Star Wars: The Blueprints [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

J.W. Rinzler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2011

Star Wars: The Blueprints brings together, for the first time, the original blueprints created for the filming of the Star Wars Saga. Drawn from deep within the Lucasfilm Archives and combined with exhaustive and insightful commentary from best-selling author J. W. Rinzler, the collection maps in precise, vivid, and intricate detail the very genesis of the most enduring and beloved story ever to appear onscreen.

Star Wars: The Blueprints gives voice to the groundbreaking and brilliant engineers, designers, and artists that have, in film after film, created the most imaginative and iconic locales in the history of cinema. Melding science and art, these drawings giving birth to fantastic new worlds, ships, and creatures.

Most importantly, Blueprints shows how in bringing this extraordinary epic to life, the world of special effects as we know it was born. For the first time, here you will see the initial concepts behind such iconic Star Wars scenes as the Rebel blockade runner hallways, the bridge of General Grievous' flagship, the interior of the fastest hunk of junk in the Galaxy, and Jabba the Hutt's palace. Never before seen craftsmanship and artistry is evident whether floating on the Death Star, escaping on a speeder bike, or exploring the Tatooine Homestead.

Star Wars: The Blueprints is a limited edition. Only 5,000 hand-numbered English language copies will be available.

Star Wars: The Blueprints: 15.5" wide by 18.5" tall (39.4 cm wide by 47 cm tall), 336 pages, 10 gatefolds, more than 250 featured blueprints, more than 500 photographs and illustrations, hand-numbered title page, 22 pounds (10 kg)
Cloth case:Custom-dyed cloth material case with debossed foil stamping detail on spine and cover, 19" wide by 2.625" deep by 22.125" tall (48.3 cm wide by 6.7 cm deep by 56.2 cm tall)
Certificate of Authenticity: Signed by Epic Ink President Andrew S. Mayer

Editorial Reviews

Review

As Yoda might put it: Forceful object, this is. --The New York Times

Wait no more. Star Wars: The Blueprints, an oversized hardcover from Epic Ink, collects the best of the original blueprints created by the UK production art departments during the making of the six movies, taken straight from the Lucasfilm Archives and reproduced in striking high resolution ...The talent of these designers is on display on every page. Each blueprint is presented as an original work of art, and some bear the imperfections of rips and folds present on the original technical drawings ... Star Wars: The Blueprints is much more than a collection of documents. --Star Wars Insider

There has been no shortage of amazing Star Wars coffee table books and great memorabilia over the years, but the new book, Star Wars: The Blueprints, looks like one of the coolest inside looks at the franchise ever. 95% of the content has never been seen outside of the production. --IGN.com

About the Author

J. W. Rinzler, executive editor at Lucasfilm Ltd., is the author of The New York Times best seller The Making of Star Wars, as well as the London Times best seller The Complete Making of Indiana Jones. His most recent book is The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Rinzler lives in Petaluma, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Epic Ink Books; First edition (October 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160380191X
• ISBN-13: 978-1603801911
• Product Dimensions: 26 x 24 x 4.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 30.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Lakewood, New Jersey; grew up in Manhattan/NYC and Berkeley, CA. Fell in love with old monster films, such as Dracula and Frankenstein, as well as Robin Hood and other adventure movies.

Now working on an animated short film, which I hope to finish by end of 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, but..., September 30, 2011

By 

K. Dolen (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Wars: The Blueprints (Hardcover)

Superbly presented in a incomprehensibly large book, the blueprints are a fantastic look at how the sets were designed and constructed. However, not all of the blueprints have measurements on them. I found this to be disappointing and bizarre; how could a blueprints book not include all the measurements? Have they been erased because they don't want people to build them? It's quite odd.

Saying that, the majority do have measurements, but to fully appreciate and understand the scale it would have been nice if they all were covered.

Overall:

The presentation is second to none.

The accompanying photos are rare/interesting shots.

Obviously, with the CG fest the prequels were, there's not much there to be covered - only an eighth of the book; but who cares anyway :)

Would I buy it again knowing what I know now? Absolutely; it's stunning.

Is it perfect? No, but everyone will have their own opinion of perfect.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the STAR WARS art book of the year!, November 17, 2011

By 

George Beahm (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Star Wars: The Blueprints (Hardcover)

If you can afford this book, buy it.

Since STARS WARS first came out, it's produced an avalanche of licensed product taller than Jabba the Hut, including sumptuous art books. But this book, in size, towers above them all. A first-class example of book production, from its gorgeous tray case to the oversized book amply illustrated with blueprints and supportive text and photographs, this is the kind of book you'll show off to your friends and neighbors, and leaf through with a look of amazement.

In every possible way -- the oversized format, the printing on coated paper stock, the sturdy sewn signatures, the flawless reproduction, and the handsome tray case that protects the book -- this is a work of art, and for the author, a labor of love.

Limited to 5000 copies, mine was numbered in the 2000's, so based on that, the book is half sold out. (It may be that other vendors got copies with higher numbers, which suggests that readers with Jedi-like wisdom should buy sooner than later.)

At $500, it's admittedly a luxury. You can live without this, but why would your want to? At a time when trade publishers are cheapening books in every possible way, with crappy printing, glue binding, tiny type, printed on paper with the consistently of toilet paper, this book is its own best argument: Books can be, in themselves, works of art.

You don't have to be a STAR WARS fan to appreciative this massive tome. I imagine every mechanical engineer with a taste for fantasy and science fiction will find this book compulsively readable and viewable.

I should add that it comes boxed with an ingenious buffer-like cardboard insert that protects the fragile corners of the tray case from damage. On all heavy books, this should be the preferred method of cushioning to prevent damage, but it's the exception, not the rule. In this case, such packaging insured my copy arrived in mint condition.

This book goes on TOP of the shelf -- it's too large for any ordinary bookcase shelf -- and it gets handed down to the next generation. The Padawan who gets this will love it ... and may the Force be with you.

4.0 out of 5 stars Star Wars Blueprints, January 11, 2012

By 

Darth Dad (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Star Wars: The Blueprints (Hardcover)

Fantastic addition to any Star Wars library. Was a little disappointed that some of the blueprints spanned two pages as some of the details are lost in the folds. Some blueprints included seemed less important and there were some omissins I would have liked to see. Overall though it's a wealth of infomation mostly unavailable until now.