The Star Wars Archives. 1977-1983: 40th Anniversary Edition Hardcover – November 30, 2020

On the foldout spine of the small version is the phrase "the best book on the greatest saga". Bold words! My undisputed favorite book is Deborah Fine's "Star Wars Chronicles" for the amazing prop photos and layout. Content wise, gotta give it to J.W. Rinzler's "Making Of" books with more production detail than any other work. Duncan's books are a very well thought out mix of iconic photos and artwork you've seen a thousand times with some new shots that are hard to believe had not been made public until now. But so much of it is familiar by now that - except for younger fans and newbies - there's not a lot of novelty to it. Still, the commentary is modern, and it's refreshing to hear new things George Lucas had to say in his interviews with Paul Duncan. The larger version is stunningly gorgeous. The McQuarrie paintings really shine in this one. At the same time, the ergonomic smaller size is a joy to read on your lap. Are these the best Star Wars book ever? No. But they're easily "one of" the best. It doesn’t replace the other large tomes, but you can’t go wrong with this one. Duncan’s love of these movies really shows. One quirk - and I won't dock it a star for this - is the inclusion of the Special Edition photos, not as a knock on the special editions, but simply since the cover of the book says "77-83", implying that it covers just the original trilogy, not the special editions. Other than this, these are beautiful additions to any Star Wars fan's library.

Ok...first off this is an absolutely gorgeous book that's beautifully designed. And it's HUGE and HEAVY. Therein lies one of the big differences between this and the Rinzler series of "making of" books. This book, while it has text running throughout...is less academic than those volumes and more about a knockout visual presentation. (That said, the Rinzler series are also extremely well done and essential for any Star Wars fan) The pictures... and there are many, many, that you've likely never seen before...are as big as this HUGE book...did I mention it's HUGE? ....and are crystal clear. I found myself looking at a lot of pictures that I've seen many times before in a new light due to the size alone. Now if you don't own any previous Star Wars books of this kind...prepare to have your mind blown. And once you've recovered, go get the Rinzler books for a deeper dive. And, as mentioned earlier, even if you own the Rinzler series, you'll find this an awesome companion piece to go with those. (Bonus points if you also pick up the two-volume oversized Ralph Mcquarrie art books) But what about the price? Well, it's crazy expensive at its retail price point, but it's Amazon so you know the game...just wait. It will come down at some point. Highly recommended and essential for any original trilogy Star Wars fan.UPDATE: I should have mentioned this in my original review, but after spending more time with this book it's essential to note just how good the interview with George Lucas is that runs throughout the book. It's extremely detailed, and the author asks some very specific questions about the production, down to choices made on specific dates, dialogue, locations, etc...want to know why the term "parsec" is used by Han instead of time measurement? Well you can find out here straight from George. How did Alec Guinness react when he was told he was going to die after they had already started shooting? Or what trick did George use to get the UK crew to show more respect for the process? Again...it's all here and more! This book is a beast...and it will take you some time to properly get through it, but I highly recommend reading it cover to cover, including the photo captions. It has truly enhanced my enjoyment of the original saga in ways I didn't think possible.

...archives are stunning!...

Buy this book now!!! 512 pages of non-stop photos and archives jammed packed with info even I never knew. I’m a Star Wars geek and have never seen some of these photos before! And all for under $30??? Hard bound, full color just slammed with info on how the original 3 films were made. I couldn’t be happier with this purchase.The book comes shrink wrapped as the photos show. The printing is spectacular and flawless. This book is 9 x 6.5 inches but feels like it weighs 5 pounds.I could go on and on. I’ve seen A New Hope 100+ times and all the behind the scenes documentaries and there’s still stuff in here I have never seen nor knew about the making of the film. This book includes Empire and Jedi too!!!!This would make a great gift too. I would be more than happy receiving this.Kudos to everyone involved with making this book! Amazing job!!!!

If like me you couldn't afford, or have the space for, the huge original version of this book then this release is the one for you. When I saw the size and weight of the original I was blown away and the huge price fits the quality of that book. So I was glad to see that Paul has now released a cut down version of that book and after watching his own video review of the book on YouTube I felt that this version was a fair compromise. It is well worth it...Paul has had such amazing access to George Lucas and the Lucas Archives to bring us all such an amazing treasure trove on concept art and behind the scenes details. The book is a treasure to own for any Star Wars fan especially for those like me who love the original trilogy. A must have!