The Star Wars Archives Episodes IV-VI
Paul Duncan
Taschen
509 pages, hardback
The Star Wars Archives is about the making of the first three Star Wars films. Film historian Paul Duncan interviews the creators and cast and crew to create a narrative of the making of the films as well as include developmental material such as from first drafts of screenplays. There are plenty of photos.
I have finished reading about the first episode which for me was a revelation of how much arduous work goes into making a film. It made me consider in my circumstances if I would be willing to pour myself into making a film and be a part of the film industry. I gave a resounding answer.
My reading of the book at this moment is notable for the explanation of the “Force” in the films. Although there has been various Christian analysis on the themes, as expected the Force has nothing to do with the Church or Christian religion at its core. I went away realizing that Star Wars could not be regarded as a “Christian” film. Although there are themes and subtleties that collate to Christian faith, there is not at the heart of the films, the faith.
The heart of the Star Wars philosophy it seems has to do with the primal “energy” of good and evil and the eventual resting place of these forces. It isn’t orthodoxly Christian, and I was right to call it New Age in a former review. Even so, one may still ‘Christianize’ the themes of Star Wars superficially, even reinvent it from a Christian perspective, and from a storytelling perspective Star Wars is interesting always.
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peteswriting
Peter Veugelaers is a writer, reviewer, blogger, reader, movie and music aficionado and connoisseur, and has an eye on current events and sports. He has written articles about church life, faith, issues, and the intersection of faith and film for Challenge Weekly, Faces Magazine, Christian Herald, Church Times, Good News Paper, and Touchstone, reviewed films for GiveWay, Transmission, Daystar, Anglican Taonga, Faces Magazine, Crosslink, Entertainmentnutz, Kid’s Highway and Beliefnet, contributed features to The Dominion, The Evening Post, Eco-Living, and Otago Daily Times, and has been contributing devotions to The Secret Place, the Upper Room devotional, and Lifeway Ministries.
His writing blog is thewritemix.blog which is updated every week. Peter’s favourite book is the Bible in any version and reads Christian books, literature including children’s and adult, and film books. His most memorable movie is Amadeus. Musically, takes an interest in all sorts, but is more likely to listen to pop music, singer/songwriter, Christian music, and certain niche material, eschewing rock, and heavy metal generally. He was pinning his hopes on the All Whites getting into the Fifa World Cup, the Black Caps winning against England, and has been saddened and shocked by gun crimes in the United States. Covid-19 has not affected him directly but sees sticking to health and safety as a matter of survival. Resourceful, eclectic, and enthusiastic, he has won several accolades for cricket, public speaking, debating, and scripture reading.
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