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1978 star wars holiday movie special

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8 comments

  • pulsarnc
    Mike,i was a huge star wars fan when it first came out .Do not remember the holiday special .Tried to watch it but had to quit after about ten minutes Not sure if I have the stamina to do the whole thing or not
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  • mrmike08075
    The first ten minutes are brutal - the bad wookie noises with no subtitles is soul crushing - and time seems to slow down...

    Mala and lumpy and itchy in domestic wookie bliss should be used as a torture device.

    The grandfather looks like a bad Bigfoot suit mated with the creature from Harry and the Henderson's.

    On thanksgiving in 1978 on network antenna television this attracted over 15 million viewers - it cost over a million dollars to make and was the costliest TV program made at that point in history.

    But like a train wreck you must watch - and how can you say you are a star Wars fan and not watch this episode in the saga...

    Mike
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  • UKCATS
    I remember watching this as a kid. As an adult, its pretty terrible though.

    I cant believe George Lucas signed off on it.
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  • mrmike08075
    Contractual obligations...

    18 months since opening star Wars was still in theatres and drawing crowds - this special would keep up interest and bridge the gap until the next movie...

    Lucas owned all merchandise rights 100% and this was done to keep the toys selling especially just before Christmas - the toy makers begged for it and he wanted the money train to keep rolling.

    They cut him out of the specials production and he was working on empire strikes back...

    That's what the word is from insiders.

    Mike
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  • pulsarnc
    Saw the original 3 or 4 times while it played in town even went so far as to drive 100 miles to another town to see it one last time before all the theaters shut down the showings in nc will try to make it thru the rest of it soon
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  • mrmike08075
    Back in the day - pre cable TV and pre internet and pre widespread availability of vhs or beta VCR's when almost nobody had computers or game systems...

    Pre Mac / bank card and pre answering machine and pre cell phone...

    Star Wars original movie stayed in theatres and sold tickets for like 2 years...

    They had comic books and trading cards and fan magazines and fan clubs and special mail order only with box tops limited edition toys...

    Every TV show had star Wars tie ins - soul train and Richard Pryor show and game shows and parades and endless old school media shills...

    Lucas toys dominated the Sears catalogs for a solid decade but especially the pre Christmas big catalogs for the first few years...

    Star Wars disco night at the skating rink...

    We saw star Wars propaganda sales film strips on projectors and screens in the elementary school library when I was a kid.

    The as Lucas took out in all the papers after star Wars crushed 1975 premier jaws at box offices - with Bruce the shark getting hooked...

    This holiday special suppression by Lucas is like the Pope and Vatican suppressing parts of the Bible - it was a massive world wide campaign that involved assassination and intrigue...

    Bootleg versions that people had taped on massive heavy video cassette recorders got copied and sold and passed around in back alleys and secret rooms...

    Mike
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  • Wrangler
    Star Trek > Star Wars. Just saying.
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  • mrmike08075
    Hey I grew up on star trek and am a huge fan.

    Star Trek the motion picture was part of the rush to make sci fi movies to compete with star Wars and rake in cash.

    The black hole - heavy metal - there was I big budget sci fi flop with a pre breakfast club Molly ringwald...

    Space 1999 was on TV

    To me close encounters and ET belong in that mix on different ends

    Battle star galactica was a must watch TV program - with moffit who was a daggit (cyborg or robot dog)

    From 1977 to say 1982 (those first 5 years) what sci do films do you embrace or recall...

    Alien

    Mike
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