As the most successful movie franchise in history, Star Wars has generated millions of fans worldwide, not to mention the billions of dollar revenue it created already. Soon after the first movie release, critics and academics began their study of the background, intentions and inspirations of the saga. This project until today remains mostly incomplete, […]
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The Science of Sci-Fi Cinema: Essays on the Art and Principles of Ten Films by Vincent Piturro (ed.)...
Originally conceived in 2010 as a short-lived project to pair a film enthusiast with the respective scientific expert on the film’s subject after presenting a science fiction movie, the idea of dialogue and curiosity, in cooperation with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, still is around today. And with each film presentation hosted by […]
Interpreting Star Wars: Reading a Modern Film Franchise by Miles Booy (2021)
Over the years, more than a handful of books on George Lucas’ Star Wars epic have been written that evaluated, criticized and interpreted the film franchise. When in 1977 Star Wars was first presented, several significant film critics identified a number of central aspects, roles, ideologies or an American perspective in it. The main aspects […]
The Final Frontier: International Relations and Politics through … by Joel R. Campbell & Gigi Gokcek
Man’s curious nature that powered the exploration of the seas, jungles, and deserts of the planet finally also led him into extraterrestrial territories. However, long before the first satellite or test probe even got close to the moon, other ways of purely fictional exploration were at work. Prominent in the approach to understand and categorize […]
The Star Wars Archives. 1999–2005 by Paul Duncan (2020)
The three original parts of the Star Wars saga (later renamed episodes IV, V and VI) were masterfully documented and praised in film historian Paul Duncan’s The Star Wars Archives. 1977–1983 in 2018. The new, second documentary volume on the space opera will enhance the view on the three prequel films. On 600 pages, Duncan’s […]
The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s by Gary Westfahl (2019)
Even though a title such as “The Rise and Fall” usually has readers prepared for a large, heavy volume that will provide audiences with loads of information amassed in a mostly boring manner, Westfahl’s book differs from that stereotype. In fact, the four major parts (and a short epilogue) read very much like a collection […]
Robots That Kill: Deadly Machines and Their Precursors in Myth, Folklore, Literature… by Judith A. M
In three parts, Judith Markowitz deals with the phenomenon of evil or rather, human-killing robots (and their creators) in the book at hand. In part 1, greed, revenge and furor are taken into consideration in cases why humans had to die by “the hands” of a robot, that was more or less only used as […]
Disney’s Star Wars: Forces of Production, Promotion, and Reception by W. Proctor and R. McCulloch (e
The movie Star Wars (1977) and the evolving Star Wars universe never were just films or simple family entertainment. To many fans, seemingly it became a surrogate religion or a way of life. The merchandise, action figurines, literature or cartoon adaptations and spin-offs earned George Lucas and Lucasfilm fortune after fortune (he directed and produced […]
The Star Wars Archives: 1977–1983 by Paul Duncan (2018)
The Star Wars universe, presented in nine movies and several spin-offs so far, animated TV series, comic books, novels and other media had much to offer. What the first three episodes, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (that are still held in high […]