Is there a person in the Western world -- or even globally, given Hollywood's cultural reach -- who is unaware of "Star Wars"? In a society increasingly described as amnesiac, in which pop culture seems to come with an expiry date, George Lucas' movie trilogy (now with two -- soon to be three -- "prequels") has held moviegoers attention for a quarter century. "Star Wars" has become a classic.
Now the series is being feted with an extensive exhibition that draws together hundreds of items from the five movies. "The Art of Star Wars" has already attracted huge audiences in Britain and the United States, and last week it began the first stage of a Japanwide tour. Until Aug. 31, the exhibition is showing at the Kyoto National Museum before moving on to Tokyo, Fukushima, and a fourth, as yet undecided, location.
The exhibition focuses on Episodes IV, V and VI of the series -- i.e. the original trilogy of "Star Wars" (1977), "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983) -- and will be followed by another exhibition that focuses on Episodes I ("The Phantom Menace," 1999) and II ("Attack of the Clones," 2002) in January 2004.