MisterWhiplash Having just read the wonderful JW Rinzler book on the making of Empire (which is just about, along with the books on the other two films in the trilogy, incredibly comprehensive), I thought I'd check out what was done at the time to show audiences what went into 'making' all of this. It turns out to only be focused on the special effects, but perhaps that's enough. You get to see how the ILM creators made so many of the innovative moments - how the Hoth battle was staged with a combination of mattes, puppets, stop-motion animation (Good God Tippet and Muren did incredible work), the sound effects and how they originated (Ben Burtt is one of the only ones to be interviewed here), and the other animations and techniques used like optical printing and blue-screen work - and that's it. Oh, not really, there's also some clips from movies kids made around or before that time showing off how influential Star Wars but also fantasy films in general were (I'd love to get a copy of Hardware Wars).Though not as comprehensive as I might like, I did enjoy the variety of going between the fan's works and the details of the production, even if it's less interview-dependent than most other docs I watch (in that way critic Richard Shickel's narration is closer to older docs, with Hamil narrating). Worth checking out, but if you know some of the details already then it may not teach you anything new; if nothing else to see the likes of the great VFX director Richard Edlund getting things painstakingly ready for shots often only lasting a second of film (or less), and some terrific clips from work by Willis O'Brien, Kubrick and Harryhausen to emphasize the work laid by previous artists.

minkey-1 This may have been made for TV but it a class example of cutting edge special effects circa 1980. Since George Lucas has changed the original Star Wars movies forever, this making of documentary is even more of a must see. Mark Hamill narrates this delightful look at SCI-FI movie making. It even includes footage of fan films made by teenagers in the late 1970's with Super 8 cameras. Pure gold. Impossible to get, so if you find a copy hang onto it! This will be part of Star Wars folklore one day. As long as Lucas keeps changing his movies, documentaries like this one will become even more special. See also the Making Of Star Wars.

kmwells Look i saw this as a kid and still have the VCR of it at my mom's. At the time it was major kick ass. I remember it being state of the art, cutting edge special effects. It may seem cheesy now, but that is only because old school special effects like this paved the way. Give respect!!! George Lucas was brave enough and idealistic enough to gather the proper folks together to bring his dream into a reality. How many of us have the balls to do this today? All of the old school stuff on this video will show you the ingenuity of creativity in a time before most of us knew it. before digital imagery, anyhow. should view this SPFX and learn about where it all started for THX, Lucasfilm, and Skywalker studios.

kingfrat Classic cheesefest chronicles the making of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, hosted by Mark Hamill, no less. Focus is on the creation of the special effects, obviously, and we're shown 3rd rate efforts of grade schoolers to recreate such cinematic marvels in the classroom. Consequently, they all got F's. These pre-pubescent amateurs aren't worthy of the urine of Dennis Muren.