The Star Wars universe is filled with amazing and varied characters: crazy aliens, rogue pirates, beautiful princesses and dashing heroes. These characters find their full form through dialogue, makeup and costume. Fans have come to love the series because they instantly recognize individual characters and their stories whenever they grace the screen.

This rarely-seen snipe (a brief promo showcasing theater policies, concession advertisements, drive-in intermission countdowns, etc.) celebrates the year 1959 with a clever twist on Father Time and Baby New Year. See you in 2015!

In the Golden Age of Hollywood, studios were fond of unusual promotions to grab the attention of the public. When it came to the holiday season, Paramount Pictures found an especially charming way of spreading the yuletide spirit.

Recently rediscovered in the Cecil B. DeMille Collection at the Academy Film Archive was roughly 2,400 feet of 16mm Kodachrome footage featuring scouting and costume tests for DeMille’s unrealized feature film Rurales. The footage consists of roughly 90 minutes of silent material shot on location in Mexico.

In 2007, Joe Dante launched the web series Trailers from Hell, featuring commentary on trailers by filmmakers. In this special installment, the Academy teamed up with Dante as discusses the fan following of The Night Walker (1964), written by Psycho author Robert Bloch, and the horror film’s role in director William Castle’s prolific career.