Empire of Dreams

“Empire of Dreams” is a documentary that shows the behind the scenes of the making of the original “Star Wars” trilogy and also explains how it changed everything in cinema and how it almost wasn’t.

“Star Wars” has always been special to everyone, including me, but after I watched “Empire of Dreams” back in 2008 I discovered that it’s even more special than you think. There is so much to “Star Wars” that I didn’t know. “Empire of Dreams" shows you George Lucas' earlier years, when he attended film school, to his earlier films before “Star Wars”. “Star Wars” was his most passionate project, although he didn’t expect it to be very popular when he started it. “Empire of Dreams” also explains how George Lucas did his own businesses and put together companies for the special effects and other stuff in the creative arts. I love listening to everyone as they talk about their experiences, their opinions and the work they put into “Star Wars".

“Empire of Dreams” also feels like you are traveling through time because there is so much old footage and photographs of the behind the scenes of “Star Wars” and other stuff as well.

There’s also original footage from “Star Wars” before things like sound, special effects were added to the scene to enhance it. Like before James Earl Jones was hired to do the voice of Darth Vader, the character sounded like a school boy. There’s also the original concept art when they were figuring out the look for “Star Wars”.

George Lucas was under a lot of pressure while making the first “Star Wars” because this was a big movie to make. George had trouble speaking his mind and he didn’t feel like he was in control at times while “Star Wars” was being shot. I understand what he must have felt because during my teen years I could hardly speak or say what was going through my mind. I wasn’t easy to understand.

A lot of people, mainly the crew, didn’t beleive in “Star Wars” at first, but it was nice of some people like the stunt coordinator, the editors, the sound department, the special effects department to do everything they could do to help George Lucas. I think they were real team players and they were under as much pressure as George Lucas. I would also say they were better believers in “Star Wars” because they were putting their creative talents to good use. There was times Fox was thinking about pulling the plug on “Star Wars” because it was taking too much time to make, but they managed to stay patient.

When “Star Wars” was first released, no one knew what they were seeing. They didn’t even know what “Star Wars” was about. But as soon as the film began there was a strong reaction from the audience and it continued as the film went on. “Star Wars” was completely new and breathtaking for people. I can imagine how special it was for everyone in the theater, not just the audience, but the people who worked on “Star Wars” as well. And the people who had doubts about “Star Wars” ever being good were proven wrong. Fox was certainly relieved with how “Star Wars” turned out. It was worth every penny they put into the budget.

George Lucas put everything into “Star Wars”. George took a lot of risks, but I would say he was a big believer in what he was creating. And George continued that with the sequels, “Empire” and “Jedi”.

George didn’t direct the “Star Wars” films that came after the first because he was doing so many things and it was hard to fit directing into his schedule. But he made it clear to the directors he hired what he wanted to see in these sequels. So the directors were following George Lucas’s orders. Of course they didn’t obey every order because some of the stuff George had written in the script wasn’t good enough, so the directors thought of ways to make it better.

George Lucas would break rules as well. He was at war with Fox studio and the writers and directors guild. George Lucas wasn’t afraid to do things his way. He was thinking in a creative environment.

“Empire of Dreams” feels like a special documentary because it explains what “Star Wars” has done and what I learned from it has stuck with me ever since.

You can find "Empire of Dreams" on Prime Video.