Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

"Empire of Dreams" redirects here. For the poetry collection, see Empire of Dreams (poetry collection). For the Klonoa game released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance, see Klonoa: Empire of Dreams.
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
GenreDocumentary
Written byEd Singer
Directed byKevin Burns
Edith Becker
StarringGeorge Lucas
Mark Hamill
Narrated byRobert Clotworthy
ComposerJohn Williams
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerEdith Becker
EditorsTroy Bogert
David Comtois
Scott B. Morgan
Molly Shock
Running time150 min
Production companiesPrometheus Entertainment
Fox Television Studios
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Original release
NetworkA&E Network (edited)
ReleaseOctober 2004 (2004-10)

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy is a 2004 documentary film directed by Kevin Burns and narrated by Robert Clotworthy. It documents the making of the original Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983), and their impact on popular culture.

The two-and-a-half-hour-long documentary was made for the bonus disc of the DVD box set of the Star Wars Trilogy, released on September 21, 2004.[1] A shortened version of the documentary premiered on the A&E Network later that fall. The TV version ran at around ninety minutes, cutting out nearly an hour of content.

Content

The documentary is strictly chronological, divided into five parts, from the beginning of George Lucas' career as a filmmaker, to the complicated production of Star Wars in 1976, to the impact of the film, and its sequels, have made on the world today. It features interviews with George Lucas and major cast and crew members. The documentary puts Star Wars into a sociological and political perspective by using interviews with spectators such as Walter Cronkite.

The film was shot in 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

The documentary is available for streaming on Disney+, but was edited to show a newer version of Darth Vader's duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi from A New Hope.[2] Production footage was also remastered for a cleaner look, and changed to remove a cigarette from Harrison Ford's hand in one such clip with Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher on set together.

Comedic actor Bill Hader was a production assistant on this documentary.

People interviewed are:

Featured in archive footage are:

Reception

The documentary was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing (Non-fiction).[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Perry, Spencer (November 20, 2019). "Disney+ Includes Star Wars Documentary Empire of Dreams About Original Trilogy". Comic Book. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  2. ^ Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004). DVD. 20th Century Fox Television. Event occurs at 2:25:00.
  3. ^ Emmy Awards Database (Empire of Dreams)