Star Wars Trilogy Parodies!
Hardware Wars (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccfbw2RJ3ow - from the Slaughter Player YouTube channel (13 mins.)
This has more than likely been posted somewhere on this site before, maybe many many many times
before (as it’s the most obvious of all Star Wars parodies besides Spaceballs)… but I couldn’t
find it on here. So here it is again, as it relates to my post.
If you don’t know, this is the OG Star Wars parody. Many have come after (and did better IMO), but
this one is the first.
There’s also an unauthorized “Special Edition” version released in 1997 (13.5 mins.) :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYOSZwe8Ibk
IMDb link
Holiday Race for Space - Taylor Wines Promotional Film (1978)
https://www.scenicroutetx.com/dallas/ - video embedded in page (21 mins.)
This one was hard to find. The one from youtube is long gone but I found it complete in 2 other places
as an embedded video.
The blurb (from the texasarchive.org site) :
“This marketing film from Dallas Production Company, Bill Stokes Associates, highlights the impact of
new ideas and new material for Taylor Wines as they compete in the 1978 “Holiday Race for Space,” a
somewhat inexplicable marketing scheme that is described with the aid of “Metal Man” and “Shorty,” an
obvious homage to Star Wars characters C-3PO and R2D2. Join the marketing team at Taylor Wines as
they look at new packaging and displays, and Metal Man and Shorty dance to groovy 70s tunes and get
love from the ladies! Also included are previews of the new Taylor Wine holiday commercials, one of
which features jazz pianist Count Basie.”
gizmodo article:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/this-1978-wine-infomercial-could-be-the-most-shameless-1704499547
Backup link (has Texas flag watermark in bottom right corner):
https://texasarchive.org/2013_00495
The Empire Cracks Back (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUa8WXEsBmI - from the Superseven / Sandra West & More! YouTube channel (16.5 mins.)
The blurb:
“A long time ago, in a city far far away…
THE EMPIRE CRACKS BACK
It is a dark time in indie filmmaking. It is a time before film school, before 16mm, before PC’s or
Mac’s, before the internet, before HD home cameras, before CGI and After Effects, before computer
editing software. It is a dark time, of Super 8 sound movies and cameras, of getting film developed
at the local drug store and editing it with a splicer and tape on a Super 8 viewer with a 6 inch
screen and a magnifying glass!..Of literally scratching the film emulsion to create blaster rays and
light sabre effects. From this dark time comes my Star Wars parody, “The Empire Cracks Back”, my epic
Super 8 opus shot in early 1981. Made by a bunch of 19 year olds with lofty ambitions, no money, cool
home made costumes and props and a Millenium Falcon cockpit I built in my basement. The folks at ILM
liked it. After sending them a VHS copy, I got a call one night from Bill George (One of the chief
model builders at ILM) and he told me that they thought it was hilarious. They were on a break from
shooting the tunnel chase sequence from “Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom” and popped the tape
in. It was also shown at a bunch of comic book and sci conventions in the early to mid 80’s. Crudely
made, with some “Airplane” style humor guaranteed to offend and piss off somebody!
And now for your viewing pleasure, in glorious regular D, with scratches and all comes…”
Jedi Lite (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLfNnFdZDAc - also from the Superseven / Sandra West & More! YouTube channel (1 min. 35 sec.)
The blurb:
“My 16mm, college film 2 project. A beer commercial parody set in the “Star Wars” universe, with all the familiar characters!”
