George Lucas has never cared about the physics of Star Wars

As a gamer who’s spent countless hours immersed in the vast cosmos of Star Wars, I can’t help but appreciate the unique blend of science fiction and mythology that George Lucas has so masterfully crafted. Over the years, I’ve learned to suspend my disbelief when it comes to the physics of space in this galaxy far, far away.

One point that confuses some Star Wars enthusiasts is the discovery that this series is more than just a science fiction story; it’s a space opera and contemporary mythology. Despite its sci-fi elements, it strays from realistic depictions. George Lucas has always been less concerned with the laws of space physics, a fact further emphasized by sound design legend Ben Burtt.

At the 2024 Locarno Film Festival, sound designer Ben Burtt is set to receive the Ticinomoda Vision Award. In preparation for this occasion, Burtt had an enlightening conversation with Variety, discussing his extensive career in which the casual disregard for physics by George Lucas in their collaborative work was brought up. During this discussion about the creation of ‘A New Hope’, Burtt mentioned…

When the Millennium Falcon’s doors open, it should sound mechanical, it might squeak, it might be rusty. Because I came from a background in physics and I loved 2001, I initially thought: Well, there’s no sound in space, and I told George that. He was kind of puzzled but he said. ‘Well, we’re going to have sound and music in space.’ He wasn’t shy about creating a world where you hear everything in space. And thank heavens, I guess, because that gave me a career.

On numerous occasions, the physics of Star Wars has been challenged. Yet, George Lucas has consistently shown little concern for this aspect. To illustrate, he prioritized creating thrilling explosions over real-world space accuracy since our universe lacks oxygen in such environments. Thus, he devised a way for these events to occur within his films. He famously stated in the book “Star Wars Archives”, “In my universe, there is air in outer space when I desire it.”

Lucas prioritizes narrating an engaging tale above all else in his work, with any physics considerations coming secondary. According to Burtt, the authenticity Lucas sought was primarily in the storytelling itself.

Well, at the time, most science fiction films contained sound effects and ambiance that were electronic in nature. Things sort of derived from Forbidden Planet, you know, that wonderful electronic score and sound effects that were made for that film. George felt that was a cliche by this point, so he didn’t want to have a synthetic or electronic score or electronic effects of any kind. He described it to me as an organic soundtrack, which meant, let’s go out in the real world and gather acoustic sounds, be they motors, animals or jet planes. Let’s fashion the world of Star Wars out of these real sounds. The idea being that people would inherently recognize the reality of those sounds, the naturalness of them.

Absolutely, I strongly recommend you take the time to delve into Burtt’s entire interview with Variety. It offers an engaging insight into his remarkable, tale-filled career.

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2024-08-18 19:51