Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

 

Goodness gracious me. What could I possibly say that hasn't already been said? How to even begin describing what impact this film had on me as a child and what profound continuation it had on my development as a full blown geek/nerd/whatever. 

And it's a great film too, go figure. 

Well, I suppose I have to start somewhere.

It is a time of uproar, as the evil Galactic Empire is pretty much tightening its iron fist across the galaxy. Only a small band of rebels try to resist. They have managed to obtain the plans for the Empire's greatest weapon: a starbase that can destroy planets, the Death Star.

Aptly named, that is. 

Two unassuming droids, C3-PO and R2-D2, are thrust into the mix, as their ship is attacked by the Empire and they escape to a planet below. This turns out to be Tatooine, a remote desert world where they are first picked up by Jawa's who sell them to a moisture farmer named Owen Lars. It is here they meet a plucky youth by the name of Luke Skywalker. It turns out they have to find a man called Obi-Wan Kenobi at the request of princess Leia, one of the leaders of the rebellion, who is now a prisoner aboard the Death Star. Obi-Wan is an old Jedi knight, one of the protectors of the Republic that is now defunct. After Luke discovers his uncle and aunt have been killed by Empirial Storm Troopers, he heads off to a spaceport with Obi-Wan, where they meet a smuggler named Han Solo and his partner, a towering Wookiee called Chewbacca. 

They set out to Leia's previous rendez-vous point, but the Death Star is already there, having previously blasted the planet Alderaan into oblivion. Pulled aboard the Death Star, our motley band of heroes now have to escape and get the plans to the Rebellion. They manage to do so, but in fact, this was all a ploy set up by the most iconic villain of all time: Darth Vader. (also one of the few remaining people alive who wields the mystic Force, by the way)

It all culminates in a daring space battle, where minute fighters try to exploit the single weakness the massive Death Star has, in order to deal a serious blow to the Empire. 

Well, it is a lot to take in, and going into full details might lead us a little too far. Then again, most people already know the story, so there's that. And then there's seafood. 

This is the massive space epic that started the revitalizing of science fiction as a genre, seeing as it was often ridiculed or relegated to Z-budgets on the backlot of studios. 'Star Wars' is grand in scale and by god, it shows. Heck, most of the special effects they used where developed while they were making the film. 

If that isn't a testament to tenacity and perseverance, I don't know what is. 

It is also an exhilarating adventure that will suck you in every time you see it. I've lost count how many times I watched this in my life and even though I can pretty much quote it verbatim all the way through, it still manages to instill that feeling of awe I got as a kid seeing it for the first time. 

Is everything perfect? Well, the dialogue can be a bit stiff and odd at times, as creator George Lucas isn't known for his mastery of dialogue driven scenes. Sure, the rewrites helped a great deal, but still. No one speaks like these characters do, but this being an almost Shakespearean space opera, that's okay. 

It's also no secret that this film was saved by two things: editing and sound design/music. Lucas' first cut was appalingly slow and boring, so the editing team rightfully gained acclaim after spicing things up, which this film really needed. The slow editing of the prequels just makes you wonder what could have been, both for the prequels and what if this one was edited as tediously. This probably wouldn't have been such a phenomenon, let alone lead to so many sequels and spin-offs. 

The sound design is also excellent, and let's face it: this film and Ben Burtt's work have forever changed how we 'hear' laserblasts and the sound of lightsabers. Everyone knows those sounds. And don't even get me started on the magical score by John Williams, that is so iconic, it's hard to fathom.

Maybe that's the perfect description for this one: iconic. It is - and remains - glorious.

And Han shot first and was the only one shooting. Let's be very clear on that one.