Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope (1977)
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher.
Directed By: George Lucas
Plot: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a civil war has erupted between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. With the help of the new battleship, the Death Star, the Empire's victory is all but assured, but the Rebels have a plan that could possibly turn the tide of the war, which involves sending a astromech droid named R2-D2 to the desert planet Tatooine, along with his companion, C-3PO. When the two droids cross paths with a young man named Luke Skywalker and a mysterious old hermit named Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, they discover that Princess Leia (a Rebel leader) has been captured by the Empire, and is being held inside the Death Star. With the help of a pair of smugglers named Han Solo and Chewbacca, they will attempt to rescue the princess and bring her and R2-D2 to the Rebel Alliance. Can they accomplish both these goals while not getting killed in the process?
Characters: The characters in this film barely need an introduction, since they've become so iconic. Nearly everyone gives a great performance, making their characters likable, interesting, and entertaining. Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker does an amazing job showing the growth of his character. Despite being naive and a bit immature at first, watching him mature and find a purpose in life is very satisfying to watch. Harrison Ford gives an often hilarious performance as Han Solo. While he may seem like a scoundrel at first glance, his comedic moments and charisma make his character one of the best in the whole movie. James Earl Jones' voice as Darth Vader has become legendary, and for good reason. He does a fantastic job of portraying the power, ferocity, and sophistication of the character, creating the building blocks for arguably the most famous villain of all time. Probably the weakest major performance comes from Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. Most of the time, she's good enough, showing a snarky side and a courageous spirit, but the scenes between her and Vader are really weirdly acted. She switches a faux-British accent on and off during these scenes, and it feels really awkward and makes little sense, especially when there's no explanation for it. But for the most part, this film nails the acting department.
Writing: This script is one of the defining examples of the hero's journey in film. Luke (the hero) finds Princess Leia's message(the call to adventure), meets Obi-Wan Kenobi (meeting the mentor), and so on. It's actually quite interesting how perfectly this story fits into the mold. While it may seem lazy to create a story so close to a certain formula, in my opinion, it makes this story a classic. All the scenes are memorable, whether it's the opening scroll, the Death Star blowing up Alderaan, or Luke, Han, and Leia trying to escape the trash compactor. There are also many homages to old movies serials, like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. This is most apparent during the opening text, as well as the moments when the heroes are in some sort of peril. You can almost imagine an announcer telling the audience to come back next week to see how they get out of their predicament. The plot moves at a relatively fast pace, getting through all the major plot points without staying in one place for too long, while also slowing down at the appropriate moments. The dialogue can feel a bit too cheesy at times, especially in the very beginning, and this can turn some viewers off to the film. However, as the film progresses, the dialogue feels less and less clunky, and eventually blends into the world that is created.
Production: The design of this film is one of the reasons it still hold up today. The sheer amount of creativity that went into the look of this film is very noteworthy. The costumes for the aliens look amazing, especially Chewbacca, who still looks like a real creature. The human costumes are also good, looking simple, yet unique to the world. The spaceships are exquisitely detailed, and are almost works of art by this point. When the Star Destroyer appears in the first scene, looming over the relatively puny rebel ship, chills run through me nearly every time. The original special effects hold up pretty well today, including the space battles and the lightsabers. However, there are some obvious effects, such as when the automatic doors are opening and closing, which is obviously a mediocre stop motion effect. As some of you may know, George Lucas added a lot of CGI to the original trilogy, and this film arguably has it the worst (Han shot first, by the way), and this has made fans very angry. In my opinion, the changes are a mixed bag. They range from improving weaker moments (like when it's obvious that Obi-Wan is holding a fencing sword instead of a lightsaber) to ruining moments that needed no changes (such as the scenes in Mos Eisley, where a lot of poor CGI is added for no good reason). John William's score is arguably his best in his large resume. My favorite pieces would have to be the opening theme with its loud and triumphant tone, and Binary Sunset, which adds gravitas to the story. The only real "flaw" with the score is that it doesn't include The Imperial March, which wouldn't be introduced until The Empire Strikes Back. Watching scenes with the empire seems strange without it.
Trivia:
- The skeleton that C-3PO passes on Tatooine was left on location in Tunisia after filming. When the crew for Attack of the Clones returned for filming in 2001, they found it was still there.
- When Lucas screened an early cut of the film to his director friends, the only person who believed that it would be a hit was Steven Spielberg.
- The planet Tatooine is never mentioned by name in this film.
- Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin) found the boots for his costume to be very uncomfortable. So he only wore them when they were shooting full body shots, and wore fuzzy slippers the rest of the time.
Next time, I'll take a look at the first volume of a bride's revenge against her ex-lover.
Stay Tuned
No comments:
Post a Comment