Day Of The Jedi It Is

By George 'El Guapo' Roush on May 24, 2008

I saw Star Wars when it first came out in theaters in 1977. My family and I waited for hours and were first in line at the Century theaters in San Jose. After seeing such an awesome display of fantasy, science fiction and special effects, I instantly became engrossed in movies, eating up everything that came out in theaters.

I must admit that over the years, my 'fandom' isn't as big as it was when I was a kid. Maybe I'm a bit burned out on it. But I still have the original trilogy on Laserdisc, and I watch it from time to time. Why do I watch it on Laserdisc? I have no idea. Maybe it's because I don't like Lucas' revisions to the originals, or I'm too cheap to buy them on DVD. Actually, I'm waiting for my hi-def versions before I give Mr. Lucas more Star Wars money.

I remember when Episode I came out. I was living in Denver at the time and my friends and I went to this Star Wars event to celebrate the opening of the new movie. They had the stars of the film there, and more toys than I've ever seen in my life. It was muddy, rainy and overpriced, but it was fun.

Despite the reviews for Lucas' new films, I really like Episode III. I must have seen it about six times already. Episode I I've only watched a few times and I've never seen Episode II past my theater experience because I thought it was horrible. Oh well. I guess 5 out of 6 movies I enjoy isn't too bad.

So since I've been out of the Star Wars universe for a while, I had no idea there was a Universal Jedi Day on May 25th. A day where fans all over the planet can dress up like their favorite characters and celebrate their passion for Star Wars. I can't wait to eat at Ihop and see some dude in a Stormtrooper outfit struggle to eat his pancakes through the helmet.

To help celebrate this glorious occasion, Greg Davies, who runs the websites The-TrukstoP.com and Dayofthejedi.com wrote an interesting and informative article on Lucas' influences and inspirations for Star Wars. Here's an excerpt from the article:

There was definitely, at one point, a world without Star Wars. Before May 25, 1977, the mythical universe created by Lucas was simply a work-in-progress; something that many in the business-side of Hollywood found challenging to comprehend. The whole concept was weird to them. What the hell was a Wookiee and why did he not have any pants on? What is this Force and who or what is a Jedi?

In spite of the difficulties many of the execs had with understanding the story, the ancestry of Star Wars come from many different sources. Lucas often quotes Joseph Campbell and his studies into and publications about mythology to be a key influence. But it was more than that. While “the suits” thought that Sith Lords and Death Stars were just too peculiar, there were numerous films that Lucas used as inspiration for the Star Wars saga; inspirations that assisted him in molding the saga into a multigenerational story.

It's a great read and really gives some good insights into the films Lucas turned to to spawn one of the greatest science fiction stories ever created. Who knew that The Searchers was one of them? I love that film and after reading the article, I'm popping that sucker back in my HD player and watching it again.

Click the Wookie to read what has inspired Lucas to create a phenomenon that will last for generations.

Source:Cineleet

• 

  Comments

• No comments yet!

Submit Your Comments

Title

Comment

Your Name

Your Email