Elstree 1976

Well, after reading the pouty petulance of half a dozen butt-hurt sci-fi nerds in this forum, I figured a grown-up ought to weigh in.

This is a great movie. Yeah, it has "Star Wars" in the deck. No, it isn't really about Star Wars. It has that in common with life.

Elstree 1976 has a novel premise: let's sit down and talk with several people who had uncredited bit parts in one of biggest smash hits in history. What is it like to have had a tiny, expendable role in a huge cultural event?

In other words, it's not really about the movie. It's more about that old Patricia Rozema line: "Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?" This is a meditation on living, working, hoping, striving, failing, changing your mind, and growing old. The interviewees are engaging, funny, personable, and wholly aware they're "nobody". And a little bemused that anybody wants their autograph, or to interview them. And refreshingly grateful for that, every last one.

In sum, Elstree 1976 is a pleasant evening spent with people not much older than those of us who saw Star Wars first-run, talking about things people our age can understand.

I like Star Wars. I went into this expecting another rehash of Star Wars lore, which would have been mildly entertaining. What I found was something much rarer than that. If you're more than half an inch deep, you'll appreciate it.

Interesting story from original Starwars actors stories on set and how they give back signing autographs for fans and when I went to a celebration the Stars I met had great stories to tell.

Actors and extras reminisce about their time on the set of "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" (1977) and how making the film affected their lives.

My interest in this film is that i believe in celebrating the "men in suits", the actors who are important to film but do not get the recognition. Although I am not a "Star Wars" fan (blasphemy!), I appreciate the role that Greedo plays in the series, as well as Darth Vader and Boba Fett. As one actor points out, there are action figures... you may not know the actor's name, but you have him immortalized in plastic! Die-hard fans might like the film. I found it interesting, but it didn't add a whole lot to the understanding of the "Star Wars" franchise, and even if it did that might not mean as much to me. I was interested in the convention angle. I am shocked how much people pay at conventions for a signature from an actor who had a small part decades ago, and was already paid for that part. (Going to annual horror conventions, I am certain many of the actors make more on signing fees than they ever did as actors!)

Various bit players and extras from 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope' (1977) talk about their lives before and after the movie. Some of the filming took place at Elstree Studios. There are stories from the set and the hierarchy that these minor actors find themselves with the fans. This is really only compelling for Star Wars fans. The bits of stories about these actors are not that compelling. It does paint a picture of post-war Britain and there is surprisingly quite a few Canadian connections. The movie should really concentrate much more on the set stories as well as the fans and conventions afterwards. Those are the money and has the most connection to Star Wars. That's what's important and not the random life stories of these minor actors.

This is really good if you're a sad geek like me! Full of stuff you won't see in the usual documentaries and I really enjoyed it. Also it's actually quite funny in the sense that the cast could have come straight from Extras. If this had been made before The Office I would be convinced Ricky Gervais based it on this.