The production was maybe a bit amateurish, but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed this. I don't usually watch "making of" docs because it pops the fantasy bubble of the movie. But I'm glad I made an exception here.

Was there any question that a middle aged man who grew up loving "Star Wars" movies would watch a documentary about the making of the original trilogy? No question and no doubt.

"Empire of Dreams" is as fascinating as the "Star Wars" movies, and in some ways more so. Like a duck on the water, the visible product was pure grace, yet below the surface there was fervent motion. Even though we got to see a beautiful work of art, "Empire of Dreams" shows us the struggle and stress Lucas went through to realize his dream.

"Empire of Dreams" documents the making of all three films and the man behind them. We hear of Hollywood politics, Lucas's huge gamble on his project, and the small empire he was able to build as a result of that gamble. I never knew Lucas made "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" with his own money to maintain independence from the production studios (something I'm sure many studios lament). It's a lot of great interviews and how-things-work that even a casual fan will find interesting.

Interesting and informative documentary on the original trilogy, has interviews with all the surviving creators and stars of the films, and much behind the scenes footage, anecdotes, and trivia that fans love.

Pretty exhaustive and extensive look at how the films were conceived and directed, the casting process, evolution of the groundbreaking visual effects that so captured the imagination of children, the memorable music that kids hummed in schoolyards as they re-enacted their favorite characters and battles, and the costume making process for the familiar alien characters like the droids C3PO, R2D2, and Chewbacca, not to mention Darth Vader!

On the original Special Edition DVD set, this is well worth watching.