Psykos
09-21-2004, 03:19 PM
'Star Wars' secrets, revealed!
By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Moviegoers exiting The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 were upset that they would have to wait three years to find out how the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Darth Vader played out.
Maybe the reason that Darth Vader had all those respiratory issues was the because of that bulky get-up.
Lucasfilm
What Star Wars fans didn't know at the time was that creator George Lucas had his own concerns about the cliffhanger ending.
But his worries were about how children would handle the dark events in the second installment of his Star Wars saga, including Han Solo being frozen in a block of carbonite and Darth Vader slashing off Luke Skywalker's hand, then revealing that he was Luke's father.
Before releasing the film, Lucas talked to psychologists about whether Vader's revelation might emotionally scar children, he reveals on the commentary for the new Empire Strikes Back DVD in the Star Wars Trilogy box set out today (suggested price is $70, but it's available for $45 or less).
"My concern (was) that this ending really wasn't an ending," he says. "It was the bad guys win and the good guys limp home wounded. The films are designed for young people ... but they are really designed to be emotionally healthy, even though they have a lot of violence in them."
The DVD set not only gives Star Wars fans their first opportunity to watch the three movies with improved video and sound, but each also has a commentary track with Lucas, actress Carrie Fisher (Leia), sound designer/supervising sound editor Ben Burtt, Industrial Arts & Magic visual-effects supervisor Dennis Muren and, on Empire, director Irvin Kershner.
On the menus: Different scenes
Producer Van Ling knew he needed to create something special for the long-awaited Star Wars Trilogy DVDs. So he created a navigation system that switches backgrounds.
For each of the movies, he designed three different main menus, each with the same functions but different background environments based on actual film scenes. The various backgrounds show up randomly as viewers access the DVD and return back to the main menu.
In the case of Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Ling chose the ice planet Hoth, Yoda's training of Luke and the Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker duel as the scenes. "They were well-remembered scenes that evoked the spirit of the films," says Ling, 40, an in-demand DVD producer (Star Wars,
Episodes I: The Phantom Menace & II: Attack of the Clones ,
The Abyss Special Edition).
Star Wars inspired Ling to get into the film business. With the DVDs, "I'm proud to be able to say that I got the chance to design a part of the official Star Wars universe."
These commentaries and the bonus material on a fourth disc deliver plenty of background about the making of the films.
Here are five other things you probably didn't know about the Star Wars trilogy but learn on the new DVDs:
•Kurt Russell was considered to play Han Solo. Harrison Ford was a carpenter on the set and had been reading other parts for screen tests when he won the role. William Katt (The Greatest American Hero) was up for the role of Luke, which went to Mark Hamill. And Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley, American Graffiti) and Terri Nunn of musical group Berlin were up to play Leia.
•When Lucas was a film student at the University of Southern California, one of his professors was Kershner (Eyes of Laura Mars, Never Say Never Again).
•John Ratzenberger of Cheers has a bit part as a Rebel Alliance officer in Empire. Another well-known extra was Treat Williams, who had two uncredited parts in the film as a trooper on the ice planet Hoth and on Cloud City.
•Another problem for Lucas in the Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker story line was his fear that moviegoers might not believe Vader and Luke were father and son. So in Return of the Jedi, Lucas added Yoda's affirmation of the truth to the Jedi master's deathbed scene.
•Lucas reconsidered going back and glamorizing the death of bounty hunter Boba Fett, a secondary character who became a cult favorite. He considered "having Boba Fett survive and crawl out of the" mouth of the sand creature in Jedi. "But that doesn't quite fit in the end."
By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Moviegoers exiting The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 were upset that they would have to wait three years to find out how the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Darth Vader played out.
Maybe the reason that Darth Vader had all those respiratory issues was the because of that bulky get-up.
Lucasfilm
What Star Wars fans didn't know at the time was that creator George Lucas had his own concerns about the cliffhanger ending.
But his worries were about how children would handle the dark events in the second installment of his Star Wars saga, including Han Solo being frozen in a block of carbonite and Darth Vader slashing off Luke Skywalker's hand, then revealing that he was Luke's father.
Before releasing the film, Lucas talked to psychologists about whether Vader's revelation might emotionally scar children, he reveals on the commentary for the new Empire Strikes Back DVD in the Star Wars Trilogy box set out today (suggested price is $70, but it's available for $45 or less).
"My concern (was) that this ending really wasn't an ending," he says. "It was the bad guys win and the good guys limp home wounded. The films are designed for young people ... but they are really designed to be emotionally healthy, even though they have a lot of violence in them."
The DVD set not only gives Star Wars fans their first opportunity to watch the three movies with improved video and sound, but each also has a commentary track with Lucas, actress Carrie Fisher (Leia), sound designer/supervising sound editor Ben Burtt, Industrial Arts & Magic visual-effects supervisor Dennis Muren and, on Empire, director Irvin Kershner.
On the menus: Different scenes
Producer Van Ling knew he needed to create something special for the long-awaited Star Wars Trilogy DVDs. So he created a navigation system that switches backgrounds.
For each of the movies, he designed three different main menus, each with the same functions but different background environments based on actual film scenes. The various backgrounds show up randomly as viewers access the DVD and return back to the main menu.
In the case of Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Ling chose the ice planet Hoth, Yoda's training of Luke and the Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker duel as the scenes. "They were well-remembered scenes that evoked the spirit of the films," says Ling, 40, an in-demand DVD producer (Star Wars,
Episodes I: The Phantom Menace & II: Attack of the Clones ,
The Abyss Special Edition).
Star Wars inspired Ling to get into the film business. With the DVDs, "I'm proud to be able to say that I got the chance to design a part of the official Star Wars universe."
These commentaries and the bonus material on a fourth disc deliver plenty of background about the making of the films.
Here are five other things you probably didn't know about the Star Wars trilogy but learn on the new DVDs:
•Kurt Russell was considered to play Han Solo. Harrison Ford was a carpenter on the set and had been reading other parts for screen tests when he won the role. William Katt (The Greatest American Hero) was up for the role of Luke, which went to Mark Hamill. And Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley, American Graffiti) and Terri Nunn of musical group Berlin were up to play Leia.
•When Lucas was a film student at the University of Southern California, one of his professors was Kershner (Eyes of Laura Mars, Never Say Never Again).
•John Ratzenberger of Cheers has a bit part as a Rebel Alliance officer in Empire. Another well-known extra was Treat Williams, who had two uncredited parts in the film as a trooper on the ice planet Hoth and on Cloud City.
•Another problem for Lucas in the Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker story line was his fear that moviegoers might not believe Vader and Luke were father and son. So in Return of the Jedi, Lucas added Yoda's affirmation of the truth to the Jedi master's deathbed scene.
•Lucas reconsidered going back and glamorizing the death of bounty hunter Boba Fett, a secondary character who became a cult favorite. He considered "having Boba Fett survive and crawl out of the" mouth of the sand creature in Jedi. "But that doesn't quite fit in the end."