Jan 31 2009
“Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope” (1977) *****
Preview
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Denis Lawson.
Directed by: George Lucas.
Story:
Set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away - “A New Hope” depicts a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance culminating an attack on the massive space station (known as the Death Star) of an oppressive Galactic Empire. Caught up in the midst of all that’s happening is a young farm boy, Luke Skywalker, whom soon finds himself entangled in the plot when he stumbles across a pair of robots, C-3P0 and R2-D2, who happen to be carrying the schematic plans of the Death Star. The droids lead him to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom he must accompany on a mission to rescue Princess Leia Organa, leader of the rebels and owner of the two robots, and deliver the plans to the rebels’ secret base before they are discovered by the Empire.
The story is like that of a classic World War II tale but is set in space with the Galactic Empire as the Nazis, the Rebel Alliance as the US and their allies, and the entire galaxy as Europe. The tale is very easy to follow and understand with its linear story structure. George Lucas presents a unique universe to us with its own style, design, language, people, and way of life. He gives us three worlds to explore - Tattoine (the desert planet and home of Luke Skywalker), Yavin 4 (the jungle planet and home of the secret Rebel base), and the Death Star (a space station resembling a planet of sorts, home of the evil Galactic Empire). Mr. Lucas opens things with a bang, putting us in the midst of a space pursuit between the Empire and the Rebels, and ends it with a bang, culminating in a spaceship dogfight extravaganza above the surface of the Death Star.
Characters:
“A New Hope” is a true Hero’s journey for Luke Skywalker who goes from a lowly farm boy on a desert planet to a heroic space fighter pilot who saves the day. Accompanying him in his journey is wide range of character archetypes - the bad boy smuggler and his creature bodyguard (Han Solo and Chewbacca), the royal damsel in distress with a trigger finger (Princess Leia), the two comedian droids (C-3P0 and R2-D2), and the wise and knowledgeable Jedi Master (Obi-Wan Kenobi).
The bad guys are given a powerful presence here, outnumbering the Rebels with their endless supply of troops, ships, technology, artillery, and weaponry. They are clearly advanced, proving themselves as a worthy challenge for the Rebel Alliance. The main villain, Darth Vader, is a powerful, looming force to be reckoned with and has a lot of mystery surrounding him. He also happens to be responsible for the death of Luke Skywalker’s father, Anakin, decades earlier in what was known as the Clone Wars, as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells him (who knew his father very well).
Overall:
“Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope” was the best thing to happen to Science Fiction Cinema since “2001: A Space Odyssey” a decade earlier. It propelled the genre to extraordinary heights and was responsible for the explosion of big budget sci-fi films in the late 70s and early 80s such as “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”, “Moonraker”, “Alien”, “Saturn 3″, “The Black Hole”, and among others. The film broke cinematic box office records, doubling 20 Century Fox’s stock, and made Director George Lucas who he is today.
This was the beginnings of realistic special effects, not the animated CGI nonsense that has become a plague to our market today - not all CGI is bad, but it is bad when you overdose on something. This very first ‘Star Wars’ entry did for special effects the same that “Jurassic Park” did for CGI, implementing a successful niche standard to follow. All special effects aside, George Lucas accompanies it with unique story blend of mythological character archetypes, fantasy themes, and “Flash Gordon” elements. Welcome to the era of ‘Star Wars’, when quality special effects and a unique story were best friends in cinema.
Rating: *****
