choggs This movie is one of the most painful things I have ever experienced. As someone who goes out of their way to watch terrible movies I can attest to the draining power of this particular TV special. I'm a fan of the Star Wars saga but this makes me never want to look at Mark Hamill or any of his co-stars ever again. Everything moves painfully slow and goes on for far. Far. FAR too long. You'll see what I mean when it comes to the creepy dancing scene or the inappropriate scene of the grandfather wookie watching a provocatively dressed woman. Harrison Ford is clearly there for a pay check - or because he was being threatened at gun point along with the rest of his family and all he held dear (you can tell from the dead look in his sad and helpless eyes). Watch it for the Star Wars Canon. Not for fun.

Eric Stevenson This film became legendary for how rare it was, but nowadays it's easy to find the entire movie online. Good luck finding a full version to synch with your Rifftrax for this, which is why I simply couldn't find that version. It's completely worth all of the terrible publicity it has. I remember first reading about it in "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader". I was amazed that it existed and I had to look up here on the IMDb to assure myself that it was real. Well, it wasn't so much that I doubted it could actually exist. I'm more amazed by how they were actually able to get the original actors to work on this! Of course, the worst thing is probably how it has little to do with "Star Wars" at all. The actors barely appear at all. To show how cheap it is, they merely use stock footage from the original movie. They even show a brief montage of clips from the first film at the end, making it easily the most enjoyable part of the whole movie. I bet George Lucas could release this as a special edition, but he'd have to cut 74 minutes. But then it would be the same length as, "We Wish You A Turtle Christmas"! I've simply run out of good Christmas movies to watch! Thanks TV, fornot showing these duds and for showing this one only once. The poor makeup with the Wookees wasn't the worst part. The ugliest thing was Luke. His face looked freaking scary in this movie! Just a close up of his emotionless face scared the crap out of me. Of course, he wasn't as bad as the version of him in the animated segments which existed for as much reason as anything else here. This cartoon featured horrible artwork and bodies that looked like paper cutouts. What's unbelievable is that this was actually the first appearance of Boba Fett in the entire mythos. He wasn't just there for a cameo, he actually had a lot of screen time. In fact, I think it's more screen time than the actual trilogy! He certainly had more dialogue here and perhaps the most relevance of any of the early films! I guess it just shows you how he was never meant to be popular at all. In this movie, we get segment after segment with random actors that have no relevance on the plot whatsoever. I think it actually reminded me more of "Star Trek" with how we saw all these aliens in cheap costumes. J. J. Abrams had the right idea. It seems like this made me lose all hope for "Star Wars" spin off films, but hey, we got "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" which surprised everybody! I find it almost impossible how Mike Nelson said "The Phantom Menace" was the worst movie ever and he riffed on this too! Come on, that movie had Darth freaking Maul with a great lightsaber fight that holds up to this day. All the action this movie had was a stormtrooper falling down and don't you think I didn't recognize the Wilhelm scream. The house was just a cheap drawing. TPM had CGI that really does hold up after all these years. This is even more distant from TPM than that movie is from "The Empire Strikes Back"! Just stop complaining and instead criticize a truly awful, boring film with horrible imagery right here. Half star

Johnny H. The Star Wars Holiday Special was the first production to be released after 'A New Hope''s 1977 release; this special was released the year after. What can I say that nobody else has already said about this televised monstrosity? I don't know; George Lucas, the big cheese himself, disowned this film after witnessing the guest-star-ridden variety-horror show unraveling before his eyes. This is probably one of the only things Lucas and Star Wars fans mutually agree on: that The Holiday Special is an unmitigated disaster.The film starts off okay, as we see Han Solo and Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon, although filmed on late 70s video-tape; after the two outrun a pair of Star Destroyers (using stock footage from the original Star Wars film), we get the Star Wars theme playing, then the title-card and then... "The Star Wars Holiday Special!": a crappy voice-over, announcing the cast names and guest stars. Off to a good start I see.If that wasn't enough of a bad sign that this film is easily the worst thing to be branded with the 'Star Wars' name, the rest of the film after that opening comprises ALMOST ENTIRELY OF CHEWBACCA'S FAMILY, and NO English translation to interpret what they're growling! Even when there's an occasional break from the Wookiees 'speaking', the segments are painful to watch, except the one redeeming factor in this steaming pile of Bantha-poodoo: the animated segment where we see Boba Fett for the very first time.The Star Wars Holiday Special is full of inconsistencies, out-of-place appearances of Art Carney, Bea Arthur, Jefferson Starship, Harvey Korman, and lastly Wookiee-heartthrob/jerk-off: Diahann Carroll.If you're a Star Wars fan who was heart-broken by The Prequel Trilogy's disappointment, then stay the hell away from this because this just might kill you with its awfulness. AVOID IT LIKE THE DARK SIDE!

danielemerson Guest stars: Bea 'Golden Girls' Arthur, comedian Art Carney, Jefferson 'not as good as they used to be' Starship and Harvey 'Blazing Saddles' Korman. Korman plays three characters - a 4-armed female TV chef, a barfly who drinks through the top of his head and a malfunctioning computer help file.Warning: 99% of the dialogue in the first 10-15 minutes is pure, unsubtitled Wookie. Stick with it if you can... even if it isn't worth it. Luke, Leia and the droids phone in short interludes, if only to explain what the hell is going on (and so slowly).Art Carney plays either a shopkeeper or a pornographer. Or both. Whatever he is, his 'Life Day' present to Ol' Dirty Grandpa Wookie seems a bit fruity at first, but then turns into a tame musical number. By the way, Grandpa is called Itchy, and can beat Robert DeNiro in doing that bottom lip thing any day of the week.When Bea Arthur (as the landlady of the cantina) gets her musical spot (not remotely connected to the rest of the film), it all goes a bit Weimar. Actually, she's not bad, given the material.Han Solo and Chewbacca do eventually appear. Mild jeopardy ensues. By this time Harrison Ford looks like he has lost the will to live.Towards the end there's the quasi-mystical 'Life Day' bit that doesn't really make any sense, but at least tells you that the show is almost over. The more expensive cast members actually make an appearance on-set instead of their earlier phoned-in segments.Princess Leia sermonises... and then sings. It doesn't go well. Somewhere a long long way away in England, Alec Guinness looked at his bank account and felt bloody lucky he didn't have to be in this.Decidedly odd. And remarkably bad. However, no Ewoks and no Jar Jar Binks, which is a plus, although there is a baby Wookie called 'Lumpy', who even PETA would have enthusiastically hunted and shot.