The Force of Star Wars

Posted: April 8th, 2024

Science fiction films come, and science fiction films go, some hit the mark, and some don’t. But the appetite for Star Wars never seems to wane and ephemera is constantly desired by collectors, especially posters and autographed photos. Here at HeadVision we always buy things that are a little bit different and as much as we would like to, getting hold of a first-issue Star Wars film poster is difficult and is going to set you back thousands but one can still find wonderful and unique items from the Star Wars universe. So, here’s three items to whet the appetite…

First up is the ultimate Harrison Ford as Han Solo autographed photo. It’s a classic image and highly desirable from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It’s a timeless shot and one that I have never seen signed before.

Next up is an unusual, signed film still, featuring Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, in a scene also from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and for the fan this must be a grail piece.

Last up is a 1981 re-release US one-sheet poster of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. This is an unusual find as it is signed by the director of the film, Irvin Kershner. He’s inscribed it For John Henderson who has the cinema “Power and Force” Irvin Kershner. John Henderson was a documentary filmmaker who interviewed many people in the film world for his various projects and collected signed pieces along the way and this film poster came from his archive.

This Star Wars film poster features Thomas Jung’s artwork for the film for the first time. The interesting thing to note is that Yoda is portrayed on here. When the film first came out in 1980, George Lucas wanted to keep Yoda as a surprise package in the film, hence he was not featured in the original movie artwork. For the re-release, with the cat out of the bag, or should I say Jedi, Yoda could take his rightful place in the image depicting the stars of the film.

The magic of Star Wars, even with a decidedly iffy mix of good and bad films and off-shoots, still perseveres and when a new instalment comes along, (for me Andor and The Mandalorian are near perfect), that sits perfectly within the Star Wars universe, it reminds just how strong the force can be. Right, where’s my light sabre? Time to practice some moves if I’m ever going to make it as a Jedi!