Empire Strike Back Rediscovered
LiveAuctionTalk.com
Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s.
When George Lucas started to work on his Star Wars script in the early 1970s, he realized it was going to take more than one movie to tell his tale. His plan was to reach back into history and use mythology to help say what he wanted to say. His intention was to highlight the epic struggles between good and evil, heroes’ verses villains and life in alternative universes.
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
“I sort of immersed myself in the principles that I was trying to put into the script,” he said.
Do, or do not. There is no try.
Lucas couldn’t make it work so he just sat down, put pen to paper and began to write the story that was living in his imagination. When he went back and reread his script, he realized all of the elements he wanted to include from ancient mythology were already living inside his story.
He wasn’t satisfied just creating an alternative universe in his film. He positioned his universe in an alternative time, complete with its own laws and history.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” begins the first episode of the trilogy. His is an advanced culture existing in the past. His characters are space travelers acting out ancient dramas complete with laser weapons, swords, sorcery, armor, space creatures and droids.
His people and places are not actually real but somehow the movie is both familiar to us and brand new at the same time. Combine that with one of the best soundtracks ever from composer John Williams and the extraordinary special effects and you have an epic movie.
Best of all there’s Yoda the tiny green version of Buddha. According to make-up artist Stuart Freeborn, Yoda's face is based on his own and Albert Einstein's.
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda speaks one of the most immortal lines in the saga and he was almost played by a monkey wearing a mask. Lucas kept the history, name, and origin of Yoda unknown. When asked what species Yoda is, he joked, "He's a frog." In the documentary "From Puppets to Pixels," he joked that Yoda is "the illegitimate child of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.
“There should be a point to movies. Sure, you’re giving people a diversion from the cold war for a bit, but at the same time, you pass on some facts and rules and maybe a little bit of wisdom,” Lucas said.
Disney took over Lucas Films in 2012 and together with Lucas Films announced that Star Wars' next movie will be released theatrically on Dec. 16, 2022, then on Dec. 20, 2024, and Dec. 18, 2026. At present, there are 9 movies in the main, episodic Skywalker saga, as well as 2 standalone installments, or Star Wars Stories, and 1 TV film, making for a total of 12 movies.
Lucas said he sold to Disney because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
On Feb. 22, 2022, Sotheby’s London featured a selection of Star Wars film posters on the block.
Here are some current values.
Star Wars Posters
Attack of the Clones; 2002 signed limited edition artist proof; only 20 printed; 33 inches by 22 ½ inches unframed; $1,704.
Star Wars; Hildebrandt Brothers British; Style B; 1977; 30 inches by 40 inches unframed; $11,926.
Star Wars Tom Jung; Style A; 1977; 60 inches by 40 inches unframed; $13,630.
The Empire Strikes Back; Roger Kastel; 1980; 41 inches by 27 inches unframed; $23,852.
The Empire Strikes Back; Ralph McQuarrie; British Royal Charity World Premiere poste1980; 22 ¼ inches by 16 ¼ inches unframed; $27,259.
