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The Art of Star Wars
The Art of Star Wars
To compliment the new Special Edition versions of the classic Star Wars films being released in theaters, these new editions of the bestselling companion books each include sixteen pages of all-new material, plus all of the breathtaking photos, and artwork that have made them a must for all Star Wars collectors and movie buffs. Complete scripts for A New Hope and Return of the Jedi are also included.
Some highlights of the three volumes:
Storyboards of action sequences detailing the evolution of the story and characters
Spectacular US and foreign movie posters
Costume sketches
Design and animation techniques used for the immense Imperial Walkers
The evolution of Yoda
Model construction of the new Death Star
Blueprints and sketches of the Imperial shuttle design
Rebel and Imperial vehicles
And much more!
Some highlights of the three volumes:
Storyboards of action sequences detailing the evolution of the story and characters
Spectacular US and foreign movie posters
Costume sketches
Design and animation techniques used for the immense Imperial Walkers
The evolution of Yoda
Model construction of the new Death Star
Blueprints and sketches of the Imperial shuttle design
Rebel and Imperial vehicles
And much more!
175 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
9 people are currently reading
469 people want to read
About the author
George Lucas
266 books603 followersGeorge Walton Lucas Jr. is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. Nominated for four Academy Awards, he is considered to be one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement, and a pioneer of the modern blockbuster. Despite this, he has remained an independent filmmaker away from Hollywood for most of his career.
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas moved to San Francisco and co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. He wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in early 1960s Modesto, California, and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film was critically and commercially successful and received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), later retitled A New Hope, had a troubled production but was a surprise hit, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Academy Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon. Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created, produced, and co-wrote Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and served as an executive producer, with a cursory involvement in pre and post-production, on The Dial of Destiny (2023).
In 1997, Lucas re-released the original Star Wars trilogy as part of a Special Edition featuring several modifications; home media versions with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He last collaborated on the CGI-animated movie and television series of the same name, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012) and the CGI film Strange Magic (2015). Lucas is also known for his collaboration with composer John Williams, who was recommended to him by Spielberg, and with whom he has worked for all the films in both of these franchises. He also produced and wrote a variety of films and television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s.
Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers. He directed or wrote the story for ten of the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Through his companies Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, Lucas was involved in the production of, and financially benefited from, almost every big-budget film released in the U.S. from the late 1980s until the 2012 Disney sale. In addition to his career as a filmmaker, Lucas has founded and supported multiple philanthropic organizations and campaigns dedicated to education and the arts, including the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which has been noted as a key supporter in the creation of the federal E-Rate program to provide broadband funding to schools and libraries, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a forthcoming art museum in Los Angeles developed with his wife, Mellody Hobson.
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas moved to San Francisco and co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. He wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in early 1960s Modesto, California, and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film was critically and commercially successful and received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), later retitled A New Hope, had a troubled production but was a surprise hit, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Academy Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon. Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created, produced, and co-wrote Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and served as an executive producer, with a cursory involvement in pre and post-production, on The Dial of Destiny (2023).
In 1997, Lucas re-released the original Star Wars trilogy as part of a Special Edition featuring several modifications; home media versions with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He last collaborated on the CGI-animated movie and television series of the same name, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012) and the CGI film Strange Magic (2015). Lucas is also known for his collaboration with composer John Williams, who was recommended to him by Spielberg, and with whom he has worked for all the films in both of these franchises. He also produced and wrote a variety of films and television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s.
Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers. He directed or wrote the story for ten of the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Through his companies Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, Lucas was involved in the production of, and financially benefited from, almost every big-budget film released in the U.S. from the late 1980s until the 2012 Disney sale. In addition to his career as a filmmaker, Lucas has founded and supported multiple philanthropic organizations and campaigns dedicated to education and the arts, including the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which has been noted as a key supporter in the creation of the federal E-Rate program to provide broadband funding to schools and libraries, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a forthcoming art museum in Los Angeles developed with his wife, Mellody Hobson.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 3, 2024
So cool! I loved the artwork, and how they incorporated the script.
November 16, 2020
From the good old days before George Lucas sabotaged his own franchise.
January 31, 2012
Where to start with this book. first off you understand that this is not just simply worshipping star wars - don't get me wrong it was the first movie I saw at the cinema - it scare the hell out of me (I was 5 do the maths) but this means something more. My brother was fascinated with the film and was just getting in to graphic desgin - and he was lucky enough to borrow the original artwork books (circa 1979) now these were fabulously rare and expensive and equally poorly bound - so they were worshipped and i was never really allowed to look at them (grubby finger prints and the inability to respect books?) - well here we are with the titan reprints - now with added material from the special editions.
Ok the book itself - one thing you have to respect about the films - was that they took great lengths to give them a timeless appeal and appearance - there is nothing there that dates the film - think of some films where vehicles, music styles, costumes give the era away that it was filmed it - this gives nothing away and part of that is down to the care and attention given to its designers including the legendary Ralph McQuarrie. These are sumptuous books (there was one for each film) show casing the creative process and progress to the images you see in the film today. They set the way for many other artwork "from the film of..." and to me set the standard for what you should expect
Ok the book itself - one thing you have to respect about the films - was that they took great lengths to give them a timeless appeal and appearance - there is nothing there that dates the film - think of some films where vehicles, music styles, costumes give the era away that it was filmed it - this gives nothing away and part of that is down to the care and attention given to its designers including the legendary Ralph McQuarrie. These are sumptuous books (there was one for each film) show casing the creative process and progress to the images you see in the film today. They set the way for many other artwork "from the film of..." and to me set the standard for what you should expect
December 5, 2012
(More pictures at parkablogs.com)
The visuals that go by the scripts are mainly storyboards and character sketches. There are not too much ship drawings. Full colour paintings are few also. Well, this is the first art book for the first Star Wars movie.
July 17, 2013
On the one hand, a complete geek-out on the thing that held us all in its Vader-like grip.
But on the other hand, a great primer on process, visualization, collaboration. My first dawning that all those names on the credits have something important to do, some small piece of a major project. That's a real lesson when you're 12 or so.
But on the other hand, a great primer on process, visualization, collaboration. My first dawning that all those names on the credits have something important to do, some small piece of a major project. That's a real lesson when you're 12 or so.
March 24, 2019
Excellent reference book for preliminary conceptual artwork, final production paintings, costumes, ships, vehicles, landscapes, movie poster art, and screenplay from A New Hope. The final chapter is dedicated to fan art, cartoons, and parodies of Star Wars.
April 9, 2019
This was a neat take on the story that I've seen and read a number of times.
October 12, 2013
The Art of Star Wars, Episode IV - A New Hope builds upon the images originally released in the book called The Art of Star Wars in 1979. It does so by adding hundreds of new images from costume designs, production paintings, matte paintings, blueprints, sketches and storyboards. The most interesting images I found in the book are the early character and droid sketches and how they evolved to what we came to see on the screen. This book goes far beyond what some other ART books contain by giving the reader descriptions and stories that go along with the image on the page. The vast majority of the artwork in the book is from the mind and talents of Ralph McQuarrie. Mr. McQuarrie is best known for his work on the Star Wars Trilogy and his later work on Star Wars Omnibus: Shadows of the Empire and the artwork in the bible at the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. His work earned him a cameo in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back as General Pharl McQuarrie.
As noted by some other reviewers the book does have some binding issues. When the book is opened widely you can hear the glue cracking which over time may cause some pages to come unattached. Over all this book is an outstanding production. Recommended.
As noted by some other reviewers the book does have some binding issues. When the book is opened widely you can hear the glue cracking which over time may cause some pages to come unattached. Over all this book is an outstanding production. Recommended.
May 15, 2012
I am going through and re-reading books from my childhood and I'm starting with The Art of Star Wars books. I bought these when they came out and have fond memories of them. The book is two parts: the movie script and the art. As I read through The Art of Star Wars again, I really enjoyed the storyboards, concept art, models used in the movie, and other pieces of art that was produced before the actual movie was shot. It is interesting to see what ideas were kept and rejected for the movie itself. Surprisingly, I also really enjoyed the end section about the Special Edition. It gives a little background info on why the changes were made and before and after frames. Since I practically grew up with the Special Edition versions, a reminder of what is new and old is appreciated. This is definitely for serious fans of Star Wars, but I'm glad my warm nostalgia for this book was well-placed.
April 18, 2014
No es que aporte demasiado: Básicamente es la transcripción de la versión beta del guión de Star Wars Episodio 4, que no difiere mucho de lo que conocemos, así como una recopilación de bocetos y arte conceptual, así como posters e ilustraciones promocionales de La Guerra de las Galaxias , publicados en la fecha de su estreno en distintos paises.
Aún así, sólo por disfrutar de algunas ilustraciones, en especial las de Ralph McQuarrie, ya es una gozada para los fans de Star Wars :-)
Aún así, sólo por disfrutar de algunas ilustraciones, en especial las de Ralph McQuarrie, ya es una gozada para los fans de Star Wars :-)
September 28, 2015
While the book contains a lot of drawings and drafts, it provides absolutely no info on the background of these illustrations, how the art-process was working, why some drafts were picked and others not. The text you will find in this book is the script of the movie, what is nice, but not related to the art of SW. It appears that this book is just a mix of graphics and text that was at hand, but together by somebody without any insight into the decision-making regarding the art in SW.
October 14, 2008
Wonderfully informed, funny, and disgusting commentary of various current and past wars. It's a collection of his columns from the Exile, a Russian expat paper, and even when you don't agree with his point of view, you'll enjoy the War Nerd's writing.
December 29, 2014
I don't know if it's because that I've seen the movie 100000000 times that I can compare it, but I don't like it
Like a lot of books vs movies, there's a LOT of different parts that can be deleted, or things are changed, or dialogue is different.
So many other things, but yeah...annoying
Like a lot of books vs movies, there's a LOT of different parts that can be deleted, or things are changed, or dialogue is different.
So many other things, but yeah...annoying
March 24, 2007
Isn't it great when your favorite movie is suddenly your favorite book? I think that's great.
August 13, 2009
An artwork collection/movie script tie-in to the Star Wars phenomenon
December 15, 2010
clearly, Ralph Mcquarrie is the reason Star Wars looks like it does--this is the imaginative landscape of my childhood
February 13, 2012
4 down 2 to go
October 18, 2012
A really good book to see the effort that went into making the look of Star Wars.
March 7, 2013
Fascinating book for Star Wars fans and those interested in the history of motion picture special effects.
June 9, 2016
Having owned this series since childhood, these were a huge inspiration to the budding side of my early storytelling.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews