SXSW2023: Star Wars Documentary ‘A Disturbance in the Force’

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AUSTIN, TX – The best film I saw at SXSW 2023 was “A Disturbance in the Force,” a new documentary about one of the most infamous TV programs in the medium’s history … “The Star Wars Holiday Special.” In a precise narrative with celebrity commentary, the history and mystery of this CBS-TV holiday event is unspooled.

In 1977, “Star Wars” became a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized a stagnant film industry, and forever changed how films were sold, made, and marketed. Movies would never be the same again. A year later, neither would television. In 1978, CBS aired the two-hour “Star Wars Holiday Special” during the week of Thanksgiving and was watched by 13 million people. It never re-aired and is considered one of the worst shows to ever air on TV.

Seth Green in ‘A Disturbance in the Force’
Photo credit: SXSW.com

CAPSULE REVIEW: Just check out the video below to understand my obsession with “The Star Wars Holiday Special.” Co-Directors Jeremy Coon and Steven Kozak has created a perfect documentary, a comprehensive story on how the Star Wars Universe got a cheesy holiday special. Part tribute, part social history, part celebrity roast, this document had to be done, and the two creators did it absolutely right. A must see for Star Wars fans, fans of cheese and the history of movie marketing in another era, never to come again. This is a triumph.

Pat and Ken at the Holidays 2009 review “The Star Wars Holiday Special” …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Critic/Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com