Dreams - The Story Of The Star Wars T... Exclusive: Empire Of

One cannot discuss Empire of Dreams - The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy without praising director Kevin Burns and producer Edith Becker. They had access to the Lucasfilm archives.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking segment in the documentary (compounding given her later passing) is Fisher’s recollection of the censorship demands. She details how the studio wanted her to "not wear a bra" and how she finally snapped. But Empire of Dreams also captures her wit—explaining how she rewrote her own dialogue because "George doesn’t write love, he writes logistics." Empire of Dreams - The Story of the Star Wars T...

While the documentary is exhaustive, a critical reading reveals notable absences. First, there is minimal discussion of the controversial Special Editions (1997), released three years before this documentary’s DVD debut. Lucas’s revisionism—altering Han Solo’s shootout with Greedo, adding CGI creatures—is glossed over. Second, the documentary largely ignores the conflicted legacy of Return of the Jedi (the Ewoks’ merchandising-driven design). Third, the role of Marcia Lucas, George’s then-wife and a crucial Oscar-winning editor who saved the original film in the editing bay, is underplayed compared to other sources (like J.W. Rinzler’s The Making of Star Wars ). One cannot discuss Empire of Dreams - The

Interestingly, the documentary largely ignores the CGI tinkering. It is focused on the process , not the revisionism. This has led to a quiet irony: Empire of Dreams is now a historical document of a trilogy that no longer exists in its original theatrical form. When you watch the documentary, you see the models, the stop-motion, the hand-painted mattes. You realize that the "Magic" Lucas talks about was the limitation of 1977 technology, not the perfection of 2004 CGI. She details how the studio wanted her to

Empire of Dreams opens not with explosions, but with a young, bearded George Lucas sweating in the Tunisian desert. The documentary immediately establishes its thesis: Star Wars was a miracle born of suffering.

If A New Hope was the hero’s call to adventure, The Empire Strikes Back represents the "dark night of the soul." Empire of Dreams is unflinching in detailing the sequel’s brutal production. Director Irvin Kershner is portrayed as an artist who pushed the cast (Mark Hamill’s car accident, the freezing cold of Norway) and the crew to extremes.