Documentary about “Star Wars Holiday Special” 1978
Producers announce date
With the exception of Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing, the TV special featured all of the main actors from the 1977 film “Star Wars.”
© imago/Everett Collection
45 years after the strange “Star Wars Holiday Special” was broadcast, a documentary is intended to humorously explain how it came about.
The documentary about the 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special” will be released on December 5th. This is reported by “Variety”, among others. “A Disturbance in the Force” is intended to provide humorous information about the background to the infamous TV show, as the trailer shows.
The documentary, produced by Adam F. Goldberg (47), premiered this year at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas. It will be shown in select cinemas in the US, UK and Australia, as well as available on Blu-ray and online. It is not yet known on which online platforms the documentary will be available.
That’s behind the Holiday Special
After “Star Wars” came out in 1977 and was a huge success, producer George Lucas (79) was persuaded to create a “Star Wars Holiday Special” to capitalize on the popularity. It was a Christmas-themed variety special in which most of the main actors from the film “Star Wars” took part. The American broadcaster CBS broadcast the two-hour program once during Thanksgiving week, and the Christmas program could also be seen in other countries. The special achieved high ratings, but was viewed negatively overall.
“A Disturbance in the Force” looks at the story behind the “Star Wars Holiday Special” and how it came about. George Lucas himself regretted the TV broadcast and fans couldn’t understand the decision either, as can be seen from the trailer. Now “Star Wars” lovers can look forward to reviewing the special broadcast from 1978 again with background information and comments.