As I said in my introduction, save for a very brief look at the cantina scene as a young kid, I never saw this original
Star Wars film until I got the Special Edition trilogy on VHS for Christmas in 1997. Even though my aunt's boyfriend, who got the set for me, tried to explain the concept to me, I still didn't get why the opening crawl referred to it as Episode IV instead of Episode I. After having seen that
Return of the Jedi was titled Episode VI, I was expecting this film to be made up of Episodes I-III and for
The Empire Strikes Back to be Episodes IV and V in a sort of anthology, with
Return of the Jedi being the one long final chapter of the saga. I was even surprised when Darth Vader showed up at the beginning because I was expecting this film to start off with how he turned to the Dark Side and then go from there. (In short, this was very, very confusing for my ten-year old mind.) In any case, my initial thoughts on this movie haven't changed all these years later: it's a good movie but it's my least favorite of the original trilogy. I do like this film a lot but, when I compare it to its successors in terms of tone and mindset it feels kind of simple. My reasons for feeling this way are more than likely due to the fact that the sequels, which delve deeper into the characters and the stories, are what I saw first, whereas this film is the one that feels the most like those
Flash Gordon serials condensed down into one big movie (right down to the only possible sequel-bait being that Darth Vader is still alive at the end), which is what the entire concept was based upon. In short, it's a simple space adventure story for the most part and while that's not bad at all, mind you, I just prefer the depth of the other films.
I've heard some critics say that
Episode III is the best of the four
Star Wars movies that George Lucas himself actually directed but I myself strongly disagree with that. I do like
Episode III but I can't deny that it has a lot of flaws; this original film, on the other hand, is much more solid in my opinion and is most definitely so when compared to
Episode I and
II. Granted, some of the dialogue he wrote here is kind of clunky and overly dramatic and Lucas has never been a great actors' director according to the cast, leading to aspects of the performances here and there that feel a little odd in retrospect, but what makes it work in the long run is that you have good actors who are able to overcome the hammy dialogue and less than great direction for the most part and keep you interested in the story. Also, it doesn't hurt that Lucas didn't write a bunch of sappy, overly melodramatic, attempting to be "poetic" dialogue for this film or bog the plot down with political talk as he did with the prequels or that he allowed other people to take a stab at several drafts and clean it up, something you wouldn't see very often in the future. In any case, I do know that making this movie was a miserable experience for Lucas, who had to deal with constant production and budget, problems, a British crew who wasn't too thrilled about working on what they considered to be a kids' film, and an ILM that was nothing at the time and was having a lot of trouble creating the effects needed. The exhaustion from such a stressful shoot almost caused Lucas to have a heart attack, which is why he took a more hands-off approach to the sequels. Most feel that he should have done that for the prequels but, again, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Above everything else, what makes the original trilogy work is that, even though the films are very much acclaimed for their groundbreaking effects work, the effects don't overwhelm the story and likable characters, the latter of which are played by some great actors. Another thing I like is how each of the lead characters goes through a clear arc throughout the trilogy, especially Luke Skywalker. In his introduction, Mark Hamill plays Luke as an innocent, fresh-faced, naive kid who is unhappy with being stuck on a desert planet at the butt-end of the universe and dreams about going off and making something of his life. He's definitely an archetypal character in that regard but Hamill makes him so likable and identifiable that it really works. What's also interesting about Luke is that, even after he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi and he learns of the Force and his father, he's initially reluctant to take this opportunity to escape his mundane existence. It could be because deep down, he's actually scared of going off into something bigger than the small world he's known all his life but another factor is definitely because he doesn't want to leave behind his aunt and uncle, whom he does love despite the disagreements he has with them and who, he now knows, lied to him about his father. He also probably thinks that he's too insignificant to make a difference in the war against the Empire. But when he discovers that Imperial troops have destroyed his home and killed his aunt and uncle, he decides that there's nothing left on Tatooine for him now and is determined to become a Jedi and help defeat the Empire. Later in the film, he loses Obi-Wan, who has been the closest thing to a father that he's ever had, as well as his best friend Biggs during the attack on the Death Star but he quickly finds the incentive to continue the fight. (Luke experiences loss throughout the entire trilogy and, as is the case here, while he is initially downtrodden by it, he finds the will to carry on.) Another interesting thing about Luke is how the different clothes that he wears throughout the trilogy symbolize his mindset and stage of development in the individual films. Here, he wears a completely white outfit, save for the climax when he dons an X-Wing fighter uniform to attack the Death Star, meant to symbolize his young innocence and naivety, and after the Death Star battle, he's wearing a sandy brown outfit, which could symbolize that he's now a bit more mature after his first major battle against the Empire. Above everything else, Luke is a likable guy. While he longs for something bigger in his life, he doesn't obnoxiously whine about it and, what's more, his complaints are understandable. This makes you root for him, especially after his aunt and uncle are killed and he becomes determined to help defeat the Empire. You also take great pleasure in the interactions between him and Han Solo and how they eventually become friends even though their initial meeting was antagonistic. Finally, I really love his boyish enthusiasm in this film. My favorite part is when C-3PO and R2-D2 save him and the others from being crushed in the Death Star's garbage disposal unit and he exclaims loudly and happily about being saved. The only thing I wonder about Luke is why the Rebellion allowed him to be part of the attack on the Death Star. I know Obi-Wan mentions that he's become quite a good pilot but he was dead by the time they got to the Rebel base, so what convinced them that Luke would be a good asset to this mission?
Even though he's very cynical and a little prickish here, Harrison Ford manages to make Han Solo likable nonetheless. He's someone who's not at all interested in taking part in the fight against the Empire and only agrees to help Luke and Obi-Wan in their journey because they promise to pay him very well, hence his name: Han "Solo." It's all about him and his buddy Chewbacca. That could have easily made him very unlikable but Ford brings such a great, swashbuckling, tough charisma to Han that you actually do like him. Plus, you can see the developing friendship between him and Luke as they go through this adventure together. They may not like each other at first, and Han's disbelief of the Force really irritates Luke as well as his initial reluctance to help him rescue Princess Leia, but when they run into trouble on the Death Star, you can see Han starting to become more and more protective of Luke, especially when he's dragged underneath the water in the garbage disposal unit. They become so close that when he's about to leave the Rebel base with the reward, he asks Luke to come with him. Han says it's because he thinks Luke could be useful in a fight but I like to think that it's because he wants Luke around, that he's become the first friend he's ever had since Chewie. Also, Han may be wanting to save Luke from certain death since he knows that the Rebels have a slim chance at winning the battle and that the Death Star could destroy the base instantly once it's in range. Han's reluctance to once again help Luke and the Rebels and that he still seems to care only about himself is initially discouraging but Han shows that deep down, he has a loyal heart of gold when he intervenes in the attack on the Death Star and saves Luke from being blown away by Darth Vader, giving him the chance he needs to destroy the Death Star. And in the end, the Alliance realizes that he's as much to thank for the success of the mission as Luke and he's rewarded with a medal as well.
I must admit that Carrie Fisher's first performance as Princess Leia is my least favorite of the whole trilogy. While she really improved the character over the course of the films, probably due to better direction and her maturing acting chops, here, something feels off. One, there's that
somewhat British accent that she puts on, which she may have felt would make her more believable as royalty but comes across as just unnatural and forced and it's a good thing she dropped it after this film (in fact, I think she may have dropped it during filming here because the accent seems to come and go throughout it). And two, I have to mention her hair-style. I know those buns are iconic but God, it's hard for me to take her seriously with those things on either side of her head, which is why I'm glad they changed her hair styles in the following films. All things considered, I do think that Fisher did a good job in her performance, making Leia come across as a determined woman who will not stop until she ends the Empire's oppression of the galaxy and her home planet in general. She's also sassy as all get-out. I love how she tells off Grand Moff Tarkin when she's brought to him aboard the Death Star, calling his bluff when he says that the Death Star will ensure the Empire's hold on the galaxy and also calls him a coward since she's surprised he had the guts to sign for her execution. When Luke comes into her cell dressed as a storm-trooper, she immediately tells him off, saying, "Aren't you a little short for a storm-trooper?" I also laugh every time when she's arguing with Han Solo after they get out of the garbage compactor, telling him that he will obey
her orders and when he says that he only listens to himself, he says, "It's a wonder you're still alive." It's even funnier when she walks around Chewie, growling, "Will somebody get this big walking carpet out of my way?" and Han groans, "No reward is worth this!" Another one that makes me smirk is when Leia gets her first look at the Millennium Falcon and says to Han, "You flew in that thing? You're braver than I thought." A part of her you really have to admire is how loyal she is to the Rebel Alliance. When she's threatened with the destruction of her home planet unless she reveals the location of the Rebel base, she does seem to betray them but later, you discover that the base she led them to has been deserted for a long time. She blatantly lied, refusing to help destroy the cause she was fighting for as well as endanger her comrades. (Plus, she had good reason to lie since Tarkin ordered her home planet Alderaan to be destroyed even after she supposedly told him where the Rebel base was.) You also get the sense that she's tough and is not a damsel in distress at all. She may have needed to be rescued but she never once screams or yells, "Save me!" while they're escaping and even gets them out of a jam while they're doing so and shoots some storm-troopers herself, making it feel like she would have attempted to escape herself if she had the chance. And on top of all that, she endured the extreme torture that Darth Vader inflicted on her to get her to reveal the whereabouts of the Rebels and she never bent, even when they used something called a mind probe which would probably act as a truth serum. She's the best type of princess all-around: tough, sassy, determined, loyal, and can take care of herself.
My favorite character in the whole film is actually Obi-Wan Kenobi. I always really like this type of character: the wise, kindly, old mentor who is trying to pass his knowledge down to a younger generation. It especially helps when you have a good actor in this kind of role and Lucas and company really struck gold when they got Alec Guinness to play Obi-Wan, giving him the perfect air of kindly wisdom, spirituality, and even sly, sarcastic humor. Even though he's an old man, you know that there's much more to him than meets the eye due to his knowledge of the Force, which he introduces Luke to, as well as reveals that, despite what his uncle has told him his entire life, his own father was a Jedi Knight. As a result, even though Luke is the titular new hope for the galaxy, it is Obi-Wan who, recognizing his potential to become a Jedi, makes it known to the Rebellion. I also like how, despite being a mentor and fatherly figure to Luke, Obi-Wan does have a sense of humor and is quite a sly old devil when he wants to be. The perfect example of the latter is when he uses the power of the Force to manipulate those Imperial troops into letting them enter Mos Eisley and one quip of his that I like in particular is when Han calls him a "damn fool" and Obi-Wan responds, "Who's more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?" (He does have a point.) On top of everything else, the sincerity that Guinness gives his performance as well as his air of credibility really helps the movie. It makes you believe in the Force and everything that he says because he himself believes in and is so imbued with it, making it not such a surprise when he actually does become part of it after he's killed. What makes this feeling of sincerity even more amazing is that Guinness absolutely despised this film and the character in particular. He made no bones about the fact that he had a miserable time making the movie, hated the dialogue he was saying, and, supposedly, it was his idea for Obi-Wan to die so he could get out of the movie as quickly as possible (ironically, he got an Oscar nomination for this role). I've even heard that he made some young fans of
Star Wars cry when he admonished them for liking it so much, which is just dickish and discouraging to hear. It is, however, nice to know that Guinness was very professional on the set of the film, helped Lucas to get everybody to take the film more seriously, and even helped Harrison Ford find an apartment when he arrived in England to film at Elstree Studios. Very commendable and is something all actors should learn from.
How could anybody not love C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker)? These guys are such a great comedy duo like that they end up becoming classic in their own right and fit right in with Abbot and Costello and such. From the moment I first saw these movies as a kid, I just loved the dynamic between them: 3PO the critical, mousey, humanoid member of the duo and R2 the more child-like one that doesn't talk and yet, knows more than 3PO. 3PO is the guy who thinks he knows everything and feels that R2 is a hard-headed, confused little droid who doesn't know anything but, on the contrary, R2 has been entrusted with the plans for the Death Star and is determined to bring them to Obi-Wan Kenobi so he can take the plans to the Alliance. He's so determined that he's very secretive about it, refusing to let Luke hear the entire message when he first discovers it accidentally and actually tricks him into removing a restraining bolt so he can go hunt for Obi-Wan himself. He doesn't even let 3PO know entirely what's going on, only telling him in apparently cryptic messages given how 3PO responds to his beeps. Speaking of which, this is also the film in the saga where there is the most tension between the two robots. 3PO claims to not like R2 (even though we can tell by his actions that's not true), becomes frustrated with his secretive behavior, and is actually quite verbally and physically abusive towards him, kicking him and smacking him at several points. But, despite that, Daniels' performance is so likable overall and it's clear enough that he really does appreciate R2's company that you never grow to hate him. (Speaking of the performance, doesn't Daniels' voice sound different here than it does in the other movies? I've always felt that it had a different tone to it here, not quite as mousey and stereotypically "English servant" in its inflection.) I also like how 3PO, due to his programming, is very chatty about his functions when he's talking with Luke's uncle about buying him when they're being sold by the Jawas. He's basically being sold into slavery and yet, his programming demands that he be civil to a new would-be owner about his usefulness and you also have to like how he's determined to please Luke once he becomes their new master. Finally, I have to comment on the noises that R2 makes. Mom has always found him to be very cute, from both the way he looks to the whistles, beeps, and other childlike sounds that he makes. I myself do smile a lot when he makes some noises that sound like a kid making flatulent noises with his mouth and the whining that he makes as he rolls down that rocky path on Tatooine at sunset, where he's unknowingly being stalked by Jawas. The whistles and beeps get a bit tiring after a while but, other than that, I can't say anything bad about the little guy.
What can you say about good old Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) that hasn't already been said? Funny thing is that when I first saw his image on the front of that
Star Wars pinball machine in that Dairy Queen when I was a kid (I mentioned that in my introduction article), something about him kind of grossed me out. Maybe it was because he was so hairy and I didn't understand what he was at the time but he just rubbed me the wrong way back then.; now, of course, I love this big hairy lug like everyone else. I will say, though, that I like him more in the other films. I know it's because they just met but I don't like how hostile he is towards Luke at one point, snarling at him ferociously; I like it better in the sequels when he's like a big, teddy bear towards his friends and is only ferocious towards the bad guys. Apart from that, I do like him here as well. He's extremely loyal to Han and is like a faithful dog... just one that is seven feet tall, can work a ship, and fire weapons. He is brave for the most part but there's a weird moment where he hears an alarm after they escape from the trash compactor and runs away from it like a scared rabbit, even cowardly shaking his head when Han tells him to come back. I always found that to be kind of out of character for a big, strong creature that's normally ready to defend himself and his friends at any given moment. Another moment that I like is when Luke and Han, disguised as storm-troopers, are escorting Chewie as if he's a prisoner and one of those little droids that you often see rolling around the floor aboard Imperial ships and stations comes up to them. Chewie immediately snarls at the thing and it quickly rolls away, making a noise that sounds like it's squealing in fear, while Chewie seems very satisfied. Like that previous moment, that was odd and random but it makes me smirk. As for the sounds that he makes, while a lot of it can become grating after a while, I do like the groaning barks that he makes whenever he's discouraged or unhappy, as well as when he makes a bunch of growls in a row that sound like speech. It's pretty surreal when you see outtakes from the film and hear Peter Mayhew actually speak dialogue while in the suit, which they dubbed over with the sound effects. Mayhew's English voice saying, "That old man's mad" or something very eloquent and proper like that makes it all the more so. Is that really what he was saying? Who knew Chewie was such a sophisticated wookie? And finally, I do have a bone of contention over something that I know a lot of other people don't like: Chewie doesn't get a medal at the ceremony after the Death Star is destroyed. Why? Han may have been the captain of the Millennium Falcon but Chewie is his co-pilot and he risked his life to help win the battle as well. I always felt that was so unfair and that he got cheated. Sorry, Chewie, I guess they were afraid you'd chew up the medal or something.
Let's face it, Darth Vader was and still is one of the most bad-ass villains ever created. Some may feel that the prequels lessened his impact since you now know that he was a pretty bratty Jedi before turning to the Dark Side but I still think he's as cool as they come in these movies. Everything about him is iconic: his black armor, flowing black cape, skull-faced helmet, the flashing module on his chest, his deep breathing, and James Earl Jones' awesome voice. It's as if Lucas was doing everything he could to, if nothing else, make the villain a figure everyone would remember and he succeeded with flying colors. Speaking of James Earl Jones, I once heard him modestly say that to him, Dave Prowse is Darth Vader ,whereas he is just a special effect. I very much disagree with that sentiment. While Prowse did give Vader an imposing physical presence, Jones, to me, is the one who really created the character, with his very deep, commanding voice. It is hard to act when you can't use your facial expressions or your voice and, again, I respect what Prowse was able to do (although he did actually speak the dialogue), but it's just as hard to create a character with your voice and nothing else and therefore, I don't think Jones should be shortchanging himself so much. As for the way Vader is portrayed in this film, I know I keep repeating myself on this score but I think that he became a better character as the trilogy went on. He's still cool here but he comes across more as a brute than the chillingly calm character he would be in the following films, the next one in particular; here, he's breaking a guy's neck, throwing him against a wall, and yelling at his men to bring him prisoners in the first ten minutes of the movie. I know the reason for this is to show right off the bat that he's a guy you don't mess with and you could also argue that he's desperate to recover the plans of the Death Star but I prefer the calm intensity we got in the other movies more (but again, I saw those first, so I'm kind of biased). To me, that made you believe that all of his men were terrified of him because they knew if they displeased him, they would very likely lose their lives. In fact, none of his men seem to be that scared of him here. They follow his orders, sure, but they don't seem to cower in fear of him as much as they would in the other movies. There's even that one guy during that meeting on the Death Star who gives him shit, although he quickly learns that's not something you do. I do like that scene, though, because it shows that Vader doesn't even have to touch you to take you out and maybe that's when his men began to realize that he is a force to be reckoned with. For me, the only time you sort of see that fear in this movie is when Vader first appears and the storm-troopers stand very still as he walks through the door into the ship. They could be scared but, at the same time, they also could be simply respecting their leader. In addition, don't think Jones' voice is as intimidating here as it would become, feeling like he's playing it much more straightforward and to the point. Finally, one thing that's always driven me nuts about Vader is how his breathing is not in sync with his talking. There are so many times throughout the movies where he talks and breaths at the same time and it's always sort of irked me. I've tried to rationalize it and say that the sound you hear is of the oxygen escaping his tank but it's clearly his breathing because you hear him take a breath before he exhales. It's a nitpick but I wish they had tried harder to make it sync up in the editing. I know it sounds like I don't really like Vader in this movie but, trust me, I don't; I just have to be honest about things.
Just as menacing as Vader is Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin, the commander of the Death Star. In fact, I think he's the reason why it doesn't feel like Vader has the amount of power in this film as he would later on. Tarkin is the one who feels like the man in charge here whereas Vader is just his enforcer, with Leia even commenting that he's holding Vader's leash. Thinking about it, Tarkin is also the only character apart from the Emperor that Vader does obey, however with the Emperor it's because he is his master whereas with Tarkin, it's probably because he has to. In any case, despite Cushing's age and poor physical condition at the time, he gives Tarkin such a presence that he is an awesome villain in his own right. He's not at all intimidated by Vader and firmly orders him to release that impertinent guy whom he Force-chokes. He's very determined to stomp out the Rebel Alliance and will do whatever he can to achieve his goal. I love his wit, which is something that Cushing always played very well. That exchange of dialogue between him and Leia, where he says, "Charming to the last," after she says that she recognized his foul stench as soon as she was brought aboard the Death Star, is just awesome. As cruel as he is, you have to love how he pays no attention to Leia's insults and knows presicely how to back her down by threatening her home planet. He's also so slimy in that he says he'll destroy Alderaan unless she tells him where the Rebel base is and then decides to destroy it anyway even after she supposedly tells him. I've always felt that to be so evil. Killing a person's loved ones is one thing but destroying their very planet? What Tarkin says about it makes it feel even more cruel: Alderaan must be destroyed to make the other planets know that they mean business whereas the planet she says the base is on is too remote to be effective in that regard. (He also says, "You may fire when ready" very well, in my opinion.) Despite how unforgettable and despicable a bad guy he is, Tarkin's weakness is that he's far too overconfident in his methods. He's very sure Leia told him the truth about the location of the Rebel base and is then outraged when he discovers that she lied to him, with Vader proving he knows more than Tarkin, telling him, "I told you she would never willingly betray the Rebellion." But it's his confidence in the Death Star itself that ultimately gets him killed. He doesn't believe for a millisecond that the Rebels could possibly destroy the enormous station and therefore, refuses to leave even when a soldier tells him that there is a possible danger in what they're doing, resulting in him getting blown to smithereens along with the station. I liked him so much that I kind of wish that he had been in the other movies but now that I think about it, if he had lived, Vader would have probably never been able to really take charge and become as iconic and legendary as he is.
There are some other minor characters that I have to mention, particularly Luke's Uncle Owen (Phil Brown) and Aunt Beru (Shelagh Fraser), whom I do like. They're not in the movie for very long and Uncle Own is the only one that leaves much of an impression but I think they're very important in the long run. Aunt Beru, with what little scenes she has, comes across as warm and loving, whereas Uncle Owen is more strict and stern, constantly making excuses for why Luke needs to stick around on the farm and not go off to join a nearby military academy so he can become a pilot. Beru understands that Luke just isn't a farmer and wants adventure, especially since most of his friends have already joined the academy, whereas Owen hopes that desire will subside with time. One moment with them that has an even greater impact when you look at the whole trilogy, as well as the entire saga, in retrospect is the when Beru says that Luke has too much of his father in him and Owen says, "That's what I'm afraid." Once you learn the truth about Luke's father in the other movies, you know exactly why Owen is trying to keep him on the farm and it also makes Owen more sympathetic despite his stern nature. Speaking of which, I've always found his and Beru's deaths to be very upsetting. Just the image of Luke finding their charred skeletons got to me as a kid and it still does to this day (I'm surprised this movie was able to get by with a PG-rating because that scene is pretty horrific). I think the music that plays here also helps in its power, amplifying the feeling that Luke has lost the only parental figures he's ever known. I also want to quickly mention Luke's friend, Biggs (Garrick Hagon). He doesn't show up until right before the climactic battle with the Death Star but you hear Luke mention him long beforehand and the way they greet each other is a sign of a real friendship (there was supposed to be more development for their friendship since there was a deleted scene where Luke meets up with him in town on Tatooine). There's also a bit of a sense that Biggs is one of the main reasons why Luke is desperate to leave Tatooine: besides his want for adventure, his best buddy has left and he wants to be with him. Biggs also just comes across as a really nice guy and a good pal, like the type of guy who would be like, "What's up, man?!" As a result, I feel for Luke when Biggs gets killed during the battle, with Luke now having no piece of his former, more innocent life left.
It's amazing that this movie's budget was only $11 million because it looks like it was made for at least twice that much, especially in terms of its special effects, which this movie won a much-deserved Oscar. For effects created by a studio (ILM) that was little more than a warehouse in 1977 with only $11 million, they're unreal and deserve the praise that they still get. That famous opening shot of the Star Destroyer passing over the camera as it chases Princess Leia's ship I know wowed audiences back in the day and it's still breathtaking to know that it was done purely with models. All the ships, from the Star Destroyers and the TIE fighters to the Millennium Falcon and the X-Wings are classic for a reason: they look cool and move in a very convincing manner. The Death Star I especially thought was cool when I was a kid and the scene where it blows up Alderaan looks amazing. The final battle at the Death Star is also a great setpiece and has some of the best modelwork ever, which is to say nothing of the matting process used for this and all of the space scenes. It really does feel like you're out in deep space in those scenes, with no sign at all of any black-felt backdrops or plastic planets and asteroids. It works well in other scenes like when R2 projects that image of Princess Leia in front of Luke and 3PO and when you see how deep the tractor beam core goes down inside the Death Star. And since I'm a fan of stop-motion animation monster movies, I always smile at that little hologram chess game that R2 and Chewie play aboard the Millennium Falcon. Of course, you have to mention the introduction of the lightsaber, even though they're where I feel you can see some weaknesses in the effects. They used rotoscoping to put the glowing blades into the film but you can tell that they weren't always successful with it. For example, during Obi-Wan's fight with Darth Vader, there are instances where you can see the thin stick with a little light on the end of it that they would superimpose the blade over, a mistake I don't think they ever made again as they got more skilled at what they were doing. Also, the color of the blue lightsaber in this movie never really grabbed me. This is merely a personal preference because blue is my favorite color and I like the deep blue-colored lightsabers you would see in the later films but I never liked the light blue seen here. Plus, they can't seem to keep the color consistent because when Luke is practicing with that hovering ball aboard the Millennium Falcon, the blade of the saber is purely white. Again, I know it's a nitpick but I do notice little things like that.
Another reason why it's hard to grasp the fact that this film's budget was fairly low are the sets. Lucas made very good use of the spacious sets of Elstree Studios in London. The interior of Princess Leia's ship is pretty good but the best set I think is the inside of the Death Star. I always felt that it really did look like a functioning station, with its long corridors full of troops, an enormous hangar bay, a lot of control rooms and prisoner cells, that garbage compactor unit that looks absolutely filthy with all of the thrown away bits of machinery and the nasty-looking water (I guess it's just a personal thing but water mixed with garbage always makes me cringe), and, my favorite part of the set, the room that has the controls to the tractor beam. That just looks awesome when Obi-Wan walks across that little bridge to turn off the beam and you can see that the core goes down for miles. Like I said earlier, that's a really good matting effect there. Speaking of the interiors of the film, I have to comment on the concept of a "used" future. Everybody credits
Alien with introducing the notion of a future where the ships and the interiors aren't squeaky clean and polished like in
Star Trek and
2001: A Space Odyssey but if you think about it,
Star Wars is really the first film to play with that idea, with the interior of the Mos Eisley cantina looking pretty dirty and Luke commenting that the Millennium Falcon is a piece junk. He's right in some ways because the thing doesn't work sometimes, it's slow, and the inside of it looks like it's a scene a lot of action. C-3PO and R2-D2 aren't exactly polished either and the aforementioned garbage chute in the Death Star is something you never see in those others science fiction stories I mentioned.. There's only one major exterior in the film, the landscape of Tunisia for the planet of Tatooine, but like the interiors, it's used very effectively. You can tell that Tatooine is a harsh place to live just looking at it. It's desolate, hot as hell (filming in Tunisia was miserable because it can get up to over 100 degrees there by midday), and when 3PO and R2 are roaming around the desert, even though they're machines, you just get the feeling that they are screwed if they don't find shelter soon. It also provides that iconic shot of Luke watching the twin suns set, which I've always enjoyed the visual of (I like sunsets in general). This is also where the western aspect of the film comes across. While the sandy dunes and the clothing worn by Luke and his aunt and uncle make it feel more like
Lawrence of Arabia (another Alec Guinness movie, oddly enough), the more rocky parts of the desert are where the western idea starts to come across. Mos Eisley in particular is where it's hammered home because it feels like the outpost town you see in a lot of westerns, with the cantina being like a saloon, Han Solo and some of the residents coming across like old-fashioned gunslingers, and the standoff between him and Greedo feeling like something you'd see in a western.
You can't talk about the
Star Wars universe without discussing the varied types of alien creatures and robots that you're introduced to in each of the films. The first actual characters that you meet are C-3PO and R2-D2 and after that, you see the Imperial storm-troopers, who look like robots (or "droids," as they're called) due to their armor, and Darth Vader, who is basically is a cyborg since he's a human being with a number of electronic parts attached to him. I like the different droids that you see when 3PO and R2 are captured by the Jawas, such as one with an insect-like head, a different model R2-unit, one that looks like a refrigerator with a pair of stubby legs (he's called a Gonk droid, which makes sense given how all he says is, "Gonk! Gonk!"), and this other one that's off to the side and looks like it has insect-like wings on either side of it (that one creeped me out when I was a kid). Speaking of the Jawas, I've always laughed at those guys. They just look so funny to me with their hoods, glowing eyes, how they scurry around like rats, and especially those gibberish noises they make, particularly when there are two chattering to each other. And that, "Unteenee!" yell they make never fails to cause me to smirk either. As for the Tusken Raiders, I don't know if those things are wild humans or what (probably not from the sounds they make) but that scene when one comes out of nowhere and tries to kill Luke while howling like the freak he is really horrified me when I was a kid. Not much to say about the Bantha creatures they ride on, although I think it's cool that they're really elephants that the crew dressed up. While we're on the subject of the Tusken Raiders, or the sand-people as Luke calls them, one part that always confused me is when Luke is watching two Banthas with his binoculars and at first, he says he doesn't see any sand-people but then goes, "I can see one of them now." Where? Of the many times I've watched this movie, I've never seen any sand-people in that shot. Maybe it's just me but has anybody else seen them? When I was a little kid, I thought that the dewbacks that the storm-troopers ride were cool because they look kind of dinosaurs but now, after realizing how bad the computer-generated ones for the Special Edition look, I'm not as enamored with them anymore. Speaking of creatures that exist only in the special edition, there are also these little rats that scurry out of the way of Luke's speeder when he enters Mos Eisley with the others and there's also this gigantic, giraffe-like thing that's startled by a speeder bike, causing the Jawa that's riding it to fall off and end up hanging by the reigns. I know the purpose of these creatures was to give more life to Mos Eisley but they're really not needed (especially that little hovering droid that annoyed this human-like one so much that it smacked it).
The inside of the cantina is the film's, and perhaps the entire saga's, most famous scene for displaying all sorts of alien creatures. It's interesting to note that, before they became well known for their makeup effects work, Rick Baker and Rob Bottin worked on some of the creatures in this scene, which explains why they're quite striking in their appearance (some of them really freaked me out as a kid, I must say). You have that typical-looking alien that looks right into the camera at the start, those creatures that are playing music (I always thought those guys looked cool), that white, furry thing with a bunch of eyes and a little proboscis tongue that it strokes, this thing with a hammerhead, a mouse-girl (as Harrison Ford called it) ordering a drink, these two creatures that are having a conversation, a reptile-thing that has a honking laugh, this ugly thing with pink flaps of flesh under his chin that picks a fight with Luke and gets his arm sliced off by Obi-Wan, and, of course, Greedo, who's only in this movie for a few minutes and yet, little did they know back in 1977 that he'd be forever linked to one of the special editions' biggest controversies (I'll talk about that presently). Even the humans in the bar look weird, like that bartender with a big nose and that ugly as sin guy with a crushed nose who picks on Luke right after his alien friend does. Due to behind the scenes footage, I know that there was a big praying mantis in that scene too but you never see it in the actual film, probably because it looked rather stupid, and I've also seen a shot of a werewolf-like creature that you don't see in the special editions, which is too bad because it looked interesting to me. I also have to comment on this creature that acts as a spy for the Empire and follows Luke and Obi-Wan to the Millennium Falcon. He wears goggles and has a long snout but what gets me is that he talks with a sound that you would hear when you scratch a disc like a disc jockey. Definitely different, I'll give them that.
There's also some weird stuff aboard the Death Star. There are those little droids that roll around the hallways that I talked about before. I still don't get what purpose those things serve. The one droid that would be my worst nightmare is that floating one with a syringe that Darth Vader uses to make Princess Leia tell him where the Rebel base is. As I said earlier, I guess it's a mind probe thing and that syringe is filled with something like a truth serum but whatever the case, I must say that if that were me, I would have shriveled the minute I saw that thing since I hated needles as a kid and even today, although I can take it, I'm not a big fan of them. Princess Leia is a stronger person than I am because I would have cracked the minute Vader came at me with that thing. Finally, I have to mention that bizarre, squid-like creature that attacks the gang when they're stuck in the garbage chute. As I said in the introduction, by the time I first saw this movie, I had already played
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and as a result, I knew that this creature was called a dianoga since there's a level in that game where you have to deal with them. You don't see the entire creature here save for a red eye on a hideous stalk and a tentacle that looks like that of an octopus that grabs Luke, but that helps to make it an all the more suspenseful scene and the idea behind its function is creepy when you think about it. You know the Imperial controllers no doubt let the creature loose on them because they knew they were in the garbage chute and the thought that they keep this thing around just in case something living gets down into the chute, intentionally or otherwise, is rather unnerving. They might also keep it starved so when they let it loose, it attacks them voraciously. In addition, it seems at first like the water in that chute isn't even knee-deep but the dianoga pulls Luke down and Han is unable to find him as he shifts his hand through the water, with Luke only managing to get free when it lets him go. Judging from the loud clanging you hear, the dianoga must have an opening where it can enter in and out of the room and again, if you think about it, the reason Han couldn't find Luke is probably because it was trying to drag him back into the chamber where it's kept so it could eat him. There's another creepy thought for you.
While the later
Star Wars movies, particularly the prequels, would become well-known for their large and intricate action sequences, the original is a bit light on it. There's the opening with the Star Destroyer attacking Princess Leia's ship and its boarding by Darth Vader and his troops but that ends rather quickly; a brief scuffle between Luke and a Tusken Raider as well as the scuffles in the Mos Eisley cantina but again, they're very brief; the escape of the Millennium Falcon from Tatooine where they're being pursued by Imperial fighters but ultimately, they manage to jump to lightspeed before the attack gets very severe; and Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's little lightsaber fight in a hallway in the Death Star but it's also not much to write home about. There are really only three major action setpieces in the film. First, there's by Luke, Han, Chewie, and Leia's struggle to escape the Death Star, which is where the movie becomes the most like a
Flash Gordon-type of serial filled cliffhangers. They continuously run into one tight spot after another and have to fight their way out, be it by escaping down the garbage chute when they're cornered in one hallway or splitting up into pairs in order to escape another ambush, which is my favorite part of this section of the movie. I always laugh when Han and Chewie chase after some storm-troopers with Han yelling like a maniac, only for it to change into a cry of terror when he runs into a room filled with troopers (this is an instance where I think the special edition made it better, with the room now being filled to the brim with troopers instead of just a few as in the original). I also laugh at the moment right after that when they're being pursued by the troopers, with one saying, "Close the blast doors!", but whe Han and Chewie manage to get through the door before it closes, locking the troopers out, that same trooper is now yelling, "Open the blast doors! Open the blast doors!" Another good moment is when Luke and Leia are also being pursued and have to find a way to get across a chasm since Luke, in his haste, blasted the controls to extend the bridge to keep the guards. This is where Leia gets to prove how tough she is as she covers Luke, firing at attacking storm-troopers on the other side of the chasm, while he gets the wire ready in order to swing over it (said swing is definitely something that's right out of an adventure serial). The second big action scene is when they manage to get aboard the Millennium Falcon and escape the Death Star but are pursued by a small squadron of TIE fighters. This was another scene that was featured in a commercial I saw when I was a kid and it's a pretty good one, albeit limited to constant cutting back between the outside of the Falcon and the interiors as Luke and Han gun down the fighters. This is where the classic exchange between Luke and Han occurs: "I got him!" "Great kid, but don't get cocky!" I wonder if many catch that Han had yelled excitedly because he destroyed a fighter right before Luke did and he was now being kind of a hypocrite?
The biggest setpiece is the climactic attack on the Death Star and it's the best scene in the movie by far. It's such a great, exciting setpiece, with impressive model work, great interplay between the various pilots, and the iconic line, "Use the Force, Luke!" It also works in a dramatic sense because you can feel how desperate the situation is getting as the battle progresses, with more and more X-Wings being shot down and the first attempt to send a proton torpedo into the core of the Death Star fails miserably. The impact of the pilots' deaths really hit me when I was a kid, especially since I had seen similar scenes in other films and TV shows and had played a lot of video games such as
Star Fox 64 where the gameplay is similar to what you'd see in this scene but I had never before given much serious thought to all of the aircrafts being shot down because in every previous instance, they were either piloted by robots or you simply didn't get any indication of a living character dying in the crash. The many shots of the X-Wing pilots screaming right before their ships are destroyed were something I hadn't seen before and while it didn't traumatize me, mind you, it did give me pause, especially when even poor R2 is fried in the battle, which must have made people back in '77 gasp loudly. This scene also shows that, unlike most evil villains in these types of movies, Darth Vader isn't content with sitting around and letting his men do all the work; he actually gets into his own TIE Fighter and takes part in the battle, gunning down quite a few X-Wings in his own right, which is something I like in a villain. Finally, as I said before, the end of the battle and the ending of the film itself leaves no indication that there would be any follow-ups. Other than Vader not being killed, everything is wrapped up nicely: the Death Star is destroyed, the Empire has been dealt a major blow and possibly even crushed, and the Rebel Alliance has been saved. If there had been no more movies, I don't think anyone would have been surprised. Of course, that wasn't the case.
Along with the actors and characters, the story, and the effects, it's also hard to imagine
Star Wars without John Williams' iconic music. Oddly, that is almost how it happened. Lucas at first intended to go the route that Stanley Kubrick had with
2001: A Space Odyssey and use classical music for the score when Steven Spielberg encouraged him to use Williams since Spielberg had worked with several times before on flicks like
Jaws and
Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Like the film itself, it's hard talking about this score because everybody knows it: the iconic opening theme (whose first note sounds a bit different here than in the other films); Luke's theme (my favorite version of this piece as well as my favorite part of the entire score occurs when he's looking at the two setting suns of Tatooine after having an argument with his uncle and I also mentioned the powerful somber version of it when Luke discovers his aunt and uncle's slaughtered bodies), Leia's romantic-sounding theme with its leitmotifs, the music for the action scenes, and so on. I also like how Williams knows when to hold back, such as during the Death Star battle where there's not much music for the most part, the sound effects and dialogue driving the drama. Only when the leader of the squadron is killed does the music, which now has an urgent sound to it, make an appearance. The only musical bit that I miss in hindsight since it wasn't introduced until the next film is the awesome Imperial March: here, the Imperials just have a theme that goes, "Dun, dun dun dun!" that doesn't have nearly the same impact. Just as important to the movie as the music are the sound effects and a lot of them are also classic, like Vader's breathing, the sound of the blasters, the humming and crackling of the lightsabers, the roar of the TIE Fighters (which I know I've heard in other films and TV shows), Chewbacca's roaring and growling, R2's beeps, boops, and whistles, and so on. I also recognized sounds I've heard in other stuff when I first watched the movie in 1997, like this weird gurgling noise in the garbage chute and the screams of the dewbacks, the latter of which was also part of the cry Obi-Wan makes when he scares away the Tusken Raiders when they're attacking Luke. Speaking of that scream, it seems like Lucas is never satisfied with that sound because he changes it every time he puts the movie out. First it was that sound I had heard in Hanna-Barbera action cartoons, then in the 2004 DVD release it was just this weird, electronic-sounding screech, and the 2011 Blu-Ray release had the worst of all: a noise that sounds like Obi-Wan is crapping and barfing at the same time. I don't know why Lucas can't settle on a sound for that moment and just makes it more and more stupid each time.
Now let's talk about the changes made to the film in the special editions. Most of them are pretty inconsequential and do improve the film in my mind, such as the added ring of fire when the Death Star explodes, the shots of the X-Wings actually flying out of the Rebel base instead of blurry shapes flying quickly into space, the added, detailed shot of them approaching the Death Star, the digital shot of the Millennium Falcon flying out of Mos Eisley, the fixing of odd effects such as those that were originally present on Luke's Tatooine speeder, and the scene aboard the Death Star involving Han, Chewie, and storm-troopers that I mentioned earlier. There are others, however, that I do agree are completely unnecessary, such as the shots of storm-troopers riding on dewbacks on Tatooine, which added nothing and like I said before, the CGI dewbacks aren't that impressive at all. The same goes for that stupid scream that Obi-Wan makes in the Blu-Ray edition and the expansion of Mos Eisley and the new, digital creatures that I mentioned earlier (speaking of which, does that moment between those two droids not feel like something you'd see in
Episode I?) I respect Lucas' desire to have Mos Eisley feel more open with more inhabitants running around but that added stuff wasn't necessary and just looks silly. Of course, that's nothing compared to the two most controversial changes to the film that occur in this section. First, there's the altered confrontation between Han and Greedo. Lucas grew to feel that Han just out and out blasting Greedo in the original version made him look like a cold-blooded killer, so he altered the scene by having Greedo shoot first and Han reacts by quickly dodging the shot and then killing him. When I first saw this as a kid, I thought it looked cool because Han seemed to have super-fast reflexes but, when I was able to slow the action down and really look at it on DVD later, I realized how awkward and stupid the effect looks. On top of everything else, Lucas' feelings weren't accurate to me. For one, the original, unaltered scene makes Han look more like a bad-ass rather than a cold-blooded killer. Let's not forget that he's a smuggler and, like I said earlier, is dressed like a wild west gunslinger, so he shouldn't be someone you should mess with. For another, it's not like Han killed him for no good reason. Greedo was the one holding
Han at gunpoint and was talking like he was about ready to kill him himself so, in either case, Han was defending himself. And finally, I find it odd for Lucas to rationalize that change the way he did and then put a lot of decapitations into the prequels, especially
Episode III. What, it's okay for Yoda to behead two clone troopers at once but Han can't blast some guy who's holding him at gunpoint, even though Yoda was defending himself like Han? Really weird priorities, Mr. Lucas.
The other major change is the scene outside the Millennium Falcon with Han and the CGI Jabba the Hutt. As Gary Kurtz mentioned in
The People vs. George Lucas,
there's a good narrative why this scene was deleted from the original release in addition to the issues with the limited technology of the time: it's repetitive. We already learned from Greedo that Jabba is angry with Han and, what's more, at points the dialogue between Han and Jabba is practically the same as the exchanges between him and Greedo earlier. It also doesn't help that in the 1997 edition, the CGI Jabba looked really bad. He didn't look close to how he was in
Return of the Jedi and, in fact, he looked rather... gay, with his hands constantly on his sides and the weird way his face was designed. Lucas must have realized how bad he looked because he did improve his design for the 2004 DVD release. What he didn't change, though, is how Jabba comes across as a total wimp, screaming like a bitch when Han steps on his tail, something you'd never expect the real Jabba to do, and how he appears smaller here than he would in his real first appearance. Ultimately, I would say that, the beneficial editions aside, the original
Star Wars is the entry in the original trilogy that has suffered the most from the special editions (although, I personally don't think any of these changes are the absolute worst, which we'll get to later on down the road).
At the end of the day, the original
Star Wars does deserve its classic status in my opinion. It introduced us to that galaxy far, far away and gave us a legendary story, unquestionably beloved characters played by good actors, unforgettable scenes and settings, and iconic music and sound effects. But, all that said, it's still my least favorite of the original trilogy due to the fact that I first saw
The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi, which are more dramatic and emotionally deeper, whereas this feels like a simple, space adventure story like the
Flash Gordon serials it's based on. Nothing wrong with that but I still prefer the other entries in the original trilogy more. So, I guess you could say I like where the series went more than where it actually originated from. But, again, I don't hate this original film at all: it's a very fun two hours and I can totally understand why it became such a phenomenon back in '77.
