AP Film Studies: In the Shadows of the Empire

"Star Wars" Extras Take the Spotlight in "Elstree 1976."

The Stormtrooper who bumps his head into the doorframe while chasing Han Solo through the Death Star is a person, dammit, and a respected thespian to boot. The guy in the goofy helmet when Leia gives Chewie, Luke and Han their medals at the end of A New Hope? The one with the slightly raised visor on his hat, four rows from the front? He'd be happy to give you his autograph. For about $30.

Forty years on, it seems like we've heard every story there is to tell about Star Wars. But amid the stars and aggrandizing producers telling their tales in book after book, TV special after TV special, the oral history of George Lucas' magnum opus often loses the tales of those who lurked in the background of the film, usually under a big plastic head.

The documentary Elstree 1976, debuting at Kiggins Theater this Friday with a costume procession from Cloud City Garrison of the 501st, isn't a completest Star Wars memoir by any means. There is no Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford or George Lucas. The biggest name on the marquee is David Prowse, the body-builder-turned-body of Darth Vader. Then the guy under the Boba Fett helmet. The Greedo mask. Then Biggs. All the way down to extras only spotted in the background if you pause the film at just the right time. The film features a lot of actors who…just didn't make it. That hasn't stopped some of them from capitalizing on their brief appearances, showing up at conventions to sign posters and pose with fans who somehow know Stormtrooper #1 from #453.

There's some interesting stuff here, especially when the older actors wax poetic about their time on set or when Prowse gets bitter about being duped out of delivering his lines (and getting banned from Star Wars Celebration). But the low budget means there's very little actual Star Wars footage, which reduces Elstree to a series of talking-head interviews. With the exception of anecdotes about how the studio smelled (like plastic) and Lucas' demeanor (nobody knew he was the director), there's not much for casual fans.

More interesting is how sad the whole affair is. One actor, who played the "these aren't the droids you're looking for" Sand Trooper, is shown busking while talking about all the music he's produced. Actress and former go-go dancer Pam Rose takes consolation in the fact that her character—one of the rare women in the film—got an action figure (and she maybe banged Christopher Reeve when she was an extra in Superman). Jeremy "Boba Fett" Bulloch talks at length about how he still acts…in commercials.

Elstree aims to give voices to the voiceless. Literally, in the case of Prowse, who was replaced by James Earl Jones despite delivering all the lines. For Star Wars fans, it's like getting the cutting-room clips of an oral history that shows how one small experience can prop a person up for decades after their hope of becoming a star has faded.

Fifteen minutes of fame can be stretched out for decades if you're catering to the right fan base—the one willing to pay $30 for a signature from the guy four rows behind Han Solo.

GO: Elstree 1976 screens at Kiggins. 7 pm Friday, May 6, with a costume party. We have costume recommendations for you.

APFilmStudies_2015also showing:

Speaking of Star Wars, the Mission hosts its annual May the 4th Be With You celebration, featuring costumes and fan-made films that are very likely better than Attack of the Clones. Mission Theater. 6:30 pm Wednesday, May 4.

Pix's Movies at Dusk outdoor screening series makes a welcome return with the requisite Big Lebowski, complete with White Russians from Bar Vivant. Pix Patisserie. 7 pm Wednesday, May 4.

Orsen Welles' grungy, bleak noir Touch of Evil is a marvel of technical achievement, from its legendary opening tracking shot—suck it, Birdman—to its painterly use of light and shadow. How good is it? So good that you kind of forget how fucked up it is that Charlton Heston plays a Mexican DEA agent. Laurelhurst Theater. Friday-Thursday, May 6-12.

This season, the students at 5th Avenue Cinema have done a great job balancing fartsy and artsy, and this week the latter is represented with Agnes Varda's 2008 film The Beaches of Agnes, an experimental memoir in multiple media. 5th Avenue Cinema. 7 & 9:30 pm Friday-Saturday, 3 pm Sunday, May 6-8.

The Academy kicks off a kick-ass run of '70s noir classics with Chinatown, in which Jack Nicholson navigates a labyrinthine, twisted landscape of murder and plot points that don't really matter because, well, when you're working with a Polanski-directed noir, atmosphere trumps comprehensible narrative. Academy Theater. Friday-Thursday, May 6-12.

Mother's Day is this weekend, and you know who never gets any credit amid the flowers and brunches? Dads. That's why we need Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom more than anything. Mission Theater. Opens Friday, May 6.

For those of you who think Mother's Day is a Hallmark holiday, just revisit the ultra-campy Joan Crawford hatchet job Mommie Dearest and you're find myriad reasons to shower your mother with praise, starting with her use of plastic coat hangers. Mission Theater. Opens Saturday, May 7.

In the magical time known as the '70s, many subgenres received the "sploitation" label. You know "Blaxploitation" and "sexploitation." Maybe you know "hicksploitation," which pitted rednecks against other refugees from the other 'sploitations. But Brucesploitation—films that emerged in the wake of Bruce Lee's death, proporting to feature the Dragon himself—well, that's a special kind of sleaze. Kung Fu Theater pays homage to that most opportunistic form of 'spltation with Enter the Game of Death, a film starring the formidable Bruce Le (yep, that's one "e"), yellow track suit and all, as he fights a bunch of weird otherworldly shit. Hollywood Theatre. 7:30 pm Tuesday, May 10.

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