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George Lucas’ “Star Wars” stands as a monumental achievement in cinema, a film whose influence has soared far beyond its initial release. Garnering numerous awards and spawning one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises in history, the movie has captivated fans across generations. However, during its early stages, not everyone saw its potential. When Lucas shared a rough cut with some fellow directors, one of them, Brian De Palma—later known for directing “Scarface”—expressed skepticism.
20th Century Fox
Recounting the experience, De Palma reportedly reacted with sharp criticism, questioning the film’s fantastical elements. “What is this Force stuff?” he allegedly asked Lucas, as detailed in J.W. Rinzler’s book, “The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film.” De Palma’s quest for realism led him to question the absence of visible blood during action scenes. Despite his critiques, De Palma also recognized the film’s potential, a sentiment he later shared publicly.
Reflecting on the past during an episode of the “Light the Fuse” podcast, De Palma admitted, “I did make a joke about the Force, that’s true.” He found the name “the Force” lacking for such a profound concept and conceded, “I was terribly wrong about [it].” Despite his initial doubts, De Palma emphasized that these sessions among friends were part of a creative process where feedback flowed both ways: “Sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong. They did the same for my movies.”
Though De Palma was candid in his critique, his feedback wasn’t entirely negative. According to Steven Spielberg, who also attended the screening, De Palma contributed constructive suggestions. One of his notable inputs was the creation of the iconic opening crawl, a feature that became synonymous with the “Star Wars” saga.
Spielberg recounted to Empire Online in a 2016 interview, “I was in on the very first rough cut of ‘Star Wars’ with De Palma.” He recalled De Palma’s frustration with the film’s abrupt start, expressing concern that viewers would be lost in the expansive universe with no introduction, describing it as “just a void with stars and some silly ships moving around.” To rectify this, De Palma suggested an opening crawl similar to those in the “Flash Gordon” serials, providing essential context.
Brian De Palma made one key alteration that changed Star Wars forever
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De Palma later shared on the “Light the Fuse” podcast, “I said, ‘George, you’ve gotta set this up somehow like those crawls in the Flash Gordon movies.'” Although Lucas drafted his own version, it required refinement. “It was all gobbledygook basically,” De Palma noted, leading him and screenwriter Jay Cocks to revise it, enhancing clarity. Their contribution ensured that “Star Wars” would engage and enchant audiences rather than perplex them, a testament to the collaborative spirit that often fuels cinematic brilliance.
“I was in on the very first rough cut of ‘Star Wars’ with De Palma,” Spielberg told Empire Online in a 2016 interview. According to Spielberg, De Palma expressed frustration that the film dropped audiences into the middle of a complicated story with no context, telling Lucas, “‘Nobody will get it. It’s just a void with stars and some silly ships moving around.’” But along with that criticism, De Palma offered up a solution — an opening “crawl” that would provide the necessary context he was looking for.
“I said, ‘George, you’ve gotta set this up somehow like those crawls in the Flash Gordon movies,’” De Palma told the “Light the Fuse” podcast. According to De Palma, Lucas wrote his own, but it needed a lot of work: “It was all gobbledygook basically, so I and [screenwriter] Jay Cocks went over the crawl and basically rewrote it so it made some sense. And that was our contribution.” One could rightly argue that without De Palma’s input, “Star Wars” might have simply confused moviegoers, rather than dazzle them.
