When I was a kid I had a thin paperback called The Story of Star Wars. It was basically what is now known as a junior novelization but with lots and lots of pictures. At the time it was the only thing, besides the actual novel, that I had (I got the comics, and my first videodisc of the film, later – yes, RCA videodisc). I read the novel once, but I read The Story of Star Wars countless times, because, well, it had pictures, it was short, and I was a kid.
People don’t realize today that, at the time, having ANYTHING that brought back the memories of that first film was precious. The first two or three years, up till ’77, there wasn’t much – 12 or so action figures, four toy vehicles, poster magazines, the aforementioned books, some book-records, the soundtrack, a couple of posters – and that’s it. Today, you get a multimedia onslaught two months before the movie comes out (see Superman Returns, Spider-man 3, Pirates 3, etc.)
Well, I bring this up not just as a nostalgic recollection but to comment on two new books that have appeared on the scene, both purporting to tell the story of Star Wars.
The first is a huge $75 hardcover that is titled The Making of Star Wars. Moriarty wrote a very good (nah, gushing) review that has made me order the thing sight unseen. Basically, Drew/Moriarty gives me the distinct impression he thinks that this is the definitive making-of book, not just for Star Wars, but for any movie, period. I’m excited and looking forward to getting my copy, because, as an adult, this is the type of casual reading I enjoy.
The second is a fan-written work, available for free on said fan’s site, called The Secret History of Star Wars. The book could stand some editing, but the author has a tremendous amount of passion and most of his sources are well cited. Again, it’s free, and worth at least a browse.
I look at both sources as fascinating glimses into one of those rare occasions where everything worked, from the talent involved to the culture at the time. I read this history and I wonder if we will ever see any such phenomenon explode, almost out of nowhere, ever again. I doubt it.