Jim Regan - Site Reviews
Star Wars: Making Episode I
|
Of course, the release of a new Star Wars film also brings with it certain inevitable secondary events; line-ups to rival even the most inefficient government offices, fans who will see the film more times than full-time projectionists, other releases cowering in the shadows until the hysteria dies down, and a phenomenon whose origins seem linked to the first three (which are, of course, the second three) Star Wars films -- the "The Making of..." documentary. (Frankly, I think it's high time to take the next step, and explore The Making of The Making of a major motion picture.)
So far, two of the above phenomena have already appeared -- the first being the line-ups. (And if you've got nothing better to do with your time than keeping tabs on people with nothing better to do with their time than standing in line, you can follow their progress at the Countdown to Star Wars: Opening Day Events site -- complete with a wildly inaccurate history of the term "blockbuster".) The second is the documentary, which in this case is represented by Star Wars: Making Episode I -- a nine-part exploration of the making of films in general and Star Wars Episode I in particular.
Making Episode I is the work of Lynne Hale, who has gathered 600-odd hours of video-tape on the subject since 1994. And although television special(s) following the release of the film will be less labor intensive to view, and doubtless have more and better video than a Web site, the latter has its own benefits.
First, the Web documentary is available now and at the viewer's convenience. Second, it has the flexibility to break its presentation into smaller parts -- each looking at a specific area of a movie's creation -- while the whole reminds the visitor of just how much work is involved in that two-hour bit of escape. This is an ongoing project and more instalments may be added, but to date the line-up consists of the following:
1 - All I Need is an Idea: Deals with the actual creation of the script, which in the case of a science fiction piece like Star Wars, also includes the creation of such minor extras as planets, species, cultures and styles of architecture. There is also the added constraint that everything written for Episodes one to three must lead logically into the already completed episodes four to six.
2 - Thousands of Things: Looks at the Art Department, which created between three and four thousand pieces of artwork (sketches, sculptures, costumes, creature models and production paintings) for Episode I.
3 - Home Sweet Home: Set Constriction. Fifty-five sets were built for the film. This instalment includes a studio tour, and blueprints and construction shots for Anakin Skywalker's home.
4 - Boys in Paradise: This episode on Set Decoration and props reminds visitors that someone has to put dishes on the tables and paintings on the walls (not to mention blasters in the holsters).
5 - This is a Creature Film: Fairly self-explanatory - 'Creature Effects,' from actors in latex to puppets and animatronics.
6 - Prime of the Jedi: Stunt Coordination and the choreography of lightsaber battles.
7 - Assistant Directors: The roles and responsibilities of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd A.D.'s.
8 - Three Thousand Anakins: Casting - specifically, the casting for the role of the young Anakin Skywalker.
9 - It's Like War Now: The joys and challenges of location shooting, such as moving everything from cast and crew to washing machines and first-aid centers to the Tunisian desert, and then rebuilding sets after a 120 mph sand storm.
Each instalment contains videos, text, and such 'extras' as Episode 2's sketches of various starfighters. Since these pages are a smaller part of the Star Wars official site, you're not likely to find any 'dirt' here -- no Jedi hazings or Yoda walkouts -- but the relationship does aid in the creation of 'official' links to more information on Star Wars movies and the people who created them.
The weakest link of the site, and the reason I almost didn't write this review is, yet again, RealVideo. (Webmasters! Take pity on those of us who don't have cable modems!) Though the sound was fine, the images routinely slipped from 'full' motion to sporadic stills, and while some sites allow the download of RealVideo files for offline viewing, that option is not available here -- nor are QuickTime versions of the clips. (Granted, it takes a while for a QT clip to download, but the image quality can be more than worth the wait. A topical example is Troops - a parody of Star Wars done in the style of Cops. The files are huge, and it's best to download while you've got something else to occupy your time, but the images are clear - and the clips are hilarious.)
That rant being ranted, (I'm sure it won't be the last time) the site is worth the visit, not just for Star Wars fans, but for anyone interested in the staggering amount and variety of work that goes into the making every major film. Personally, I'm thinking about starting work on a new project of my own - The Making of the Star Wars: Making Episode I Web site.
Star Wars: Making Episode I can be found at http://www.starwars.com/making/
Jim Regan provides 'Today's Links' to the e-Monitor. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.