Star Wars
Year:
1977
Directed by:
George Lucas
Rated:
PG
Country:
United States
Runtime:
2 hrs. 5 min.
Production Company:
Lucasfilm
Written by:
George Lucas
Starring:
Mark Hamill
Harrison Ford
Sir Alec Guinness
Carrie Fischer
The most beloved science fiction movie of all time.
If there is ever a movie that does not need a review, it is this one. Star Wars (aka Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope ) is probably the most popular film ever made, and it is certainly one of the best. It has a fantastic story, relatable characters, unforgettable visuals, and an overwhelming abundance of imagination. Throughout all of this are special effects millenia ahead of their time and enough fun and excitement for a moon-sized space station. There is also enough energy to keep it up for three full installments without wavering in the least. Perhaps the most amazing thing about all of this, something that only those who have seen these movies can understand, is that I am not exaggerating at all. This is a film that, because of its magnificent visual and narrative power, ignores infinite possibilities to show off technically, in favor of drawing the viewer in to experience, rather than merely watch, the world in which it takes place. Star Wars, along with the saga it would spawn, is as iconic as it gets.
It is hard to summarize the plot because there are stories on several different levels of the film. This is part of what makes it so good. There are roughly five main plots. The largest overarching plot deals with the conflict between the oppressive Empire, which now rules the galaxy (which consists of hundreds of inhabited star systems), and the freedom-seeking Rebellion. The next largest plot is that of the Empire's newest weapon: the Death Star, a space station capable of destroying entire planets. The Rebels have stolen the plans to the station, and are now trying to strategize an assault on it. Then there is the story of Princess Leia, who is captured by the Empire searching for their stolen plans and who is now being held prisoner on the Death Star. Fourth, there are the two main droids of the series, R2-D2 and C-3PO, who escaped from Leia's ship with the plans and who we follow through the story as they try to deliver them to the only person who can help. Finally, we follow these layered plots down to one character: Luke Skywalker, an ambitious young man who wants to join the Rebellion but is held back by his caretaking uncle, who needs him at home to help with the moisture farm.
Luke becomes the main character of this film and of the next two episodes. When the droids fall into Luke's caretakers' possession, Luke ends up stumbling into an old hermit named Ben Kenobi. Ben introduces Luke to the single most important element of the entire Star Wars saga -- the Force. The Force is an energy that permeates the entire universe and all living things within it. Those who are trained in the ways of the Force can manipulate it for good or evil (such as for foresight, reflex, or, we will learn, much more). Luke is particularly responsive to the Force and grows in its power fairly quickly. From here, we follow Luke right back up the plot-ladder, as he inadvertently becomes involved in the attempts to rescue Princess Leia, destroy the Death Star, and conquer the Empire.
The first thing to understand about Star Wars is that it is not simply a save-the-world movie. The main reason for Star Wars' success is that in it, director George Lucas has created an absolutely immense futuristic (even though it takes place "a long time ago") world that is, first and foremost, always one hundred-percent believable, even while it is mind-blowing in its imagination. This feat of verisimilitude is accomplished by providing both the important aspects of the story as well as the little details that, as far as plot goes, do not matter. When R2-D2 and C-3P0 are jettisoned onto the desert planet Tatooine (Luke's home planet, it turns out), one of the first things they encounter is the skeleton of some sort of giant dragon. The story, however, makes nothing of it. It is there to make the world fully living and breathing. There was a past that came before this story, even if it does not affect it. Later, when they visit the spaceport town Mos Eisley, one of the most memorable locations of the entire series, there are so many things going on that they are impossible to take in in a single viewing. In a lesser film, any one of the many creatures in this of scene may have been focused on extendedly, perhaps turning it into a plot point so as to be shown off to viewers. In Star Wars, however, they are treated as if there was nothing special about them -- because in this world, there isn't. These little touches are what make the film so great. They envelope the viewer in a state of awe for the dynamics of the world presented on screen.
