Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

1977

3.5/4 Stars

In watching the original Star Wars after having just watched the CGI saturated "prequels", the viewer is struck by a number of things. The first is that back when George Lucas created this film more than 30 years ago, he had to fall back on solid, well defined story-telling. Gone are the convoluted and twisted sub-plots about political power plays and cloners in deleted star systems. Instead, is a linear story following two droids as they stumble through a rebellion against an evil empire.

The characters all serve a specific purpose and are archetypes from classical story telling. Obi Wan is the mysterious wizard, Luke the young hero, Han the skeptical rogue. Although the dialogue is still sometimes clunky and awkward, what makes this so very different than the prequels is the way in which the actors handle these lines. There is an air of levity throughout the film. This was before Star Wars was Star Wars- before it had become a huge commerical success and had millions of obsessed fans studying every detail regarding TIE Fighter model numbers and ecological conditions on Hoth and Bespin. The three leads in Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) seem to approach the script with a wink and a nod to the audience. It is as if to say, "We know that this is campy, but we're going to have fun with it anyway". The viewer is happy to be taken along for the ride.

There are flaws, but they do not do tremendous damage. The version of the film that I own on DVD is the re-release that includes some additional footage, such as the ridiculous and unnecessary exchange between Jabba and Han as well as the interaction between Biggs and Luke in the hangar bay. These scenes did not need to be put back into the film, but they don't upset the rhythm a great deal.

The special effects hold up pretty well. While not as break-neck as the pod race in "Phantom", the space combat is still up-tempo and exciting. What is striking is how the special effects support the story and the characters and not the other way around (Jar Jar).

Overall, this film is a classic with good reason. It is a good, fun, fast-paced action story with good characters and special effects that are far from overdone.