Monday, July 31, 2017

The Essential Films Episode #014: Star Wars (1977)



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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. On today’s podcast adventure, Adolfo and Mark discuss the 1977 George Lucas classic: STAR WARS! On this week’s show:


  • Growing up Catholic as a Star Wars fan
  • More Alamo Drafthouse discussions
  • Christopher Nolan’s distaste for CGI
  • What’s the perfect date movie of 2017?
  • The Star Wars/San Diego Comic-Con connection
  • All the trailers coming out of Comic-Con 2017
  • Disney hunting down trailer leaks
  • Jeff Goldblum makes everything better
  • A tribute to Martin Landau, George Romero and John Heard
  • Star Wars’ 40th Anniversary
  • The many titles George Lucas went through before settling on “Star Wars”
  • Why is A New Hope so good? Was it a fluke?
  • George Lucas was not tested in a big budget environment
  • George Lucas, the world’s biggest independent filmmaker
  • Star Wars changed the movie licensing game
  • The complex ownership between 20th Century Fox and Disney
  • When did we first experience Star Wars?
  • The Special Edition releases in 1997
  • Star Wars action figures!
  • Fast Food Star Wars tie-ins
  • The multiple VHS releases
  • Star Wars as a holiday film
  • Why did Adolfo get in trouble when he saw Star Wars in theaters in 1997?
  • Who won that damn Star Wars Hummer?
  • When did “Star Wars” become “Episode IV: A New Hope”?
  • How the naming convention was inspired by the old chapter movies of the 30s and 40s
  • Serials were not meant to be watched all at once
  • How the film was plagued with multiple production problems
  • Hammer Horror icons Peter Cushing and his on-screen rival Christopher Lee both appeared as Star Wars villains
  • The use of CGI to bring back younger versions of older actors (or dead actors)
  • Empire of Dreams: the best documentary on Star Wars
  • How Star Wars changed the sci-fi game in the 70s
  • How the crew completely disrespected George Lucas
  • George Lucas: Control Freak
  • The New Hollywood directors
  • The director has final say on a film
  • What Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg thought of the film when they saw the rough cut
  • “It rhymes.”
  • Why Jabba the Hutt isn’t needed in Star Wars Special Edition
  • Marcia Lucas is the real MVP
  • Star Wars: a space fairy tale
  • Did Lucas rip-off The Dam Busters?
  • David Prowse was not pleased he was dubbed over
  • The movie was really made in post-production
  • Ben Burtt: Sound genius
  • Inventing new technology just make the film
  • The birth of Industrial Light & Magic
  • How the Death Star trench run was filmed
  • The Prequels and their loyal defenders
  • The joint casting sessions for Star Wars and Carrie
  • Who was Mark Hammill’s competition for Luke Skywalker
  • The wacky names considered for Han Solo
  • Harrison Ford and Alec Guinness grew to resent the films
  • “I Was Going to Toshi Station to Pick Up Some Power Converters”
  • Is Princess Leia English?
  • Are you Luke Skywalker or Han Solo?
  • The great chemistry between Fisher, Ford and Hammil
  • Anthony Daniels does not have a career outside of C-3PO
  • The inspiration for C-3PO and R2D2
  • The second act problems of Return of the Jedi
  • Boba Fett: a great looking character without substance
  • What is the proper viewing order of the saga?
  • What Adolfo considers to be the WORST Star Wars movie
  • The most recognizable movie theme of all time
  • Star Wars launched a merchandising empire
  • Adolfo’s vintage Burger King Star Wars glasses
  • The “Empty Box” campaign
  • The Star Wars Holiday Special
  • Prequels, sequels, spin-offs and sequels
  • “When will then be now?” “Soon”
  • George Lucas can’t leave well enough alone
  • How can you watch the original theatrical versions (legally). Hint, it involves going on eBay and some outdated technology
  • The “De-Specialized” Editions
  • Han shoots first!




FILM REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODE:

  • FLASH GORDON (1936)
  • BATMAN (1943)
  • CAPTAIN AMERICA (1944)
  • BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949)
  • THE DAM BUSTERS (1955)
  • THE HIDDEN FORTRESS (1958)
  • NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
  • NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
  • PLANET OF THE APES (1968)
  • THX 1138 (1971)
  • A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
  • AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
  • THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
  • JAWS (1975)
  • LOGAN’S RUN (1976)
  • CARRIE (1976)
  • DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)
  • SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978)
  • THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL (1978)
  • MAD MAX (1979)
  • STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)
  • THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
  • RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
  • THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO (TV Series, 1981-1983)
  • BLADE RUNNER (1982)
  • RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)
  • THE A-TEAM (TV Series, 1983-1987)
  • SCARFACE (1983)
  • A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
  • MUPPET BABIES (TV Series, 1984-1991)
  • BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)
  • DAY OF THE DEAD (1985)
  • STAR WARS: DROIDS (TV Series, 1985-1986)
  • BIG (1988)
  • SPACEBALLS (1988)
  • CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989)
  • HOME ALONE (1990)
  • JURASSIC PARK (1993)
  • ED WOOD (1994)
  • PULP FICTION (1994)
  • BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
  • THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO (1996)
  • BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
  • THE IRON GIANT (1999)
  • THE SOPRANOS (TV Series, 1999-2007)
  • STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)
  • HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE (2001)
  • STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002)
  • PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003)
  • EMPIRE OF DREAMS: THE STORY OF THE STAR WARS TRILOGY (2004)
  • STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)
  • STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED (Video Game, 2008)
  • THE WALKING DEAD (TV Series, 2010-Present)
  • THOR (2011)
  • THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2014)
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
  • STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)
  • ANT-MAN (2015)
  • ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016)
  • CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)
  • DUNKIRK (2017)
  • WAR OF THE PLANET FOR THE APES (2017)
  • SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017)
  • THE BIG SICK (2017)
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017)
  • READY PLAYER ONE (2018)
  • AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018)
  • JUSTICE LEAGUE (2018)
  • THOR: RAGNAROK (2018)



LINKS:
Star Wars glasses
Harmy’s Despecialized Editions

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