Instantly press-acclaimed as one of the finest books ever in covering the making of the Original Trilogy, Paul Duncan's comprehensive The Star Wars Archives- Episodes IV to VI 1977 -1983, published by the ever classy and prestigious Taschen label, was a deservedly rapid sell-out internationally when released in its original suitcase size luxury edition two years ago. With the iconic Original Trilogy stories and characters more popular than ever, the opportunity of re-releasing the tome as a nicely-priced, smaller-sized, wider audience-reaching edition, out now (November 2020), has proved a fine one. Always a dedicated fan of the saga, Duncan's tome may not be as truly exhaustive as the also excellent, earlier conceived J.W. Rinzer individual 'Making of' books on Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but there's plenty of new archival material/oral history uncovered by the author, further heightened by an overall framing device around the saga's conception and execution that comes via an exhaustive all-new interview conducted with George Lucas himself. This is richly rewarding and insightful, as the saga's creator answers intriguing questions with candid freshness and through a unique perspective based on his life experiences with the individual films both then and now. Alongside all this comes a superb selection of colour and black and white photo content, not just exclusive rare imagery (digitally rescanned to the highest printing quality possible) but also different outtakes of classic shots, especially linked to the original 1977 launcher. It's clear that the Lucasfilm Image Archives has been equally thoroughly researched as the written materials collated.
Paul Duncan goes through the original book release and his approach to its conception and writing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgKQaRMBuVs
If you haven't already purchased this new-size edition, then I highly recommend that you do so - it's a fine examination and exploration of both George Lucas- the man and his ideals, fused with the inspiring myths and ground-breaking reality behind the incredible and difficult making of 'The Adventures of Luke Skywalker'.
Original release coverage from Star Wars Aficionado:
https://starwarsaficionado.blogspot.com/search/label/THE%20STAR%20WARS%20ARCHIVES%20BOOK
Get the book here:
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