Talking ‘Bout ‘Star Wars’: The Infamous ‘Holiday Special’ Screens Tonight

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Last call for the Star Wars hall of infamy! Man, I wish I was able to attend tonight’s screening of the Star Wars Holiday Special, presented by the Free Form Film Festival at Artists’ Television Access. Dubbed “the worst two hours of television ever produced” by various critics, the special was apparently aired once during the holiday season in 1978, never to be released on video (though apparently available on DVD).

George Lucas was once quoted as saying, “If I had time and a hammer, I’d track down every bootleg copy and smash it.” Sounds like a very real reason to behold what sounds like a camp masterwork: Festival curators say the special includes almost the entire cast of Star Wars as well as (!) Bea Arthur and Diahann Carroll, the latter caught in “a very disturbing wookie cyber-sex scene”). The Bay Area’s very own Jefferson Starship rounds out the very square offerings.



Rest assured, the organizers say they’ll actually have prizes at the ready for anyone who can sit through the entire ordeal (look for experimental shorts to precede the holiday special).

Star Wars Holiday Special happens Dec. 16, 8 p.m., at Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia St., SF. $6. 415-824-3890, www.atasite.org

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