On May 4, fans of the world famous film epic Star Wars celebrate their holiday - Star Wars Day, which is also called the Day of Luke Skywalker, one of the main characters of the saga. The character Luke Skywalker was originally going to be a girl, then an old, seasoned general. The name of the hero was Luke Starkiller, which means "star killer", but after the start of filming the first film, he became Skywalker - "sky wanderer".

The holiday owes its origin to a curious play on words. The fact is that the famous phrase of the Jedi Knights from the movie: “May the Force be with you!” Is very consonant with the phrase “May 4 May be with you”, which was noticed at one time by one of the adherents of the film saga, which is why it happened that the celebration of Star Wars Day takes place on May 4, and not on May 25, the day the movie premiere took place.

Initially, Star Wars could have been called differently, as representatives of the film studio 20th Century Fox were unhappy with the name. It seemed to them that such a name of the film carries a certain negative. There was even a competition for a more sonorous and appropriate name, But interesting options was not found, and it was decided to leave the "Star Wars".

The first film of the film story, called A New Hope, was released on May 25, 1977. It is noteworthy that in the USSR the film was officially presented to the attention of the audience in 1988 as part of the "US Cinema Days in the USSR".

The first mass celebration of Star Wars Day was held in Canada, in the city of Toronto, in 2011. The celebration was accompanied by flash mobs, a costume procession, video presentations and show programs. Now such celebrations are held by film history fans all over the world.

The Star Wars universe was created by an American George Lucas. The project was born from a desire Lucas create action adventure V outer space, a kind of space western, with pursuit and shooting, with the confrontation between good and evil in a classic form. This idea was drawn from popular comics and television shows at the time, inspired by Edgar Burroughs' The Mars Series about cavalryman John Carter.

The word "Jedi" that Lucas called his Space Knights comes from Japan. "Jidai geki", which means "historical drama" is a genre in Japanese cinema that tells about the samurai, their folklore and lifestyle. Lucas liked the word "jidai" and brought it into his project, changing the sound a bit.

It should be noted that future movie Lucas was not taken seriously at first, as well-known filmmakers of the time saturate Hollywood with so-called "smart" cinema. This was associated with the then difficult domestic and foreign political situation in the United States and in the world. The country waged war in Vietnam, the tension remained from the likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe in the confrontation with the USSR, there were internal conflicts in society, and Lucas' fairy tale, as he himself called it, was considered unnecessary and untimely. In addition, no one wanted to take on big-budget sci-fi for teenagers (namely, Lucas aimed at a young audience), no one believed in a film in which there was not a single famous artist, he was predicted to fail and fail at the box office. Lucas was strongly encouraged to make films like his previous film, American Graffiti, again. Hollywood did not yet understand that changes were coming to the film distribution industry, and big role this will play out on the screens of "Star Wars".

The appearance of the first "Star Wars" in 1977 turned the idea of science fiction on the big screen. Lucas managed to create a fantastic and at the same time realistic world, which became a breakthrough in cinema. In addition, Star Wars turned out to be a project that brought unheard of profits, a real media franchise.

But The popularity of Star Wars is due not only and not so much to the box office success of the project. Lucas's film appealed to a huge number of people for many reasons. Film critics of the time praised Lucas for almost single-handedly reviving the family movie genre by turning science fiction into real fairy tale. ABOUT Lucas wrote that he, along with Spielberg, was the first in Hollywood to start making genre films that were understandable and enjoyable to millions of viewers.

"Star Wars" has a straightforward plot, without halftones, and this makes it the favorite picture of millions of viewers. White in film is white, and black is black. positive and negative characters the viewer perceives and understands from the first minutes of viewing, no effort is required to identify the characters, which makes picture light in emotional perception. By the way, after the premiere of the first film, Lucas re-edited the scene with Han Solo and the smuggler Greedo, adding humanity to the latter so that he, the only ambiguous character in the original trilogy (with the exception of Darth Vader), did not look like an outright villain. By the way, in the original version, Han Solo was supposed to appear to the viewer in the form of a green alien monster without a nose and with gills. Harrison Ford was chosen for this role by chance, in addition to him, Kurt Russell, Nick Nolte and other actors applied for it. And the role of Chewbacca was given to Peter Mayhew, who worked in the hospital as a nurse, the owner of an impressive growth of 2 meters 18 centimeters. The Chewbacca character itself was based on George Lucas' dog named Indiana. The language he speaks was made by combining various animal sounds, including those of the polar bear, badger, walrus and camel.

The events in the film epic take place in some distant fictional galaxy, moreover, in the past. According to the plot, in the Star Wars universe, there is a mysterious energy called the Force. Strength is a kind of spiritual, mystical knowledge that gives its owners supernatural abilities. Those who are gifted with it receive unusual abilities, are able to use the skills of telekinesis, telepathy and clairvoyance. The Force is divided into Dark and Light sides, the adepts of the sides are antagonists, whose ideals and aspirations are opposite. Everyone who has an innate Power must choose a side. Adherents of the Light Side - Jedi Knights fighting to preserve the best human qualities. Followers of the dark side strive for unlimited power over the world. Power based on cruelty, violence and the suppression of any free will.

Lucas showed that the fate of the film does not end at the box office. The first Star Wars movie was the starting point for the formation of an entire universe, what is called a franchise, which included toys, books, video games and much more. George Lucas' space saga was the first film to infiltrate related entertainment projects. Based on the films, many books and comics have been written, animated series, board and computer games. An endless number of Star Wars-inspired consumer products and entertainment gadgets have been released.

In 2015, another episode of the Star Wars film epic called The Force Awakens was released. In the picture, the audience saw a new generation of space heroes, on whose shoulders lay all the responsibility for the further development of the plot.

The Star Wars movie saga has been awarded several prestigious awards"Oscar", and the episode of film history, called "The Force Awakens", is one of the three highest grossing films in the world in the history of cinema.

In the near future, another part of the franchise is being prepared for the premiere, the hero of which will be the fighter and smuggler Han Solo. By the way, in this part, the audience will finally find out how he became the owner of the fastest ship in the Galaxy - the Millennium Falcon truck.

March 1, 2018 at Central Library them. A. S. Pushkin hosted the first party in the style of "Star Wars". This meeting was organized for fans of the cult fantasy saga. The opening of the evening began with the presentation of new books on Star Wars . Then the theatrical action unfolded. The participants of the performance took their roles from the book “Star Wars by William Shakespeare. Episode IV". This kind of processing famous heroes could not please the fans. Also organized intellectual quizzes and games on the subject, a lecture by Ivan Dmitrievich Tuzovsky, Candidate of Cultural Studies, Associate Professor of the Department of Cultural Studies and Sociology of ChGIK "Mythological borrowings in the original trilogy" wars": a miracle that even the author could not repeat", space game library board games. In addition, the Fiction Loan section hosted screenings and discussions of the most famous moments from the Star Wars movies and books. The bright continuation of the evening was the cosplay contest.

Every year on May 4th, Star Wars fans celebrate International Star Wars Day. The FURFUR editors undertook to figure out why the fourth day of May became the red day of the calendar for the Jedi and Sith around the world and what events the intergalactic brethren arrange.

history of the holiday

On May 25, 1977, the first episode of the new science fiction film Star Wars: A New Hope, directed by George Lucas, was shown on cinema screens for the first time, which revolutionized the global film industry. No one remembers who was the first to hear in the legendary quote “May the force be with you” (“May the force be with you”), wandering from episode to episode of the movie saga, the mention of May Day. The parting words of the Jedi Knights turned into "May the fourth be with you" ("May the fourth of May be with you"), and the phrase went to the people.

The lucky pun, in turn, gave rise to an unofficial holiday. Fans of the movie saga agreed to meet every May 4th in order to Once again watch your favorite movie and chat with like-minded people. The geeks, who gathered more and more every year, drew the attention of the US authorities and even the father of Star Wars himself. But neither Lucas nor American politicians at first gave of great importance a bunch of costumed stormtroopers and Jedi fans of the movie. The holiday did not receive an official status, but this did not interfere with the adherents of the Dark and light forces get together every year. Gradually, there was little place for the holiday in the homeland of Star Wars - its geography expanded, millions of fans of the saga gathered on the fourth day of May all over the planet.

The "star" pun, like the holiday, took root and began to be used not only among amateurs Star Wars. There is a known case when politicians took advantage of the altered quote. On May 4, 1979, the day Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain, members of her party played on the popularity of the movie saga. On Star Wars Day, Thatcher was congratulated with words that sounded in the news and from the pages of the evening newspapers: “May the fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations” (“May 4th be with you, Maggie. Congratulations”).

A funny incident that further strengthened the pun outside the United States occurred in 2005. In an interview with a German TV channel, George Lucas was asked to say the legendary quote in live. The director of simultaneous translation interpreted the words of the father of the film saga for German TV viewers as "We will be with you on May 4th."

The annual events, long gone beyond geek parties, could no longer be ignored. The first to realize this were representatives of the film industry and the entertainment industry. Lucasfilm, Disney, LEGO have contributed to the celebration by organizing large-scale events in parks and cultural complexes. In 2007, Star Wars Day was officially recognized for the first time. The Los Angeles City Council announced an annual celebration on May 27 to commemorate the release of the first episode of the film franchise. Not only is Star Wars Day celebrated in the City of Angels in defiance of the pun date, the city also hosts Geek Pride Day, a geek culture festival. For this reason, American fans of the movie saga can celebrate this significant day twice a year, but for Star Wars fans around the world, the date of May 4 is more important.

Star Wars Day today

Costumed parades have always been and, perhaps, will always be an invariable attribute of the "intergalactic" holiday. Fans of the series cosplay everything that is bad: imperial stormtroopers, Jedi, Wookiee soldiers, robots of the imperial army. But the suit of a soldier of an elite division of the Imperials - an attack aircraft, is the most popular.

On a significant day for Star Wars fans, Disneyland and Legoland parks open. The mecca of every child on this day is filled with crowds of fans of the series, and guests are offered to listen to the music of the orchestra from Tatooine, taste intergalactic food and fight with lightsabers.

A common thing on Star Wars Day is to watch every episode of the movie franchise. As a rule, some cinemas arrange movie marathons, to which fans of the series come, and then discuss what they have seen again.

Last year on the day of the holiday, Imperial stormtroopers led by General Darth Vader "captured" the home stadium of the Chicago baseball team Kane County Cougars during a Saturday game. There were no casualties, but the Dark Jedi was allowed to sing the US national anthem along with the stadium and serve the first ball of the game.

Artists do not pass by the May 4 celebrations. This year, Los Angeles resident Sean Neff will be exhibiting stormtrooper helmets. Each of them worked famous artists- painted in different colors, marinated and even cut into pieces.

CBS TV channel broadcasting the TV series Theory big bang”, will release an exclusive episode of the beloved series about geeks this year. In a series co-produced with Lucasfilm, which aired May 1, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, along with fellow experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter, got into another mess while celebrating International Star Wars Day.

Also this year, two Thai Star Wars fans decided to celebrate another holiday good deed. Dressed as stormtroopers, Udomsak Ratanotayanont and Suttinan Bunsomkiat came to donate blood at the Red Cross branch. World newspapers wrote about the act of the caring Imperials, and an unknown person in the costume of Darth Vader came to thank the guys.

The holiday of the beloved movie saga of millions in 2014 went beyond the planet, becoming truly "starry". Recently, a video appeared on the Internet in which a NASA astronaut says hello to all Star Wars fans. A beautiful gesture made from the space station is being interfered with dark forces, but the brave little robot R2D2 mends the broken connection and saves the day again.

I could not miss such a significant event for the fan - Star Wars Day, which is celebrated on May 4th. Let it be a little scary, but still I will speak on the topic: why Star Wars is good.

1. The expanses of the world, numbering at least a hundred planets, are simply immeasurable. You can shove any story into them, remaking even Romeo and Juliet, even Titanic, even Major Payne. In addition, VOs actually have a limited time frame, and more or less detailed history The expanded universe takes place over a time interval of 40,000 thousand years and a scale of many thousands of light years.
2. Despite the current craze among shkolota and hipsters, Star Wars is a sci-fi classic, one might say - a celestial, standing next to with the Chronicles of Amber and Middle-earth. Moreover, this world has found its embodiment not on the pages of works, but on the cinema screen, which is also surprising. In addition, The Wars raised the bar for special effects and gave birth to Pixar, Lukasfilm and ILM, which created so many pooh-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-poo-squee-of-pee-of-a-buff-of-pee-of-pee-powshshshsh-shush-of-the-picture-reel-of-picture-reel-reel-reel-reel-reel-reel-wars-records bar, that Michael Bay slurs and begs for more.
3. Oddly enough, but Star Wars merch is always wildly absurd. Even the Adidas line is the height of coolness. Not to mention my own clothes and other cross-projects. In addition, the franchise has an impressive stock of products for every taste - from a bunch of action figures to condoms. And the lightsabers obviously would like to get even those who are turned off by blasters and spaceships.
   
4. The erotic fantasies of any lover can find their satisfaction in Universe Star wars. Since the humanoid type is still in the majority there, then we are talking about beautiful female body(or masculine, for that matter) with varying ridges and skin color. After all, Twi'leks are the dream of many nerds.
5. Strength - she can. Yes, Americans are sometimes stupid (like Russians, by the way). But the official religion "Jediism" is an indicator. The idea and philosophy in the spirit of "Zen-by-eating" is quite well combined with the general norms of morality and ethics that are promoted by most modern religions (including the monotheistic "Golden Three"). And the eternal conflict of the Sith (I want to write that way) and the Jedi is generally a wonderful example of Yin-Yang. In addition, in the Saga, guys from both sides of the barricades promote a healthy lifestyle and spiritual development. Otherwise, no lightning from the fingers.
6. Charismatic villains - business card ZV. Even the most Zalupnya Grido - and he was honored to have own line comics (albeit a small one), and as for Grievous, Bane and others, there are generally separate volumes. You can see that the bad boys of this world are motivated and consistent, and not just running wild and pissing everyone right and left (this is more likely to suffer the good). In general, villainy as such in film versions so far is only one thing - Palpatine. The same Darth Bane simply had a difficult childhood and youth). Well, Darth Vader (nya, darling), is generally recognized as one of the best villains of all time.
   
   
7. Minor characters often play a leading role, oddly enough. R2-D2 and C3-PO, little old fart troll Yoda, Commander Cody, Boba Fett and a billion other NPCs are not inferior in popularity to the main characters, and often surpass them in ratings, later becoming just as important pieces of the puzzle.
8. The style of the Imperials and Clones (not all, of course) is beyond praise. It is difficult even in our country to find a TP that would not be able to recognize the helmet of an attack aircraft (without even knowing what it is called). Many may disagree with me, but in this regard, it specifically sucks. The Imperial March, Duel of the Fates and Cantina Mos Isley are as recognizable as Beethoven's symphonies and Pugacheva's hit. And the design of starships has long been a trend for games and science fiction films. In addition, the Death Star, for all its absurdity, is the most total wine in the history of the Weapon. doomsday. And the fact that one of the already former candidates for the presidency of Ukraine is Darth Alekseevich Vader, and someone with the surname Palpatine sits in the Odessa City Council, already speaks of the super-popularity of the topic.
9. The modern rise of geek culture has spawned a lot of jokes on the subject of Star Wars, not bypassing our topic. The Blue Harvest parody and sequels from the creators of Family Guy are made by fans for fans, but everyone can laugh. In addition, Star Wars Detours, which should soon reach our latitudes, continues this theme. But there are still separate jokes in "Robot Chicken", "", the entire series of films of the universe (who does not know - "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" etc.).
10. Even an excellent fail in the form of "stormtrooper syndrome" eventually became a victory. If only because the senseless clubhand of the imperial troops became a household word, and all subsequent henchmen just copied the strategy “don’t hit even once and use armor that doesn’t even save you from stones.”

Whatever the case, there are a quentillion of points why Star Wars is cool. As well as the reasons why Star Wars is no longer a “cake”, they have slipped into despondency and self-copying, which is not to the taste of true fans of the saga. Holivar will flare up regularly - you can not go to a fortuneteller, especially since JJ Abrams and Disney opened new page history "far, far, long ago."

So, congratulations to everyone on this wonderful May day and let's hope that the franchise does not wither. The good news is that we will always have the Original Trilogy, the Expanded Universe and The Clone Wars, and the new owners can rub "banta pudoo" on their gums.

Fans of the cult film "Star Wars" will celebrate their small unofficial holiday today. Star Wars Day was inspired by the widespread popularity of George Lucas' fantasy saga. Star Wars fans have set their own date for May 4th, and celebrate the day every year. True fans of the world-famous saga to this day remain true to their idols from the film.

There are already several similar holidays in the world that are dedicated to Star Wars. However, the main Star Wars Day falls on May 4, 2018. Longtime fans of the sci-fi saga will be able to revisit their favorite Star Wars moments together and even re-watch some of them.

Star Wars Day has a second name - Luke Skywalker Day. The date of the celebration of this day was not chosen by the fans by chance. Fans of the fantastic saga decided to set this day for May 4, based on the phrase sounded in the film: "May the Force be with you."

Fans played with and paraphrased this statement in their own way, resulting in the phrase;

"May the fourth be with you (English fourth - fourth and May - May)".

A similar verbal pun was used not only by Star Wars fans, but also by Margaret Thatcher herself. At the moment when Thatcher was hailed as the first woman to become British Prime Minister, the Conservative Party congratulated her as follows:

"May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations."

In 2005, George Lucas confirmed in an interview that May 4 is a special day for Star Wars fans. He told how once a translator on German voiced the phrase: "May the force be with you" as "Am 4. Mai sind wir bei Ihnen ("We will be with you on May 4th")".

This was another confirmation that the fans did not make a mistake with the choice of the date for the celebration of Star Wars Day.

Interesting facts about Star Wars

Star Wars is a fantastic epic that has gained millions of fans around the world. Despite the long period of existence of the saga, only true fans know about some facts about the work.

• On June 20, 1976, the first frame from the Star Wars saga was shown. Later it was published in the authoritative edition of the Los Angeles Times.
• Special effects in Star Wars. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" was created by the creators after they watched elephants walk in a zoo. AT-AT walkers received similar style movement.
• The height of the Ewoks does not reach 1 meter, and Chewbacca boasts a height of as much as 2 meters 28 cm.
• George Lucas didn't even tell the film's director, Irvin Kershner, about Luke's real father.
• The Gungan name Jar Jar Binks was coined by the son of George Lucas.

With day Star Wars! May the force be with you

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May the Force be with you IT Jedi. Today is a bright day for all fans of the Skywalker family, including the Black Lord Darth Vader, various exotic aliens and the Death Star. In other words, today is Star Wars Day. Just in case: Fantasy Film Series Day. By the way, you’re laughing in vain, there are still people (from the thirty-year-old generation!), Who have not watched a single series!

May 4th is not Star Wars Day because someone was born on that day. Not the director, not the actors, not even any of the characters. It's all a play on words. Let's go back to the very beginning of this post: "May the Force be with you." In the movie, the phrase is pronounced "May the force be with you". It's from "May the fourth be with you.” As you know, fourth is translated as "fourth". And the word may means both “May” and “let”, which translates into the literary “may it be”.

It's hard to say how quickly Star Wars fans started using this pun. But probably soon after the release of the first series. In any case, May 4 has long been a full-fledged holiday for all fans of lightsabers and R2D2. On this day, various cosplays, theme parties and other events are usually held. festive events.

Speaking of lightsabers. Here are 13 facts that even many Star Wars fans don't know about:

1) Lightsabers were created by adepts of the Dark Side.
The first proto-sword was called forcesaber (sword of strength). It was a directed stream of dark energy (not to be confused with dark matter) formed into a blade with the help of crystals and alchemy. Therefore, if a Jedi picked up such a sword, then there was a big risk of his immediate transition to dark side. Therefore, the Jedi created their own version of the lightsaber to counter the weapons of evil.

2) Lightsabers use compact power sources.
The first swords did not have a built-in power source. The owners were forced to carry a supply of batteries in backpacks or belts connected by a cable to the sword. The Sith were the first to create a compact built-in power source for lightsabers.

3) At first they were called "laserswords" (lazersword).
In the first drafts of the script, George Lucas used this term.

4) The swords of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were made from camera flashes.
And the hilt of Obi-Wan's sword was made from a part from a Rolls-Royce Derwent Mk.8 / Mk.9 jet engine.

5) A lightsaber can be any color.
The color of the blade is determined by the crystal that focuses the energy. The Sith weapons were red, the Jedi blue and green, because they used crystals from the planet Ilum, where only these two colors are found in nature.

6) A lightsaber can even be black.
There is only one copy, Darksaber (Dark Sword). This ancient weapons Jedi that was kidnapped by the Mandalore. The blade of the Dark Sword repeats the shape of a steel weapon - it becomes thinner towards the edges. At the same time, the blade is slightly curved, like a checker, and its upper cutting edge has a serrated edge (somehow ...).

7) Luke's green sword in Return of the Jedi was supposed to be blue.
However, Lucas during filming decided to make it Green colour, because during the battle in Sarlacc (Sarlacc) the blue blade was hard to see against the sky.

8) In the Empire, lightsabers were illegal weapons.
In addition to seeking to destroy the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine outlawed the possession of lightsabers. It was forbidden even to trade in crystals for their manufacture. Darth Vader was granted special permission to wield a lightsaber.

9) The animation of the lightsaber blades appeared due to the imperfection of the special effects of the 70s.
At first, they tried to make swords from long triangular reflective rods. The rods were rotated by a motor around an axis, and their flickering was supposed to merge into a long glow. In practice, it looked disgusting, so I had to add animation. At the same time, Lucas decided that the blades should be of different colors, although it was originally supposed to be white.

10) Lightsabers aren't the only weapons that use this principle.
Lightsabers can be crafted into lances by sticking them on long shafts. Such weapons were used by the Jedi guards, and then the guards of the emperor borrowed the idea. One of the assassins in the service of the emperor, Lumiya, used a light lash, in which the deadly beam had several degrees of freedom. There were also tonfa swords that had a special handle. Double-sided swords could be split into two separate swords connected by a cord, making light nunchucks. There were even light clubs, which were just huge swords.

11) There are seven fighting styles using lightsabers.
1) Shii-Cho, or "Way of the Sarlacc";
2) Makashi, or "The Path of Yasalamiri (Ysalamiri)":
3) Soresu, or "Mynock Way";
4) Ataru, or "The Way of the Hawk-Bat (Hawk-Bat)";
5) Shien/Djem So, or "Krayt Dragon Way";
6) Niman, or "Way of the Rancor";
7) Juyo/Vaapad, or "Way of Vornskr".

12) A lightsaber can't cut through everything.
There are several materials that are not amenable to a lightsaber blade. They are often used to create protective armor. The most popular material is cortosis. Unfortunately, natural cortosis is deadly to humans and needs to be cleaned first. Also, the skin of some creatures, such as the lava dragon, is not subject to destruction by a lightsaber. Well, how can one not remember the Goblin with his "armored vest made of skin with ... dragon ops."

13) Cutting off someone's hand with a lightsaber is a martial technique.
It is called Cho Mai, and its essence is to cut off a large part of the opponent's limb, usually the hand holding the sword. The Mou Kei technique is designed to cut off multiple limbs of an opponent in a single attack.

Some fans of the saga prefer to celebrate Star Wars Day on May 25 because Episode 4 premiered on that day in 1977. However, this is, in our opinion, too simple and trivial an approach. We are for May 4, and may the Force be with you!