Episode Guides Books

lots of digital paintings, but not as much conceptual designs as on the prequels. kinda dissapoints me in that case, also most of them are way smaller then in the preqs. oherwise amazing

Science fiction movies are one of largest proving grounds for concept artists. And to take the best of both fields we have Star Wars pitted with industry's top artists creating an end episode for one of the greatest (if not the greatest) SF sagas of all times.
Fans of SW series will surely enjoy yet another dive into this amazing world, while concept artists and souls alike will marvel the skills and tricks of highly gifted painters and designers.
Written almost as a diary, this book gives in-depth look into the creation of Episode 3 spanning over 2 years of conceptualization, design and production.
Reads easily, delivers great visuals and informative insights. Also features final Ep.3 script, which i found a bit out of place for it serves a little interest to read the movie that is so much more fun to watch. But certain passes of script were still grabbing, all in all making this book a complete and whole, ideal for those into drawing cool space ships and alien creatures!

If you are a product designer or a starwar fan who wonders about the production of the amazing creatures, characters and vehicles, this is the one for you!

This book is a worthy completion of the three-volume concept art series. The only gripe I have is the sudden change of publication design - a change for the worse from the first two volumes, because the captions in this book are set in a ghastly unreadable typeface, randomly mixed from capital and small letters. The content is still good, and annotations are (fortunately) readable; but whoever came up with this caption style ought to be punished.

Since when is beautiful art presented on crappy, low-grade glossy paper. These artists are incredible and deserve so much better than this stock chinese manure. It's like listening to Beethoven on a 1990's era cell phone. And sadly, the great Doug Chiang had departed the ranks of Lucasfilm by Episode III.

Well,to begin this review I must say that this is an incredibly interesting behind the scenes (BTS)look at one of the most successfull films of the 90`s.
I don`t think I've ever been looking forward to any film as much as this (may be except the Lord of the Rings),and it was really a pleasure to watch it,although I was a little bit disappointed on the childishness of the movie.
But with the incredible special effects,I was more than pleased to see how they were done. And I bought this book and became very happy. It contains nearly all you need to know about SW Episode I. It follows the movie as it developed from beeing just an idea to the most impressive CG effects movie I'd ever seen by that time. In the introduction,George Lucas says how he had to develop an entire new world,which is an interesting read about how he created the new characters and locations. Anakin needed a mother,Obi-Wan needed a master and Palpatine needed an apprentice. The first chapter contains some great preproduction artwork and notes for every drawing. They are really nice,and definitly worth having (some of them does not appear anywhere else). It also has some notes when looking for good cast. They needed a man who looked like a new Alec Guiness for playing Obi-Wan and they needed a 8-year old boy who could really act to play Anakin. That wasn`t easy to find.
There are also some pics of the fantastic clothes featured in the film,as Amidala`s dresses.
The second chapter is mostly about the shooting itself. It is interesting to see how the stunts were performed and how they built up all the locations on Tatooine. There are also some good shots of the cool masks that people wore during the podracer sequences. In this chapter,there are also lots of interviews with the crew,especially George Lucas.
The third chapter is about the special effects and it`s named "I could do whatever I wanted". If you didn`t knew this already,I can say that Lucas was planning this film already in '77,but he waited until now,because now he could create all of the fantastic characters and environments with the help of today's computers. There are lots of interesting BTS images here,such as the podracer arena - one before,with just about 50 people,and one when after the CG adding,with thousands of people. And it looks terrific!
At the back of the book,there is a complete list of all people that were ever involved in the project,taking up approx. 15 pages!
Over all,this is a great Behind the Scenes look at Episode I.
It has everything you could ever want from such a book. So if you have any interest in Star Wars,behind-the scenes of cool movies,or just special effects,then this book is definitly something. And if you think there is too little artwork,don`t worry - there is another book named "The Art of Star Wars". Buy both of those and the Visual Dictionary and your Phantom Menace collection will be complete!

Rumor-mill has it that Laurent Bouzereau will be given a commentary track on the soon to be made Episode One DVD, let us hope he offers up the same insight and humor found in this written edition.

This book provides a snap-shot of film-making at the end of the century. The story of Star Wars episode I's crafting in 150 pages. Packed with detail. Short quotes from people involved, from cast to crew, pepper the text adding colour and information. Well illustrated, clearly told and attention grabbing. Thorough in its scope and ecomomic in language, good reading and eminently collectible. A suitable companion to Thomas Smith's, Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Special Effects (1986), which covered much on the special effects of episodes IV-VI. A contribution to the myth of Star Wars.

When I bought this at my nearby spaceport, I've been looking and reading it ever sinse. I'm a BIG star wars fan, and have been fascinated by the story line! Well, I've got to go to Jupiter! Read it! it's out of this world!

My poor son (nine years old)loved the photos and behind-the-scenes picture captions, but he was baffled by the text, which is really geared toward adults. But the LucasArts details were wonderful, and the myriad details and interviews were lots of fun. Read it with your kids, or give it to the teen interested in film-making, but if your little one haggles for this particular Episode One book, give it a pass.

It is very interesting to look over. You will learn more about how everything is set and look at the clothing concept. You learn more about the setting and sketch of things.

I was hoping this book would provide information on the various 'film codes' used in the film (such as colour and shot symbolism, style of music, frame composition, costume etc) and how they enhanced the actual story. There is none of that in this book; however, it does provide 'a fly on the wall' insight into the production of the film. It relays conversations between Lucas and his producer, as well as recreates dialogue between Lucas and his actors as they move through the filming process. Glorious pictures, but you can get the same images from the net if that's what you're after. The book didn't provide me with what I wanted, but the Star Wars nerd in me liked it nevertheless.

This book is jam-packed with information on the making of the movie, from Preproduction to Principal Photography to Digital Shot Production. Really, this book has it all!
In "Part 1" it shows original drawings and rough drafts of the script. In "Part 2" it shows what they filmed every day, and even has quotes straight from Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, and Ewan McGregor. You can read about the problems they would go through on a day-to-day basis.
In "Part 3" it mostly talks about adding in those special effects that make the movie what it is today. Plus, there are a few pages about those Wookiees!
If that isn't enough, almost every page has 3-6 crystal clear, candid photos. And I just want to mention that there are more than 220 pages. Small font is used in order to fit in more information.
This book tells a whole lot more than the special features on the DVD do. I'm serious, this is a must-have for any Star Wars fan. Even if you're not obsessed like some people, I think everyone will enjoy this book.

I thought that this was a very well done book! I liked how it showed what they were doing each day while filming, and how they prepare for making the movie. I learned alot about making movies, and now know alot of what the technical terms mean. It also had a nice format, with behind the scenes pictures on most of the pages. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan, and I thought this was a great book. A must read for all fans, or "wanna be" movie makers.

Well, it's been about 30 years in the making but the Star Wars saga finally came to an end with the release of Revenge of the Sith. This book is about all the hard work, both in front of and behind the camera, that made the final film possible. As with the DVDS I felt that too much time was spent on the "technical" aspects of the film and not enough was spent on the actors, the scriptwriting process, and the themes of the work as a whole. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Star Wars films and this book's problem is that there is an obsession with "design" instead of the emotional content or the plot. Instead of obsessing about the look of each and every laser gun, Lucas should have filled us in about plot holes and told us why Qui-Gon couldn't have communicated with Yoda and said "Palpatine is the Sith Lord"! and saved the whole universe with those words. There are some entertaining and insightful looks into the psychology of the characters, especially in the 1st drafts of the script in which Lucas envisioned Palpatine as the person that conceived Anakin through his control of the Force, which would make him Anakin's father in a way, and Luke and Leia's grandpa! The other negative thing about this book is that you become more conscious of the trickery used in Episode 3. When you read about all the digital head-swapping, especially of Palpatine and Christopher Lee, when you view the film, you start to notice the slightly different looking heads during the duels. It also made me disillusioned to find out that at the beginning of the film when Anakin and Obi-Wan face Dooku, Christopher Lee was not even on the same set with them. So I don't know, this book really revealed all fakery that I believe is so responsible for people's unease with the prequels. Movies like Sin City which were completely digital made no pretensions to look real, but Lucas tries so hard to make Episodes I-III look authentic that somehow everything seems bogus. If you read this book, you will probably never view the film the same, and I mean that in a negative way.

This book is very informative and it gives a lot of background information on characters that many star wars fans wouldn't know about. I am a HUGE star wars fan and this book is not a waste of money. There is a lot about Coruscant and the droid foundries of Geonosis. I learnt alot from this book, and it is ideal for any star wars fan's library.

For a Star Wars Fan, it is a must. However, as I described in the other books of this series, it has missing the starships pictures, but is is not a major problem, since the book depicts all hardware and aliens that appear in the film.

My son and his friends are big Star Wars fans. They are all between the ages of 5-8. They loved this book. They really enjoyed finding out all the details in the movie. While my son watches the movies he looks up and reads about the movie. It is a great book. Lots of fun...

The Visual Dictionary of Ep2 once again gives us a more detailed review of the charcters from Ep1 and the arrival of new stars such as Jango Fett and his young cloned son, Boba.

However the best parts of this book is the development of Obi wan, Annikan, and of course the accidental [physcial] symbol of the new Star Wars generation, Padmae Amidala, executed in purfect form by Natalie Hershlag-Portman. Her now famous white combat suit is complemented by her other eyepopping outfits...Very nice.

A must for those who are keeping a library on this epic tail.

Actually my son loved the book but it fell apart as did all the similar Star Wars books. (He is not hard on books, our pop-up books all survived his early years intact.) I bought a copy for the library at my son's elementary school and that one fell apart too. These books are to expensive to have the binding be so shoddy.

This is a great behind the scenes book! A lot of details and great reading. I though there would be some behind the scene pictures, but other then that its GREAT.

We have enjoyed the behind the scenes information in this book. It's a great book for true Monk fans!!

This is fun to own for anyone who loves Monk. There is information about all the characters and actors, and summaries of episodes from the first few seasons. One of my favorite parts is the box in each episode summary that includes some highlights like an especially funny quote from the episode, a strange clue, etc.

I love love LOVE this book! I'd give it more stars but five is the highest the scale goes! It is a great investment, some of the best money I have ever spent. :D

A must have for Monk fans. The only disappointment was that it never really discussed why Bitty Shram left or was fired. Probably for legal reasons. I got it for my wife for CHRISTmas and she really enjoys it.

I enjoyed the book very much. It was a new way to expirience the mystery that is Lost.

This is the best Lost book on the market. I am amazed at how original it is. I love it and I recommend it to all Lost fans, especially the fans who went nuts over The Lost Experience and Find 815. And it is as big a challenge as they were. This book is a definite buy if you are a fan of the show.

I recently got my book and am impressed with how it looks and its contents. I think any fan of LOST will find the puzzles and brain teasers alot of fun and entertaining. The book is full of mind games and I especially like that the puzzle answers are available because I have to know if I guessed right or wrong! I can't wait to get back to the book and work on more of the word games and puzzles. I am surprised so far with how much I recall from the episodes I've have watched. The book will make a great gift idea too.

In a fortuitous coincidence, when the great powers of the world decided to embrace madness over reason, war over peace, and to send their great weapons against one another, I found myself deep underground in an almost completed government research facility.

I was only supposed to be there to make a delivery of equipment, but once I felt the ground began to shake as the great disaster unfolded on the surface, I knew I would find myself alone in that cavernous tomb for quite some time to come. The lab wasn't supposed to fully staffed for at least three more months and the first crews weren't going to report the until the next week. I was just the delivery guy.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into years, I began to explore my surroundings. I found a vast array of scientific equipment, banks of computers, and volumes upon volumes on every scientific theory from electromagnetism to astrophysics.

Also, in a different room I stumbled upon a well worn and dog eared copy of this volume, LOST Mind Games. I used the quizzes and games to keep my sanity as I spent the ensuing decades studying and learning all that was written in the other tomes.

I began with math, and then to physics, and from there into relativity. It was at this point that I was able to develop a solution to the Grand Unified Theory of Everything.

If you are reading this message, then I was successful in trying to send two messages back across the barriers of space and time. The first was to the leaders of the great nations of the word, telling them of what would happen should they continue down their warlike ways. The other was much further back, to the early twenty first century, a review of the wonderful book which kept my sanity through the many decades.

Thank you Anne Dawson. If you are seeing this, then your book may very well have saved the world.

My two teens (16 and 19) went nuts for this book when they saw it at their cousin's house over the holiday weekend. They have been bugging me for three days to buy it for them. I took the earlier reviewers advice and bought one for each of them. I may be back to buy one for my husband. I have a feeling he may want his own copy once he gets his hands on it.

I'm not obsessed with the Star Wars films, although I did enjoy them. But the great thing about this book (and the other "Art of Star Wars" books) is that you don't have to be a huge fan to appreciate the conceptual artwork. As an artist, I consider this book to be one of my favourite reference books. It shows much about what goes into the preparation of a film. This book IS rather fan-oriented, and lacks some critical information such as the sizes of sketches, and other technical information about the paintings and drawings which would have been helpful to aspiring artists & designers. However, it is never-the-less an almost daily source of inspiration for me as I do my own futuristic art.
As for the script, I could take it or leave it. I've never read the whole thing, only bits here and there. What amuses me is how the script is subtly different from the movie. It's clear that although Lucas has a great mind for stories, his writing is only adequate. The script is rather awkward. If you want a good story, see the movies: the script doesn't do them justice. But for great behind-the-scenes production and concept artwork, see the book.
I would also recommend getting the modern 1995 re-issue of the book, not the 1979 version, if durability is an issue, because mine, like so many others I see here, has fallen apart.

This is a nice book for the addicted fans who are looking for more. Well, there is not much more than in the movie, but is nice to read the original script (expecially for those like me who are not from an anglophone country) and take a look at the pre-production sketches and to the matte paintings. I appreciated it very much, but if you aren't an addicted fans it's sufficient to search in the net to see the same pictures.

I can't even to begin to express how delighted I am with this visit to George Lucas' galaxy, "far, far away". To see designs from the minds of these amazing creators, popular gadgets, gizmos and vehicles as they were conceptionalized, is a real treat and forever an inspiration of how the magic of film making and imagination can transport an audience.

In 1979, Ballantine Books (then the sole licensed publisher of Star Wars novels and most tie-ins) published two versions of this book. One was a limited edition hardcover, which I have never seen, the other was one of those "trade paperback" editions (coffee table size but in softcover). What made this book a must-get was that it contained the entire fourth revised draft of the screenplay for A New Hope (it was the first time I had seen the Episode IV subtitle...even though I bought this book AFTER seeing The Empire Strikes Back). The screenplay I read included scenes that were later edited out of the final film (mainly scenes on Tatooine focusing a bit on Luke's life there and introducing Biggs Darklighter. Another deleted scene -- later restored for the Special Edition 20 years later -- introduced Jabba the Hutt...he would have been very different in look and demeanor from the final Jabba, but at least he was there. Some of these scenes appear both in the novelization (make that ALL) and in the Radio Drama.

The other attractive thing of this book was the amazing artwork. It ranges from pre-production paintings, costume concepts, actual photos, storyboards, and poster art. It even has a section devoted to spinoff art and some cute fan art, mostly drawn by small children.

The one flaw in the book is not content related but the choice of paper and binding. The pages are glossy, like those of a yearbook...but the glue that holds the pages to the binding was not strong enough to hold the pages together. I went through three copies of this book in the time it was in print...I only looked at the last one ONCE and the pages still came loose. Thus, out of 5 stars, I give this book 4.

Okay...I have owned several copies of this book. Never the hardcover, since that one is rare ... It is lovely to look at and the screenplay...the fourth draft, which has scenes that were cut in the first version and some adapted in the Special Edition, gives us more of the story as it would be presented in the novel and radio dramatization. It is a wonderful book to look at, ALTHOUGH my other copies had the weakness of falling apart even if one was careful when perusing it. Some problem with the binding, I imagine. It is worth getting, though.

I love Xensaga. I just finished the first one and can't wait
to start on this one. If you like the thinking games, then
this is for you!

The best guides the buy are by Brady Games...they are the most helpful when stuck in a game...they stend to include lots of picures unlike some of the other guides. The signature series look espicially sharp!

I received the product in under a week after I ordered it. It was received in bubble wrap and is in very good condition; there weren't even any creases on the binding. I would not have expected to find a copy in a bookstore in this great a condition.

I got this strategy guid because I love playing these video games. I could have bought the strategy guide for 16.99 in store, but I bought it cheaper through amazon even with the cost of shipping. I got it in a few days and it was in excellent condition. My hats off to everyone involved in sending my package.

I'm not a big fan of stradegy guides. But I sure know what's a good one. This book has alot of tips and good boss stradegies, such as enemy data and HP, type weakness, break zones, etc. However, I feel uncomfortable with the layout of the maps and how the key works. It's a bit confusing. Especially with the location of the items and sometimes I wonder why the GS quests couldn't have been put at the end of each section instead of making me flip all the way back to the book. It's a hassle there because most, if not all new proceedings in the next stage, a couple of new GS campaigns are avalible and it's very annoying to always flip to the back of the book and wondering which GS route you have to do.

Also, there are confusing instructions making it almost impossible to find out what they're trying to make you do. Those are just one of the two major things that irks me. (It's not that bad but it's still confusing if you skip the key.) All in all, it gets you through the game, has amazingly good heads-up on notes you should keep in mind, and it has a lovely fold out poster. But I think you can get through the game just fine without it, it's just that it gets you through puzzles quicker. I'm one of those people who really hates game puzzles.

What more than girl need, it was a great storylines and a chance to see the world without leaving your home . It what got me to travel and to see the places where the show been and the sightseeing.

Poor quality. Was considering this publisher for my 3rd RANKIN/BASS book...BUT no more. Some pictures look like bad xeroxes?

I can't add much more to what others have already said; except to read in-depth insights into the production of this marvelous series, what the censors had to say, the problems Mr Cosby and Mr Culp had to deal with... and Sheldon Leonard...

And to give another "5 star" rating too. :)

The book is fairly uncensored regarding vernacular used in the time as well. Which is terrific; anything that's reflecting or investigating the past should remain as uncensored as possible. The 1960s, on TV, is a whole different ball game compared to what happened behind the scenes.

Not just for the 60s, "I Spy", Culp, Cosby, and related aficionados, historians would find bits and pieces very interesting too.

Most TV series histories/episode guides are either short on thorough research, perceptive criticism, or engaging prose -- or (typically) all three. This one, however, nails them, and it's got some cool, little-seen photos and fun, informative interviews to boot.

Cushman and LaRosa have done outstanding work here, and kudos to McFarland for packaging their work so attractively. This book is up there with David J. Schow's The Outer Limits Companion, which set a standard over 20 years ago that's rarely been met since.

Like the series it so exhaustively and passionately covers, the "I Spy" guide is a pleasure from start to finish. Impressive work all around.

This is a seriously excellent piece of work, and McFarland have done a superb job in translating Marc and Linda's text into an extremely attractive - and very hefty! - book.

I was surprised at the large dimensions of the book (I was already aware there was a generous page count). This is larger than HAWAII FIVE O (hardback version) and EXPLORING SPACE:1999 (paperback)...my two other 'main' McFarland's devoted to specific tv series. The general impression on opening the package is one of QUALITY.

The balance between the synopsis for each episode, and then script excerpts and behind the scenes stories is spot on, and I congratulate the authors. Episode Guides are everywhere these days, as are DVDs. So I'm glad that only the basics of the each story are covered because that allows much more space to be given over to what I'd regard as the meat of the book - the behind the scenes stories, the interviews and the background.

And photos - most of which I haven't seen before. Photo illustration is an aspect of McFarland's tv books which is often a bit of a let-down. Not in this case it isn't.

Anyone who thinks this is a cut and paste job is very wide of the mark. The research that has gone into the book is self evident and sets a very high bar for subsequent books of the kind to match.

I came very late to I SPY. I seem to remember that it was shown here in England, but in the sixties my age wasn't even into double figures. I bought the three DVD box sets from Image Entertainment a few years back, after hearing the Film Score Monthly CD of some of Earle Hagen's scores. Other than what I've gleaned off the Internet and occasional references in cultural media (and the Culp commentaries on the DVDs), I have been ignorant of the behind the scenes stories and background to the show and its genesis.

Time, I think, to work again through the series, episode by episode, with the book as a companion!

This is a great visual aid if you wonder how everything is made and works in the world of Star Wars.

An excellent book! I have all of the titles in this series and plan to purchase Inside the Worlds of the Classic Star Wars as soon as it comes out. I think that they could have gone a little bit more in depth with this book, but you're talking to a Star Wars freak who could never get enough. I also think that The Attack of the Clones edition could have been longer, but overall, a wonderfull book of detailed maps and explanitory paragraphs.

An indepth review of the Episode 1 locations which are quite impressive, such as the Mos Espa arena and the Theed royal palace. An extention of the Pictorial Directory and Cross Sections, this book really explains alot of how why and where things happened in this first chapter of this tail.

Finally, a cross-sections that gives the audience a look inside the buildings of Star Wars! Why they waited so long to release it is anyone guess, but the wait is over. If you've read my reviews for the other cross-sections books then you know how much I love cross-sections. That said, Inside The Worlds Of Episode 1 breathes new life into The Phantom Menace. Particular favorites of mine include Otoh Gunga, Watto's junkshop, the Galactic Senate building, and the Jedi Temple. Not only does the book talk about particular locations in the movie, but also the very planets that the movie is set on: Naboo, Tatooine, and Coruscant. Inside The Worlds Of Episode 1 is full of wonderful illustrations and is packed with amazing information. Indeed, it's the chosen one...of cross-sections books, that is.

I just saw this book yesterday. I don't think it was marketed as much as the other books. That's a shame because it's magnificient.

I am truly blown away by the content and pictures of the locations from Episode I. The art is unbelievable. The detail level is extreme and it must have taken an enormous amount of time for these two artists to complete this work. Every detail you could possibly want is here.

This is a lot like the Star Wars Cross-Section books of the ships only it is not as technical. Imagine those books but for the locations and you have a pretty good idea of what this is.

What's really great is how you get to look at things from angles that the film doesn't show you. The long shots really put everything into scope. You also get to see areas that you can't in the movie such as this place Watto can fly up to above his countertop in the junk shop. I can't wait to study this book some more and then rewatch The Phantom Menace again. I believe I'll look at it in a whole new way.

My fingers are crossed for an Episode II version. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.