Star Wars spawned a phenomenon that continues to this day. In 1999, the Star Wars universe was going to expand as a new film was going to grace the silver screen. Something fans never though they’d see and some weren’t too happy with what they did end up seeing. Mesa know me was one of thems disappointed ones.
1977 was a watershed moment for many a youth as the Twentieth Century Fox logo, Star Wars theme and crawling text introduction were burned into their consciousness. For many Episodes 1-3 were the thing of legend and it didn’t seem like George Lucas would go back and make films of what happened before the trilogy that would become well loved around the world.
Twenty-two years later, the unthinkable happened and Lucas said that Episodes 1-3 would be coming to a theater near you and would chronicle the journey of Anakin Skywalker as he was put on the path to become you know who (not to spoil it for the uninitiated).
Fans and geeks around the globe began to work themselves into a frenzy. Forty-two days before the film was to open fans were already camping out in line to get a ticket. Enter filmmaker Tariq Jalil as he takes his camera to the line forming and begins filming. He also interviews both the fans and a roster of famous faces about the effect that the Star Wars films have on them.
Some of the celebrities include Meatloaf, Andy Garcia, Joe Pesci (who amusedly doesn’t really give a crap), legendary filmmaker Roger Corman, and even line crashers Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla.
It’s been ten years since the documentary was filmed and this new tenth anniversary edition adds some new special features. The documentary offers some touching moments, but it also offers some crazies.
There’s a strange comparison between geeks storming a Toys R Us for the latest figures and refugees in Kosovo fighting over food. I suppose it’s madness that so much time is devoted to a film when all these folks could be putting the time and effort into something more productive (as some of the documentary interviewees even ponder).
What’s more telling is when the people actually get to view the film the sense of disappointment that it very evident on some of their faces. I suppose any continuation that was to go up against the original was doomed to begin with, but Lucas’ new films certainly lacked the magic that the originals had.
It seems he relied far too much on technological wonders than acting and badly cast several key roles and added far too much geared towards the kids. They’re okay, but some fans will wish that they never came to be.
A Galaxy Far Far Away is presented in fullscreen. The film had been on DVD before and the only special feature identified as being from that release is the original commentary track with director Tariq Jalil, producer Terry Tocantins, and members of the crew.
They also proved a 10th Anniversary 18 minute interview, a 10th Anniversary video commentary (think Mystery Science Theater), and another all new commentary. There’s also a 2-minute “new trailer” and the original 37-second trailer.
There are also 15 minutes of deleted scenes, 6 minutes of coming attractions for Cinevolve DVDs, a photo gallery, and a link to the Cinevolve website.
A Galaxy Far Far Away looks at the glory, madness, and sadness of Star Wars. The obsession of some fans could possibly be put to better use, but I’d hate it if somebody told me that my Sci-fi fandom was nuts too.
A Galaxy Far Far Away is now available at Amazon . As of yet, this version of the DVD is now available in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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