When George Lucas's Star Wars hit cinemas in 1977, it changed the movie landscape forever. Blending fantasy and sci-fi elements, the film – the first modern blockbuster – established a cultural legacy that continues to this day.
The viewpoint character of the epic space adventure is Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a young farmhand from the planet Tatooine who leaves home after his family are murdered to discover his destiny as a Jedi Knight, one of an ancient order of warrior mystics.
In one of the film's early scenes, Luke and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) visit Mos Eisley spaceport, a “hive of scum and villainy,” to meet charming smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford), who will help them escape the Imperial stormtroopers searching for them.
The meeting takes place in a shady bar near the spaceport crammed with various strange aliens. The catchy cantina tune combined with its collection of disreputable characters make it one of the most memorable locations in modern film.
History of the site
The building which today houses Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina was originally built by Cedo Partu, one of the first settlers of Mos Eisley (which was then simply called Eisley). Partu built the rugged sandstone structure as a fortification to protect the locals from the fierce Tusken Raiders who inhabited the nearby Jundland Wastes.
Over the years, many different individuals have owned the building. Until recently, it was a gang hideout. The present owner, a Wookiee named Chalmun, won it in a game of cards and has operated it ever since.
Because of its central location near Mos Eisley Spaceport, Chalmun's clientele includes pilots and passengers as well as the usual guns-for-hire, gamblers, drunks and riffraff that cluster around spaceports. Its strategically vital location also made it an important location during the battles fought between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance for the planet Tatooine.
Why buy?
- Sturdy sandstone construction is highly resistant to damage and requires only minimal upkeep.
- Eight private alcoves allow patrons to discuss their business in peace and quiet.
- House band Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes are locked into a contract that requires them to play for the cantina until they pay off the cost of the instruments they lost gambling.
- Communications jammer (disguised as a vaporator) ensures customer privacy.
- Curved entrance corridor prevents passersby in the street from seeing who is in the bar.
- Droid detector helps keep pesky Imperial Sentry Droids out.
- Private hangar for your personal spaceship.
- Shop space and offices at rear, including private bar area.
The "real" Mos Eisley
Like most Tatooine locations, the real building that stood in for the Mos Eisley cantina is in Tunisia. The Star Wars crew added some extra features to the facade of a building in the small port town of Ajim on Tunisia's Isle of Djerba. The building, with its distinctive domed rear section, has not been renovated since filming in 1976.
The interior scenes in the cantina were shot on Stage 6 at Elstree Studios in England. Although the site has undergone many changes over the years, the studios where the cantina scenes took place still exist; they were used for later films in the Star Wars series as well as hundreds of other movies and television programmes.
Like Chalmun's Cantina, a good bar knows its clientele, providing not just food and drink but entertainment and a sense of belonging. While you probably won't be able to win a bar from alien gangsters over a hand of sabacc, there are plenty of other opportunities to get into the bar business. And hopefully no one will get their arm cut off.