Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49665 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-11-21
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Amazon.com
A hilarious and affectionate parody of both the Star Wars films and the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love, George Lucas in Love provides more wit and intelligence in eight minutes that most full-length feature films do in 90. It's 1967, and George Lucas (Martin Hynes) is only three days from graduating from film school. The "agricultural space tragedy" he's been working on isn't going well at all. Taunted by his asthmatic rival (who wears a black cape), flummoxed by his adviser (who speaks in backwards sentences), he's at wit's end, until inspiration arrives in the form of the comely Marion (Lisa Jakub), the leader of the student campus rebellion who sports a distinctly familiar hairdo featuring twin buns. Funny without being too in-jokey, and clever but never full of itself, George Lucas in Love is a perfect example of the short film parody: it never wears out its welcome. Can't catch all the references? A fun-filled enhanced version of the short, like a Pop-Up Video, points out all the allusions along with facts about the making of the short, and a 10-minute, behind-the-scenes feature details the creative process from inception to the success the film received upon its release.

Included on the DVD are three additional short parodies--Swing Blade (which the makers of George Lucas in Love cite as their inspiration), Film Club, and Evil Hill. Swing Blade is a blissfully short, truly inspired melding of Sling Blade and Swingers, with a Billy Bob Thornton look-alike trying to make it on the L.A. singles scene, and Film Club is a goofy take on Fight Club, but with independent filmmaking taking the place of bare-knuckle brawling ("I want you to shoot me, and make sure you give me lots of head room."). Only Evil Hill, which purports to tell you how Dr. Evil of Austin Powers became truly evil, loses its momentum in its 10-plus minutes, as it attempts to mix Austin Powers references with both Notting Hill and the Marilyn Monroe mythos. Sometimes imitation isn't the sincerest form of flattery. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews

A very enjoyable 9 minutes..
Several reviewers around here really seem to want a lot from a 9 minute film.

'George Lucas In Love' was a very fun short. From Lucas' roommate Benji talking about an 'all powerful force' to his friends Hal & Chuck working on Hal's 'fastest thing on campus' to a professor whose speech patterns resembled a well known Jedi Master, this film has a heck of a lot crammed into it's 9 minutes. If anything, the filmmakers should have done a 15-20 minute film! The film was very clever and enjoyable. Maybe just a tad bit funnier than 'Hardware Wars'.

The music, cinematography, and acting are all very good, indeed. Anyone who didn't enjoy this at least a little really needs to get a sense of humor. Of course, it's a bit cheesy, but it's meant to be that way. It's presented in the slightly corny, overblown way that 'Hardware Wars' or the 'Naked Gun' films were. The same people who didn't understand those films probably won't understand 'George Lucas In Love'. It's not a 'great' film, but who cares? It's a fun little short by a guy who really loves 'Star Wars'. Some have condemned the filmmakers doing this just for the money. I seriously doubt that Mr. Nussbaum will make a huge fortune from this film and if he does, big deal. Nothing wrong with making money from doing what you love or making money at all. Surely, none of the people who reviewed this film would go and work at their jobs for free and live in a cardboard box under a bridge somewhere! Anyway, GLIL is great fun and a great to watch before your next screening of 'Phantom Menace' or the original trilogy.

Everyone's a Critic! 'Lucas' was Phenomenal!
Reading many of these reviews after having seen the movie myself, I've come to the conclusion MANY seem to agree with: This was an amazing film, and those who criticize it are upset that they didn't think of the idea first! It was a 9-minute independent film, and yet wove through Star Wars, George Lucas, and Shakespeare in Love so slyly, that you must applaud Mr. Nussbaum, Mr. Dowling, and Mr. Levy for an amazing piece of cinema.

To those who criticize, go ahead and nag! The people, however, have spoken, making it the most downloaded movie ever on the Internet, and I understand that Mr. Nussbaum is the talk of Hollywood as the next big director out of USC. Don't take my word for it - Read the Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and the New York Times! If the biggest complaint is that 'Lucas' isn't long enough, it's a testament to the genius and skill of those involved. Bravo!

Nicely done.
I've been a Star Wars fan since May 1977 and this is certainly the finest homage to the trilogy and to Lucas that I've seen.

Who knows what really inspired George Lucas to create the Star Wars universe, but this is some very funny conjecture. Lots of quicky sight gags, some oddly familiar characters, and music that you swear you've heard somewhere before come together to tell a sweet and clever little story. I would think that any fan of Star Wars (and we are legion) would get a kick out of this short film.

I'm just sorry I didn't think to make it first. Nice work, Joe Nussbaum! END