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Still Life
With Gungan: Review by Toryn Farr Want to know what it takes to be a designer
for Lucasfilm? |
The
Art of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
by Jonathan Bresman
(Once again, a Trivia Section follows this review.)
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One of Lucas's smartest moves when trying to get Star Wars made back in the 1970s (and, arguably, a primary reason the film ever got made at all) was hiring visionary artist Ralph McQuarrie to produce a handful of concept paintings which helped to sell the movie's visual appeal to skeptical studio executives. Now, with Episode I, Lucas has again assembled the best artistic talents to bring his visions to life.
Episode I's design director Doug Chiang and production designer Gavin Bocquet led a team of dozens of artists in a monumental, four-year effort to create the characters, costumes, vehicles, cities, landscapes, and every minute detail of the world that George Lucas used to tell his epic story. More than just a collection of drawings, this book gives us a peek into the evolution of ideas from the rudimentary and jumbled "primordial soup" stage of creation all the way to finished product.
As the author, Jonathan Bresman, says in his preface, each artist was asked to become "an interstellar anthropologist, zoologist, or engineer, and expert in imaginary cultures, customs, and architecture."
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To be frank, I wasn't expecting to like this book. I'm generally not very interested in concept drawings or illustrations and paintings. I am more interested in the reality and the human element, the actors, photographs from behind the scenes of the production -- all the things we got in the "Making of" book.
So I was pleasantly surprised in turning to the first chapter (The Trade Federation) that there was text, actual illuminating commentary, and lots of it, explaining everything from the generation of ideas to how they integrated into filming. Here's an example, practically the first words of the book, which will give you an idea of the wealth of detail included in its pages:
History is rife with instances wherein moneyed interests impact the political status quo. An extreme example was the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii. In the 1890s, a group of businessmen, ignoring the orders of President Grover Cleveland, forced the Queen to abdicate her throne. They replaced the government with one that would be more sympathetic to their interests.
The parallel isn't lost on anyone who's seen the movie. The text goes on to explain in detail the personalities of the Neimoidians and the design elements that brought them to life on the screen. The genesis of every vehicle and droid is outlined in words and pictures. Subsequent chapters on Naboo (one on Otoh Gunga, and another on The City of Theed), Tatooine, and Coruscant contain the same amount of lavish detail. We get pages and pages of sea creatures, land creatures, etc., mostly designed by Terryl Whitlatch, who created whole ecosystems in an effort to make the designs consistent.
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Many of the creatures designed appear only for a few seconds if at all in the finished film. The overall feeling I get from the book is a sense of thoroughness, richness, and lavishness. This book is truly eye candy.
Despite enjoying the book for what it is, I must admit the level of detail at times left me cold. I'm more interested in the human characters of Star Wars rather than the subtle differences in each iteration of Nute and Rune's shuttle design concept. (If you're sick to death of Jar Jar, you might want to skip pages 72-95.) My favorite parts were the details of Iain McCaig's costume designs and hairstyles as well as the sketches of the Jedi in all their iterations. Unfortunately, these human elements get short shrift in the book, as they did in the movie itself, in favor of mechanicals and alien creatures.
Having said that, I still believe this book is well worth the price. Weighing in at 224 full color pages for only $40 retail, it's probably one of the most interesting and inexpensive coffee-table books you could buy.
I do have one more complaint, while I'm here. The back of the book lists credits with photos of the artists (good) and has reproductions of the two theatrical one-sheet posters (good). However, there are nearly a dozen other posters that should have also been reproduced here. I would have loved to see the various ideas in development for the posters as well.
TRIVIA (hold your right mouse button and scroll over the answer area to see the answer)
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Q. This vehicle, according to Doug Chiang, "was designed to subliminally resemble a charging bull elephant. Although not immediately recognizable, these elephant features, on a subconscious level, reinforce [its] fearsome quality."
A. MTT (Multi-Troop Transport)
Q. List the text on the three stamps Lucas used to approve or reject conceptual sketches.
A. "FABULOUSO", "OK", and "DEEP REGRET"
Q. Which vehicle was modeled after a giant, primordial dragonfly?
A. The Trade Federation landing ship
Q. The Neimoidians' costumes were based on which Earth cultures?
A. Egypt and Japanese kabuki for the robes, African masks and totems for the headpieces
Q. Which buildings influenced the design of Theed?
A. Marin County Civic Center, Caserta's Palazzo Reale, and Istanbul's Blue Mosque. (No mention was made of Dinotopia!)
Q. This ship was originally designed as a yacht with a solar sail.
A. The Queen's J-type 327 Nubian starship
Q. What culture was Luke's pit house in Episode IV modeled after?
A. Berber troglodyte dwellings
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Q. This city was originally going to be built at the bottom of a gigantic pit, with the outskirts reaching beyond the canyon walls, like the Anasazi Indian settlements of the American southwest, and connected to other cities via gorges.
A. Mos Espa
Q. What was the striped design on Anakin's podracer based on?
A. A racing car Lucas owned in his youth.
Q. Which Jedi Council member was designed to look like a cross between Obi-Wan Kenobi and a whale?
A. Ki-Adi-Mundi
(Toryn Farr knew everything about Star Wars back in 1977 thanks to Starlog Magazine. She's been trying to keep her know-it-all reputation ever since. During the 90 minutes per day her three-year-old is napping, Toryn attempts to run an internet design business and write fantasy fiction.)