Posted
on April 17, 2016
On
this date in 1973, an “epic space opera” was born.
An
epic space opera that made fortunes and molded careers. An epic space
opera that became a cultural phenomenon!
The
Star
Wars
epic is being told in a series of films and a television show – and
it has led to countless toys, games, costumes, books, and other
merchandise, plus theme park rides and lands.
When
I saw Wikipedia's
description of Star
Wars
as a space opera, I wondered why it's called an opera. There's music, sure – very
distinctive music written by John Williams, with a theme that most of
us recognize instantly – but there is no singing, and the story
isn't told through music. Opera
is generally defined as a dramatic work set to music for singers; I
had to look up space
opera
to learn its meaning: a dramatic work that (1) is set in outer space
and (2) has a simplistic, melodramatic vibe.
And
I guess that Star
Wars
has a good-vs.-evil, high-fantasy, the-entire-galaxy-is-at-stake sort
of vibe.
But
it is also a pretty complex epic, with lots of settings and
characters.
 |
| George Lucas, years ago... |
What George Lucas actually did all those 43 years ago was to write 13 pages on
“The Star Wars.” At that point there was no Sith, no Death Star,
and no Luke Skywalker.
As
a matter of fact, the hero of the story was originally going to be
Annikin, not Luke – and the last name was Starkiller, not
Starwalker. But in draft after draft, Lucas cut out complications,
streamlined the story, introduced the young hero, and honed in on the
screenplay that became Star
Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope.
(By
the way, for a long time most people thought of the first Star Wars
movie as JUST Star
Wars.
To this day, some people don't really know the episode title, A
New Hope,
although they tend to know episode titles of the other movies, such
as The
Empire Strikes Back....I
found it interesting to realize that, even after production of the
first movie began, Lucas was still tinkering with the title. In 1976,
the title was Adventures
of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I:
The Star Wars.
Which
is even longer than Star
Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope.
 |
| Artist Ralph McQuarrie came up with some early concept art for Star Wars. Some of it, like the picture above, looks a LOT like the actual movie. Other times, of course, there are some bits that are not as familiar (for example, in the picture below). McQuarrie said that his early pieces were extremely imaginative because he wasn't trying to be at all practical. He honestly thought that the movie would be too expensive to be made (let alone BUNCHES of movies being made!!). To see more of McQuarrie's Star Wars concept art, check out BuzzFeed. |
Of
course, what with Star Wars being a cultural phenomenon and all, I've written
about it before, including here,
here,
and here.
Also
on this date:
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ahead:
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