Few directors in history have aroused as much admiration, or as much ire, as George Lucas.  His Star Wars franchise stands as possibly the most culturally iconic, commercially successful, influential and critically lauded filmic creations of all time, yet the appearance of its three prequels as well as Lucas’ habit of tinkering with the originals when it comes time for home media releases has also inspired no end of bitter debate.  Alexandre Phillipe’s spirited new documentary aims to explore the nature of such controversy and the impact of Lucas’s cultural legacy, as well as to answer the question of whom the ouvre really belongs to – the man who created it, or fans whom spent decades revering it? 

Comprising interviews with the likes of Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz, Francis Ford Coppola, David Prowse (who played Darth Vader and is currently persona non grata with Lucas) and, through the wonders of archival footage, the elusive Emperor Lucas himself, The People vs. George Lucas is an inventive, humorous and heartfelt exploration of the notion of the franchise’s ‘ownership‘, a paean to obsessive, unyielding fandom and an examination of the nature of the artistic process itself.  In lieu of footage from the actual series we are instead treated throughout to a series of (mostly) light-hearted recreations in media as diverse as stop-motion claymation, Lego and puppetry, which augment the tightly woven narrative and provide a funny, gently incisive insight into the inimitable world of fanboy ardour. 

Lucas, for his part, claims that for a variety of budgetary and other reasons the original trilogy did not meet his standard in several regards, and that he has spent such considerable time tinkering with the master footage and audio of each only to better serve his initial vision (and revelling in the fact it is these DVD and Blu-ray revisions, not the hoary originals, that will survive in perpetuity).  The People vs. George Lucas stands as a timely rebuttal, and goes some small way towards reclaiming the inhabitants of a galaxy far, far away for the fans in whose imaginations they continue to dwell. 

Special Features

Complimenting the film itself are a host of excellent bonus features, including an extended interview with Kurtz, an interview with Phillipe, a 3D featurette, fan submissions and a music video.