General Star Wars Documentaries (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)

Since people really liked the YouTube/Vimeo/etc. finds for Original Trilogy making-ofs, documentaries, promos, etc. thread and have been sharing lots of interesting videos there, I figured it made sense to start a similar thread dedicated to the more generalized Star Wars documentaries out there. F.ex. documentaries or featurettes focused on Star Wars as a pop-culture phenomenon, or bios on the cast and filmmakers, etc.

POSTING GUIDELINES

• When adding a link to a video, please add a title and/or description so that we don’t have to click on it to find out what it is. Any additional info would be appreciated as well, like f.ex. an IMDB page link, article links, or just a simple blurb. You can also add a photo; screenshot, poster, or simply add the YouTube thumbnail (like this). Alternatively, just PM me with the video link and I’ll send you the image link.
• Fan-made videos qualify provided they are of reasonably good quality.
• No reviews or blatant opinion-pieces.
• Mockumentaries qualify if clearly labeled as such.

NOTE: This thread is NOT meant to be for making ofs, BTS footage, etc. If you want to share videos like that please post them on the other thread (linked above). There will of course be BTS stuff included in a lot of these videos, but something like f.ex. “The Making of The Empire Strikes Back” by Michel Parbot should not be shared here.

For a more in-depth list of where to find all Star Wars documentaries, making-ofs, etc. and where to find them there is Rodney-2187’s Guide to Star Wars Documentaries and Special Features thread.

An In-Progress Index…

1 • The People vs. George Lucas (2010)
2 • Star Wars: Star Warriors (2007)
3 • A Galaxy Far Far Away (2001)
4 • George Lucas: Creating an Empire (2002)
5 • George Lucas: Maker of Films (1971)
6 • Harmy’s Star Wars: Despecialized Edition - History & Sources Documentary (Extended Version)
7 • Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys (2014)
8 • Toy Empire: The British Force Behind Star Wars Toys (region locked to UK)
9 • Movietonews - 1978 Featurette
10 • Peter Cushing: A One-Way Ticket to Hollywood (1989)
11 • Mark Hamill: A Force to be Reckoned With - 2002 TV special
14 • Ralph McQuarrie: Tribute to a Master (2012)
15 • Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed (2007)
16 • From Star Wars to Star Wars - The Story of Industrial Light and Magic (1999)
17 • The Mythology of Star Wars (2000)
18 • My Life In Monsters - Phil Tippett Documentary
19 • George Lucas: Flying Solo - BBC Omnibus

^ The Index was added as the thread grew to help navigate through the various Documentaries.
 

NOTE: If one of the videos should be deleted from YouTube/Vimeo/etc. please PM ZkinandBonez so that the link can either be replaced or labelled as defunct. Alternatively PM oojason or one of the other mods.

The People vs. George Lucas:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EgPl1FuntE - at the canonvids youtube channel. (a 2010 documentary. 93 mins)
 

About:-

"The People vs. George Lucas is a 2010 documentary film directed by Swiss director Alexandre O. Philippe. It explores the issues of filmmaking and fanaticism pertaining to the Star Wars franchise and its creator, George Lucas. The film combines filmmaker and celebrity interviews with fan films, mainly taken from the 2010 online video Star Wars Uncut, which were submitted via the film’s site.

Interviewees include a variety of figures such as Neil Gaiman, MC Frontalot and Gary Kurtz. Lucas appears frequently in archival footage, but is never interviewed directly. The film discusses the extent to which the Star Wars franchise is an artistic creation of Lucas and subject to his vision versus a social phenomenon that belongs to the general public of fans and their participatory/remix culture.

The film is dedicated to interviewee Jason Nicholl, a blogger at ‘nukethefridge’ website who died before the film’s release."

^ The documentary also seems to features a few people from this great place as well…
 

IMDB Page : Website - which is currently blank : Facebook Page

OT.com thread 1 : OT.com thread 2 : OT.com thread 3 : OT.com thread 4 : OT.com thread 5
 

‘Star Wars: Star Warriors’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyRo9x42qsY - at the mranderson00001 youtube channel. (a 2007 release. 84 mins)
 

About:-

“Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures… these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.”
 

IMDB Page

501st Website : 501st Twitter : 501st Wikipedia Page : Rebel Legion Website : Rebel Legion Twitter : Rebel Legion Wiki Page
 

‘A Galaxy Far Far Away’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar3nuXTFXns - at the SnagFilms youtube channel. (a 2001 release. 85 mins.)
 

About:-

“Filmmaker Tariq Jalil interviews fans of the Star Wars franchise as they wait on line for 42 days to buy tickets for ‘Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace’.”

^ Again, not really a favourite, though interesting to see Star Wars fans (Original Trilogy fans in the main) eagerly await the release the first film in the Prequel Trilogy. It seems such a long time ago…
 

IMDB Page
 

'George Lucas: Creating an Empire:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GXPixi6fq0 - at the cjsanche1 youtube channel. (a 2002 release. 91 mins.)
 

About:-

"George Lucas: Creating An Empire is an amazing life story of one of the most imaginative and prolific creators of film. When he was young, George didn’t take school - or anything else - seriously. But when he enrolled in film school, it was clear he’d found his calling.

His first successful film was American Graffiti, but Lucas is best known as the man behind the Star Wars trilogy, three of the most popular movies of all time.

He developed new technology and filmmaking techniques that revolutionized Hollywood, and the phenomenon continues with three much-anticipated new movies, including Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Lucas has gone on to build a film empire that includes Industrial Light and Magic, the top special-effects company in the world. His epic story is told by much of the cast that has been a part of his life, including Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Harrison Ford, Ron Howard, Carrie Fisher, Liam Neeson, Haskell Wexler, Peter Travers, James Cameron, his sister Kate Nygaard, his daughters Amanda and Katie, George himself, and many other friends and associates."
 

IMDB Page
 

’George Lucas: Maker of Films’ / ‘George Lucas Documentary 1971’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHDEiJiPulo - at the MonosonicJukeJoint youtube channel. (a 1971 release. 58 mins)
 

About:-

“In-depth 1971 interview with a 27-year-old George Lucas by film journalist Gene Youngblood on Los Angeles Public Television Station KCET. Lucas had just finished his first feature film ‘THX 1138’.”
 

IMDB Page
Kitbashed Page on the 1971 documentary
 

‘Harmy’s Star Wars: Despecialized Edition - History & Sources Documentary (extended version)’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGrXO2RDzLg - at the HanDuet youtuve channel. (a 2017 release. 20 mins)
 

About:-

“Star Wars: Despecialized Edition is a fan edit project with the goal to reconstruct the original theatrical releases of the Star Wars original trilogy (Episodes IV, V, & VI) at a quality comparable to the high-definition medium of our time.”

This extended version of the work-in-progress documentary is about the history and sources of Harmy’s Despecialized Edition - an awesome and insightful watch.
 

More Info on the Despecialized Editions by Harmy

Harmy’s Facebook : Harmy’s YouTube : Harmy’s Twitter
 

‘Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys’:-

https://www.facebook.com/thetoyboxcollectibles/videos/plastic-galaxy-a-story-of-star-wars/510347609704057

^ at The Toy Box facebook page. (a 2014 release. 70 mins)
 

About:-

"When Star Wars landed in the theaters, it introduced audiences to a galaxy filled with heroes and villains, robots and space ships, and a dizzying variety of alien life. But when the lights came up, they all disappeared… Unless you had all the toys. In which case, the adventure never had to end.

In backyards, playgrounds, basements, and bedrooms, Star Wars toys helped kids re-enact scenes from their favorite movies, and create entirely new dangers for Luke Skywalker and his friends to face. They were lusted after on holidays and birthdays, swapped with great cunning out on the school yard, and carefully collected like fine treasures. Like no toys before them, the action figures, space ships, play sets, and props were a phenomenon that swept the nation with as much force as the film that inspired them.

Along the way they transformed both the toy and movie industries, earned those behind them vast amounts of wealth, and ultimately created a hobby that, 30 years later, still holds sway over not only the people who grew up with the toys, but also an entirely new generation of fans.

Plastic Galaxy is a documentary that explores the groundbreaking and breathtaking world of Star Wars toys. Through interviews with former Kenner employees, experts, authors, and collectors, it looks at the toys’ history, their influence, and the fond and fervent feelings they elicit today."
 

IMDB Page
 

‘Toy Empire: The British Force Behind Star Wars Toys’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000c7nq (until 15th January - you will need to be in the UK, or to access UK tv, to view?)

(a 2019 release, 29 minutes long - a great watch for those that collected the Palitoy / Kenner figures and toys 😃 )
 

The blurb:-

"Star Wars superfan David Whiteley celebrates the unlikely toy heroes of the 1970s.

Toy manufacturer Palitoy based in Coalville, Leicestershire, was chosen to make toys for the new Star Wars movie in the UK. The company was already successful with Action Man and Tiny Tears. But Star Wars toys were about to become the must have toys of a generation. It was an unexpected success. At that time toys from films didn’t sell well. Rich archive brings the nostalgia of the 1970s back to our screens, as David Whiteley meets the men and women who made it happen against all the odds, and the enthusiasts whose pocket money toys now fetch eye watering sums.

‘Toy Empire: The British Force Behind Star Wars Toys’ tells the success story of the toys would change the way movies are marketed forever."
 

BBC Page
 

Speaking of Star Wars toys in the UK, I just came across this Movietonews video from 1978:

Movietonews (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9WVNMYPpJQ (7 minutes long, skip to 3:25 for SW/Palitoy segment.)

“From the Movietonews archive is 1978 footage from the UK release of Star Wars, proceeded by an item about the 1978 Toy And Hobby Fair.”

Peter Cushing: A One-Way Ticket to Hollywood (1989)
https://archive.org/details/one-way-to-hollywood-1989-feature-length-interview-with-peter-cushing - uploaded to archive.org by stewarwd85 (49 minutes long, skip to 58:29 for the Star Wars segment.)

The blurb
“Legendary British actor Peter Cushing (1913-1994) talks about his career in TV and film and his early years in Hollywood, while sharing private memories and anecdotes in his usual delightfully humorous way.”

IMDB

Just the Star Wars segment from this documentary:

Peter Cushing on playing Grand Moff Tarkin in carpet slippers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdXLDvx_tHQ - from the Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel (2 mins long).

Backup link from the Grand Moff Tarkin YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpdaVCBcaIk

Mark Hamill: A Force to be Reckoned With (2002 A&E “Biography” TV special)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AyHZyf0tcM - from the StarWarsArchivesCom YouTube channel (43 minutes long)

The blurb:
“Actor Mark Hamill becomes a breakout star starring as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series, but he also finds great success as a writer and voice artist as well.”

IMDB

‘Ralph McQuarrie: Tribute to a Master’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9iBIaQMlOg - at the transitionpictures youtube channel. (A 2012 Documentary. 43 mins)
 

The blurb:-

“George Lucas, a number of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) alumni, and a new generation of artists and filmmakers inspired by McQuarrie’s body of work remember the artist and discuss his influence on their careers and the film industry in general. McQuarrie’s designs were instrumental in securing funding for Star Wars (1977), as well as helping define the look of the original Star Wars trilogy.”
 

IMDB Page
 

‘Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZt5HRPLExQ - at the Honor The Force youtube channel. (A 2007 documentary - 91 mins)
 

The blurb:-

"Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed is a TV documentary which premiered on The History Channel in May 2007.

The special focuses on how Star Wars is relevant today and the history that inspired it, and also makes various connections to Greek mythology. It consists of a number of interviews with well-known politicians, journalists and critics, along with historical content and clips from all six of the Star Wars movies, such as John Lyden, professor Chad Stanley, Tom Brokaw, Stephen Colbert and Peter Jackson".
 

IMDB Page - according to IMDB there is also a 102 minute version…
 

‘From Star Wars to Star Wars - The Story of Industrial Light and Magic’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3euVZouOkfw - at the ShinobiWan1 youtube channel. (A 1999 Documentary. 46 mins)
 

The Blurb:-

“The incredible evolution of George Lucas’ special effects dream factory, including an inside look at ‘Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace’.”
 

IMDB Page
 

‘The Mythology of Star Wars’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjaUeNd1kq8 - at the Honor The Force youtube channel. (56 mins.)
 

The blurb:-

“George Lucas discusses how Joseph Campbell and his concept of the Monomyth (aka the Hero’s Journey) and other concepts from mythology and religion shaped the Star Wars saga.”
 

IMDB Page
 

Weren’t some of those videos above in one of the other ‘video finds’ threads? (all great vids, don’t get me wrong)

Fated-Dualist said:

Weren’t some of those videos above in one of the other ‘video finds’ threads? (all great vids, don’t get me wrong)

Yes, but they no longer worked with the updated criteria of the OT making-of docs thread so we moved them over here instead.

My Life In Monsters - Phil Tippett Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTGQ_K0DBPo - from the VICE YouTube channel (22:30 mins long).

The blurb:
“Phil Tippett is the Oscar-winning stop-motion animator and designer behind some of the greatest fantasy creatures and sci-fi set pieces in cinema history. From his humble beginnings as an alien patron in the iconic Cantina sequence from ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’, to pioneering stop-motion techniques used throughout ‘Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’, to seamlessly merging practical animation and CGI in Jurassic Park and beyond. In ‘My Life in Monsters’, VICE chronicles Tippett’s legendary life work, illustrating the process behind his greatest creations, the emotional hardships of transitioning into Hollywood’s digital revolution, and completing his return-to-form, stop-motion opus with the brutal, dystopian ‘Mad God’.”

George Lucas: Flying Solo - BBC Omnibus

https://youtu.be/EeHMWx8msc8

The blurb: A bio special about George. It includes rare interviews with the likes of Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, amongst others.