The oldest fan films you can think of

Hello there!

I am Adrien Débart, some may remember me from a post I made in October 2020. I was working on Star Wars fan films made in the 1990s and 2000s. Well, I am now a Ph.D. student who works on the evolution of Star Wars fan films over the decades. Thus, I am building a database for my doctoral dissertation, and I currently lack ancient fan films. The only ones I have found are Hardware Wars (1977), Star Wars Remake (1980), The Imperials Strike Back (1978-1980), and Return of the Ewok (1982). I wondered if you heard or even saw other old (from the 1970s and the 1980s) fan movies? I know that homemade cinema evolved during the 1990s, but I am 100% sure that there are more than four Star Wars fan films made before Troops. It could really help me in my research!

Moreover, if you, by chance, are their creator, I might want to interview you! Do not hesitate to send me an email: adrien.debart@gmail.com

Thank you, and may the Force be with you!

Adrien

 

There were some kids from Mississippi that did a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark over the span of almost a decade.

 

Hi, thank you for your reply! I love this movie so much haha! Though, I was thinking especially about old Star Wars fan films. Maybe you know some?

 

Uh wow, I wonder if this is still active.
The oldest fan film that is Star Wars related that I know of is Star Wars Contract of Evil. I dug up a behind the scenes vid that will hopefully help you out. The creator of the fan film is Lou Klein and according to some the film was released around October of 04.

 

It is still active indeed, thank you so much for your reply! I already knew Contract of Evil, this one has been in my fan film index for 3 years now. The BTS will surely come in handy, though, thanks!

I’m especially looking for older Star Wars fan movies at the moment, from before 1997. If some of you know one, please contact me here or by email: adrien.debart@gmail.com.

I wish you guys a happy new year!

 

To the best of my ability that would be this one from 1978. "Imperials"



Also, I don't remember the exact details since I haven't seen the dvd in a long time, but I believe the 2011 release of Star Wars had bonus features about the impact of Empire Strikes Back and it showed short segments of fan films, one of which was a Claymation. My memory is fuzzy on this, so I can't be to sure.

I did also find a video about a fan film know as Sidewalk Wars that began work in 1977, but wasn't finished till 33 years later. Here is some behind the scenes, the creators have an entire playlist on its history on their channel Happy Orb Films.

 

Thank you so much for all the information, your reply is precious for my research.

I already entered Imperials in my fan film index, I love this one!

I definitely need to watch the bonus features of ESB, especially if it contains fan films. I suppose the Blu-ray version from 2011 will have it (it’s the only version I actually have from 2011).

I didn’t know Sidewalk Wars, that’s great! I couldn’t find the full movie online though, I’m not sure it’s still available...