8 People More Important Than George Lucas In Making Star Wars Great

6. Ben Burtt Created Every Single Iconic Sound

Pop quiz, hotshot. What's the first thing kids do in the playground when imitating Star Wars? It's not debate whether Han shot first or gush over the classical cinematography - it's recreate the sound effects. The swoosh (or vwwing) of a lightsaber, the pew of a blaster and roar of a TIE Figher; that's where the real iconography was born (especially in a world where Star Wars merchandise was just emerging and imagination was the best toy available). And that is all thanks to Ben Burtt. Master sound designer, he created all of the famous sound effects across the saga, using all manner of everyday items to create the uttery and completely fantastical. Lightsaber? Why that's the sound of film projectors played with some television distortion. Blasters? That's hitting the guy-wire of a sound tower with a spanner. TIE Fighters? Elephant screams and screeching cars. Bonkers, but utter genius - these bizarre origins gave an authenticity to Star Wars that set it above other contemporary sci-fi flicks. Not all of Burtt's impact on popular culture was positive though - in the original Star Wars he also resurrected the old Wilhelm scream stock sound effect, something that has been absolutely done to death in the decades since, an illusion-ruining in-joke that stopped being obscure or funny long ago.