There isn’t a Star Wars fan alive that doesn’t know the story of the infamous Holiday Special. In the fall of 1978, more than a year after the original movie took the world by storm, CBS decided to capitalize on its success by sticking most of the film’s beloved characters into a one-off TV event that oozed with the decade’s typical brand of primetime cheesiness. It didn’t do the franchise any favors. But a new feature-length documentary aims to shed new light on how this embarrassing moment in Star Wars history came about.
Perfectly titled A Disturbance in the Force, the new doc takes a deep dive into the Holiday Special’s 45-year legacy as a running gag among Star Wars aficionados. Revisiting the fiasco seems like the kind of thing that would go against the wishes of everyone who made it, including the actors themselves. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like any of the cast or crew members were forced to sit and reflect on its production. Instead, the doc’s filmmakers turned to famous fans like “Weird Al” Yankovic, Kevin Smith, Seth Green, and even the late Gilbert Gottfried to provide their own hard-hitting commentary.
You can watch the trailer for the documentary below.
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Because it was so reviled (and because Disney likely owns the footage), the trailer neglects to show any actual scenes from the Holiday Special. But it does highlight an episode of Donny and Marie Osmond’s variety show that aired around the same time, where the series’ cast performed a musical adaptation of A New Hope in front of a live audience. Surprisingly, Donny Osmond himself appears as one of the documentary’s talking heads, asking, “How in the world is George Lucas allowing this to happen?” We don’t know, Donny. But hopefully, the new film will finally give us some answers.
A Disturbance in the Force will have its world premiere at SXSW on Saturday, March 11.
Are you excited to watch the new documentary? Let us know in the comment section below!
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