Sunday 8 October 2017

'STAR WARS' AT 40: THE DEATH STAR SURFACE


The formidable Death Star surface attack and trench run for our Rebel X and Y-wing pilots was an incredible part of the original STAR WARS, and equally challenging and complex for the team at ILM to put on the cinema screen, bringing it to life using all the model making skills and filmic talents available to them for this still thrilling sequence.

Here's a selection of images from the shoot at ILM's original facility at Van Nuys, during 1976/77.

The camera creates the pilot's eye view shots across the model surface.
A view from the trench.
The modular set pieces that could be arranged into different areas of the Death Star.
Outdoor filming for a trench explosion.
Richard Edlund films the explosion for Red Leader's later X-wing impact on the surface.

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