How Star Wars has changed Offering the idea of “Star Wars” to the management of the studio 20 Century Fox in the first third of the 70s of the last century, George Lucas clearly realized that he would have to make a real revolution in the creation of special effects, since the rash decisions of Hollywood bosses led to the fact that most of the special laboratories that turn films into amazing fantasies were simply dissolved. By honing each page of the film’s script to ideal proportions, the director saturated Star Wars with a huge number of various nuances, over which it was necessary to seriously work, because the nascent story had nothing to do with our Galaxy, and threw the action to distant cosmic distances, where the physical laws of the solar system underwent cardinal transformations. Having received the long-awaited confirmation approving the start of the filming process, Lucas personally organized the company ILM, recruiting the best possible specialists in the creation of visual and practical effects, virtually reviving fantastic cinema in its former grandeur. Using personal savings, the creator of Star Wars was not afraid to invest them without a trace, in order to bring the idea that originated in his head to an enchanting end, but dreams are one thing, and having a given is quite another.
The filming process of Star Wars was incredibly time-consuming and unpredictable. Unable to shoot exclusively in pavilions, the team of George Lucas was forced to travel the world in order to recreate strange alien landscapes in the wild, build extraordinary buildings and launch into a frame transformed animals, which on Earth we would never see. Difficulties accompanied "Star Wars" not only in the conditions of field shooting, but also in the bowels of ILM, where effects of a completely new type were created, previously unseen by any viewer. George Lucas made it clear to his staff that he was not interested in using threads and other dubious props that could not be hidden by any tricks. He needed the audience to believe that the spaceships on the screen can really fly, and lightsabers emanate from the handle, being complete rays that do not go to infinity. From the height of the past years, it seems that all these little things are easy to repeat even in garage conditions, but in the 70s, such desires Lucas seemed something out of the ordinary. And yet, despite the constant shortcomings, mistakes and factory disasters, the magicians of ILM were able to justify the faith of their boss, giving him truly unparalleled shots, absolutely deservedly received the Oscar.
Only when Star Wars hit the screens did it impress the audience with a unique verisimilitude that science fiction never possessed. However, George Lucas himself revealed that he managed to perform only 30-40 percent of what was originally planned. It is known that even a few hours before the first screening of the film, the director made edits to the copies, improving the quality of the image and sound. Striving for perfection, Lucas did not finish work on Star Wars, even after they were scattered around the world in home video format and were known to enthusiastic fans like their five fingers. The editing of the original film of the nascent franchise continued ahead of the release of the next episode of the Saga, The Empire Strikes Back. The story of the Rebel Alliance's galactic confrontation with the Empire began to gain volume, expand and transform, from which the classic Star Wars took on the subtitle "A New Hope." The next adjustments to the most famous science fiction film of the entire era of cinema occurred already by the twentieth anniversary of the release of Star Wars on the screens, when George Lucas already had the tools of computer magic on his hands, allowing you to rethink whole scenes, draw fresh revelations in familiar moments and make other trifles that can give the ancient history an extraordinary vision.
A special edition of "Star Wars" was released in theaters and collected an impressive box office, as the audience managed to miss their favorite story, especially presented in an updated form. But if you thought that George Lucas’s work on changing the already filmed Saga was over, then you are gravely mistaken. Starting work on the Trilogy of prequels, the director did not forget that once written picture can be improved to infinity. And all the next steps in the field of transformation of the original film were collected in a single short film by Peter “Harmi” Harmachek “Star Wars: Despecialized Edition Remastered V2.5, Introducing the Sources”. An independent Czech director, long fascinated by Star Wars, collected a very impressive material, supplemented by constructive voiceovers, and showed how well-known moments, scenes, situations changed. Kharmachek overlooked the theatrical edits of George Lucas, leaving in attention the re-release of the Saga on digital video media, which provided Lucasfilm studio with no less profit than the release of films on large screens.
Exploring the path of Star Wars from DVD to BluRay, Harmacek shows us exactly what changed in the visual heritage of the very first film, made in 1977 by George Lucas himself. Unexpected facts are revealed before our eyes, which we may not have paid any attention to, but when you look at the revelations of Star Wars: Despecialized Edition Remastered V2.5, Introducing the Sources, you realize that the repeated reissue of Star Wars was performed for a reason. Under the leadership of a special department of ILM, color transmission was changed, laser shots acquired a rich structure and even the opening credits of the film, informing the viewer that the action is unfolding in the Galaxy Far, Far, Far, have undergone a serious adjustment. Pyotr Kharmachek tried not to leave out a single changed frame, since Star Wars has long turned into a modern mythology that goes beyond the ordinary entertainment film. And therefore, fans of the Saga, and technical masters, personally improving the quality of spectacular cinema, it will be useful to get acquainted with the research of the Czech director.
In conclusion, Star Wars: Despecialized Edition Remastered V2.5, Introducing the Sources is a charming and untiring excursion into the ever-changing look of the original Star Wars. Through the efforts of Pyotr Kharmachek, numerous materials have been collected that clearly demonstrate the wonders of the technological process and I cannot wish you anything other than the most pleasant viewing, allowing you to penetrate behind the scenes the secret secrets of filmmaking.
8 out of 10