For a Star Wars laser sound, hold one end of a metal Slinky around your ear, and let the other end drop and hit the floor. It is neat. I would suggest you avoid letting others see you do this unless you have a chance to explain!

When Star Wars was first written, the studio thought that it would be so unpopular that it was planned to be cut up into 20 minute shows and shown on Saturday mornings as a childrens' program.

The sound that is made when they power up the Death Star's hyperlaser to destroy Alderaan is the same sound used in the THX Certifier on many DVDs.

Just before the film's completion, Mark Hamill was cast as David Bradford on the TV series "Eight is Enough." Hamill believed the film was going to be a hit, and wanted to focus on his film career. Hamill played David in the series' pilot, and was replaced by Grant Goodeve for the rest of the show's run.

Lightsabres are made out of a selection of camera parts - apparently you can get the schematics for them somewhere on the internet, and make your own. NO, I haven't got the faintest idea where to look. However, I have heard that the right camera parts are very hard to get hold of, because firstly they were around in the 70's/80's, and also because Star Wars fans keep buying them. [For more info, check out: http://members.aol.com/yodashous2/building.htm; http://members.aol.com/ctlaw74/galactic.htm; and to buy a lightsabre replica: http://larbel.amer.net/index.html] [A better bet might be www.edcstudios.com - apparently here you can get the plans and most of the parts]

Not really a mistake, but apparently if you go up to a telegraph pole and hit one of the metal wire support cables with a piece of solid copper it will make a laser blaster sound. I take no responsibility for major internal or external injuries or loss of respect from peers. For a safer alternative, if you have a spring type garage door just tap (or even flick with your finger) the spring.

Nick Nolte was considered for the role of Han Solo.

The Stormtrooper guns are actually British Sterling submachine guns.

If you compare the battle between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan in this one to the battle in Episode 1, this fight seems very slow and careful. There's a couple of reasons for this - partly, while David Prowse got replaced by an expert sword fighter (Darth Vader was played by, in total, about 5 or 6 people for different things like stunts, voice, etc.), Alec Guinness had to stay himself, and he probably wasn't capable of leaping all over the place. However, more important is the fact that the lit up blades of the lightsabres in Episode 4 were made of wooden doweling (not unlike a broom handle) and if they hit them together, they snapped. These were replaced in the subsequent films with much stronger carbon fibre rods (similar to fishing rods) which explains the ferocity of the lightsabre duels in the later films. The motor within the handle spun the blade which was wrapped in reflective tape, creating the flickering effect. This only showed up when the lighting used was at the right angle. Thus during the Ben / Vader duel it explains why their lightsabres disappear at various points when they point the blade almost directly at the camera.

The wide-angle shots of the rebel base before the final battle and before the award ceremony at the end of the film show buildings rising out of a jungle. These are shots of the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, now part of the Tikal National Park located in Guatemala.

During Han Solo's conversation with Greedo, the last thing Greedo says before Han shoots him is "Yokuuskaa." This is a tribute to Mark Hamil having graduated from Yokosuka High School, located on Yokosuka U.S. Navy Base, Yokosuka, Japan.

The Millennium Falcon's design was modeled after a hamburger with an olive next to it.

In the scene where R2D2 is having his restraining bolt attached the tool that is used is a small brazing tool you can pick up any Radio Shack.

On the Death Star, just after Darth Vader speaks to the stormtroopers, one of them, in the background, moves and looks stupidly around him while the others are straight.

Special Edition Only: There was a problem with the new scene with Jabba. Harrison Ford walks around the person who portrays Jabba, but when they digitally replaced the character with Jabba, he couldn't because of the tail, so he walked through him. George Lucas fixed the problem by making him step on the tail.