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Actors and extras reminisce about their time on the set of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” and how making the film affected their lives.
For the die-hard Star Wars fans, there’s noting better than sitting back and watching your favorite episode(s). However, for many, watching the making of the Star Wars movies, is even better. Depending on your trilogy of choice, you get to see footage of George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, or Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson, working together to create movie magic and there are more than enough “behind-the-scenes” documentaries to choose from; “The Making of Star Wars,” “The Making of Star Wars: Original Trilogy,” “The Making of Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy” and probably the most comprehensive making-of, “Empire of Dreams: The Story of the ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy.”
Having said all that, the difference between “Elstree 1976” and any of the aforementioned titles, is that this new documentary concentrates on the actors and extras that appeared in the very first movie, “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,” all the way back in 1977. Some were actors who had small but pivotal roles, such as Angus MacInnes who played Gold Leader, Paul Blake who played Greedo (who did NOT shoot first), Pam Rose who played the character of Leesub Sirln, Jeremy Bulloch who portrayed Boba Fett, and of course, David Prowse, who played the baddest villain in the universe, Darth Vader. Unlike George Lucas and the rest of the big-name celebrities who appeared in these movies and have gone on the make millions of dollars, “Elstree 1976” talks with the men and women who worked on the movie anywhere from one to two days, to several weeks in some instances, and then left the film and moved on with their lives, unaware that one year later, for some, all of that would change.
For those who are not aware of what goes into the making of a film from an extra’s standpoint or that of a day player (a performer who is hired on a daily basis without a long-term contract), “Elstree 1976” gives you a great insight. I have been an indie filmmaker for over thirty years and back in 2004, I was directing my third feature film, “Divine Souls,” and I was getting ready to shoot a scene in a restaurant and I needed the place to be full of patrons so I called on friends and colleagues who all said they would be there. On the time and date specified, nobody turned up. I ended up going out onto the street and asking passers-by if they would like to be in a movie and they all enthusiastically said yes. Thankfully, because of their assistance, I was able to complete the scene but without them, it would not have worked. They may just be faces in the background, and at times, out of focus but without them, a director would not be able to fulfill their vision, whether they are football fans sitting in a stadium, watching and cheering their favorite team, or whether they are stormtoopers, marching on the Death Star, awaiting orders from Darth Vader, without them, there is no movie.
George Lucas, while a great visionary, having created not just the Star Wars universe but also my personal favorite, Indiana Jones, is not renowned as a good director. With “THX-1138” and “American Graffiti,” he showed signs of greatness but once he began his space opus, he became more about the visual and special effects than the story and dialogue and this is very evident with his prequel trilogy. Many actors over the years have looked back on their time making whatever Star Wars movie(s) they were involved with and most of them said they did not have fond memories of working with Lucas. Not on a personal level, he just didn’t know how to communicate with them, and he has stated as much himself. Filmmakers like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola, are known as “actor’s directors” (a director who understands and accommodates the needs of an actor), Lucas was not. And that makes things very difficult for actors who are used to being directed. Harrison Ford once approached him during the original trilogy and exclaimed, in regards to the script’s dialogue, “George, you can type this shit, but you can’t say it.” Many actors felt the same way.
One great anecdote in “Elstree 1976,” comes from actor Angus MacInnes, who played Gold Leader. Getting into the cockpit for the part where the resistance are attacking the Death Star at the end of the movie, MacInnes recalls that just as they were about to shoot the scene, Lucas told him to say only his lines. Anybody who knows anything about acting, knows that’s not how it works. You learn your lines while the other actor reads aloud their dialogue and that’s how you memorize what you have to say, the other person’s dialogue is your cue to speak. When Lucas informed him that he would not have another person reading the other characters’ dialogue and that he was just to say his lines, one after the other, he began to panic. He couldn’t remember all of his lines individually because every other line of dialogue from the opposite character, helped him to remember his. In the end, Lucas had him write his dialogue down on pieces of paper which littered the cockpit and even MacInnes states that whenever you see him onscreen during that final battle, he is not acting, he is barely getting by, looking down at his knee for a line of dialogue, then looking to his left or right for the next line.
One aspect I really enjoyed, was the Comic-Con events which take place all around the world. For many of these actors, some who were were barely seen in the movie, these conventions have given them a new life. With all sorts of conventions, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, you name it, if Star Wars can be inserted into the line-up, you can bet that many of these actors will be there. People are so taken in by the whole Star Wars universe and its vast and contrasting characters, if you can say you were in any one (or more) of the movies, and show your face in a scene, then you’re in. People will line up for hours and pay money just to get an autograph and a picture because in their eyes, you were a part of their childhood dream and you spoke to George Lucas, the creator, or maybe brushed up against Harrison Ford or Ewan McGregor, or even stood in the background while Mark Hamill or Billy Dee Williams sprouted some expository dialogue, if you were there, fans around the world will want to know you.
Two characters in particular, Boba Fett and Darth Vader, have become legendary throughout the universe and for many years, people didn’t much care who played them onscreen because let’s face it, the actors portraying them, were hidden underneath costumes and masks, it was the characters themselves that appealed to the fans. Bounty hunter Bobe Fett’s Imperial stormtrooper-like armor, and Darth Vader’s all-black, cybernetic armor suit and intimidating labored mechanical breathing, made for two iconic villains. Only in recent years, have fans flocked to these sci-fi conventions and now demand to see and interact with the actors behind the masks.
Director Jon Spira does an admirable job in delivering an in-depth, behind-the-scenes narrative that gives fans a different perspective on Star Wars, one not previously depicted. The film also talks about each actor, their background, their experiences making Star Wars, and where they are now in their lives. This is not a documentary about the making of “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” per se, rather, it is an incisive look into the lives of the actors and extras that most people have forgotten about, and shines a light on them and their contributions to one of the biggest and most celebrated film franchises in history.
Available on DVD June 28th via MVD Entertainment Group
