21-87

Release and reception

21-87 premiered on the CBC program Explorations in 1964.

Journalist Howard Junker dismisses 21-87 and Lipsett's other film, Free Fall, as repetitious: "the whole idea of wildly flashing stills and phrases wears quickly". Critic N. Roy Clifton is frustrated by the seeming randomness of the images. Critic John Fell suggests the film is evocative of parataxis, like a sentence without a conjunctive word.

Influence on George Lucas

"21-87" would have a profound influence on director George Lucas and on Walter Murch, an editor and designer with whom Lucas worked. Lucas described it as "the kind of movie I wanted to make – a very off the wall, abstract kind of film".

In response, Lucas created the pure cinema, short, 16mm movies: "6-18-67", "1:42.08", and "Look at Life". The later "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB", an experimental science fiction short, takes place in a dystopian future on 14 May 2187. Lucas expanded the latter into THX 1138. His later works American Graffiti and Star Wars have shown "21-87"'s influence. Lucas and Lipsett would never meet.

The concept of the Force, so prominent in Star Wars and its sequels and prequels, is said to have been inspired by a statement made by Roman Kroitor in the short film.

References in Lucas's works and Star Wars

• In Star Wars, Princess Leia's prison cell on the Death Star is numbered 2187.
• In the post Lucas era Star Wars sequel trilogy, FN-2187 is the designation of one of the main characters, who is later renamed Finn.
• In Star Wars: Republic Commando, in one mission the commando "Scorch" is being held in "Cell 2187".

Awards

• Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor, Michigan: First Prize, 1964
• Palo Alto Filmmakers' Festival, Palo Alto: Second Prize, 1964
• Midwest Film Festival, University of Chicago, Chicago: Most Popular Film, 1964

Notes

References

Sources

References

1. "21-87". National Film Board of Canada.
2. {{harvnb. Clifton. 1983. Fell. 1985
3. Hassannia, Tina. (2 March 2016). "Colin Low, Don Owen and how the NFB's Unit B changed Canadian cinema". CBC Arts.
4. (1967). "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB". Warner Bros..
5. [https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/lucas.html?pg=3&topic=lucas&topic_set=%20Life%20After%20Darth George Lucas interview with Wired]. Retrieved on 2008-12-22 from .
6. [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/features/starwars/ CBC article on Star Wars]. Retrieved 2008-12-22. {{Webarchive. link. (11 October 2004)
7. (2020-04-14). "Star Wars – Finn's Stormtrooper Number Is A Reference To Leia in a New Hope".
8. "21-87". National Film Board of Canada.