuarrie at work on storyboards in London, for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. |
Within its 352
pages and gorgeous showcase spreads (including never before seen, recently
unearthed material), work from 15 incredible artists (the likes of Johnston,
Ivor Beddoes, Alex Tavoularis and Ralph McQuarrie, as well as lesser known names
like Roy Carnon and David Russell) show us the early genesis of incredible
spaceships, like Han Solo’s trusty Millennium
Falcon, heroic and industry-sleek X and Y wing fighters, and the TIE
fighters that, like real-life Bumble Bees, shouldn’t be aerodynamically
possible, but fly into battle for the necessary realms of sci-fi storytelling. Other
rare gems to behold, some seen in rare embryonic form here: Ben Kenobi’s
non-demise in the original storyboards for EPISODE IV, and looks at planets and
vistas that disappeared and re-appeared in the evolving stories, to specific
ambitious shots that would be tweaked, replaced or re-engineered over time,
some inching to be reincarnated within the late nineties love ‘em or hate ‘em
SPECIAL EDITIONS.
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| Battle on the Blockade Runner. Art by Alex Tavoularis. |
From the floating
world of the Aldreraanian prison planet years before it became the Bespin
mining colony of EPISODE V, to the haunting visages of the Death Star superweapon above the forest moon of Endor, it’s a
treasure trove- a window into spellbinding beauty, some of it perfectly
translated to the screen, whilst others that never quite made fruition prove
equally compelling in their own way, giving us an intriguing look into the STAR
WARS that could have been had other certain
artistic choices and additional production budget funds been available. Used
and unused, all are beautifully presented, put on the page in an easy on the
eye yet compulsive to savour style from designer Liam Flanagan. You can see how
encouraged in their ideas and input Johnston and colleagues would be by Lucas, who
often changed his storytelling to bring in their material.
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| "Death Star approaching." Art by Joe Johnston. |
Despite the family
space fantasy aura that the Classic Trilogy often projects, there’s also a sense
of the Gothic in some areas of the books visual revelations- moments that may
have been just too much for young viewers if such boards had been realized, like
Luke’s decapitated hand moving of its own volition during the sail barge
battle of JEDI. In general, decapitation would become a large part of the STAR
WARS universe, and more had been planned-look for JEDI storyboard carnage
showing a detailed battle between Luke and ruthless Boba Fett, slightly
different to the one we saw in the final film, as our Jedi hero literally takes
the bounty hunter’s gun arm off. Thirty years on, and into my adult sensibilities, that
would have been such a cool moment!
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| The Imperial Death Fleet. Art by Nilo Rodis-Jamero |
The What If’s of the book are mostly linked
to the original film, though, what with its in-development space ships and
environments ever changing with the revised scripts and pruned back budgets. The
ambition and scope broaden noticeably with each subsequent STAR WARS film, however,
and these are equally paid tribute: the drama and excitement of THE EMPIRE
STRIKES BACK, with its incredible opening Snow Battle and the later asteroid field
chase, and RETURN OF THE JEDI’s full-on spectacle, of which many of that films
presented boards, whether they were revised or not in the pre and post
production phases, made their way into the completed film. JEDI has enough
action for three movies let alone one STAR WARS adventure, with its huge scenes
of Rebels against Stormtroopers on Endor and the eye-capturing epic space
battle- situations key to making that particular film so beloved. And the road
to that latter sequence was a fraught one: hundreds of elements and moments
from it would be altered, deleted or completely replaced at the last minute
under orders from Lucas during his complex editing process. This book gives us
an all too brief glimpse of some of the sequences likely filmed and still so
far not yet to have seen the light of day as deleted scenes footage on DVD or
Blu-ray.
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| The Ewoks attack! Art by George Jenson, Rodis-Jamero and Johnston. |
I know that the
book’s main objective is to keep to the chronologically filmed sequences, but
one disappointment is the lack of storyboards accompanying the then 1981
original scripting of RETURN OF THE JEDI, before it changed quite considerably
by the time of shooting in 1982. Omissions like the original world of Sicemon,
the two Death Stars and the finale
lava cave duel between Vader and Luke are notable and would have been nice to
see. Perhaps the material is being saved for a second book?
Surely one of the
most time-consuming projects to assemble, J.W. Rinzler excels once more in his
continued status as the most respected behind the scenes archivist and
history-charter that George Lucas and STAR WARS could ever have, helping to
solve mysteries from the Classic Trilogy’s production that have occasionally
lingered - some of these specially solved for the publication of this book,
alongside his hunting down, in a nice way, the names of specific artists who
left LUCASFILM’s employ once their freelance contacts were up in 1983/84. He
also provides short but articulate passages on key plot and behind the scenes
information, giving us more background on the emerging ILM art department, as
they also individually recall how they got to be involved in the project/saga, alongside
conveyances and reminiscences on the attitudes and teamwork of ILM and the
general ambiance of that magical and intense time period.
We’re hoping that
the new art and design teams of the upcoming STAR WARS Sequels enjoy this new
book as much as the fans do, and that its superb images are inspiring them to
concoct equally worthy and exciting new avenues for the continuing past future adventures
of the Skywalker family.
AFICIONADO
RATING: A truly dynamic and breathtaking look at the universe of STAR WARS,
STORYBOARDS: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY is the essential
book purchase of the year so far. 4.5 out
of 5
STORYBOARD NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS
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| "I got him!" Art by Joe Johnston. |
STAR WARS (1977)
Alex Tavoularis: His work on the opening scenes show a more adult and violent take on the battle
between Rebels and Stormtroopers than we’ve seen before: bodies with leaking
pools of blood, heads being blown up, and Darth Vader’s cruelly decapitating a
rebel trooper- perhaps the genesis of the limb losses that would affect the
saga on and off!
There’s also more
human looking versions of Threepio and Artoo, plus the approach and Imperial
capture of “the pirate ship”, later named the Millennium Falcon, towards the Alderaan prison facility high up in
the clouds.
More on Tavoularis’s
work recently found, linked to the second and third drafts of the movie, show
Luke when he had briefly changed to a girl searching for her captured brother,
whilst Chewbacca is a more lemur-like being. Plus, a couple of boards more heavily
realized from Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art.
Joe Johnston: His
refinement of the early Colin Cantwell spaceship designs in the run up to
effects filming, and his work on the changing face of
the epic Death Star trench battle, with
help from Ronnie Shepherd and Paul Huston. There's also the intense process
of creating the boards and how, during the original STAR WARS, the behind the
scenes pressure saw him create a record breaking forty boards
in one twelve-hour day!
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| The Falcon escapes Cloud City. Art by Joe Johnston |
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
The superlative
Walker battle – the longest and most changed/evolved boarded sequence of the
movie. Its also one that Johnston is most proud of.
Its interesting to
see just how similar Johnston, Rodis-Jamero and new recruit David Carson’s
artistic styles are on the boards, contrasting the different but nonetheless
effective styles of Ivor Beddoes and, later on, Roy Carnon and Brook Temple. Also,
spot the cute in-jokes that Johnston and co. often put into their boards for
both this and JEDI.
Working alongside
Ivor Beddoes and director Irvin Kershner in the UK during 1979, many previously
unpublished Ralph McQuarrie storyboards make the book, notably for the worlds
of Hoth and Dagobah.
An intriguing deleted
scene: an early Hoth wilderness shot where the Probot blasts a Wampa in the
ice- a scene filmed in Norway either with the snow beast or with a rodent-like
creature instead.
Ivor Beddoes prime
showcase in this section is his work on the Dagobah swamp world showing Luke
interacting with the diminutive Jedi Master Yoda, revealing several training
scenes and intriguing character moments that never made the film- some being
too complex to bring to the screen. His later Bespin lightsaber duel imagery is methodically
and meticulously worked out for the director and stuntmen to consider.
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| Luke Skywalker has a limb fetish for Boba Fett. Image: Artist Unknown. |
RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)
British artist Roy
Carnon (who prior worked on RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK) and ILM-based George
Jenson are highlighted here: Jabba’s Tatooine stronghold and Palace, and parts
of the Shield Generator conflict on Endor- enjoy some of the rare forest battle
comedy gag boards with the Ewoks and Chewbacca.
A less
lighthearted early depiction of Jabba’s palace and its creature nightmares is
boarded: the grotesque gangster, prior to inheriting Threepio, uses its tail to
whack a former protocol droid interpreter senseless, which is then hacked to
bits by Gamorrean guards! Later on, Johnston gives us an early deleted Luke and
his new lightsaber scene, plus one further special board linked to the infamous
Sandstorm sequence.
Another key Johnston
highlight: the entire board sequence for the Endor speederbike chase adapted
from early animatic tests, which pretty much appears intact from the page to
its final onscreen realization. Keep an eye out for a few intriguing omissions,
though...
Superb Endor space
and land battle images are further assembled from Johnston, Rodis-Jamero, and David’s
Carson and Russell: later difficult to shoot B-wings and Y-wings swoop into
battle during the space bound aspects of the Battle of Endor, plus a colourful,
differently choreographed Roy Carnon take on the opening part of the lightsaber
duel between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker (wearing attire very much like his
farmboy look from EPISODE IV).
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