BEHIND THE SCENES: IMPERIAL HEAD WEAR!

Here's a couple of helmet scale/costume reference images of a distinctive and menacing Imperial TIE fighter pilot, though I'm not sure from which Classic Trilogy film (probably JEDI, as a lot more costume reference photo material exists for that one compared to the original STAR WARS).

NEW BLU-RAY DELETED SCENE CLIP: CHASM CLASH!

Another welcome little deleted scene snippet from the upcoming Blu-rays has turned up online: this time its a slightly different version of the chasm battle from STAR WARS (Episode IV), incorporating the famous, for years debated, was it or wasn't it filmed moment in which Luke throws the grappling hook and misses the first time around.

Here it is:  STAR WARS Blu-Ray New Deleted Scene‬‏ - YouTube

We're sure there will be more hotly debated scenes like this to come on those shiny discs!!

UPDATE 2/8/2011: Turns out it was all just a clever hoax from the YOUTUBE poster. But, I'm sure you'll agree a nicely done one at that!

Also, here's an apparent Russian trailer for the Blu-rays. We don't think it's the real deal, though it's well put together: ‪Star Wars Blu Ray HD [Russian]‬‏ - YouTube

DELETED SCENES GALORE COMING ON BLU-RAY!

A Treadwell droid watches Luke as he looks to the heavens in a classic deleted scene from STAR WARS.

Finally, LUCASFILM opens the vaults and shows us some of the Classic Trilogy Deleted Scenes goodies coming up on Blu-ray, and they're all the ones we want to see, as witnessed in this trailer: StarWars.com | Comic-Con 2011 Star Wars Blu-ray Deleted Scenes Teaser

Artoo escapes a carnage wielding Wampa in the caverns of Echo Base in EMPIRE.

Luke looks at the space battle overhead in STAR WARS.

Lando helps an injured Chewbacca to the Falcon in JEDI's famous Sandstorm sequence.

A shot of the Millennium Falcon and Princess Leia's Y-wing on Tatooine.

Luke conceals the damage to his mechanical hand in JEDI...

Luke makes his way to his X-wing during the Sandstorm.

A Mon Calamari pilot joins the Death Star II battle in JEDI

General Solo and his team come under Imperial attack in JEDI

The Bunker battle continues...

CLASSIC IMAGE: UNFORGETTABLE VILLAINY

Wearing, in my opinion, the best costume and helmet, from the original STAR WARS, the menacing, lightsaber holding dark vision that is Darth Vader (presumably inhabited by US Don Post employee/ Vader stand-in Kermit Eller?) poses for a promotional image for the LUCASFILM/FOX publicity machine, sometime during 1977-1978.

ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: DEATH STAR PATROL

A patrol of TIE fighters tear across the equatorial channel of the fearsome Imperial Death Star battle station in this terrific piece of conceptual art by ILM's Joe Johnston from 1977, as seen in the STAR WARS SKETCH BOOK of the time.

Its a great image and you can just imagine Ben Burtt's brutal sound design for the craft as they race by...

CLASSIC IMAGE: USED DROIDS FOR SALE!

Outside on the vast landscape plains of the Owen Lars moisture farm/household, those pesky but lovable Jawas begin to gather their odds and ends droids for possible sale, including two recent acquisitions: See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo!

Truly another magical scene from the original STAR WARS!

ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: TO FILM A T.I.E.!

In a small ex-garage in Van Nuys, California, sometime during late 1976/early 1977, where an unsuspecting world outside of it has virtually no idea that STAR WARS is on the way, ILM Visual Effects Technician/icon Richard Edlund makes an adjustment to a TIE fighter model prior to blue screen filming.

CLASSIC ART: FIRE IN THE SKY!

Here's a terrific and evocative piece of art by the late sci-fi talent John Berkey-a favourite illustrator of George Lucas- from sometime between 1976 and 77, showing Rebel X-wing fighters making their attack runs in, out and around the mighty planet killer, the Death Star, from the original STAR WARS. Sadly, this image from Berkey (whose other great film work would include art for KING KONG (1977) and SUPERMAN III (1983)), which was created as part of his commissioned work for the STAR WARS poster campaign, was not eventually used, though one other piece of character/action art (featuring the towering figure of Lord Vader with a defiant Luke, Leia and the droids underneath him) would make the grade as the iconic cover of the UK SPHERE BOOK edition of the movies adaptation in 1977. This Death Star battle art is yet another fine example of the incredible artistic work done for the saga over the last thirty-four years, and its stunning depiction remains indelibly iconic....

Check out more of Berkey's brilliant sci-fi work here:  John Berkey Image Gallery

THE FIRST STAR WARS BLU-RAY FOOTAGE: EWAN AND DENIS!

Check out the first clip from the upcoming STAR WARS Blu-rays exclusively at PLAY.COM. Ewan McGregor talks about his first experience seeing STAR WARS, and his uncle, Denis Lawson as Wedge, on the big screen. Most of the talk is not new, but the inclusion of un-dubbed previously unseen cockpit footage of Lawson against blue screen, with Lucas off camera providing dialogue exchange as Luke, is terrific. Lawson's voice was dubbed over in STAR WARS and EMPIRE's eventual cinema release, but was strong enough to be left intact for RETURN OF THE JEDI.

Clip: Star Wars - Landing - Play.com (UK) - Free Delivery

BEHIND THE SCENES: TUNISIAN BUDDIES!

Mark Hamill and Sir Alec Guinness have some behind the scenes fun with Anthony Daniels as See-Threepio and Artoo Detoo in this great shot from the near completion of Tunisian filming on the original STAR WARS in April 1976.

CLASSIC IMAGE: ESCAPE FLIGHT!

Making last minute adjustments to his beloved Millennium Falcon, currently berthed in Docking Bay 94, Han Solo is soon perturbed by a squadron of attacking Stormtroopers.

Check out our latest issue of STAR WARS AFICIONADO magazine: THE BEST OF ISSUES 1-4, which has a special section devoted to the Corellian pilot and Chewbacca (page example below), as well as the iconic actors that played them, here: BEST OF ISSUES 1-4 INFO and how to get hold of it, here:  BACK ISSUE PDF CATALOG

STAR WARS ON BLU-RAY. THE FIRST INFO ON THE DISCS...

It looks like Gary Kurtz was absolutely right last year about what was going to be on the Blu-rays released this September...

Very disappointingly there's no new trailer for the release yet (they're saving it and other footage for Summer's SAN DIEGO COMIC CON), but here's the info from FOX/LUCASFILM, and the cover artwork:

STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Special features include:

DISC ONE – STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC TWO – STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC THREE – STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC FOUR – STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC FIVE – STAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC SIX – STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI
Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC SEVEN – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III
Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more

DISC EIGHT – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI
Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more

DISC NINE – THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES
NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) – Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures…these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.

NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) – George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.

NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more — and don’t miss “Weird Al” Yankovic’s one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!

The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) – Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!

Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Go behind the scenes — and into the costumes — as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.

Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) – See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.

Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) – Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

Brief trailer from FOX posted yesterday:YouTube - tcfoxconnect's Channel


Here's the interactive FOX web site: Star Wars: The Complete Saga || May The 4th Be With You

BLU-RAY NEWS: MAY THE 4TH BE WITH US!

So, it looks like May 4th is going to be the big STARWARS.COM news day for the Blu-rays. Here's hoping its a big trailer with some deleted scenes snippets!

BEHIND THE SCENES: GREEDO'S THREAT!

In January 1977, Lucas and a small Los Angeles Second Unit would film additional scenes for insertion into the evolving cut of STAR WARS, including many cutaway shots featuring Rick Baker's new menagerie of monsters. Stuart Freeborn's originally used Greedo mask would receive some practical design improvements by Baker for additional sequences also shot at the same time, where the trigger happy Rodian would be played by Maria De Aragon.

CLASSIC CHEWBACCA: THE BOWCASTER.

Continuing our celebration of our favourite Wookiee's return to the STAR WARS saga with THE CLONE WARS, here's a great behind the scenes reference image of the Bowcaster, the distinctive crossbow/laser weapon hybrid which Chewbacca has but ultimately doesn't use in the first STAR WARS, though he soon proves an excellent shot with it in a very cool moment from RETURN OF THE JEDI, when he skillfully takes down an accelerating Speeder Bike pilot within the forests of Endor.

I'm not sure if the Bowcaster was a specially made prop for the films or an adapted weapon from a British armourers (I'm assuming the latter), so if anyone has any more info on it, please get in touch...

CLASSIC CHEWBACCA: ONE MAN AND HIS WOOKIEE!

In his workshop at ELSTREE, legendary British make-up artist Stuart Freeborn brings the Classic Trilogy Chewbacca mask to reality.

With thanks to Chris Baker for the image.

Fans of Stuart's work on the three STAR WARS films, and the rest of his spectacular career, including such notables as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and the SUPERMAN films, check out AFICIONADO's exclusive interview with him and his wife Kay in our exhaustive MAKING OF "RETURN OF THE JEDI" special issue from 2008, which is available here: http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/catalog/item/6975337/8512430.htm

AFICIONADO REVIEW: "FATE OF THE JEDI: BACKLASH"

The fourth book in the popular Expanded Universe STAR WARS: FATE OF THE JEDI series, BACKLASH, by Aaron Allston, is now available in paperback in the UK from ARROW BOOKS.

Check out our previous review here: http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/backlashbookreview.html

CLASSIC IMAGE: HAMILL, FORD, FISHER - TORONTO JUNE 16TH, 1977

A very rare signing of our Clsssic Trilogy actors for Toronto STAR WARS fans in 1977. All images: Charles McKee. 

Regular AFICIONADO contributor Chris Baker has kindly sent me another great piece of rare Classic Trilogy nostalgia, and it’s an amazing find I wasn’t previously aware of, and one that must be shared…

Here’s what Chris said….

"A friend named AJ just picked this up off of EBay. Here is what he had to say about it (w/ the images he was able to score from the event). Not sure if this store is still in existence but I do know Yonge Street (in Toronto) well .. If I hadn't only been 7 at the time of this little gathering I likely would have been there.

Here is to missed opportunities, can u imagine all three of them at one sitting ..!”

 

“I just scored this off eBay, and I am super psyched. It's a vintage Marvel comic book (Issue #3) signed by Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford... without a doubt the best examples of their vintage signatures in my collection:

Back in June of 1977, 20th Century Fox agreed to have a book signing at a store in Toronto to promote the upcoming release of Star Wars. Bakka books (May 1972 -1982) was Toronto's biggest Sci-Fi bookstore at the time, and Hamill, Ford and Fisher made a fairly rare appearance. This comic was signed that day. I found some great pics from the signing... how cool would it have been to be there!!!!! Check 'em out:”

The collection is from the store's owner, Charles McKee (who we think is the guy wearing the STAR WARS t-shirt in the corner), who has a FACEBOOK page for the life and toimes of his popuar shop: You will have to log in and "like" the pictures, and if you scroll back to June 6th of last year (in the news feed) there are some other 'SW' auto. party related pics

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20685070776

  

And here is a link to a slideshow of the images:

http://www.charlesmckeebooks.com/bakka/slideshows/catmags/BakkaMagazine-No6-Fall1977.pdf

One guy even posts on the Bakka FB wall ... "I know I was there. I even remember running four blocks to get American cigarettes for Harrison Ford. I guess all the photos were taken while I was off doing that" (lol)

Thanks to Chris, his friend AJ, and, most importantly, Charles McKee, for the info and great images...