After directing a series of short films director Alexandre O. Philippe has directed his first feature-length documentary and as you can probably guess – it is fans, filmmakers and authors talking about the story of George Lucas and his rise and fall, from original trilogy to prequel.

This is probably the best documentary that I have seen at the festival and the funniest one since Anvil! The Story of Anvil (dir. Sacha Gervasi) and deserves the attention its received since the South by Southwest festival.

The film opens up with the back-story of George Lucas and how after the studios took control over THX 1138 and American Graffiti, he made the Star Wars trilogy and tried to control his own product since the original film.

During the course of the film, we are introduced to different parts of the history of how he made the original trilogy and the merchandise around it, then re-edited the original trilogy, and finally to the Star Wars prequels.

The tight editing of the documentary really helps to tell the big story of how the fandom of Star Wars turned into a love-hate relationship with the creator, with footage from television shows and Internet videos cut in-between each interview. Since I am a fan of the original trilogy, it really gave me a scope of the side of the man behind the films and why he has tried to repeat history, as well as ruining his own products for his own fans. We also see some segments in the film where it focuses on Indiana Jones and how the most recent film truly torn the hearts of so many dedicated fans.

The director is obviously a big fan of the film and his carefully chosen interviews help to structure a narrative that is both informative and educational.
With the help of the editor, Phillipe has made a film which people who are already fans of the films will enjoy, while people who may not be as devoted to the series can still get an in-depth understanding of why the films are as big as they are today and have continued to been shown.

Interestingly the director introduces the idea that George Lucas tried to secretly ensure that the very first versions of the original film are erased from history; giving the audience some controversy between the light interviews with honest fans and seeing clips of television shows and internet videos.

Although I am a big fan of the original trilogy and saw the prequels when they were released, the bigger and more dedicated fans might not find much more new information then they already know. However, if you are a fan or not, this is a great insight into a filmmaker and his one greatest piece of work that he is obsessively trying to revamp.

Trailer? Why not.