I'd say author/editor J.W. Rinzler deserves an MVP award for his current contributions to Star Wars fandom. He's hit another home run for the team with this OT Storyboards book. I loved his "Making of" books, and this is a perfect companion piece for them. It just keeps getting better. This book is not just a collection of various storyboard art. For the first time (I believe), Rinzler uses the original storyboard art to re-tell the stories of the three original movies (A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi) in their original theatrical release form.
Text is sparse in this book. Beyond the foreward and introduction, it's all artwork with brief captions.
If there is a drawback to this book, it's that not all scenes are included--probably to keep the page count and price manageable. One glaring omission is the Cantina scene. Given how choppy the Kenobi/"Walrus Man" battle was, I'd like to see how it was portrayed in storyboards.
If there is one treasured advantage to this book, it's that we see more drawings based on early designs that didn't appear in the movie. For example, the original Millennium Falcon was the Blockade Runner ship from Ep4's first scene. The cockpit was reused for the MF's "hamburger" design so the BR got a "hammerhead" cockpit. In these boards we see the original MF design escaping from Mos Eisley and being captured by the Death Star. That kind of stuff pleases me to no end!
SPOILER ALERT! You won't believe what Alderaan originally looked like! It looks pretty familiar!
It appears that Rinzler kept his choices as close to the finished movies as possible. That means that pretty much none of the cut scenes are included. For example, the scene of Luke and Biggs early in Ep 4 isn't here. Nor are any of the 1990's Special Edition scenes included. I did find one board from the sandstorm scene in Jedi, and there might be a few other rare instances, but overall the cut material is left out. I very much hope a future edition gets the "Special Edition" treatment with all that added.
***Side note for those who don't know what storyboards are.***
Storyboards are drawings of each shot for a movie. Every shot in a movie is pre-planned. Directors hire artists to sketch out what a particular shot will look like, meaning who is in the shot, how close they are to the camera, what action is taken (such as a spaceship's movement across the screen), and important background elements. Sometimes storyboard artists are asked to redraw a shot many times, depending on how many times the director changes his/her mind!
Keep in mind, storyboards are sketches. They are not conceptual art involving detailed paintings. These are just production sketches that are placed on a big wall so the director can see the flow of the movie. And since directors often use a team of storyboard artists, the quality and style can vary greatly. They also vary in medium: some in pencil, some in ink, some in grey wash tones, and a very few in color. PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT FULLY RENDERED PIECES OF ARTWORK! Directors do not need storyboards that are finished pieces, so it is wasteful to pay for anything more than a sketch that shows the bare essentials for the shot.
The beauty in this project is to experience the movies in their raw, imagined form. It's not just a revisit to the visuals or the story. It's a journey into the mind of Lucas and his assistants as they create the greatest sci-fi epic of all time.
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Reviews with images
Awesome book
Got this for my dad who is a lifelong star wars fan and he loved it. So much to look at in the book, it is definitely worth the price.
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
I am a professional and this one is my type yeah!
Reviewed in India on May 15, 2022
