Merry Christmas From The Bearded Trio

Hope you are all having a great day, let us know what Lucas/Williams/Spielberg presents you got!

Tags: star wars, ilm

Ewok Songs a comparison. Star Wars Return of the Jedi endings

Lets make no doubt that John Williams is a genius when it comes to musical scores. When George Lucas decided to change the ending of Return of the Jedi he asked John Williams to write a new ending to the film. Below are the two versions. Although they are both excellent I cannot help liking the original just that little bit more due to the memories it brings back. I am one of the few who loved the Ewoks and still do. Return of the Jedi will always hold a special place in my hearts


(Just in case you wanted to sing along the lyrics are below)

Yub nub, eee chop yub nub,
toe meet toe pee chee keene, g'noop dock fling oh ah.
Coat ee chah tu yub nub,
Coat ee chah tu yah wah,
Coat ee chah tu glo wah.
allay loo ta nuv
Glo wah, eee chop glo wah, ya glo wah pee chu nee foam,
ah toot dee awe goon daa.
Coat ee cha tu goo (Yub nub!)
coat ee cha tu doo (Yah wah!)
coat ee cha tu too (ya chaa!)
allay loo tu nuv (3 times)
Glo wah, eee chop glo wah.
Ya glow wah pee chu nee foam,
ah toot dee awe goon daa
allay loo tu nuv.

I do like the new ending but Hayden's looks constipated at the end.
return jedi star wars retro retrofinds, 80's 70's collect all 21! 80071A90





Check out Lucasarts new book - Rogue Leaders
Here's my review

Check out John Williams Indiana Jones soundtrack boxset
Here's my review

Tags: star wars, john williams

Indiana Jones: The Soundtrack Collection

Received my Indiana Jones: The Soundtrack Collection box set on Saturday and is it worth it? Well short answer is "Yes!" Long answer is "Definitely Yes!"
Soundtrack collectors have been crying out for years for a complete soundtrack release of the Indiana Jones films and this is as close as they are going to get for some time.
It comes in a nice looking box


Each CD comes with a booklet with photos from each film, track listings and behind the scenes.




Also included is a separate booklet that has some extremely nice photos from all the movies and an introduction from Laurent Bouzereau (Soundtrack Reissue Producer.) He also hosts the interviews with John Williams, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on the fifth extras disc.



For those who already have the soundtrack on CD and are thinking of getting this box set then just a word of warning. You may want to hold on to your original as this version of Raiders Of The Lost Ark does not have the full version of "The Desert Chase." Also the track "The Well of the Souls" has additional material on the fifth disc but is missing about 30 seconds from the LP original version. However, this is a fantastic soundtrack release and I cannot recommend it enough. The fifteen minute interviews with John Williams, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are excellent and informative. I can see this box set being a sort after item in years to come.
If you are in the UK, Amazon have this on offer for £17.99. A real bargain.

Tags: indiana jones, john williams

Review - Collect All 21! Memoirs Of A Star Wars Geek! John Booth

If like me you are in your thirties then chances are you remember the first time you went to see Star Wars when it was released back in 1977. I do. It was the opening week and my Brother took me to see the film that changed Cinema forever. I was five years old. The film had created such a buzz that when we arrived at the cinema the queue was right around the building. I remember we waited in line for two hours, yes two hours! Strange thing is I don't remember anything about watching the film (I have seen the film so many times that my other memories have overwritten that part) but I do remember asking my Brother to hum the theme tune to me on the bus ride home in which he did in front of people. From that point on I was hooked and that moment in my life is what turned me into the Sci-fi geek I am today and proud if it. Also from that point I started collecting Star Wars toys in particular the kenner figures and ships and I still do. A few years back I joined rebelscum forum, a forum for Star Wars collectors. It was there that I learnt about this fantastic book.

Collect All 21! Memoirs of a Star Wars Geek - The First 30 Years by John Booth

It is an absolute must read if you are a collector, a retro fan or if you remember the first time you unpacked that Boba Fett. There are some fantastic memories from the author such as the first time he watched Star Wars, seeing a blue snaggletooth for the first time in a library and missing the first ten minutes of Empire Strikes Back. This book is full of gems that will bring back memories. I had to laugh at this one story he brings up...

Remember the final duel in Return of the Jedi, when Luke lets his anger get the best of him and he just wails on Vader and then cuts his hand off, and then looks at his own black-gloved hand with the realization of what he could become? I'd forgotten that he'd put that glove on after getting shot in the hand on Tatooine. and the first time I saw that movie, I thought somehow that Vader's limb had actually grown onto Luke's arm, an actual physical transformation instead of the metaphor that was suggested.

I remember I actually thought that too when Return of the Jedi was released. I had forgotten that. Its memories like that, that this book will bring back to the surface. I cannot recommend this book enough. Its a fantastic read. My only criticism is that there's not enough. I want a sequel. Buy this book, you wont be disappointed. check out my Star Wars Collection.
Click here for John Booth's Blog
Click below to buy from Amazon

Collect All 21! Memoirs of a Star Wars Geek - The First 30 Years

collect all 21 star wars retrofinds retro 80's 70's jedi

Tags: star wars, lucasfilm

Ralph Mcquarrie Week - Gallery

Ralph Mcquarrie Week - R2d2 and C3po

This painting represents R2-D2 and C-3PO first arriving on Tatooine after their narrow escape from the Imperial Stormtroopers via a Life Pod (which can be seen in the background). McQuarrie used a photograph of the Oregon coast to guide his painting of the landscape, following the line of the cliff and replacing the ocean with sand dunes.

C-3PO was inspired by the beautiful robot seen in Fritz Lang's classic silent film Metropolis, but Lucas wanted it to look more male then female. McQuarrie's C-3PO looks much more graceful and slim than the 'droid was to become in the film. The problems of a person moving in all of that equipment made it necessary for C-3PO's body to be bigger and to have larger joints.

Lucas wanted R2-D2 to be like a small tripod which would move by throwing one leg outward and pitching itself forward like a man on crutches. but the problems of getting R2-D2 to move in that manner couldn't be solved, so he had to be made to glide forward or hobble about.

Tags: ralph mcquarrie, star wars

Ralph Mcquarrie Week - Mos Eisley Space Port

Tags: ralph mcquarrie, star wars

Ralph Mcquarrie Week - Confrontation

Here we have an incipient confrontation as the small group of fugitives try to escape the Imperial Stormtroopers. Chewbacca is carrying the Princess; a bearded Han Solo can be seen in an earlier costume design - a blue outfit with a cape; and Luke is in the background. McQuarrie envisioned the hallways as being lit indirectly, through thin slots. Defying standard principles, the light would radiate from these narrow spaces at 360 degrees, while the slots themselves would be detectable only from particular angles. It would be a testament to the genious of these people that they discovered a key to the universe that permitted them to harness an incredible energy in this manner.

Steven Spielberg planning 'War Horse'

WENN

Steven Spielberg will produce an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel War Horse for DreamWorks.

The book centres on a boy and his horse who are separated when the boy joins the fight during World War I, says Variety.

"From the moment I read Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse, I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make," said Spielberg.

He added: "Its heart and its message provide a story that can be felt in every country."

The Oscar-winning director is to produce alongside Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Revel Guest.

Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall has been tapped to adapt the novel.

Tags: steven spielberg

Ralph Mcquarrie Week - Enemy Pilots View

Tags: ralph mcquarrie, star wars

Ralph Mcquarrie Week - Y Wing and Death Star

The main purpose of this painting was to capture the atmosphere of the battle over this monstrous space station.

Ralph Mcquarrie Week - Cantina Band

Ralph McQuarrie Week - Tie Fighter and X-Wing

George Lucas wanted to show the scale of the Death Star trench in relation to the fighters as an aid to the special effects people doing the miniatures.

Star Wars Kenner Give A Show Projector

I picked this up the other week off ebay. Love this item. I always wanted one of these. Before the days of video recorders and DVD players this was as close as we could get to watching the Star Wars movies in our bedroom.



It comes with 112 slides (some pictured below) on 16 strips which you manually feed through the slot on the front. Some of the slides are quite laughable. I really like this item and is a nice addition to anyones collection.

Click on the pics for larger photos.

Tags: star wars

Rogue Leaders: The Story Of Lucasarts by Rob Smith

Well I just finished reading Rogue Leaders: The Story of Lucasarts. The book looks amazing with a holographic moving front cover that changes between all the great lucasarts characters such as Guybrush Threepwood, Vader, Evil Tentacle, Lego Indiana Jones. It oozes quality from the outside and I couldn't wait to start reading about the greats such as Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle.



Although a thorough book I couldn't help think that it was being thorough in all the wrong places. Not enough was mentioned about the greats. Monkey Island two gets no more than three pages dedicated to its 256 colourful pages. Never the less its worth the buy and will keep you entertained throughout.

From the point and click days to Star Wars licenced overload. From the book you will learn how Lucasarts admitted they were churning out too much mediocre games and have aimed to go back to basics. It will also make you realise how Lucasarts is now not a patch on its greatness of the 80s and 90s. A good read that will keep you enthralled throughout, just a little disappointed on the attention given to some of the classics. Never the less a worthy addition to your collection.

Tags: lucasarts