Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas, Updated Edition Paperback – 31 May 1999

Está actualizado.

I believe this was suppose to be an "authorized" biography but Lucas changed his mind at the last minute. The author was with Lucas for much of the production of Return Of The Jedi and had interviewed many people close to Lucas. It explores in-depth on what made Lucas such an innovative film-maker during his college years and throughout the 1970's and early 1980's.This biography came out in the 1980's at the height of Star Wars but not many people seem to know about it.Highly recommended if you are a fan of Star Wars, George Lucas, or a fan of movie making.

For the first 3/4ths of this book, the information is gold. Author Dale Pollock details Lucas's life from birth through the beginning of Return of the Jedi and, having been given access to the man himself, you get a wealth of quotes and personal insights. Even better, this is a warts-and-all sort of look. No criticisms are held back, but rather than coming off in negative light, it just makes everyone look human - and I find that far more refreshing than the sugar-coated bios most filmmakers manipulate for themselves.The most packed sections deal with American Graffiti and A New Hope, and again, the information is fantastic - especially the details on the two years of drafts for ANH. Raiders and Empire definitely could have been given more, but at that point, Lucas was more of a hands off producer, and in many ways, they don't add to the story.So why four stars? As you hit the 3/4 mark, you suddenly begin to wonder how the book is going to fill up its remaining quarter, since you're up to Jedi in the history. What follows is a really painful to read character analysis of George Lucas that literally tries to analyze him down to an atomic level. It's wildly bipolar - you'll regularly come across sentences like "Lucas is one of the greatest producers in the world - but many think him a subpar director, and a bad husband." Also, it gets REALLY, REALLY gossipy, with just about everyone coming out of the woodwork to criticize him over anything, and then letting Lucas respond. I'm all for the behind the scenes stuff, especially when it's revealing, but this just feels exploitative. And it goes on, and on, and on, and on...Then you hit the last chapter, cobbled together from what the author has read about the Phantom Menace's production (he clearly wasn't allowed within ten miles of George Lucas after the first publication), and it's laughable. These last two chapters, about 1/4th of the book, are terrible.BUT! It's absolutely worth reading for the first 3/4ths for a great portrait of Lucas. Just stop reading when it starts getting stupid.

This is a good book, but it could be updated. The book is fairly thorough in detailing the early career, ambitions, problems and plights of George Lucas from the time of his birth to the time of making Return of the Jedi. This includes some discussion of THX1138 and American Grafitti. Even the updated version, however, stops there. There is no substantial discussion of any of the new prequels in this book. Yet that summarizes the book's scope and major limitations. That aside, readers will find themselves well-informed about the roots of Lucas, the genesis of Star Wars, and how the dream of the first trilogy unfolded and played out on screen. Obviously this book is not the last word on Lucas, but it is not a bad place to start learning about him

A great look at one of the greatest filmmakers of all time! An easy and interesting read.