A Review of the Short Films of George Lucas

Before taking us to a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas was a film student at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. During his time as a student, Lucas saw and was inspired by many films, particularly the films that were coming out of the National Film Board of Canada. One short that would have a profound influence on Lucas was Arthur Lipsett’s 21–87. This abstract piece spurred the creative Lucas to make films that invoked emotions via non conventional narratives and structure. Lucas has expressed many times in interviews and commentaries how his early goal as a filmmaker was to create something experimental.

From 1965–1968, Lucas directed nine short films. These films would showcase his cinematic voice and present the blueprint that would manifest in his first three feature-length films. Here, I will take a peek into these short films and how they will inform Lucas’ cinematic efforts.

Look at Life (1965)

One minute in length, but it’s pretty impactful. You can see some of the avant-garde stylings Lucas would use in THX 1138. And with the images he uses you can see his connection to the societal issues that would make there way into Star Wars when he does the prequels.

Herbie (1966)

A reflective short film. Literally and figuratively. Having seen American Graffiti, I feel like I’m sitting in a car outside a burger joint when I watched this. In the commentary of THX 1138, Lucas stresses repeatedly the point that he wanted to use images to elicit an emotional response and I think Herbie is a shot that does that.

Freiheit (1966)

We see Lucas’ early preoccupation with the battle against oppressive regimes. The film is simply a young man running to freedom across the border from East to West Germany. We’ll see this attempt at escape later in Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB. Combining this with his love of old school serials and we can see the formations of Star Wars. The threads start in this student short.

1:42.08 (1966)

Watching this student film and I immediately see George Lucas wanting to recreate this as the pod race sequence in The Phantom Menace. Aside from the visual, it’s the audio that is the star. The roar of the engines. Again, Lucas knows how to capture attention and imagination.

anyone lived in a pretty [how] town (1967)

A town. Bright sunrises. People doing everyday work. A young couple eating on the grass. A very quiet short film and one I can easily see George Lucas using as inspiration for Tatooine or years later, Anakin and Padme in Attack of the Clones.

The Emperor (1967)

While I didn’t have much interest in the subject matter of The Emperor, I loved Lucas’ filmmaking on display. The style I would see in THX 1138 takes some form here. The focus is on radio DJ Bob Hudson, so the connection to the nostalgic that Lucas would expand upon in American Graffiti gets its origins here.

Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)

A man attempting to escape a digital world that tracks his movements. Sounds pretty relevant to today. Electronic Labyrinth is essentially the 3rd act to Lucas’ first feature length film, THX 1138. It is immediately unsettling and Lucas’ occupation with an oppressive state is probably his most refined theme in his short film stage.

6–18–67 (1967)

A visual tone poem. I have never seen the film Mackenna’s Gold, but there is certainly some well photographed scenery.

Filmmaker (1968)

A interesting documentary short that has Lucas’ subject be his friend Francis Ford Coppola as he works on his film The Rain People. At a little over a half hour in length, it gives some insight into the frustration that comes with being a young director.

These nine short films tell a clear story of the interests of George Lucas. After watching these, I gained a new appreciation for the early stage of Lucas’ career. THX 1138, American Graffiti and Star Wars are 3 films that are the final evolution of Lucas’ experimenting and intended filmmaking style of capturing and filming the idea of a memory. Lucas wanted to capture his experiences and what it meant for him to remember those experiences. These short films show how he worked towards that vision.