A Force to reckon with...
2005-05-19 13:47
Los Angeles - For a story that began in a galaxy far, far away, its earthly impact was immediate, profound and enduring, transforming the film industry and creating its own sub-culture along the way.
Now, nearly 30 years after Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia burst into the public imagination, Star Wars is laying down its light sabres for good with the release on Thursday of the saga's sixth and final episode.
Love it or hate it - and the Force is strong on both sides of that particular divide - there is no denying the influence of George Lucas' galactic creation.
According to movie-receipt tracker Box Office Mojo, the Star Wars series has generated $3.4bn at the global box office since the first film appeared in 1977.
Even more startling is its nine-billion-dollar retail sales figure - testament that the films not only oversaw a revolution in the way movies are made and marketed, but also in the art of related merchandising.
The internet search engine Google returns 22.6 million hits for Star Wars, while the auction website eBay lists more than 68 000 film-related items for sale.
'It spoke to a new generation'
"It's a religion, a myth, a major phenomenon in the world of entertainment," said Marty Grove, a columnist with Hollywood Reporter Online.
"I think it became a phenomenon because it was fresh and new, and it spoke to a new generation that Hollywood wasn't speaking to," Grove said. "The audience grew up with Star Wars ... their children are part of the audience."
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith wraps up the "prequel" trilogy that Lucas embarked on 16 years after completing the original three films in the series.
While the last two outings received a critical pillorying, public enthusiasm has remained largely undimmed, as demonstrated by the fans in Los Angeles who began queuing for tickets - albeit at the wrong movie theatre - seven weeks before the May 19 release date.
Filmmaker Tariq Jalil, who directed the documentary A Galaxy Far, Far Away about the pop-culture phenomenon of Star Wars, attributed the films' appeal to their roots in traditional American cinema.
"It's the classic fight between good and evil," Jalil said. "It's like a western in space."
Although he is among those who feel the last two films in the series were below par, Jalil is effusive in his admiration for Lucas.
Money galore
"He's a genius, ... a very intelligent man who understands mythology, and a great storyteller," he said.
Lucas is also an extremely rich man, having, in what with hindsight would probably rate as one of the biggest business coups of the century, negotiated with 20th Century Fox back in 1977 to keep the Star Wars merchandising rights.
The studio had agreed on the assumption that the film was going to be a box office flop.
It was, of course, an unprecedented success - so much so that Lucas himself says he struggled at times to come to terms with the consequences.
"I had mixed feelings about being George Star Wars Lucas," he confessed in a recent interview with Time magazine.
"That was a hard thing, but I did finally accept the fact that there was probably nothing I was going to do with the rest of my life that was going to change that, that I might as well live with it," he said.
"It's not the worst thing in the world," he added. "If that was my shot at some kind of vague little mark on history, hey, that's not so bad."
Such a modest assessment would probably be howled down by the ranks of the 501st Legion of Imperial Stormtroopers, a fan club that celebrates the movies through costumes and props, with a special focus on Darth Vader's elite troops.
With 3 000 members in 21 countries, the club is typical of the myriad groups and organisations spawned by the cult following that has surrounded Star Wars over the past three decades.