Cultural Dessert

'Living with Star Wars' by Mark Burman

29 May 2020

I was nine years old when the original Star Wars film was released in 1977. My friend Anthony won tickets in a Manchester Evening News competition to attend the Manchester premiere at the city centre Odeon and took me as his guest. So we were the first children in our school to see this incredibly anticipated blockbuster, which made us (all too briefly!) extremely cool. I became understandably obsessed with the film and devoured everything I could find out about it. One of my most treasured LPs is still the original John Williams soundtrack featuring the legendary London Symphony Orchestra brass section. This week I have been wallowing in nostalgia, listening to The Documentary Podcast from the BBC World Service, ‘Living with Star Wars’. Originally broadcast in December 2019, this programme by Mark Burman explores the making of ‘Star Wars’, talking to many of those involved (including some no longer with us). It’s interesting to remember how revolutionary the film was at the time and to hear how independent low-budget film-maker George Lucas struggled to realise his vision within the constraints of a major studio movie. I was intrigued by the links to ‘Apocalypse Now’ and Kurosawa’s ‘The Hidden Fortress’ (in which the story is seen through the eyes of the servants, leading to the idea of Star Wars starting as a tale of two droids caught up in the middle of a galactic battle). If you are as geeky as me about ‘Star Wars’ you can enjoy listening to ‘Living with Star Wars’ on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct03mr

Labels: Radio

posted by Robin Simpson @ 3:38 pm