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Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review
Behind The Force
The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
written by Phil Szostak, foreword by Rick Carter, Abrams
The art department is the motor that makes a film like Star Wars: The Force Awakens run. I know that sounds like the sort of disingenuous cobblers they spout at the technical awards at the Oscars but it happens to be true. This 250 page landscape hardcover takes a look behind the scenes of Abrams’ $1bn and rising winter blockbuster, going into every nook and cranny of the new world that Luke, Leia, Han, Rey and Finn inhabit. What you realise from a book like this is the hundreds or probably thousands of people who work in concert to make something like TFA work. For fans of Star Wars, either old or new, this book is a gorgeous treasure trove that you can dip in and out of at your leisure. It is hard to choose specific concepts or scenes illustrated here but the work of comic artist Glynn Dillon (Nao of Brown) who brought so much to the look of many of the characters in the film, and veteran concept artist Doug Chiang and scenic artist Yanick Dusseault do stand out a little bit. However this is very much a group effort and so it is unfair to single out particular artists. My only minor quibble here is that some images are reproduced at quite a small size but a book like this is always a balancing act so it would have been a less comprehensive book if more images had been run at a larger scale. Not all of the concept art is that imaginative here and some of it does feel a little bit generic. The introduction by production designer Rick Carter sets the scene for the book, putting it all into context. The captions on many of the images do give readers an insight into the approach that the filmmakers were intending to bring Abrams and Kasdan’s vision to life. There is also a nice mix of traditionally and digitally painted styles here, giving the book a variety it may have lacked otherwise. Christmas has gone but The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is perhaps the ultimate behind the scenes book on 2015’s cinematic sci fi juggernaut and a great gift for the Star Wars aficionado in your life.
JOEL MEADOWS
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