ELSTREE 1976 TENTH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION BLU-RAY
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Ten years ago, in a galaxy not so far away, a curious documentary about the odd community of extras and bit-part players who appeared fleetingly in the first Star Wars film became an underground classic. Despite a favourable critical response from international press such as The New York Times, The LA Times and The Village Voice, and a vocal cult following, the film remains something of a hidden gem and is currently unavailable in most of the world.
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Elstree 1976 is a wryly humorous, melancholic look at the people literally in the background of Star Wars. It focuses on the masked and helmeted performers to explore what it means to be a tiny part of a cultural behemoth. It’s a portrait of ten very different people whose paths converged for the briefest moment in London’s Elstree Studios in the summer of 1976, unaware of the profound effect that appearing in Star Wars would have on the rest of their lives.
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From the film extra whose back-of-head is visible in a single shot to the Shakespearean actor who went from a key role to the cutting room floor. From the man who provided the body (but not the voice or unmasked face) of Darth Vader to the infamous Stormtrooper who bumped his head. Theirs are stories of success and tales of woe. Dreams realised and dreams dashed. The eccentricity of self-created martial arts systems, the pain of decades-long prescription drug addiction and secret romances with huge stars. We find unexpected ties to cultural icons and Olympic champions. Love, loss, wealth, desperation, failure, mental illness, family and personal philosophy.
The final act of the film sees the ten lives converge again, decades later, as they get pulled into the global Star Wars convention community. Signing autographs and telling stories for the multi-generational legions of obsessive fans. We see the hierarchies and petty squabbles and the disparity of personal wealth generated.
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Elstree 1976 has never been available in the UK on Blu-Ray and the filmmakers are going back into the archive to provide over 14 hours of bonus features and content which will add up to a comprehensive six-disc special edition blu-ray set featuring the most in-depth personal interviews with the performers behind some of the biggest - and most obscure - characters from Star Wars, including Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Greedo, Gold Leader, ‘These Aren’t The Droids We’re Looking For’ Sandtrooper and, of course, the Stormtrooper who bumped his head.
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Elstree 1976 was directed by Jon Spira, who went on to write and direct the popular feature-length documentaries Hollywood Bulldogs and The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee along with the acclaimed ITV series Reel Britannia. It’s produced by Hank Starrs (Robodoc, Being Frank, Pennywise: The Story of IT) and the analogue-electro soundtrack was composed and performed by cult indie stalwart Jamie Hyatt.
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DELUXE EDITION BLU-RAY DETAILS:
OVER 14 HOURS OF ON-DISC BONUS FEATURES INCLUDING:
Filmmaker commentaries
Cast members commentary
Live Q&A from the film’s premiere at the BFI London Film Festival
Over 10 hours of unseen interview footage featuring:
DAVE PROWSE - DARTH VADER
JEREMY BULLOCH - BOBA FETT
PAUL BLAKE - GREEDO
ANTHONY FORREST - SANDTROOPER/FIXER
GARRICK HAGON - BIGGS DARKLIGHTER
ANGUS MACINNES - GOLD LEADER
DEREK LYONS - MEDAL BEARER
LAURIE GOODE - STORMTROOPER/SAURIN
PAM ROSE - LEESUB SIRIN
JOHN CHAPMAN - X-WING PILOT
‘10 Years Later’ cast catch-up feature.
Return to Elstree Studios feature
Deleted Scenes
Cast group discussion at Elstree Studios
PACKAGED IN AN EXCLUSIVE RETRO-STYLE EMBOSSED TIN LUNCHBOX INCLUDING:
A signed hardback memoir book by producer Hank Starrs
Mini-poster signed by director Jon Spira
Randomly inserted exclusive authentic autographed card from ELSTREE 1976 cast member
Art print featuring new artwork by legendary film poster artist Graham Humphreys
A book of new writing featuring essays by Stewart Lee and director Jon Spira
Replica Japanese Elstree 1976 trading card set
Metallic sticker sheet
Sew-on patch
Numbered holographic authenticity sticker
Numbered certificate of authenticity signed by director Jon Spira
BILGE EBIRI, VILLAGE VOICE
"ELSTREE 1976 is the ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD of the Star Wars Universe"
NEIL GENZLINGER, THE NEW YORK TIMES (Critics Pick)
"A thought-provoking exploration of the dawning of our current age, in which level of fame doesn’t necessarily match up with level of genuine accomplishment, and individuals can find themselves transformed by fast-moving fads and phenomena beyond their control."
RADIO TIMES
"A richly rewarding experience for fans and non-fans alike."
STAR MAGAZINE
"The force is strong with this one!"
IGN.COM
"The rare Star Wars story that hasn’t already been told."
RICHARD ROEPER, CHICAGO SUNTIMES
"Elstree 1976” (named for the studio outside London and the year where much of “Star Wars” was filmed there) is a sweet, quietly funny, fascinating and contemplative study of 10 character actors and extras, none of whom had any idea back in the 1970s they’d forever be defined by the one or two days they spent on the set of a sci-fi movie featuring little-known stars and a space cowboy story."
STEPHEN DALTON, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
"A genial study of fleeting fame and its aftermath."
CHARLES GANT, SCREEN DAILY
"It offers a slice of enjoyable nostalgia, capturing a sense of life as silly, surprising, regretful and all too fleeting."
CHRIS COFFEL, BLOODYDISGUSTING.NET
"As soon as I finished watching Jon Spira’s Elstree 1976 there was one question that just kept running through my mind – how come no one is talking about this documentary? Elstree 1976 is a look at Star Wars from an angle we’ve never seen before and to me that is a truly fascinating look."
NEIL GIORDANO, THE ARTS FUSE
"Part comedy, part tragedy, part anthropological study of the grungy side of moviemaking."
KYLE SMITH, THE NEW YORK POST
"Elstree 1976 is an amazing experience."
OLIVER LYTTLETON, THE PLAYLIST
"Without patronizing or condescending, it’s an examination of how fame can change us and haunt us, and of the complicated relationships that survivors of something like “Star Wars” can have with it."