Star Wars opening crawl
The Star Wars opening crawl is a signature device of the opening sequences of every numbered film of the
This sequence has featured at the beginning of each of the main Star Wars saga theatrical films produced by Lucasfilm. Although it has retained the same basic elements, the opening crawl has significantly evolved throughout the series.[further explanation needed] It is one of the most immediately recognizable elements of the franchise and has been frequently parodied.
The opening crawl was not used in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars or in the Star Wars "Anthology" films, Rogue One and Solo, although all three films begin with the opening text. Additionally, the opening sequence of Solo continues with a short backstory presented in the same style as the opening text, while The Clone Wars uses a narrator to provide exposition in a similar style to a newsreel.
Structure
Each film begins with the static blue text, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....", followed by the Star Wars logo shrinking in front of a field of stars, as if moving away from the viewer. Initially, the logo's extremities are beyond the edge of the frame. While the logo is retreating, the "crawl" text begins, starting with the film's episode number and subtitle (with the exception of the original release of Star Wars – see below), and followed by a three-paragraph prologue to the film. The text scrolls up and away from the bottom of the screen towards a vanishing point above the top of the frame in a perspective projection. Each version of the opening crawl ends with a four-dot ellipsis, except for Return of the Jedi, which has a three-dot ellipsis. When the text has nearly reached the vanishing point, it fades out, the camera tilts down (or, in the case of Episode II: Attack of the Clones, up), and the film begins.[1]
Several words are in all-capital letters to emphasise their importance: "
Origin
Lucas has stated that the opening crawl was inspired by the opening crawls used at the beginning of each episode of the original
Perri also designed a
In a 2005 interview, George Lucas described how the final phrasing of the text for Star Wars came about. "The crawl is such a hard thing because you have to be careful that you're not using too many words that people don't understand. It's like a poem. I showed the very first crawl to a bunch of friends of mine in the ’70s. It went on for six paragraphs with four sentences each. Brian De Palma was there...". De Palma helped to edit the text into the form used in the film.[8]
Production
According to Dennis Muren, who worked on the first six films, crawls on the original trilogy films were accomplished by filming physical models laid out on the floor. The models were approximately 60 cm (2') wide and 1.80 m (6') long. The crawl effect was accomplished by the camera moving longitudinally along the model. It was difficult and time-consuming to achieve a smooth scrolling effect. Afterwards, versions in other languages (such as German, French and Spanish) were produced by Industrial Light & Magic.[1][9]
With the advent of
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy stated that the 2016 spin-off film Rogue One would "more than likely" eschew certain traditional elements of the franchise, including the crawl, in an effort to distinguish it from the main film series.[10] In fact, Rogue One retains "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...", but then immediately cuts to the opening scene with no crawl. At the end of the opening scene, the title "ROGUE ONE" recedes against a star field, like the "STAR WARS" title of the main series, then there is a cut to the next scene.
The second spin-off film Solo does not feature a crawl, but does feature an introductory text shown sentence by sentence in the same font and color as and immediately after "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....".[11]
Episode IV opening crawl
The opening crawl in the first Star Wars film is very different from Lucas's original intention. The original text, used in the rough cut he showed to friends and studio executives in February 1977, appears in the
References
- ^ a b c d Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace DVD commentary
- ^ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary
- ^ Perkins, Will (16 December 2015). "Star Wars". Art of the Title. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ Perkins, Will. "Dan Perri: A Career Retrospective". Art of the Title. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ Perkins, Will (16 December 2015). "Star Wars". Art of the Title. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ISBN 9781784970451. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Evolution of the Star Wars Poster". PhotoSecrets.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
- ^ Pearlman, Cindy (May 15, 2005). The Force. Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ a b Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope DVD commentary
- ^ Alexander, Julia (November 22, 2016). "Rogue One is bucking a Star Wars tradition". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ Does Solo: A Star Wars Story have an opening crawl?
- ^ "Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope". StarWars.com.
External links
- "Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope - Opening Crawl". official Star Wars website. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- "starwars.com search results for 'opening crawl'". official Star Wars website. Retrieved 8 June 2016.