<P> With the project $2 million over budget, Lucas was forced to make numerous artistic compromises to complete Star Wars . Ladd reluctantly agreed to release an extra $20,000 funding and in early 1977 second unit filming completed a number of sequences including exterior desert shots for Tatooine in Death Valley and China Lake Acres in California, and exterior Yavin jungle shots in Guatemala, along with additional studio footage to complete the Mos Eisley Cantina sequence . Lucas had planned to rework a confrontation scene between Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt in Mos Eisley Spaceport by compositing a stop - motion animated model of Jabba to replace the actor Declan Mulholland, but with time and money running out, Lucas reluctantly decided to cut the scene entirely . The sequence was later re-instated in the 1997 Special Edition with a computer - generated version of Jabba . </P> <P> On the recommendation of his friend Steven Spielberg, Lucas hired composer John Williams . Williams had worked with Spielberg on the film Jaws, for which he won an Academy Award . Lucas felt that the film would portray visually foreign worlds, but that the musical score would give the audience an emotional familiarity; he wanted a grand musical sound for Star Wars, with leitmotifs to provide distinction . Therefore, he assembled his favorite orchestral pieces for the soundtrack, until Williams convinced him that an original score would be unique and more unified . However, a few of Williams' pieces were influenced by the tracks given to him by Lucas: the "Main Title Theme" was inspired by the theme from the 1942 film Kings Row, scored by Erich Wolfgang Korngold; and the track "Dune Sea of Tatooine" drew from the soundtrack of Bicycle Thieves, scored by Alessandro Cicognini . </P> <P> In March 1977, Williams conducted the London Symphony Orchestra to record the Star Wars soundtrack in 12 days . The original soundtrack was released as a double LP in 1977 by 20th Century Records . 20th Century Records also released The Story of Star Wars that same year, a narrated audio drama adaptation of the film utilizing some of its original music, dialogue, and sound effects . The American Film Institute's list of best film scores ranks the Star Wars soundtrack at number one . </P> <P> According to Lucas, different concepts of the film were inspired by numerous sources, such as Beowulf and King Arthur for the origins of myth and religion . Lucas had originally intended to remake the 1930s Flash Gordon film serials, but was unable to obtain the rights; thus, he resorted to drawing from Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film The Hidden Fortress, and Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces . Star Wars features many elements derived from Flash Gordon, such as the conflict between Rebels and Imperial Forces, the wipes between scenes, the fusion of futuristic technology and traditional mythology, and the famous opening crawl that begins each film . The film has also been compared to The Wizard of Oz . </P>

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