Customer Reviews

Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible

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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.

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.

A must own for fans of the collectibles spawned from the greatest space fantasy of all time. Sansweet takes you through the entire process that brought about the Star Wars experience and gives details about little known information surrounding the film's creation, collectibles and magicians who brought it to life. A nostalgic trip into the past to relive three great films accompanied by crisp, clear photos. Check it out.

Beautifully photographed and expertly written and researched, this handsome book is a must-own for any "Star Wars" fan. The author is well-known in collecting circles for his remarkable passion for the subject, and his trusted expertise makes this a reference book that is full of facts, not just one man's opinion. A great book for holiday giving, the sophisticated, artistically designed cover looks terrific on any coffee table or book shelf!

Bought this book for my 14 yr. old grandson, who collects all Star Wars memorabillia! came in a very new condition, well made, has enough information about Star Wars. He absolutely loves this book, very informative and well written! would recommend it!!

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!

I have been a big Star Wars fan since the first film was released back in 1977. I used to own many of the old action figures and played with them all the time up until my grandmother gave them away to the Goodwill. I picked up this book in 1997 just as I was getting back into collecting Star Wars figures once again. This is a very detailed book with lots of great color photos. Seeing the pictures of all of the older toys brought back a lot of memories. And it makes you stop and think about how much your old collection would have been worth if you had saved it. I recommend this book to anyone who is a true Star Wars fan and collector. You will not be disappointed.

A beautifully written book -- Sansweet is the reigning expert on Star Wars (have all of his book, with the Scrapbook and Encyclopedia being my favorites). I just had some quibbles with some of the design elements in it but it's a wonderful edition to my library nevertheless.

An excellent tome, great photos, entertaining and informative writing. Highly recommended!

This book by Sansweet is not only a good reference book, but also a good read. Informative write-ups on Star Wars from its inception to its popularity. Displaying sketches from the film and models. From there it also discusses all the merchandising that came with the immense popularity that Star Wars recieved from its debut. Fun to look at all the pictures and old stuff and foreign artifacts from everywhere. Reccomended for the Star Wars fan and toy lover alike.