It may be difficult to believe, but Star Wars is now 33-years-old. Released by 20th Century-Fox in 1977, Star Wars has become one of the most successful movie franchises in Hollywood history, trailing only the James Bond and Harry Potter films in total gross box-office earnings.
Gary Kurtz produced Star Wars for Lucasfilm and 20th Century-Fox. George Lucas served as both writer and director, with John Williams serving up the movie’s original music score. Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) headed the cast, with Peter Cushing (Tarkin), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), David Prowse (Darth Vader), James Earl Jones (Darth Vader’s Voice) and a host of others in strong support.
Budgeted at $13 million, Star Wars was filmed from March to July 1976, with additional reshoots taking place in January 1977. Filming locations included Tunisia, Guatemala, California’s Death Valley National Park and Yuma, Arizona. Shepperton and Elstree Studios in England served as the movie’s in-house production facilities.
Star Wars opens with the now famous phrase, "A long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away," where an evil emperor is presiding over the universe in a rule of tyranny. The emperor’s right hand man is the menacing Darth Vader, a former Jedi Knight who acts as his chief enforcer.
The ruling Empire has constructed a terrifying new weapon known as the Death Star, which can annihilate entire planets in mere seconds. Opposing the Empire is the fledgling Rebel Alliance, which has managed to secure the master plans for the new military hardware. When faced with capture, dissident Princess Leia Organa stashes the plans inside the maintenance robot R2-D2, who with another robot C-3PO make their way to the desert planet of Tatooine. Here, young farmer Luke Skywalker takes custody of the robots, plotting his revenge after the Empire’s stormtroopers come looking for the stolen plans and murder his aunt and uncle. Luke enlists the help of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, space buccaneer Han Solo and his Wookie friend Chewbacca, jetting off to Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan where they plan to return the pilfered Death Star plans. But when they find the planet destroyed by the Death Star, Luke and his allies are forced to do battle with Darth Vader and the evil forces of the Empire, who are out to crush the Rebel Alliance and its base.
Star Wars hit American movie theaters on May 25, 1977. In a prior test screening in San Francisco, the movie proved to be a big hit, with the mostly young audience giving the picture a rousing standing ovation.
"Star Wars is a fairy tale, a fantasy, a legend, finding its roots in some of our most popular fictions. The golden robot, lion-faced space pilot, and insecure little computer on wheels must have been suggested by the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz," observed Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times in his original 1977 review.
"Star Wars, which opened yesterday at the Astor Plaza, Orpheum and other theaters, is the most elaborate, most expensive, most beautiful movie serial ever made," reported Vincent Canby of The New York Times (May 26, 1977).
Star Wars certainly lived up to its billing, grossing an incredible $270.918 million at the American box office. That figure earned the sci-fi adventure movie the #1 position as the top moneymaking film of 1977.
The original Star Wars may well be one of the most collected sci-fi movies in Hollywood history. Collectors clamor for the film’s many posters, lobby cards, programs, comic books, magazines and other paper artifacts.
Original Star Wars posters are huge, with many different styles available to the discerning collector. One of the heavy hitters is a rare promotional poster measuring 20x29-inches rendered by Marvel Comics artist Howard Chaykin. Released in the summer of 1976 and sold at the Comic-Con in San Diego and the WorldCon in Kansas City, this handsome poster enjoyed a limited run of about 1,000 copies, with very few examples surviving today. One example in fine+ condition recently brought $1,015.75 at Heritage Auction Galleries.
An advance one sheet poster, measuring 27x41-inches and bearing the huge message "Coming To Your Galaxy This Summer," is another rarity. One example in very good+ condition sold at auction for $478.
A variety of styles can be found for Star Wars standard one sheet posters. A style A one sheet poster, picturing a fantastic illustration of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher with a foreboding image of Darth Vader looming in the background along with the blurb "A long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away…," fetched $388.38 in very fine condition.
A style D one sheet poster, featuring Hamill, Fisher and Harrison Ford in another fantastic setting, is a bit more flashier. One example in near mint condition sold at auction for $298.75.
Other original Stars Wars posters and their winning auction bids include a half sheet poster (22x28-inches) in rolled very good/fine condition at $143.40, a huge international six sheet poster (81x81-inches) in unused mint condition at $1,075.50, an insert poster (14x36-inches) in rolled very fine/near mint condition at $282.02 and an international three sheet poster style A (41x81-inches) in folded very fine+ condition at $418.25.
A huge array of Star Wars reissue and foreign posters are also available. Regarding the former, check out these auction results for affordable reissue posters from the sci-fi movie classic: a 1997 advance style B in rolled very fine- condition ($20), a 1981 one sheet poster in rolled very fine condition ($26) and a 1987 Mylar one sheet poster tenth anniversary style A in good/very good condition ($74).
Foreign-issue Star Wars posters are legion, with many collectors scrambling to pick up the very best editions. A set of six Italian photobusta posters featuring various scenes from the movie is always in demand, with one lot in very fine condition bringing $191.20 at auction. A fantastic 1990 Russian poster style B, illustrated by Yuri Boksyor for the first release of Star Wars in that country, is another hot commodity, with one example in very fine+ condition and preserved on linen selling for $657.25 at auction.
Other Star Wars promotional material is available, with many items still affordable. The original Star Wars lobby card set comprised of eight 11x14-inch movie scenes and displayed in theater lobbies to promote the picture is a must for any collector. One set in fine/very fine condition recently sold at auction for a reasonable $69. A set of eight mini lobby cards from the movie measuring 8x10-inches and in very fine/near mint condition brought $84 at auction.
Here are some other original Star Wars promo items that attract considerable collector interest. The 1977 Star Wars movie theater program, with cover art by Tom Jung, makes for a handsome display piece, with one example in near mint condition fetching $47 at auction. A 1977 publicity package put out by 20th Century-Fox is a more offbeat item, containing cast/crew biographies and interviews with the principals. One example in very fine condition sold for $40 at auction.
Miscellaneous items abound in the seemingly infinite universe of Star Wars collectibles. The original comic book movie series of six editions from Marvel is always huge. A Star Wars comic book #1 bearing a cover date of July 1977 in graded CGC near mint+ 9.6 condition sold at auction for $95.60. Howard Chaykin was the cover artist, with this debut issue actually hitting newsstands before the release of the movie.
Also available are various Star Wars hardcover novels from Del Rey publishing. A pair of books from the late 1970s, Star Wars by George Lucas and Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley, sold at auction for $16.
Star Wars trading cards also see quite a bit of interest. Topps issued the first Star Wars cards in 1977, easily recognizable by their blue borders with stars. The complete series one set numbers 66 cards with 11 stickers. The value of this set in near mint condition is $35-40 while an unopened retail box is worth around $300.
Star Wars, along with its many prequels and sequels, will continue to entertain movie fans for years. It’s a sure bet that Star Wars collectibles will continue to be just as popular.
(All photos courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas, Texas)