ZkinandBonez

Your_friendly_Imperial said:

It’s as if buddhist monks start worshipping their staffs or if Knights Templar think their swords are relics. Just because they use weapons, doesn’t mean their weapons have to be mystical or holy objects.

Jedi worship life and the force, not lightsabers.

No one worships their lightsabers in the new canon, they just added a mystical element to them which is almost entirely focused on the construction ritual.

It’s a cool idea, but wouldn’t a more mystical reason make more sense in SW? E.g. the idea of bonding with a living crystal if you’re a Jedi, or “bleeding” it if you’re a Sith.

I don’t get why so many people don’t like the new lightsaber crystal lore. It’s such a Star Wars-y concept. They’ve even named them Kyber crystals.

DominicCobb said:

ZkinandBonez said:

DominicCobb said:

ZkinandBonez said:

How Star Wars was saved in the edit:
https://youtu.be/zEHRNS-Scrs - from the RocketJump Film School YouTube channel (2017 video essay - 18 minutes).

“A video essay exploring how Star Wars’ editors recut and rearranged Star Wars: A New Hope to create the cinematic classic it became”

Written by David Welch.
Narrated and edited by Joey Scoma.

Not to nitpick, but I’d think video essays might be a different category from documentaries? Your thread of course.

The thread title also includes “making ofs” and “promos”, and there’s been interviews added as well. Plus, I only wrote “video essay” because that’s what they called it. It’s basically a short documentary, and a really interesting one at that, so I felt it was worth sharing here.

As I said I will of course defer to you. I haven’t seen the video in question but I tend to think of a ‘video essay’ as an analysis of a work, rather than a behind the scenes documentary. But maybe I should watch the video before I critique.

Yeah, that’s what I’d generally associate with the word as well, and the video is partially an analysis, though I’d say it’s 80% a documentary about how ANH was re-edited after Lucas screened the rough cut to several filmmaker friends; incl. Spielberg and Brian De Palma, the latter of which was not particularly impressed (to put it mildly).

Puggo - Jar Jar’s Yoda said:

Assuming that was Tatooine they were on?

It’s a new planet called Arvala 7: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Arvala-7

DominicCobb said:

ZkinandBonez said:

How Star Wars was saved in the edit:
https://youtu.be/zEHRNS-Scrs - from the RocketJump Film School YouTube channel (2017 video essay - 18 minutes).

“A video essay exploring how Star Wars’ editors recut and rearranged Star Wars: A New Hope to create the cinematic classic it became”

Written by David Welch.
Narrated and edited by Joey Scoma.

Not to nitpick, but I’d think video essays might be a different category from documentaries? Your thread of course.

The thread title also includes “making ofs” and “promos”, and there’s been interviews added as well. Plus, I only wrote “video essay” because that’s what they called it. It’s basically a short documentary, and a really interesting one at that, so I felt it was worth sharing here.

How Star Wars was saved in the edit:
https://youtu.be/zEHRNS-Scrs - from the RocketJump Film School YouTube channel (2017 - 18 mins long).

The blurb:
“A video essay exploring how Star Wars’ editors recut and rearranged Star Wars: A New Hope to create the cinematic classic it became”

Written by David Welch.
Narrated and edited by Joey Scoma.

ATMachine said:

ZkinandBonez said:

theprequelsrule said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85MK2GDkoxo

I have to admit, I like the original “Silver” Death Star concept quite a bit.

Great find. Do you know what DVD set these are from? I remember having seen them before but I can’t remember where exactly.

(Slight nitpick, but could you please add the title of the video, or some kind of description, so that it’s not just a link?)

They’re on the SW Saga Blu-ray set.

That’s weird as I’ve never watched the blu-ray bonus features. I guess I must have seen a few of those clips on YouTube at some point and forgotten about it.

I also like how the Holiday Special cartoon segment is just slapped in the middle of all the BTS stuff. I didn’t know that it had received an official release of any kind.

SP FX: Special Effects - The Empire Strikes Back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsgTd-1ZYuw&t - from the SystemJinx YouTube channel (49 mins long)

The blurb:
“Hosted by Mark Hamill. Originally aired on CBS on September 22, 1980. The special was written by Richard Schickel and directed by Robert Guenette, who had both previously worked on the 1977 special The Making of Star Wars…as told by C-3PO & R2-D2”

IMDB link & Wikipedia link

canofhumdingers said:

Less a thought and more of a question: I was skimming through the phantom menace on Disney+. It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve watched the movie but I swear there was a scene where one of Darth Maul’s probes on Tatooine is flying behind Qui-gon who quickly spins around and slices it in half with his lightsaber. But I don’t see it in the film. Am I missing something?

It was a deleted scene that they decided to finish for the DVD release in 2001, but as far as I know it was never actually added to the film like the extended pod-race scene was.

Here’s the scene btw; https://youtu.be/t2_R-bWR3v8?t=768

oojason said:

‘Horizon - How to Film the Impossible’:-

https://vimeo.com/54710740 - at the Jrmtrinquet vimeo channel. (A 1985 documentary - 50 mins)
 

Honestly one of these best effects-focused documentaries I’ve seen. I feel like a lot of similar documentaries tend to simplify things to much, but here they really take you through the process.

The remastered version by Harmy is really great, especially since most online versions tend to vary greatly in quality and never seem to stay long either before Horizon takes it down;
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hQ0GQjmIWDPOv0Xs3rJ2SgzOLDVQoiP2gPeHBNuqZto/edit

theprequelsrule said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85MK2GDkoxo

I have to admit, I like the original “Silver” Death Star concept quite a bit.

Great find. Do you know what DVD set these are from? I remember having seen them before but I can’t remember where exactly.

(Slight nitpick, but could you please add the title of the video, or some kind of description, so that it’s not just a link?)

Broom Kid said:

DrDre said:

I think the entire concept of artistic expression as you define it is meaningless, because by that definition any form of expression is art, hence nothing is art. It’s like those schools, where a student can’t fail, and everyone gets a passing grade. Anyone calls themselves an artist these days, effectively putting themselves in the leagues of a Mozart, Beethoven, Leonardo DaVinci, Stanley Kubrick, Oscar Wilde, etc, etc. It’s preposterous in my view. Making a painting doesn’t automatically make you an artist in my book, just like being able to count to ten doesn’t make you a Math Professor.

Don’t know what else to say. The question isn’t Art or Not Art. it’s Good Art or Bad Art.

Beethoven and The Prodigy are both musical artists. Daniel Johnston and Mozart. The Chainsmokers and Vivaldi. Skrillex and Johnny Cash. The entire concept of artistic expression as I defined it is how it’s defined. That doesn’t make it meaningless. Art has meaning, even the crappiest art. And that’s where your argument about it being like a “crappy school where nobody can fail” falls apart, because being Crappy Art is BAD. Yes, you tried to express yourself via artistic intent, and you did it terribly. That’s not a good thing. You made bad art and it reflects poorly on you. “Being an artist” doesn’t shield you from having made crappy art. It didn’t protect Mapplethorpe. Or John Waters.

That’s honestly enough. Trying to levy the charge that The Force Awakens isn’t really art AT ALL just doesn’t make any sense, and is a pretty huge overreaction, as is the decision to try and disqualify its status AS art in response. It’s obviously art. It’s okay if you don’t like it and think that it’s bad. You don’t have to go as far as you do. It’s unneccessary to make the criticisms you’re making.

Exactly. The problem with trying to disqualify something as art is that there’s no clear definition. If you were to separate things into proper art and not art then logically there’d be works that straddle that line. But how would you decide when it crosses over that line into either art or not art? It’s too vague and subjective. Quality obviously has similar issues, but then you can start making clearer arguments, like the difference between the quality of the craftmanship and originality between, f.ex. a Pollock and a Dahli painting. Or the difference in originality between ANH and TFA.

Double post

DrDre said:

Broom Kid said:

DrDre said:
I agree they are better made in some respects. However, the main driving force behind these films is not artistry.

Again, I think it’s really unfair and unrealistic of you to say this. Borderline disingenuous, really. Especially considering many of the arguments you’re currently leveraging against this version of Star Wars were leveraged against it in the '80s, '90s, and '00s. I fundamentally disagree with any attempt to somehow strip the legitimate, and easily observable intent to create art from the finished films, or to attempt to redefine their existence AS art based on a romanticized notion of what George Lucas is, was, and would have done had he not decided to sell everything. George Lucas is not an island, and his “vision” is not as all encompassing or unfiltered as you consistently describe it to be. The work stands for itself, and your criticisms of the work are primarily rooted in a somewhat cruel appraisal of its artistic intent first and foremost, one that I don’t think stands up to scrutiny at all.

I apologize for dragging this out as long as I did, and I thank you for being very civil and patient with me. Obviously we’re not going to agree, but hopefully some measure of understanding (not agreement, of course, but the two aren’t synonymous anyway) was reached.

Well, I don’t see why any and all forms of corporately driven expression should be considered art, just because a group of people put a lot of effort, work, and craft into it. A lot of people work hard, and are creative in developing products, doing research, motivating people, etc, etc. Yet, these people are not considered artists. However, if the product you’re working on is a movie, you’re automatically labeled an ARTIST with a capital A. I reject that notion.

So by that logic Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel can’t be considered art because it was comissioned by the church? Some of history’s most famous artwork could be considered “commercial” or “corporate” as they were partially, or completely, dictated and funded by one or more patrons. Even art house films exist to make money. Although I don’t dismiss auteur theory, I do think it’s highly overrated since even the smallest, most independent films are a collaborative and commercial venture.

The Making of Star Wars …as told by C-3PO and R2-D2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSuDjjlIPak&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIKni_wHXR5CJYBnnnYH7mIB&index=2&t - from the Sanchez del Campo YouTube channel (49 mins long).

Originally aired on ABC September 16, 1977.

The blurb:
“This TV special, the first ever Star Wars documentary, was hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2 and narrated by William Conrad, with appearances by George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford.”

I’ve always found this one to be really charming. It’s kind of silly and not as “in-depth” as other SW documentaries, but considering it was made primarily for children it managed to cover a lot of ground.

oojason said:

 
‘The Galaxy Britain Built: Droids Darth, Vader and Lightsabers’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMJ7vXnyyRA - at the ‘Ceejay Julien’ youtube channel. (A documentary from 2017)
 

That was great. It still surprises me to hear all of these stories that I’ve never heard before, like the part about putting Hamill, Ford & Fisher at the bottom of the cast list to please Equity in the UK. I’m pretty sure there’s no other movie in the history of film where people know so much about the production, yet new details and anecdotes like that keep popping up.

canofhumdingers said:

@ZkinandBonez

What was the old EU “more sci-fi” explanation of why the bad guys had red blades?

Quite simply that since the Jedi “owned” the only known planet (or maybe there was a few of them, I only remember Ilum) that had lightsaber-crystals the Sith were forced to make synthetic crystals, which turned out red.

There was more to it than that, but that’s the basic gist of it as far as I can remember. Other than the artificial red ones, the other colours were just natural in the crystals and the Jedi assigned them to specific classes of Jedi as a symbolic gesture. Since Luke’s Jedi Academy didn’t follow those rules, they just used the colours randomly or depending on availability (as they were quite rare at that point).

Mocata said:

But that lends the weapon importance, which I kinda hate.

Could you elaborate on that? I don’t really follow what you mean, weren’t lightsabers always meant to be rare and special?

RogueLeader said:

Duracell, do you mean you were hoping Kylo might’ve been pretending to be bad, like he was undercover or something?

Yeah, I think the term “bleeding” has been a gripe for some people regarding the new lore surrounding Kyber crystals, but I just understand it as a turn of phrase. If you just think of bleeding as “corrupting” a crystal rather than it literally bleeding, it makes more sense.

I thought the new canon for kyber crystals were quite celever and perfectly understood the difference between the light side and the dark side. Basically the jedi need to connect with the force, hence they “connect” or “bond” with the crystal. The sith are all about using the force for their own selfish need so they have to corrupt the crystal by “breaking” it to their will. The term “bleed” was just an obvious metaphor since the crystal turns red. I mean at this point its well established (regardless of what you think of it) that the sith have red lightsabers, so it made sense for them to add a canonical explanation as to why the colour it only applied to the bad guys. The old EU explanation was fine, but perhaps a bit too sci-fi like, and I think the new EU wanted to distance themselves somewhat from some of the less popular PT concepts and make it more “spiritual” and symbolic.

oojason said:

^ A great idea for a thread 😃

 

‘BBC’s The Risk Business (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sdB4zedK4w - from the ‘Adywan revisited’ youtube channel. (With props to Babyhum)
 

A little bit of info on the documentary can be found at http://www.starwarsarchives.com/the-risk-business
 

Great. That’s precisely the type of video I hoped to see on this thread as you’d never see stuff like this on any official home video release.

Its always fascinating to see how people perceived SW films before they were released. The idea that ESB might not be a success seems so silly now, but that would have been a logical concern back in the day. As a side note; its also interesting to see how little has changed in the film industry, having studied filmmaking in the UK I get the impression that they still struggle with similar problems today.

Walter Cronkite’s “Universe” Visits ILM 1980:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiee-MhPEWg - from TheStarWarsTrilogycom YouTube channel (9 mins long).

More info: https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/2013/07/21/walter-cronkite-s-universe-visits-ilm/

ATMachine said:

Now you’ve got me started on lightsaber history!

Only one lightsaber color is mentioned in the 1974 rough draft – that of protagonist Annikin Starkiller – and it’s red.

Ralph McQuarrie’s production paintings for the 1975 second draft introduce the idea of multiple colored lightsabers. But these are still a bit unusual: in his painting of Darth Vader dueling Luke Starkiller’s brother Deak, Vader’s saber is blue and Deak’s is golden. Meanwhile, lightsaber-wielding stormtroopers have white lightsabers to match their white armor.

George Lucas initially tried to achieve the lightsaber effects in-camera by using special spinning rods (powered by hidden electric cables) with a luminescent coating. When a light was shone on them, they would appear to glow. This method only allowed for one color to be used on all lightsaber blades in the same shot. Tests on the Blu-ray show that red and blue were considered, but Lucas ultimately opted for white lightsabers across the board.

A few of Ralph McQuarrie’s later publicity paintings for SW 1977 adopt this design – for instance, his early art for the novelization cover, which is a new version of his painting of the Deak/Vader duel.

When the in-camera effects proved unsatisfactory, Lucas decided to use rotoscoping to enhance the effect. This allowed for McQuarrie-style individually colored blades to be introduced.

Evidently the initial notion was red = good and blue = evil, matching up with the blue saber color McQuarrie gave Vader, as well as Annikin’s lightsaber color in the rough draft. But as we now know, Paul Hirsch convinced Lucas to flip the colors. (As Michael Kaminski has also noted, the 1977 film’s lightsaber color scheme matches the color motifs of swords in Lord of the Rings.)

Thanks, lots of new details there I hadn’t heard before.

Just as a side-note though, I guess it’s debatable whether Vader’s lightsaber is blue or just white on a blue background in the Deak vs Vader painting.

It’s also interesting how the lightsaber has over the past 40+ years gotten more and more “special” while they started as simple futuristic weapons. They went from common weapon to the unique weapon of the Jedi and Sith. Then the colours became significant. And now in the new canon even the crystals inside have gone from simple rocks to living crystals with force-related powers.

Z6PO said:

All lightsabers were originally white because they tried to make them as in-camera effects, using highly reflective tape on rotating rods! They abandoned it when they realized the effect wasn’t very satisfying and because the rotating rods would often break.

Well, yes, but I meant in the early scripts. I know the comic adaptation of the first draft made all the lightsabers red, but I don’t know if that’s based on the script or not. I figured MaQuarrie made them white as they by the time of the second draft had probably started to discuss how the effect would be made, and white was the easiest solution (due to the reflective tape, etc. that you mentioned.)

There’s a lot of Star Wars related BTS stuff that show up on YouTube, Vimeo, etc. taken from old TV programs, documentaries, etc. that wouldn’t normally be available on any official DVDs or Blu-rays, so I figured I’d make a thread in the same vein as YouTube/Vimeo/etc… Star Wars finds but focused exclusively on these “forgotten” shows, documentaries, promos, 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. Please consider also adding any relevant additional info about the video; like f.ex. an IMDB page link, article links, or just a simple blurb. The length of the video, what year it’s from, and credit to the uploader would also be appreciated. 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 and provide some insight into the production of the OT (Jamie Benning’s Filmumentaries are a good example of this).
• No reviews or opinion-pieces.
• No mockumentaries.
• This thread is for Original Trilogy content only, so please don’t post any Prequel Trilogy, Sequel Trilogy, etc. making ofs. Some documentaries do of course cover several eras of Star Wars, so it’s fine if The Phantom Menace or The Force Awakens, etc. pop up in the video provided the focus is on one or more of the Original Trilogy films.
• The videos linked to in this thread should focus on the making of one or more of the Original three Star Wars films. Old TV programs that deal with multiple films can be shared provided Star Wars is present in some fashion (though preferably the main focus). Other types of BTS material like bloopers, deleted scenes, etc. also qualify. Non BTS footage like contemporary news reports, interviews, award shows, etc. which still relate to the original three Star Wars films also qualify. Videos dealing exclusively with specific Star Wars related individuals, or Star Wars as a phenomenon (especially if made much later) should not be posted here (see section below).

If you’d like to share links to more general Star Wars documentaries not focused on the history of specific Original Trilogy movies, or that don’t fit the criteria above, I’ve also made a thread for General Star Wars Documentaries. If you want to share links to documentaries or making-ofs specifically about the Prequel Trilogy, Sequel Trilogy, TV series, cartoons, etc. then there’s the Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs thread for that as well. And if you have some non Star Wars making-of documentaries you’d like to share you can do so in the Making-Of Documentaries thread in the Off Topic section.

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… (click on ‘Expand’ to see the Index)

1 • The Making of The Empire Strikes Back by Michel Parbot (scroll down)
2 • BBC’s The Risk Business (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)
3 • Walter Cronkite’s “Universe” Visits ILM 1980
4 • The Galaxy Britain Built: Droids, Darth Vader, and Lightsabers
5 • The Making of Star Wars …as told by C-3PO and R2-D2
6 • Star Wars At The BBC
7 • Horizon - How to Film the Impossible
8 • Behind the Scenes of Star Wars: The Original Trilogy ILM Special Effects Makers
9 • SP FX: Special Effects - The Empire Strikes Back (hosted by Mark Hamill)
10 • Star Wars: Music by John Williams
11 to 14 • Star Wars Begins : Building Empire : Returning To Jedi : More Filmumentaries & Shorts
15 • From ‘Star Wars’ to ‘Jedi’: The Making of a Saga
16 • From Star Wars to Star Wars - The Story of Industrial Light and Magic
17 • When Star Wars Ruled the World
18 • Star Wars: The Magic and the Mystery
19 • Classic Creatures: Return Of The Jedi
20 • Empire Of Dreams
21 • Evolution of the Lightsaber Duel
22 • Star Wars: Episode IV sound design explained by Ben Burtt
23 • Sound Advice - An Interview With Ben Burtt (and scroll down)
24 • How Star Wars was Saved in the Edit
25 • Brian Linehan’s City Lights - 1980 Interview with Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford
26 • Clapperboard: The Empire Strikes Back Special
27 • ILM - Creating the Impossible
28 • Leonard Maltin interviews with George Lucas (from 1995 ‘Faces’ VHS Box Set)
29 • Making of Return of the Jedi (playlist)
30 • Mark Hamill interviewed on set of Star Wars (1976)
31 • Industrial Light & Magic - Traditional Matte Paintings
32 • Star Wars A Conversation With The Masters - ESB 30 Years Later
33 • Standby…Lights! Camera! Action! (hosted by Leonard Nimoy)
34 • Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher interview outtakes from Michel Parbot’s The Making of TESB
35 • Elstree 1976
36 • Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition - Behind the Scenes (1997)
37 • The Force Returns – Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition - 1997 Sci-SFi Channel Special
38 • Oprah - Star Wars Special Editions
39 • Star Wars: An MTV Movie Special (1997)
40 • Star Wars - Access Hollywood Special (1997)
41 • Anatomy Of A Dewback
42 • MidAmeriCon (1976) Worldcon - Star Wars Q&A
43 • Lucasfilm Archive Tour 1993
44 • Special Effects - 1984 documentary
45 • Star Wars at the 1978 Oscars
46 • The Empire Strikes Back at the 1981 Oscars
47 • Return of the Jedi at the 1984 Oscars
48 • Star Wars Special Editions Press kit B-Roll
49 • Star Wars: Making Magic CD-ROM
50 • Age of the Image: Star Wars - Return of the Jedi Matte Painting clip
51 • Star Wars 1984 US TV Premiere Featurette (hosted by Mark Hamill)
52 • Star Wars: The Making of the Myth - 1999 Sky Movies TV Special (hosted by Anthony Daniels)
53 • Sense of Scale - Extended Star Wars Miniature Effects Segment
54 • Return of the Jedi audience reactions from 1983
55 • Misc. NBC Star Wars News Coverage 1977-1983
56 • The Definitive History of Star Wars (2015)
57 • Bobbie Wygant Interviews Irvin Kershner and Gary Kurtz for Empire Strikes Back 1980
58 • Carrie Fisher interviews George Lucas (2002)
59 • All Original Trilogy Deleted Scenes
60 • Star Wars: A New Hope Bloopers & Outtakes
61 • Star Wars Archives Fly-Through Featurette
62 • Celebrating 40 Years of Empire: Behind the Scenes
63 • Celebrating 40 Years of Empire: The Legacy
64 • Propstore interview with Howard Kazanjian
65 • Propstore Original Trilogy Prop Auction highlights and item spotlights (list of all OT videos as of Dec. 2020)
66 • Galactic Innovations: Star Wars & Rogue One
67 • Robert Watts - A Life in Film (by Jamie Benning)
68 • Spécial Cinéma (1977) - French/Swiss TV interview with Gary Kurtz, Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher
68 • Making of the Computer Graphics for Star Wars (A New Hope)

^ This Index was added as the thread grew to help navigate through the various Documentaries, Making-Ofs, Promos, etc.
 

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 one of the mods.

 
I figured I’d start with a very straight forward documentary:

Michel Parbot’s “The Making of The Empire Strikes Back”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeB-uXGGaEU&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIKni_wHXR5CJYBnnnYH7mIB&index=3&t - from the Adywan revisited YouTube channel (58 mins long).

SilverWook said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

ATMachine said:

Lucas originally planned to make Luke’s lightsaber red and Vader’s blue, but Hirsch suggested switching them because of his knowledge of Christian iconography from the Renaissance era he’d studied in art history at Columbia University in the mid-‘60s.

from this article on Paul Hirsch’s new book

This dovetails with mention of the early lightsaber colors being swapped (and the tractor beam gauge also) in Paul Duncan’s SW Archives book.

I have given a name to my pain, and it is Paul Hirsch.

*shoots laptop*

Care to elaborate, or is this just more negative waves?

He’s paraphrasing Batman (1989). Other than that I guess he just really wished Luke had a red lightsaber?

ATMachine said:

Lucas originally planned to make Luke’s lightsaber red and Vader’s blue, but Hirsch suggested switching them because of his knowledge of Christian iconography from the Renaissance era he’d studied in art history at Columbia University in the mid-‘60s.

from this article on Paul Hirsch’s new book

This dovetails with mention of the early lightsaber colors being swapped (and the tractor beam gauge also) in Paul Duncan’s SW Archives book.

Anyway, weren’t all lightsabers originally red in the first draft? In the concept art they were usually just white (maybe they though colours would be hard to add at that point?). Kind of strange that Luke and Vader would be swapped as the colour symbolism we’re now used to, although a bit on the nose, makes more sense. Or at least its the more obvious choice. Maybe Lucas tried to subvert expectations, but then decided against it?

I was looking through the list and found a lot of individual threads about various documentaries (like f.ex. Michel Parbot’s ESB making of), but I couldn’t find one about these kinds of videos in general. If that doesn’t already exist, I figured it might be a good idea to make a thread similar to the “YouTube/Vimeo/etc… Star Wars finds” thread but focused only on old TV documentaries, making ofs, BTS segments, etc.