Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy by J.W. Rinzler/Joe Johnston

"A visually appealing and fun read that took you along for the ride that was the creation of "Star Wars." Offered glimpses of storyboards from famous scenes like the Death Star trench run, the Battle of Hoth and the destruction of the second Death Star, this brought the original trilogy to life in a way that was new and exciting."

3 Stars

Pros: Visually some of the storyboards were incredible. To think that the artists had to draw these on the fly, at the whim of the writers and directors, is astonishing/It was interesting to see the artists different styles, some storyboards almost lifelike while some were more cartoonish.

Cons: A literally very heavy book, it was hard to hold and read/The commentary that accompanied some of the storyboards were interesting little tidbits of what went on behind the scenes but for the most part, they felt a little extraneous.

Full Review:

If you love drawings, sketches and creating a story and if you're a big fan of "Star Wars" then this book is for you. It's storyboards that have been taken from the archives and put together in order, depicting each movie in chronological order. With the storyboards, you have some commentary from the artists about what was going on at that point in time etc. Intermingled with the storyboards were a few wider shots that focused on what specific detail and it included camera movements etc.

Visually, it was a fun and interesting book. You got to see the creation of "Star Wars" and the artists commentary on the actual drawing of the storyboards, how they'd play music in the background and just draw, it really brought you into the atmosphere, it wasn't hard to imagine the artists drawing, drawing, drawing, while music blared in the background.

It was a fun and unique read and though I've had this book for years, I hadn't gotten around to reading it until now. I'm glad I finally did, I really enjoyed it. I've always wanted to be able to draw, thinking it would be fun to build something visually, let others see what I see inside my head and with this book, that's what you get. You got to see the growth and evolutions of the "Star Wars" plot and it was really rather fun.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves "Star Wars", for anyone who loves art and for someone who's looking for an interesting look behind the scenes of how a movie is created and the steps that are taken to finally make the finished product.

Comments

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