This is not to be taken as an alternative history question. The scenario given is just a prompt to give an idea of what I'm talking about. Oh and I got the wrong date for Star Wars.
Pretty much what I'm asking here is whether or not in 1930 I could have made a shot-for-shot remake of Star Wars that would have been able to have all of the features of the original film. Maybe it would be slightly more grainy, but the luminous lightsabers, the puppets, the scrolling text on a black background, the sound effects, the talking. These things could all have been achieved rather seamlessly in 1930, right?
This obviously applies to a lot of other films. The only main difference being the existence of contemporary technologies. Like it would be hard to make Apocalypse Now in 1930 because the things featured in that film existed when Apocalypse Now was made but not in 1930.
I'm not entirely sure at exactly what time colour became possible in live action films, but as far as I'm aware, between the time when sound and colour were introduced in films and the time when computer effects became possible to use in films, there weren't many changes in terms of what you could "bring to life" on screen. Maybe you could produce a better quality picture, but nothing like the difference between 1933 King Kong and 2005 King Kong.
Two additional questions on top of that one:
If I couldn't produce that film at all, really, in 1930, then at what point would it be reasonably possible for me to produce it.
If I could produce that film... sort of... then what would be the main differences between Star Wars 1930 and Star Wars 1977?
There are a few things which would be much more difficult, if not impossible.
You'd have to replicate the electronics inside R2-D2 with analog equivalents, which would be difficult at best. (Getting something workable into the mouse droid on the Death Star would be even tougher: maybe you could have somebody under a false floor with a big magnet?)
The traveling matte technique hadn't been invented yet, and neither had bluescreen technology.
You'd have a very difficult time with the sound effects, since many of the original sources (like a Mustang fighter engine or an air conditioner) weren't around yet and the mixing boards used to distort those sounds also weren't invented. Also, you wouldn't have an original Wilhelm scream to toss in.
If I couldn't produce that film at all, really, in 1930, then at what point would it be reasonably possible for me to produce it.
The mid-1950s are the earliest point that you could hope to make something that resembled "Star Wars" more than "Flash Gordon". Big-budget Hollywood scifi pictures like "The War of the Worlds" (1953) and especially "Forbidden Planet" (1956) utilize all the same special effects techniques (traveling mattes, rotoscoping, stop-motion animation, compositing miniatures, 65 and 70mm and cameras for effects shots, etc), albeit with a significantly different aesthetic. Even the synthesized beeps and chirps of the robots could probably be reproduced, given that "Forbidden Planet" had an entirely synthesized soundtrack. One difficulty would be the lack of John Dykstra's motion controlled camera system; while it's still possible to do all the composite shots in the original Star Wars without it, it would add considerable time and expense doing it manually. If you want a specific year, I'd say that 1957 is the earliest possible year that it would reasonably possible for you to produce it.
This question would be worth x-posting to a film buff or film tech sub... maybe r/Films?
Chewbacca is a major difficulty. All the aliens in the cantina are much easier because they are seen briefly and show limited facial response. Chewie need more realistic prosthetics. The first of the kind are probably the apes in 2001, so not much before 1968.
It's starting to look like SW happened about as soon as it could! Someone prove us wrong, cause I'm falling for the idea of a 30s version.
Some effects might be done with puppetry rather than micromotors. Think of the Cowardly Lion's tail in Wizard of Oz. They could have done the mouse by RC: check both miniature radios and motors in Popular Science Monthly in the 30s. I like the big magnet, though.
The lack of a specific aircraft motor seems silly: some motor sound can be juiced up and used. After all, they're going to have to use silk or rayon, cotton or wool, rather than polyester in costumes.
The opening backstory roll to infinity, of course, was homage to Flash Gordon serials.