Elstree 1976 focuses on eight actors who played
small parts in the original film, as well as one actor who played a major role,
and one actor who played a small but beloved role in The Empire Strikes Back
and Return Of The Jedi. The film begins with close-ups of various action
figures, while several voices comment on the idea of having an action figure
made of them, including one woman who asks, “How many actors can say they’ve
got their own action figure?” The film has a more serious tone than I would
have expected, which was jarring only at first. This movie not only provides
some interesting anecdotes from the set of the original film, but also allows
those actors to tell more of their personal stories, how they got into acting,
how they got agents, and so on.
The folks interviewed for this film include Paul Blake
(one of two actors who donned the Greedo suit), Anthony Forrest (who played
Fixer and a sandtrooper), Garrick Hagon (who played Biggs Darklighter), Laurie
Goode (who played a stormtrooper – the one who famously bumps his head), John
Chapman (who played an X-wing pilot), Pam Rose (who played an alien in the
cantina), Derek Lyons (an extra in the throne room scene at the end), and Angus
MacInnes (who played Gold Leader). Also interviewed are David Prowse (Darth
Vader) and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), actors who obviously played much more
significant roles, but whose faces are never seen in the films.
The actors talk about getting cast in Star Wars.
Garrick Hagon mentions how George Lucas rated everyone on a scale of 1 to 10,
and that he himself got a 7, and so was able to play a more substantial role,
though most of what he did ended up cut from the final film (I’m not counting
the awful “Special Edition” version). He does talk about his Tatooine scene
being cut, as does Anthony Forrest. And the film does show us a bit of that
deleted scene. Angus MacInnes talks about being told to do all his lines
without the cues, and how he ended up reading his lines from a script placed on
his lap. The documentary shows his scene, and now that I know he had the script
there, it’s completely apparent that he’s reading.
Of course, David Prowse provides some great anecdotes,
not just about Star Wars, but about wanting to be Mr. Universe and about
doing A Clockwork Orange. He gives his perspective on his dialogue being
dubbed by James Earl Jones, and the film includes a bit of original footage
with David Prowse’s voice. Another thing I found interesting is that he’s
apparently been banned from a couple of Star Wars conventions – the
Celebration and the Disney Star Wars Weekend. Weird.
Several of the actors talk about signing autographs at
the conventions, and it isn’t until the film gets into this area that Jeremy
Bulloch appears. He talks about getting the role of Boba Fett, and comments on
why his autograph is sought after. It’s interesting that some of those
interviewed get into the minor controversy over whether people who were just
extras should be signing at conventions. I never would have guessed that those
with speaking roles would be upset over this, but I guess it’s a small world.
While it might occasionally strike you as sad that their lives still in some
way revolve around a brief job they had forty years ago, you have to remember
that that is the focus of the film, so of course that’s what they’re going to
talk about. They do talk a bit about their lives since Star Wars, and
other roles they’ve done, as well as other non-acting work.
Elstree 1976 was directed by Jon Spira, and is
scheduled to be released on DVD on June 28, 2016. The DVD does not contain any
special features.
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