Wednesday 25 May 2016

HAPPY THIRTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY, 'STAR WARS'!


"That sci-fi thing" from George Lucas, which virtually had little support with its backers at 20th Century Fox, was causing no end of problems by late 1976 going into 1977: the early trailer had had few ready special effects/opticals within it and would receive a lukewarm response and very few advance bookings from the general US theatre chains it had played to, there was worries that the title might be thought to be about warring Hollywood celebrities, and a return to the science fiction genre was seen as a costly risk, especially after the long term woes of getting profit returns back from Kubrick's 2001. To cap it all off, this film, this STAR WARS, had already been delayed since the previous December, there was to be no press-catching premiere, and by Spring no teaser poster could be figured out to sell it to the wider public, resulting in the wordy, weighty promising example shown above.

Thankfully, a little thing called "word of mouth", coupled together with a truly staggering and marvellous final film, defied all the odds and turned things around BIG TIME from May 25th, 1977...

Release trailer: Star Wars A New Hope 1977 Trailer - YouTube

Of the time footage and the legacy of STAR WARS ahead:

This is what critics thought of Star Wars back in 1977 | ShortList Magazine STAR WARS ORIGINAL TV SPOTS TRAILERS PLUS RECREATIONS 1977 - 1985 - YouTube
Mark Hamill Original Star Wars BBC Interview 1977 - YouTube
17-Minute 1977 'Star Wars' interviews w/ producer Gary Kurtz, Mark Hamill & Carrie Fisher - YouTube
Star Wars ultimate franchise supercut | EW.com
EW's 'Star Wars' Covers Through the Years - See All of EW's 'Star Wars' Covers - EW.com
Star Wars Saga Trailer -The Force Awakens Music - YouTube
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/12/star-wars-original-trilogy-alamo
James Corden surprises Chewbacca Mom | EW.com

Carrie and Mark fight for the celebration cake fork!

HAPPY THIRTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY TO THE ORIGINAL 'STAR WARS'

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