19. The Empire Strikes Back Teaser (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/hYFNw6bgAb4 In the aftermath of the Star Wars phenomenon of 1977-1979, George Lucas and 20th Century Fox were eager to fill the void with whatever they could think to produce. This led to the ill-fated Star Wars Holiday Special. It also led to this ridiculous teaser for The Empire Strikes Back that hit theaters more than a year ahead of the release date. Since they were filming Empire at that time, they had no real footage to show, so the editors simply threw up Ralph McQuarrie pre-production paintings. The trailer is saved, as always, by the thrilling John Williams score. 18. The Empire Strikes Back Vivaldi Trailer (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/pI_PCal6lQQ In what appears to be a call-back to the original (and awful) teaser for Star Wars, Lucasfilm editors combined finished footage with more creepy narration and tense, nightmare-inducing music. Again, it doesn't sell the finished film well at all, but the footage shown blew audiences away in 1979. It's almost unfair that this footage was shown in front of The Black Hole that winter, destroying any chance Disney had to capture that Star Wars magic.
Ray DeRousse
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All you need to know is that I love movies and baseball. I write about both on a temporary medium known as the Internet.
Twitter: @rayderousse or @unfilteredlens1
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