Title: Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days
Author: John Knoll
ISBN: 0810959364
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Copyright: 2005
Reviewed by Reihla.
John Knoll, the author, fulfilled every fantasy we had as children about making Star Wars a part of our reality. At the age of 14, when “A New Hope” was released, he dared to dream of working for George Lucas. By the time the first prequel movie – Phantom Menace – was in production he had become the visual effects supervisor for Lucas's production company, Industrial Light and Magic. It is Knoll's “voice” which guides us on this chronological, behind-the-scenes tour of the making of all six Star Wars films.
First off, this book is done in the Abrams 365 Day Series format – essentially, this means it is a coffee-table book formatted so you can turn a page each day of the year to learn something new. I’m not fond of calendar formats, and I admit that I almost passed it by - especially with its deceptively small 6.5”x9.5” size and the plastic wrap which made it impossible to preview. I’ve read just about every “making of” book on Star Wars that exists and was just sure it wouldn’t have anything new to offer. I was absolutely wrong. This book is full of vivid, colorful photographs of sets and models which haven’t been seen anywhere else. Each pic is accompanied by an explanation which gives new insight into the scene being depicted and the techniques used to create it. Even the most seasoned Star Wars fans will find it fresh and interesting. They definitely will not be able to limit themselves to one page per day.
The most interesting part for me was the first third of the book, which was devoted to the original trilogy production. The rest of the book focuses on production for the prequel trilogy, but being a fan of both generations of Star Wars, I enjoyed the latter part too. What the book really brought home to me was the vast difference between the shoestring budget of the early days of Star Wars and the virtually unlimited resources available to create the later prequels. You hear it all the time – how little Lucas had to work with to create “A New Hope”, but this book helps you understand just what a phenomenal and ground-breaking accomplishment that film was.
“Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days” is a true treasure for anyone who is interested in the grittier side of Star Wars – the creation of those fabulous worlds and the fantastical items that populate it. The CD-ROM which accompanies the book is a gem as well, containing video clips and over a hundred 360° panoramic shots (in QuickTime format).
For those of us who drowned in “making of” books, particularly for the original trilogy films, not every fact given here is a revelation. Still, no matter how much I thought I knew, there are so many new insights and bits of obscure trivia that this book is well worth the $30 price. Other reviewers have rated it as one of the best “making of” Star Wars books of all time and I have to say I agree with their assessment.
