In 1977, the public had very little idea of what computer-generated images would look like in the decades to come. They certainly didn’t know that one day, we’d all be able to create our own digital creations using nothing but our smartphones (and maybe some help from YouTube tutorials).
Stille, some special effects in Star Wart have aged incredibly well over time, and even better than many of today’s CGI creations.
If you often play online star wars trivia questions and quizzes, you may already know some of the following facts. But if you’re a casual fan or have just started watching Star Wars for the first time, this is something worth knowing.
So please sit back and relax as we take a trip down memory lane with these five amazing facts about Star Wars’ special effects from its ’80s heyday.
Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber
The lightsaber was made out of a Graflex camera flashgun.
The Graflex camera flashgun was a flashgun that photographers used in the 1930s and 1940s. The blaster was strapped to the photographer’s waist with an extension cord running up to their hand and had a trigger button on top of it.
It is also known as a Speed Graphic or Speed Graphic Press, while some call it Graflex due to its nand.
Darth Vader’s mask
The mask that Darth Vader wears in Star Wars is made of latex, but it looks very real. So how did they do it?
In order to achieve this effect, the mask was molded from a man’s face. However, the first time a person wore the show was in Return of the Jedi, when James Earl Jones recorded his dialogue for Vader.
He wore a different type of mask during Empire Strikes Back because the first one wasn’t ready to be worn yet.
Princess Leia’s hair buns
The buns were made from yak hair, which was attached to a wire that ran through it. The actress Carrie Fisher would then stand in front of a blue screen and the footage would be later added on top of her head. It was done this way so the crew could add more details to her hair buns once they had already been filmed, with Leia’s body acting as a guide.
The wire running through the buns gave them flexibility, allowing them to move around naturally when there wasn’t anything holding them down.
The Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon was named after the ship’s shape, inspired by the boat, while the food processor was inspired.
The Millennium Falcon was actually a modified Corellian YT-1300 freighter that used to belong to LandoCalrissian before Han Solo bought it from him. It was made from a model kit, built in a garage, and held together by plywood and plastic.
It’s the fastest ship in the galaxy and has engines with more power than an entire planet. That’s how fast it is.
Even though the movie was made in 1977, the special effects were still amazing.
Even though the movie was released in 1977, the special effects were still amazing. This is because they used special effects to make the movie look better than it would have without them. The movie was made using special effects to make the movie look better than it would have without them. The movie was made using special effects to make the movie look better than it would have without them.
There are many more special effects that we didn’t even get to talk about here. These were just some of the most popular ones. The point is that Star Wars is still as good today as it was when it came out in 1977. If you haven’t seen any of these movies yet but have been meaning to check them out: don’t wait any longer.