History can be chock full of details that get glossed over in any sort of theatrical adaptation. With "The Galactic Civil War," we get a glimpse at what a Ken Burns style documentary covering the events of the original Star Wars trilogy would look like, and you can see that video below.
While we've seen scientific analysis on the Battle Of Endor, and the economic analysis of the Galactic Empire's building of two Death Stars, we haven't seen anything as comprehensive as this documentary. And we can thank The Washington Post for this little taste of the extremely expansive approach that documentarian Burns has taken on such subjects as Jazz, Baseball, Prohibition, and, of course, the actual Civil War.
While the facts haven't changed, the different approach to the original trilogy's story does make it seem all the greater to watch. Han Solo's character arc of going from a carefree smuggler to a high ranking officer in the Rebellion is one such arc that benefits from such a summation. Though it would be interesting to see how Ken Burns would handle the professional testimony of any medical expert who's versed in the effects of Carbonite. For the time being, this short focuses more on the events of Return Of The Jedi more than anything else, and we have to agree with the experts on this one. Emperor Palpatine was brave to visit the Second Death Star but ultimately it was a foolhardy move on his part.
Every detail, right down to the fiddle music playing over a letter from a Stormtrooper to his wife, has been ported from Ken Burns award winning documentary and into the world of the Star Wars saga. In fact, looking at one of the clips from The Civil War, we can see exactly where they took the inspiration for the video above. Take a gander yourself, with the clip we've provided below.
Considering the original Star Wars trilogy runs about 6 hours and change, and a Ken Burns documentary usually goes for 10+ hours on PBS, without commercials, he'd only really need to create 4 hours of material, at the least. Considering how successful Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been, this could be a lucrative endeavor to consider in the future. Maybe even George Lucas could be talked into participating, considering he's re-written the history of Star Wars so much that he's probably the only person who can keep it straight.
In the meantime, you can watch the latest historical document of the Galactic Civil War - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - in theaters now.
