There have been lots of documentaries – both professional and fan produced – that have examined the creation of the Star Wars films. So many, it would seem doubtful that there was anything new to say on the subject. But sometimes it is not what you say but how you say it, as Jambe Davdar’s excellent Star Wars Begins aptly demonstrates.
Rather than just discuss the chronological creation of the first Star Wars film, Davdar has instead re-edited the film using deleted and alternate scenes, raw footage, concept art and cast and crew interviews to place that evolution into the narrative context of the film itself. The end result is not only an illuminating new perspective of Lucas’s creative process but one of the best.
The final product has been posted to YouTube in 14 parts, the first two of which are embedded below.
Davdar has stated that he is unsure if LucasFilm will allow the documentary to be available, citing possible copyright concerns. It is true that LucasFilm has been pretty lenient when it comes to fan made films in the past, allowing fans to freely distribute their own short films set in the Star Wars universe, as long as they do so without charge. (This is why Davdar has only made the documentary available on YouTube.) And while Fair Use allows for a copyrighted work to be quoted in any type of critical or scholarly discussion, I could see where a lawyer might be able to argue that this may exceed its boundaries. What I’m saying is, make some time to watch this as soon as possible in case it should disappear.
Thanks to reader Damon C for pointing us towards this last weekend.
