The Star Wars Holiday Special Review

[VaderFan2187]

Hello everyone!

The Star Wars Holiday Special is extremely notorious among the Star Wars community. George Lucas said that if he had the time and a sledgehammer, he would destroy every copy of it. Having never seen it before, I set out to watch it, to determine whether or not it actually is that bad. If you want to watch it, here it is:

So here, in bullet points, are my thoughts about it.

• The opening: lots of Wookiee grunts, but no subtitles, so we practically have no way of understanding it (aside from the context of their actions). Really?
• The exterior shots of the Wookiee's home is incredibly fake when compared to the interior.
• Chewbacca's family is really weird. Itchy (full name Attichitcuk) and Malla (full name Mallatobuck) are very strange. However, it must be said that I do kinda like Lumpy (full name Lumpawarrump), and the way he acts does resemble a little kid. Though their nicknames are extremely cringey.
• I feel one of the main faults of the special was that they spent too much time on unnecessary portions, including the cooking show, Itchy's show, the Jefferson Starship music video, Lumpy's cartoon, and the Tatooine bar scene. These should only have made brief appearances and could even have been left out.
• One part that lacks logic is Lumpy's cartoon. Yeah, it did introduce Boba Fett, but who watches cartoons about the Rebellion when the Empire is literally in your house?
• Saun Dann is quite a funny character, especially when he talks so much to distract the Imperials.
• The part at which they defeated the Imperials seemed rather strange. The Imperial Officer, Navy Trooper, and Stormtrooper just left without questioning anything, and the remaining Stormtrooper's behavior was truly strange. Given how ruthless the Empire is, I think he would have used his blaster instead of just chasing Lumpy around.
• The ending of the Holiday Special seemed pretty stupid to me.

So, is it bad? Yes. But is it "the worst thing in the world", the way that Star Wars fans treat it? No.

Overall, I'd rate the Holiday Special a 2/5. Terrible, yes, but not the worst thing that could smite a film franchise.

[quark12000]

Where did you find a copy of it?

[VaderFan2187]

10 minutes ago, quark12000 said:

Where did you find a copy of it?

Um, it's right there in a youtube video above my review. If it didn't load properly, here it is again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3a5j8PgQxg

Edited January 10, 2017 by VaderFan2187

[quark12000]

Oh, I thought you had found a DVD of it.  I watched it when it was originally aired (yes, I'm old) and I'd love to show it to my younger cousin, but not on this tiny screen.

[VaderFan2187]

3 minutes ago, quark12000 said:

Oh, I thought you had found a DVD of it.  I watched it when it was originally aired (yes, I'm old) and I'd love to show it to my younger cousin, but not on this tiny screen.

Ahh. Maybe you could view it on a desktop computer

[quark12000]

That's what I'm using now.  I want to see it on my 60 TV!  More pain that way.  ;)

[xboxtravis7992]

I have watched bits of it. The only segment I have been able to stand through fully was the cartoon segment. The animation was awful, and the story was all over the place and felt like some Scooby-Doo episode. But it was tolerable, and in a way it started the legacy of Star Wars cartoons that would lead to eventually both Clone Wars shows and Rebels so I gotta give it some credit for that. 

I have only seen other bits and pieces jumping around or clips from reviews. My favorite is watching the fight between Han and the Stormtroopers. So hammy, the stormtrooper falls to his death and nobody bats an eye; and Han then awkwardly picks up Chewbacca's son (who must be 4-feet tall and 100 pounds at least) and hands it over to Chewie saying; "Ummph... Wow, have you sure grown."

Oh, also the late Carrie Fisher singing a Life Day Carol... Yikes.

Its stupid, its awful. But Disney would make easy money by just including this as a special feature on a future Blu-Ray release of the Star Wars films (maybe once Fox's distribution contract for the original six films expires and Disney releases the inevitable collectors disc set with tons of bonus stuff...). 

Edited January 10, 2017 by xboxtravis7992

[deraven]

I only went so far as "Bad, bad, bad!" because I've also seen the Rifftrax (MST3K) version as well which ups the amusement:painfully-awful ratio a bit in my memory.  

[quark12000]

18 hours ago, xboxtravis7992 said:

I have watched bits of it. The only segment I have been able to stand through fully was the cartoon segment. The animation was awful, and the story was all over the place and felt like some Scooby-Doo episode. But it was tolerable, and in a way it started the legacy of Star Wars cartoons that would lead to eventually both Clone Wars shows and Rebels so I gotta give it some credit for that. 

I have only seen other bits and pieces jumping around or clips from reviews. My favorite is watching the fight between Han and the Stormtroopers. So hammy, the stormtrooper falls to his death and nobody bats an eye; and Han then awkwardly picks up Chewbacca's son (who must be 4-feet tall and 100 pounds at least) and hands it over to Chewie saying; "Ummph... Wow, have you sure grown."

Oh, also the late Carrie Fisher singing a Life Day Carol... Yikes.

Its stupid, its awful. But Disney would make easy money by just including this as a special feature on a future Blu-Ray release of the Star Wars films (maybe once Fox's distribution contract for the original six films expires and Disney releases the inevitable collectors disc set with tons of bonus stuff...). 

That would be nice!  I'm still holding out for a non-Special Edition Bluray release.  Han didn't shoot second!

[dr_spock]

This is evil.  Princess Leia would most likely told where the secret rebel base really is if Vader Forced her watch that instead of using an interrogation droid. 

20 hours ago, quark12000 said:

That's what I'm using now.  I want to see it on my 60 TV!  More pain that way.  ;)

If your desktop has HDMI out, you could connect it to your 60" TV for the ultimate pain.      Some TVs also have VGA and DVI inputs that could work with a computer video output.

[quark12000]

Err...I'm not really a computer expert.  What do all those letters mean?

[VaderFan2187]

1 hour ago, quark12000 said:

Err...I'm not really a computer expert.  What do all those letters mean?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA_connector

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

[Forresto]

21 hours ago, xboxtravis7992 said:

Its stupid, its awful. But Disney would make easy money by just including this as a special feature on a future Blu-Ray release of the Star Wars films (maybe once Fox's distribution contract for the original six films expires and Disney releases the inevitable collectors disc set with tons of bonus stuff...). 

Wait theres an expiration date? We could end up getting blue ray editions of the original non special edition theatrical releases? Han gets to kill Greedo in cold blood ag-I mean Han shot first?!!!!?!!?!?  

[RetroInferno]

I endured the whole thing several years ago, I think you really have to watch the whole thing to truly feel the ''experience''. 

Confusion, uneasiness and dread comes to mind when thinking about the thing. Luke's face is all kind of wrong, he just had his accident and he is wearing an absolute mountain of make-up, Carrie Fisher is stoned out of her mind, the Wookies... unbearable unending scenes, no subtitles, the grandfather is %$#*&?% while watching some weird &?$%, the cartoon almost gave me nightmares because of the characters's animation and facial expressions. 

It's mentally and physically drainning as a whole.

 

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by RetroInferno

[xboxtravis7992]

1 hour ago, Forresto said:

Wait theres an expiration date? We could end up getting blue ray editions of the original non special edition theatrical releases? Han gets to kill Greedo in cold blood ag-I mean Han shot first?!!!!?!!?!?  

I assume there is an expiration. Don't quote me on it though since I don't know the details. I probably should research it eventually to see if I am correct on it...

EDIT: I just researched it. The contract for Fox expires for Episode V, VI, I, II, and III in 2020; only three years away. One problem though, Lucas signed with Fox a contract saying that at least Episode IV can only be distributed by Fox forever. So if Disney wants the rights to a New Hope after they get the rights to the other five films, they will have to buy it from Fox. Five films for Disney for free, but one film for what ever Fox is charging. Still, I imagine that once Disney owns rights to five of the films, Fox would have no reason to hold onto Episode IV forever by its lonesome.

Edited January 11, 2017 by xboxtravis7992

[quark12000]

20 hours ago, VaderFan2187 said:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA_connector

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

Thanks,VaderFan2187!  I looked and my TV only has the HMDI outlet.  Regardless, I don't want to buy a long cord stretched across my living room.  But thanks for the idea.

[Actor Builder]

Looks like I'm the only one who thought it was great.

I watched the whole thing, and it was hilarious. It was just incredibly funny in how bad it was.

It's my third favorite Star Wars film.

[VaderFan2187]

34 minutes ago, Actor Builder said:

It's my third favorite Star Wars film.

Oh my gosh... seriously? You prefer those to even the prequels? 

[Actor Builder]

9 minutes ago, VaderFan2187 said:

Oh my gosh... seriously? You prefer those to even the prequels? 

Funny thing is, I also liked The Phantom Menace.

My list is something like:

Rogue One
A New Hope
Christmas Special
Return Of The Jedi
Phantom Menace

Those would be my top five with all the rest being not worth my time.

[RetroInferno]

Those 5 movies take the cake over Empire, which is not even worth your time? The holiday special is not even a so bad it's good movie. 

You got to be trolling.

[LegoRacer1]

I can not bare watching the movie. So I watched the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of it.

[TeufelHund]

I saw this as a kid when I was 8 and have happy memories - I even remember recreating some of the scenes with my Star Wars figures (although even as a kid the signing bits annoyed me). I'm sometimes tempted to seek it out and look on it with adult eyes, but then I always decide to leave my childhood memories intact instead.

Edited August 10, 2017 by TeufelHund

[BrickG]

No.

[dr_spock]

On 8/2/2017 at 1:47 AM, TeufelHund said:

I saw this as a kid when I was 8 and have happy memories - I even remember recreating some of the scenes with my Star Wars figures (although even as a kid the signing bits annoyed me). I'm sometimes tempted to seek it out and look on it with adult eyes, but then I always decide to leave my childhood memories intact instead.

Very wise decision.

 

[JACKATTACKS]

Just saw this topic and figured I'd watch the movie.

Some scenes were way too long, corny or just plain ridiculous, but I still liked it.

I'm still confused by the cartoon (is it like a documentary by the rebels about their missions but for kids, to demonstrate how evil the empire is?) I wish the cartoon had caught on back then and that more episodes had been made!

Lastly, it's great to see those actors young and alive again!

RIP Carrie Fisher