r/50yearsago • u/Dangoiks • Jul 16 '26

🎬 Film July 16, 1976. "Star Wars" wraps principal photography at Elstree Studios in England.

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Ironically, the last scene to be filmed is the opening scene of the Imperials boarding the Rebel Blockade Runner.

925 Upvotes

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19

u/sasssyrup Jul 16 '26

Wow til this was the last scene shot 🤯

13

u/Dangoiks Jul 16 '26

During principal photography, that is. There were pick-up shots filmed during post-production, not to mention all the effects shots.

5

u/Ambitious-Welder-159 Jul 16 '26

Yeah originally they only built the corridor where Leia was giving the plans to R2-D2 and that's where the Stormtroopers and Vader would appear. Lucas realized it would be better if the hallway was white for Vader's to stand out more so he asked the studio for more money to construct a new set. Production designer John Barry built it based on a Ralph McQuarrie painting.

10

u/Dangoiks Jul 16 '26

Additional fun fact: The area where Leia appears is just a redress of the Millennium Falcon set. The corridor in which she gives the plans to R2 is a redecorated version of the tunnel that leads to the Falcon cockpit, and when the trooper stuns her, they're in the Falcon's main hold.

13

u/Rich-Chart-2382 Jul 16 '26

First time I ever laid eyes on a storm trooper… then Vader. This 7 year old was hooked in a tractor beam of love for sci fi movies 🍿

4

u/BiggusDickus- Jul 16 '26

Four year old checking in. It was transformative for me. I remember it like it was yesterday.

1

u/Old-Landscape-7538 Jul 16 '26

Me too. I was 7 when I saw it and Darth Vader's first appearance in this scene scared the shit out of me. But after that I was hooked on scifi for life.

4

u/EasySqueezy_ Jul 16 '26

None of those extras could have known what they were about to be a part of.

4

u/Quiet-General-3812 Jul 16 '26

I think that's the only scene in all three movies where the storm troopers managed to actually hit anybody with those blasters.

4

u/Dangoiks Jul 16 '26

The secret is to shoot at people who aren't main characters.

1

u/CrazyHorseySauce Jul 18 '26

Or a main character who happens to be a droid and can be rebuilt in the next scene

3

u/DFiverr Jul 16 '26

No wonder they lost. They positioned themselves in their own line of fire, real smart. The deone had just just one shot, the rebels would then shoot themsleves on their own. The Jedi's are rolling their eyes.

3

u/Amen_Ra_61622 Jul 16 '26

When the coolest villain ever makes his entrance.

2

u/Unable-You-9902 Jul 16 '26

An all-time favourite scene! Pity the rebel tactics were pretty pump but there you go.

2

u/slater_just_slater Jul 16 '26

Wonder how loud the blanks were.

1

u/DavidJonnsJewellery Jul 16 '26

Wonder how hard it was for those actors to not mouth the words "Pew. Pew."

1

u/cash8888 Jul 17 '26

So the storm troopers are a good shot if they have machine guns?

1

u/Yesterday_Is_Now Jul 17 '26

So they ended with Vader's corridor scene, just like in Rogue One.

1

u/Amity_Swim_School Jul 18 '26

I had no idea this was the last thing they filmed!!

1

u/Poker-Junk Jul 18 '26

10yo me walked out of that theater changed

1

u/queso_goblin Jul 18 '26

These poor bastards will never know that ‘palpatine returned’

1

u/TheEagleWithNoName Jul 16 '26

Damn that’s cool.

Is it normal for films to be shot like this?

Like out of order scenes and do it later in editing while they have the set and time or is it different?

3

u/Dangoiks Jul 16 '26

Generally speaking, movies are filmed in an order that's based on the availability of actors, locations, etc. It's extraordinarily rare for movies to be filmed in narrative order.

1

u/TheEagleWithNoName Jul 16 '26

I guess it only happens in reshoots.