For masochists who don't mind staying up late tonight

[geekchick]

From DCist:

The Star Wars Holiday Special

Back in 1977, a little independent film by the name of Star Wars had some modest success. Its creator, George Lucas, wanted to make the sequel bigger and better, but like so many indie artists, didn't want to sell out his vision to a big studio. So he did what any similarly principled underground director would do: he licensed his characters for a holiday variety special of the sort the '70s were exceptional at producing, and went happily to work on his sequel while the nice TV folks made the special. The result is generally considered to be one of the most abominable television programs ever to see the front end of a cathode ray tube, and the most egregious insult to the Star Wars legacy until the production of The Phantom Menace. I was watching when it aired that Christmas in 1978, but for a significant portion of my internet-free childhood, I thought it was just a dream I'd had. What really happened is that Lucas, seeing what he'd unintentionally wrought, managed to ensure that it would never air beyond the one telecast guaranteed in the contract, in an attempt to bury it far away from the conscious minds of an entire generation. But the glorious wretchedness of The Star Wars Holiday Special could not be contained, particularly when legions of doting fanboys spent most of the '80s dubbing 2nd, 3rd, and 10th generation VHS and Beta bootlegs of the broadcast. If you can find a video store with a copy stashed in its shelves, you're lucky, and if you can find a public screening, you're luckier still. Takoma Park's Video Americain is offering just such a rare occurrence tonight at 10:30 p.m. The plot, such as it is, revolves around Chewbacca trying to return to his home planet of Kashyyyk for a "Life Day" celebration (it seems the Wookies scored a resounding victory in their own War on Christmas). Along the way, there is the inevitable pursuit by the evil Galactic Empire, a return to that hipster dive in Mos Eisley where Greedo got iced, some cartoons, and the cast of Star Wars in extremely bad television makeup singing heartwarming Life Day songs. Mark Hamill is wearing so much eyeliner he might as well be in drag. Oh yeah, and there's Bea Arthur dancing with aliens. If your head hasn't exploded yet, you are the target audience for this movie, and you should get a transport to Takoma tonight for a full two hours of this insanity.

View a five-minute condensed version of the special.
Playing at Video Americain in Takoma Park, at 6937 Laurel Avenue tonight at 10:30 p.m. Free.

Comments

[2501.livejournal.com]

years ago I was selling t-shirts at the Chiller Theater convention in New Jersey. Our table was next to a guy who sold bootleg VHS tapes, and he had a promo loop which had a commercial for that and played over and over all day. The phrase "his wife, Pakka" (sp?) was burned into my mind forever.

[geekchick]

and he had a promo loop which had a commercial for that and played over and over all day

I think after the second hour or so, I might've reached over and beat him senseless with one of his videotapes.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

OMG, I wish I could be there! That sounds hilarious!

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. Gawd. Just watched the 5 min version. That was... um... indescribable. Truly.

(This is my "Reaching" icon. Because that special was REALLY REACHING. And it MISSED.)

[geekchick]

I can't find it right now, but someone had posted the whole thing in 10-minute segments to YouTube. Oh, the humanity!

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Um. Thanks???

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

They all looks so *young*!

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Heh. Yeah, they do. That would be because Mark Hamill was 25 when Star Wars came out. No, I don't know the ages of anyone else. Why would I have cared? I was 15!

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

When Jedi came out, I was 13, and I got crushes on all 3 main characters simultaneously. This might have been an early signal that I was bi... ;-)

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Heh. Could be. :^D

[scherzoid.livejournal.com]

I have a bootleg on DVD (or maybe Video CD) somewhere. I just might have to track it down and force rdhdsnippet to watch it tonight. :)

[geekchick]

I didn't feel inspired enough to trek out to Takoma Park and back late on a school night; if you organize a more local torture session showing, I might have to invite myself over. =)