Rating: 
Summary: The company line
Review: In many ways this is an extremely satisfying work. It gives an unprecedented overview of the story that's perhaps taken longer to write than any other in recorded history. Students of film and STAR WARS fans alike will relish the ride. Particularly intriguing are details about the very long process involved in writing what became Episode IV: A NEW HOPE. But as a scholarly record of the creative process, this book leaves a lot to be desired. Bouzerau does a poor job documenting his work. At best, we're given a general idea of his sources. None of the interviews are dated in any way, making it difficult to know whether his interviewees are reflecting for posterity or giving us views contemporary with the films themselves. Equally disturbing is the absence of commentary from Gary Kurtz, producer of Episodes IV and V, who apparently resigned his position on RETURN OF THE JEDI over creative differences about its script. So while this may be intriguing stuff, ultimately one has to take heed of the copyright information. The book is owned wholly by Lucasfilm and published in 1997. Film students would therefore be well-advised to view Bouzerau as little more than a mouthpiece for Lucas' 1990's views. Serious students of the saga will have to use this work in conjunction with independent sources to get a more well-rounded view of the creative process surrounding this cultural phenomenon.
Rating:
Summary: The company line
Review: In many ways this is an extremely satisfying work. It gives an unprecedented overview of the story that's perhaps taken longer to write than any other in recorded history. Students of film and STAR WARS fans alike will relish the ride. Particularly intriguing are details about the very long process involved in writing what became Episode IV: A NEW HOPE. But as a scholarly record of the creative process, this book leaves a lot to be desired. Bouzerau does a poor job documenting his work. At best, we're given a general idea of his sources. None of the interviews are dated in any way, making it difficult to know whether his interviewees are reflecting for posterity or giving us views contemporary with the films themselves. Equally disturbing is the absence of commentary from Gary Kurtz, producer of Episodes IV and V, who apparently resigned his position on RETURN OF THE JEDI over creative differences about its script. So while this may be intriguing stuff, ultimately one has to take heed of the copyright information. The book is owned wholly by Lucasfilm and published in 1997. Film students would therefore be well-advised to view Bouzerau as little more than a mouthpiece for Lucas' 1990's views. Serious students of the saga will have to use this work in conjunction with independent sources to get a more well-rounded view of the creative process surrounding this cultural phenomenon.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite published Star Wars scripts book!
Review: One great way to gauge the popularity of the original Star Wars trilogy: just check out all the different versions of the movies' scripts that have been published over the years. First, there were the original Art of Star Wars books. Then, there were the updated Art of Star Wars books. Then there were the Premiere Magazine Movie Script Library editions. Then yet another updated Art of Star Wars series (this time with the Special Edition stuff). And that's not including the NPR radio drama scripts! Out of all of these, however, my preferred SW script book is the "Star Wars Trilogy Annotated Screenplays". It has the lines to all three flicks all in one convenient 320-page-long paperback. But, there's more to like about this particular paperback than mere convenience and saving of shelf space. It also includes various footnote/endnote comments by George Lucas, Joe Johnston, Irvin Kershner, and other folks who worked on the movies and influenced the screenplays. Most of the discussions regard the genesis of various scenes, how the characters evolved from their original incarnations to what you see on the screen today, parts that were altered, what the alterations were, and other little-known behind-the-scenes bits. Also included are the Special Edition revamps, highlighted in grey. So not only do you get the complete screenplays, you also get insight on what it took to evolve, create, and eventually realize this legendary cinematic trifecta. This one's definitely a must-have for both Star Wars geeks (especially you live-action-adventure RPG types out there) and Hollywood history buffs. There are a few downsides to this book, however. Being in paperback format with plain novel-grade paper, this book isn't quite as durable as some of the other screenplays. Also, the print is rather small (especially the scripts), and is likely a real bear to read for folks who lack perfect eyesight. You might have to break out the magnifying glass for this one! 'Late!
Rating: 
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS EVER.
Review: READIND THE SCEENPLAY OF STAR WARS,THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK AND RETURN OF THE JEDI BRINGS ME GREAT JOY.WHY READ THE STAR WARS BOOKS.GET THE SCREENPLAY.PS BUY IT NOW.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS EVER.
Review: READIND THE SCEENPLAY OF STAR WARS,THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK AND RETURN OF THE JEDI BRINGS ME GREAT JOY.WHY READ THE STAR WARS BOOKS.GET THE SCREENPLAY.PS BUY IT NOW.
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars Fans: This Book Rules!!!
Review: Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays is a really great book. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it an eleven! It was written by Laurent Bouzereau. It is basically a science fiction book. It includes the movie scripts from the first three Star Wars movies: Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, all written by George Lucas. It also includes commentary about the history of the movies, including quotes by George Lucas and staff. For anyone who has never heard of Star Wars (there shouldn't be anyone), the movies are about a galactic war between the Empire (the bad guys) and the Rebels (the good guys). The heroes of the movies are a group of humans and droids, including Luke Skywalker, a kid from a moisture farm on Tatooine who becomes a Jedi; Princess Leia, Luke's sister, although she doesn't discover that until Return of the Jedi; Han Solo, a smuggler and pilot of the Millennium Falcon; Chewbacca, Han's co-pilot and a Wookiee; C-3P0, a humanoid droid; and R2-D2, a droid about 3 feet tall with a domed head. The Jedi are a group of humans and aliens who have the ability to use the Force, a magical force surrounding almost all living things. The lightsaber, a sword with a laser for a blade, is the weapon of choice for the Jedi. If you have one, you must be a Jedi or a Sith, the bad side of the Jedi. The main bad guys are Darth Vader, a Sith, and the Emperor, the ruler of the Empire and a very powerful Sith. In each of the movies there is a smaller bad guy. As well as the main characters, there are many smaller characters that change with the different movies. All of these make for very exciting movies!
The commentary in the book is very interesting. For the first movie (A New Hope), there were four drafts. There were about that many for the other movies, too! The storyline and characters changed a lot from draft to draft. For example, in one draft for A New Hope, can you believe that Han Solo was named Jabba the Hutt (a bad guy) and lived on the Wookiee world of Yavin 4 (the Wookiee world is Kashyyyk)???
All in all, this is a really amazing book! It is really interesting to know the exact words the characters said and the background of the movie. Star Wars fans, this is for you!!
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Argument Solver
Review: Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays is not only a collection of the scripts for A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, all of which were individually published in various forms. It is also replete with notes and commentary on the evolution of each screenplay from story ideas to final drafts. While it might irritate a few readers (the effect is rather like literary Pop Up videos), the commentary reveals that what we saw on the silver screen was not what was originally conceived by George Lucas. While to a few fans who read Dale Pollock's Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas some of this new information isn't so new, to most fans the constant changes in the characters and situations will be enlightening. Also, material from the Special Edition appears in boxes alongside the original versions of the final scripts. Enjoy! (And have this tome handy to settle trivia disputes that previously could only be settled by a Jedi Knight!)
Rating:
Summary: Must Have Book
Review: The Star Wars Annotated Screenplays are a must have book for all Star Wars fans. It is filled with wonderful information about the formation of the Star Wars Saga. Of interest to some readers will be early draft information relating to Episode II. Other readers will delight in learning about cut scenes and characters. For some, the description of the whole Force idea by George Lucas will be invaluable. A great read and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: UTTERLY FASCINATING
Review: This book is JUST AWESOME and a must for any real Star Wars fan. To see how the entire saga came about and all the changes and the last minute rush jobs to be ready for filming. Well, it was utterly fascinating. The evolving of the characters, futuristic machines and weapons, and who changed what and the some of the chances that were taken and pulled off were as exciting and inspiring as the movies themselves. Like Solo saying I know when Leia says she loves him, was a chance taken and it worked and therefore it was used. The expression "I have a bad feeling about this." ended up in all 3 films. Some people think books and reading are/is boring. Not with this book. A fantastic read. Get it - you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: The secrets are finally unlocked!
Review: This books allows to go inside Lucas's mind as he was developing the Star Wars universe. The first thing you notice is that the hexalogue or nonalogue was not planned out in millimeter as many people suppose. Lucas went through the normal development anyone else would go through. For example, Lucas didn't decide on making Darth Vader Luke's father, until the fourth draft of Empire. Ant that is a very significant item of plot! This book is trivided among the three films, beginning with excerpts from the early drafts Lucas wrote, then the screenplay is presented with the Special Edition line highlighted by grey. Throughout the script, there are italicized comments about how the story changed or was modified from the original draft. This book is not up to quote-unquote scholarly levels of historical precision, but that does not mean it is absolutely useless. It is quite a fun book,a nd you can win many arguments about Lucas with this book! You want to read this book along side of Joseph Cambell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces," to see where Lucas is getting his mythological ideas. The best tidbits are the ideas Lucas scrapped, and later reused in the other films. But you will have to read that on your own!
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