“I have a bad feeling about this.” -Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, C-3PO-
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
With these words a legend was born. For over thirty-years now, Star Wars still stands tall and proud as a grand and glorious film that transcends its movie confines and gives the viewer an adventure unlike any other.
The B-movie that no studio wanted, was shot for a mere $11 million, and quickly become one of the most popular films of all time. Instantly born a franchise spawning two sequels, three prequels, several television spin-offs, and a toy-merchandising dynasty that would make the Disney company jealous.
The film would resurrect science-fiction/fantasy films from the drive-in circuit and make them viable financial prospects and advance on-screen special-effects to a degree unseen at the time leading to the creation of the biggest and best effects house on the planet, Industrial Light & Magic, ILM.
Writer/ Director George Lucas had done one sci-fi film previously in 1971, titled “THX-1138, (his revolutionary advances in film sound would adopt THX as its logo) starring Robert Duval as the titular character, it was a bleak dystopic view of the world with people now identified with numbers. A visually stunning film that garnered great reviews, but little box-office. His second film, the semi-auto-biographical and box-office smash America Graffiti”, earned him nominations for best director and picture. The story of a night in the life of California teenagers in the early 1960s, tapped into the innocence and nostalgia of those years before the murder of JFK and Vietnam. Then in 1973, Lucas got an idea. He would write re-write and began all over again his idea that would return audiences to good ole’ fashion adventure. His first step to do just that was to update Flash Gordon, but was quickly disappointed to learn that the rights had already been secured. (Dino Delaurentis would produce the camp classic released in 1980) And for a brief period considered adapting Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, but the budget would have been economically unfeasible. Lucas believed there was a yearning for his kind of storytelling and decided his idea, now titled The Star Wars would have to be built from scratch. Lucas then emerged himself in books on religion, mythology, fairy tales, philosophy, and science fiction. From its opening shot, the film reeked of retro-giddy goodness. A wild imagination on display, the Directors eye never lets up on how powerful film can be. Although wildly inventive, Lucas never shied away from his influences and inspirations. His love of old sci-fi and western serials of the 1930’s and 40’s was evident in the heroes and villains. As the 70’s wore on, studios went for more edgy, complicated projects that reflected the social and political milieu. In an effort to get back to simpler times, Lucas culled his childhood memories and decided the world needed a straightforward, wholesome adventure.
An amalgam of nostalgia, sci-fi pulp and swashbuckling adventures in the tradition of Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks, the main ingredient was science-fiction wizardry, but to keep audiences from being overdosed on the cool gadgets and monsters, we have plenty of mythological archetypes, thanks to Joseph Campbell’s “A Hero with a Thousand Faces,” to keep the characters interesting and sympathetic.
For those living on Mars, the story begins with an ominous crawl detailing a galactic civil war between the evil Empire and the freedom-starved Rebels. The Rebel Alliance faces their greatest threat-the Death Star, an enormous space station capable of annihilating entire planets. On a desert world, called Tatooine lies hope, a new hope, in the form of farm boy Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who with the help of Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness) discovers the ways of the force. After receiving a distress call from a captured Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Luke and Ben hire Han Solo, (Harrison Ford) Captain of the Millennium Falcon, to transport them to Leia’s homeworld Alderaan. Once they reach the planets locale, they realize it has been destroyed and are soon caught in the Death Stars tractor beam and brought on board. The action never lets up as our heroes escape with one sacrificing himself to save the others. Amidst the light-saber battles, hair-raising escapes, warriors, droids, heroes villains, we get some of the most spectacular battles ever filmed. The astonishing finale with the raid and destruction of the Death Star still packs an adventurous punch. All of the spectacle would be worthless if we did not care for our characters. Lucas wastes no time in defining his creations, simply drawn people we can instantly identify with.
Luke Skywalker is the naive farm boy in search of adventure (reminiscent of King Arthur’s origins) unaware he is the galaxy’s last hope. Mark Hamill became a household name by becoming heroes to an entire generation of little boys. He gives an honest performance of bold innocence lacking ego, attitude and cynicism, like the film itself, his golly-gee-whiz attitude is one of the films many charms. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in only her second film role gives her character a no-nonsense demeanor, a tough-talking independent spirit that would seem right at home in a Howard Hawks film. A woman of action, she takes charge much to the chagrin of her future lover, Han Solo. Played to absolute perfection by Harrison Ford, in his star-making performance. In the spirit of his character, off-screen, Ford constantly teased Lucas about the scripts intentionally stilted dialogue saying, ‘You can type this shit, but you can’t say it.” It was his churlishness that helped the actor win the role. A rouge, a scoundrel, Han Solo is us, the cynic, the most realistic character in the story and the easiest to identify with. The outlaw, who at the end of the movie reveals he has a heart-of-gold and is not just in it for the money.
British thespian Alec Guinness stars as Ben “Obi Wan” Kenobi, Luke’s mentor and teacher in the ways of the Force. A cross between Gandalf the Wizard and a Samurai warrior, Guinness imbued his character with kindness, dignity and a noble bearing that kept him from becoming a cliche. A performance so fine-tuned, the actor snagged a best supporting acting Oscar nomination.
Even the non-human supporting roles are standouts. A combination of the presence of David Prowse, who is inside the suit and the voice of James Earl Jones, makes Darth Vader one of the most iconic villains in recent screen history. What other character is associated with just the sound of his breathing? Lucas took a gamble by having his droid duo of C-3PO and R2-D2 as the films introductory characters, but it of course paid off. Conceived as the metallic counterparts of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, they quickly bickered their way in the hearts and minds of millions of fans.
Anthony Daniels made the part his own as everyone’s favorite exasperated gay robot. Originally conceived having a New York accent or that of a used car salesman, Lucas relented after a meeting with Daniels. Prissy, neurotic and lacking all sense of irony, Threepio is the perfect foil for outrageous situations; he is the stories Greek chorus. Never just going along for the ride, he kicks and screams everywhere he goes while relating his miserable circumstance. Kenny Baker as the diminutive and squatty droid R2-D2, who shows he has a heart bigger than the Death Star. A character, whose only lines are beeps and buzzes, would become an unlikely hero with his uncanny ability to get his human and non-human friends out of danger.
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca the Wookiee, a cross between a bear and a dog is reminiscent of Aslan, the compassionate lion from C. S. Lewis’s “Narnia” chronicles. Fierce, but loyal, he is an intelligent and emotional creature highly protective of his friends, especially his co-pilot and sidekick, Han Solo.
If the story has an air of familiarity to it, that is intentional as Lucas used literary and mythological archetypes to create his characters. Borrowing heavily from Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Frank Herbert’s “Dune”, and Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte Darthur, set out to create a unique and vivid universe of spaceships, aliens and the force. Although the ingredients are there for some campy misadventures, all of this is done with a dead-serious tone. The intent was to pay homage to the inspirations, not make fun. However, fun is the mission objective, as the film knows nothing else. As serious as it gets, it is never strident and knows exactly what it is.
With a fabulous story and sympathetic characters, the revolutionary special effects create a unique universe of beat-up, used looking spaceships, weird looking aliens, evil villains, bigger-than-life heroes and dogs flying spaceships. Never before has a film been so dependent on the narrative. Not just in its unique characters, but its visual storytelling.
The action is well paced and exciting, and marries well with John Williams magisterial and uplifting score. A glorious mixture of leitmotif - playing various themes and character motifs in different tempos, keys, and using different instruments to accentuate the onscreen action and mood - and bold accompaniment won Williams his third Oscar for scoring.
Its obvious Lucas knew that inanimate objects and sound could tell a story too and lets his production and sound designers help tell his fabulous tale. With no room for nuance or subtlety, the powerful images grab you by reaching deep into a mythic closet
Inspired by a hamburger with an olive next to it, the Millennium Falcon seems to have a story or two of its own to tell. The fastest hunk-a-junk in the galaxy never failed to get her passengers out of harms way. The assault on the Death Star with X-Wings and TIE-Fighters having dogfights in space is the most exciting action sequence ever put to film, a truly innovative experience matched only by its sequels.
Ben Burt., the films sound designer made the universe comes to life with weird alien languages and realistic, weapon and vehicle sounds. Find any kid from that era who did not make the lightsaber noise with their mouth
After years of watching the film repeatedly, its fun to look for all of the films inspirations. Westerns were a huge part of George Lucas’ movie watching diet as child growing up in the 1950’s and early 60’s in Modesto, California. The Tatooine Cantina reflects that, as the intergalactic watering hole is replete with swinging saloon doors and a band. Han Solo, wearing his blaster low on his hip with plenty of attitude looks like something out of Sergio Leone's wild west universe ready to kick Eastwood’s ass! The visual cues are equally inventive. Evidenced in many of the early westerns is showcased throughout Star Wars as Luke Skywalker, the good guy wears white, and Darth Vader, a bad guy wears black. The amoral Stormtroopers wear white and black uniforms. Not just the old serials make their mark, but other films make influential cameos as important plot points. The films first act is taken from The Wizard of Oz. With the droids meeting Luke and then Ben and so on, is exactly how Dorothy meets her friends in Oz. The rest of the film’s plot structure is lifted directly from Akira Kurosawa's “The Hidden Fortress.” The sequence where Luke returns to the ruins of his homestead is identical to the burning farm at the hands of Indians in John Ford’s “The Searchers.”
The most fascinating reference is at the end as the Rebels celebrate their victory, the final medal scene parallels shot-for-shot a sequence in Leni Rufenstahl’s Nazi propaganda film, “Triumph of the Will.” A popcorn movie with a message resonated with audiences of 1977 and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards (including Best Picture, screenplay, and Director), but lost out to Woody Allen's "Annie Hall", for Best Picture and Screenplay. It swept the technical categories- art and set direction, sound, editing, costume design, and John Williams score, a special achievement award for sound effects and visual effects making “Star Wars” THE most successful film of all time, a position it would hold until 1982, being usurped by “E.T. –The Extra Terrestrial.”
Pretty good for a film that no one, including its creator, believed would gross more than $35 million, if that much, let alone, a half billion. Lucas and the studio had so little faith in the film it had no official premiere. It opened slowly, word-of-mouth spread and long lines formed around the block. By the end of summer, it topped the box-office as the most successful film of 1977. At its most dismissive, Star Wars is a pop culture collage of pre-adolescent nostalgia from its creator; an assemblage of spare-parts with no emotional grip. A big, bright shiny toy obsessed more with special effects and less about its human inhabitants. On the surface that would be fair assessment, but dig a little deeper and viewers will discover Lucas’ M.O. From the outset he wanted to create, a modern myth for the current generation of children who he felt lacked fairy tales. With his reworking of the established myths, he did just that. Dressed up in old movie serials and comic books of yore, infused with old-fashion swashbuckling, Lucas injected his own philosophy throughout called- the force. Not so much a religious statement as it was a self statement; accepting personal responsibility, looking into yourself, recognizing your potential and the obstacles that stand in your way is one of the films tenets (and trilogies) underlying themes.
Star Wars is a film that will last forever. For this reviewer, it is my single favorite movie of all time; the entire saga is one of the greatest film -watching experiences I have ever had. Like many of my generation, it grabbed us at an early age and has yet to let go. Like all treasured classics, its story has a universal resonance, its timeless themes of truth and goodness will never cease to be relevant. Despite and because of the spectacle and the simple characters there is purity, an ageless appeal that has and will continue to endure for generations to come.