Tag: Star

Dressing a Galaxy The Costumes of Star Wars


Free Download George Lucas, Rick McCallum, "Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars"
English | 2005 | ISBN: 0810965674 | PDF | pages: 232 | 31.6 mb
While the Star Wars saga is famous for its elaborate sets and for revolutionary visual effects, it also features some of the most unique and ornate costumes in modern film. In this exquisite volume, the intricate and beautiful fashions that have appeared in all six Star Wars films are on display-from military gear to royal gowns and the iconic garbs of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. Every costume is brilliantly displayed in intimate detail, from preproduction sketches to the final creations. Actors, including Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson, provide commentary on their experiences during principal photography, while writer-director George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum contribute their thoughts on this exploration of Star Wars costume design. Accompanied by an exhibition at the The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) Museum & Galleries at FIDM in Los Angeles, this unique visual treat is a must-have for any Star Wars fan. An additional limited-edition run of this book will be released with lavish gatefolds, fabric swatches, and a cast replica of a Wookiee belt-buckle, sure to be the ultimate Star Wars collectible.

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Children with a Star Jewish Youth in Nazi Europe


Free Download Deborah Dwork, "Children with a Star: Jewish Youth in Nazi Europe"
English | ISBN: 0300054475 | | 380 pages | PDF | 44 MB
"The little children had little parents in the [twins'] block n Auschwitz. For example, I was a little mama for twins, two girls named Evichka and Hanka…My sister was the mother for Hanka and I was the mother for Evichka…Evichka told me that she got a mother and a father, but that they had gone away on transport. The twins were four years old. I said to her, ‘I will be your mother.’ She said, ‘But you are only sixteen years old; it doesn’t matter?’ I said, ‘No, it doesn’t matter because it is more important that we are together and that we are not alone. You have a mother and I have a daughter.’" ―Magda Magda Somogyi

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The Making of Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back


Free Download The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back By J.W. Rinzler, Ridley Scott
2010 | 372 Pages | ISBN: 0345509617 | EPUB | 93 MB
In this lavish thirtieth-anniversary tribute to the blockbuster film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, New York Times bestselling author J. W. Rinzler draws back the curtain to reveal the intense drama and magnificent wizardry behind the hit movie-arguably the fan favorite of the Star Wars Saga. Following his The Making of Star Wars, the author has once again made use of his unlimited access to the Lucasfilm Archives and its hidden treasures of previously unpublished interviews, photos, artwork, and production mementos. The result is a comprehensive behind-the-scenes, up-close-and-personal look at the trials and triumphs, risks and close calls, inspiration, perspiration, and imagination that went into every facet of this cinematic masterpiece. Here’s the inside scoop on: * the evolution of the script, from story conference and treatment to fifth draft, as conceived, written, and rewritten by George Lucas, famed science-fiction author Leigh Brackett, and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan * the development of new key characters, including roguish hero Lando Calrissian, sinister bounty hunter Boba Fett, and iconic Jedi Master Yoda * the challenges of shooting the epic ice planet battle in the frozen reaches of Norway and of conjuring up convincing creatures and craft-from tauntauns and snowspeeders to Imperial walkers * the construction of a life-sized Millennium Falcon and the swamp planet Dagobah inside a specially built soundstage in Elstree Studios * the technique behind master Muppeteer Frank Oz’s breathing life into the breakthrough character Yoda * the creation of the new, improved Industrial Light & Magic visual effects facility and the founding of the now-legendary Skywalker Ranch In addition, of course, are rare on-the-scene interviews with all the major players: actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and David Prowse; director Irvin Kershner; producer Gary Kurtz; effects specialists Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett; composer John Williams; and many others. Punctuating the epic account is a bounty of drawings, storyboards, and paintings by Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, and Ivor Beddoes, along with classic and rare production photos. An added bonus is a Foreword by acclaimed director Ridley Scott. The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is a fittingly glorious celebration of an undisputed space-fantasy movie milestone. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

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The Making of Star Wars Return of the Jedi


Free Download The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi By J.W. Rinzler, Brad Bird
2013 | 372 Pages | ISBN: 0345511468 | EPUB | 53 MB
Just as Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi completed the most successful cinematic trilogy of its generation, perhaps of all time, this splendid thirtieth-anniversary tribute completes New York Times bestselling author J. W. Rinzler’s trio of fascinating behind-the-scenes books celebrating George Lucas’s classic films. Once again, the author’s unprecedented access to the formidable Lucasfilm Archives has yielded a mother lode of extremely informative, vastly entertaining, and often unexpected stories, anecdotes, recollections, and revelations straight from the closely guarded set of a big-screen blockbuster in the making. Brimming with previously unpublished photos, production artwork, script excerpts, exclusive intel, vintage on-set interviews, and present-day commentary, The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi chronicles "how George Lucas and his crew of extroverted artists, misfits, and expert craftspeople roused themselves to great heights for a third time" to create the next unforgettable chapter in one of the most beloved sagas of all time. Get up close to the action and feel like a studio insider as * creator George Lucas, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, and director Richard Marquand huddle in a script conference to debate the destinies of iconic Star Wars characters, as well as Description twists and turns for the epic final showdown between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire * artists and craftspeople at the groundbreaking Industrial Light & Magic facility top their own revolutionary innovations-despite the infamous Black Friday-with boundary-pushing new analog visual effects * a crack team of sculptors, puppeteers, actors, and "monster-makers" bring Jabba the Hutt and his cohorts to startling, slobbering life from the inside out * a Who’s Who of heavyweight directors-from such films as Superman, Gremlins, Halloween, Dune, Scanners, and Time Bandits-are considered for the coveted job of bringing a new Star Wars adventure to the silver screen * actors and crew race to the finish line at Elstree Studios, in a fiery desert, and beneath the trees of a dense redwood forest-before money runs out-to answer the questions that audiences had waited three years to find out: Is Darth Vader really Luke’s father, who is the "other"-and who or what is the Emperor? Star Wars’ stars from both sides of the camera-including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, director Richard Marquand, producer Howard Kazanjian, Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, and mastermind George Lucas-weigh in with candid insights on everything from technical challenges, character design, Ewoks, the Empire’s galactic city planet, and the ultimate challenge of bringing the phenomenal space fantasy to a dramatic close. The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi gives a spectacular subject its just due, with more than five hundred images and many, many new interviews.Praise for The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi "Just like Rinzler’s 2010 volume about Empire Strikes Back, The Making of Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi is an indispensible volume that will add tons of insight to your appreciation of George Lucas’ Original Trilogy. Rinzler has gone through masses of production documents at Lucasfilm and interviewed tons of people, and come up with a portrait of Lucas struggling to find a fitting ending to his ambitious, heroic saga."-io9

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Star Trek and Philosophy The Wrath of Kant


Free Download Kevin S. Decker, "Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant "
English | ISBN: 0812696492 | 2008 | 288 pages | EPUB, PDF | 442 KB + 2 MB
Philosophy and space travel are characterized by the same fundamental purpose: exploration. An essential guide for both philosophers and Trekkers, Star Trek and Philosophy combines a philosophical spirit of inquiry with the beloved television and film series to consider questions not only about the scientific prospects of interstellar travel but also the inward journey to examine the human condition. The expansive topics range from the possibilities for communication among different cultural backgrounds to questions about the stoic temperament exhibited by Vulcans to Ferengi business practices. Specifically chosen to break new ground in exploring the philosophical dimensions of Star Trek, these articles boldly go where no philosopher has gone before.

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Lone Star Sleuths An Anthology of Texas Crime Fiction


Free Download Bill Cunningham, Steven L. Davis, Rollo K. Newsom, "Lone Star Sleuths: An Anthology of Texas Crime Fiction"
English | 2007 | pages: 283 | ISBN: 0292717377 | PDF | 2,5 mb
Texas has always staked a large claim on the nation’s imagination, and its mystery literature is no exception. Hundreds of crime novels are set within the state, most of which have been published in the last twenty years. From the highest point atop the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas to the Piney Woods of East Texas, from the High Plains of the Panhandle to the subtropical climate of the lower Rio Grande Valley, mystery writers have covered every aspect of Texas’s extraordinarily diverse geography.

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How Star Wars Conquered the Universe The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise (PDF)


Free Download Chris Taylor, "How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise"
English | 2015 | pages: 513 | ISBN: 0465049893 | PDF | 46,8 mb
In 1973, a young filmmaker named George Lucas scribbled some notes for a far-fetched space-fantasy epic. Some forty years and 37 billion later, Star Wars – related products outnumber human beings, a growing stormtrooper army spans the globe, and "Jediism" has become a religion in its own right. Lucas’s creation has grown into far more than a cinematic classic; it is, quite simply, one of the most lucrative, influential, and interactive franchises of all time. Yet incredibly, until now the complete history of Star Wars – its influences and impact, the controversies it has spawned, its financial growth and long-term prospects – has never been told.

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How Star Wars Conquered the Universe The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise (EPUB)


Free Download Chris Taylor, "How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise"
English | 2016 | pages: 606 | ISBN: 1784970476 | EPUB | 13,0 mb
In 1973, a young filmmaker named George Lucas scribbled some notes for a far-fetched space-fantasy epic. More than forty years and $37 billion later, Star Wars-related products outnumber human beings, a stormtrooper army spans the globe, and "Jediism" has become a religion in its own right. Lucas’s creation has grown into far more than a cinematic classic; it is, quite simply, one of the most lucrative, influential, and interactive franchises of all time. Yet until now, the complete history of Star Wars – its influences and impact, the controversies it has spawned, its financial growth and long-term prospects – has never been told.

(more…)