Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible (Paperback)

by Stephen Sansweet (Author) "George Lucas was in agony..." (more)
Key Phrases: model kits, model makers, Star Wars, Darth Vader, George Lucas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Nowadays nearly everything linked with the original Star Wars trilogy is valuable, from bottle caps to shoelaces to posters. This beautiful volume, published by Chronicle Books, follows the design and development of these items--and the development of George Lucas from filmmaker into "merchandiser par excellence." Even casual fans will be delighted by dozens of photos of toys they wanted, toys they had, and toys they wish had been made. Models of some of these never-produced toys provide tantalizing glimpses of what might have been, for better or worse. Thankfully Leia wasn't turned into a Barbie clone, but what child wouldn't have loved a Boba Fett's Bounty Set? Many familiar characters and vehicles are accompanied by concept sketches marked by Lucas's rubber stamps, from "O.K." (translation: try again) to "WONDERFUL." The marketing blitz may be off-putting, but it is fascinating to look back over the wide range of licensed products: linens, shoes, watches, and, of course, food. You might remember C-3POs and the ice-cream bars, but did you know that English fans were offered Star Wars Yogurts with flavors such as Luke Skywalker raspberry, Darth Vader black cherry, and tasty Jabba the Hutt peach melba? A photograph of a tiny, vinyl-caped Jawa action figure, now selling for several hundred dollars, reminds us of the true lesson of Star Wars: You should have held on to those toys! --C.B. Delaney

Product Description
The three films of the Star Wars saga rank among the most popular of the modern era, with ticket and merchandise sales in excess of three billion dollars. The first illustrated Star Wars book to feature the multitude of merchandising spin-offs generated by the film offers a complete overview of a modern marketing extravaganza. Full-color photographs throughout.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811800962
• ISBN-13: 978-0811800969
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,739,470 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book put Star Wars collecting on the map, July 1, 2000

By	Gus Lopez (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Arguably, the most significant impact of Star Wars on popular culture was the merchandising of the movie into toys and collectibles with product far outgrossing the record levels the saga achieved in box office sales. Movie merchandise, and toys in particular, with long development times and short public attention spans were rarely seen as lucrative ventures throughout movie history. But in 1977, Star Wars changed all that. Steve Sansweet's book traces the development of the film into the most lucrative movie license in history, showing rare and unproduced toy concepts that were considered but abandoned. With beautiful photos from Steve's personal collection and rare photography from the Kenner archives, the reader sees and learns about the development of the property. When this book was released in 1992, it shook the Star Wars collecting world and still remains timeless today. I keep referring to and pouring through Steve's "Concept" book over and over again. Every Star Wars collector needs to own this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great history of Star Wars & Star Wars collectables, August 22, 2004

By	tonythetoyman (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars - From Concept to Screen to Collectible (Hardcover)

If I were to teach a class on the history Star Wars and Star Wars collectables, I would definitely use this as one of the textbooks. It is a very well written and interesting book. It contains lots of great pictures, including early drawings of movie characters made before the movies were ever created, as well as pictures of a variety of collectables (including both prototypes and finished products). Also contains lots of interesting factoids. This is not a price guide or a comprehensive guide to Star Wars collectables (so if that's what you are looking for, this is not the book for you). But if you want to learn about the Star Wars universe (literally from concept to screen to collectable), this will be a great addition to your library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Of the Star Wars books (non-novel) available, this ranks in the top 5!, October 20, 2008

By	Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible (Paperback)

When I was a child, I used to be a collector of the Star Wars action figures and even owned several vehicles. "Star Wars" was not just a film but it was part of my childhood. May it be the toys, the comic books and it was one of the few times I can remember going to watch a movie with my parents (a movie that I actually enjoyed with them).

As I got older, I have managed to collect several lines of the Star Wars universe and for many collectors, they have looked to hardcore Star Wars merchandise collector Stephen J. Sansweet for his wonderful book with the "Star Wars Action Figure Archive".

But Sansweet hit a homerun with his Star Wars coffee table book with "STAR WARS: FROM CONCEPT TO SCREEN TO COLLECTIBLE" featuring an well-written and informative book covering the Star Wars trilogy. From it's original concept, it's artwork to the plans of creating the vehicles and how the popular films eventually led to a comic book series and also one of the most popular toy lines in the world.

According to Sansweet, the book came from nearly 40 hours of taped interviews with two dozen people who worked for Lucas film, Industrial Light & Magic, Kenner Products and 20th Century Fox Film.

The interviews were also backed up with extensive research through files and archives at Skywalker Ranch includin the photo library and prop archives.

What I enjoyed about this book is the many pictures showing the various merchandise including cereal, yogurt and popsicle boxes to International posters, shoes, socks, backpacks, skates, watches, you name it...there is so much featured in this book that as a Star Wars fan, you can't help but not be happy to own such an informative and well-written book.

For those who are wondering if this book features a lot of conceptual art and if it would benefit the artists who enjoy the Star Wars universe, I will say that there are plenty of conceptual books available that focus primarily on the art. This book is more or less a smorgasbord of information and pictures and focuses on many areas of the idea and creation of Star Wars but also in the merchandise/collectability standpoint.

This book is excellent! You can't go wrong with it because it's so fully of information and photography. Sansweet went all out in doing extensive research for the book and getting access to photography that just makes this book, one of the must-own books for "Star Wars" fans.

With so many "Star Wars" related books in the market, this is one of the must-own ones. Also, you can find it online for a great price these days! Definitely recommended!