Why Do Photography Collectors Hate Star Wars?
The tale of how George Lucas cobbled together the world’s most iconic sci-fi franchise against all odds is one that has been told many times. Part of the appeal of the movies is what has come to be called the ‘used universe’ aesthetic. Lucas, unlike anyone else at the time, made his universe feel lived-in, with odd broken parts, half-finished droids and rusted vehicles. Part of this was intentional, but part of it was necessary.
With a tiny budget for the movie that would go on to be renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the production team needed to cobble together props from whatever they could find cheaply. Many of the background elements were sourced from old props from other productions or grabbed from junkyards, but Set Decorator Roger Christian was given a rather unique task — to create a lightsaber (called ‘lazerswords’ in early drafts of the script).
As the legend goes, Christian found the solution in a photography shop in Great Marlborough Street in London’s West End. In the handle of a Graflex Flash Gun he saw a sci-fi weapon waiting to get out.
Little did Christian know what his decision to pick that particular model of flash would mean. In a recent Reddit AMA, Christian explained that once he had the flash handle, all it took were a few simple modifications.
“I put chrome tape around the handle, to hide the Graflex name. And I had an old calculator bubble-strip, which was where the illuminated numbers would come up, and that I put into the grip, and we added the D-ring on the end so we could hang it on Luke’s belt. And that was it!”
The blade itself was added later, a simple wooden dowel coated in front-projection paint and scotchlite tape, to be enhanced in post production. The lightsaber would go on to be one of the most iconic props from the franchise, and is recreated all over the world by prop collectors and Star Wars enthusiasts. As a result, Graflex flash handles are notoriously difficult to come across now, especially ones that haven’t had the lightsaber treatment.
This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
A quick search of eBay throws up a number of options that cost over US$800, well in excess of what they should sell for, despite their antique status. What’s worse is that the process of turning the flash into a lightsaber destroys the antique, meaning that many of the original Graflex models have subsequently ended up on scraps heaps. Some photography collectors have found this frustrating over the years.
I hope that at least some of them are Star Wars fans, and don’t feel too aggrieved at the destruction of antiques for the purpose of building replica lightsabers. Whether you’re a Star Wars nerd or a retro photography enthusiast, getting your hands on a Graflex flash handle won’t be easy — May the Force Be With You.
This is an edited version of an article that first appeared on DigitalRev.
