Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Published April 10, 2015
Film info
- Title Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
- Director George Lucas
- Year 1977
- Run time 2hrs 1m
- Genres Adventure, Action, Science-Fiction
- Tagline A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Luke Skywalker begins a journey that will change the galaxy. Nineteen years after the formation of the Empire, Luke is thrust into the struggle of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived for years in seclusion on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke's Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the beautiful Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader and the evil Empire.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:28 | This scrolling thing is basically just ye olde “previously on…” isn’t it. |
| 3:21 | “We’re doomed,” the big gold robot says. Not a great start. |
| 9:04 | Annoying Mr C by saying this bit is just like Spaceballs. Other way round! |
| 12:48 | There appear to be some minions in the desert. |
| 19:58 | C-3PO is not a nice robot! |
| 21:41 | “She’s beautiful.” A few seconds of hologram, side on. Hmm. |
| 25:27 | You can’t promise based on the harvest, farming isn’t predictable enough for that. |
| 27:23 | Liking the Skywalker sand bunker house. |
| 34:11 | Light sabre! |
| 37:42 | Oh no, space politics. Mind boggling. |
| 38:53 | “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” |
| 47:25 | That was like in Eastenders, when the music stops for them to have a fight. |
| 1:03:43 | DEATH STAR in all caps. |
| 1:11:58 | I can imagine quite a lot of wealth too. |
| 1:24:59 | Some kind of snake predator followed by closing walls is about as nightmarish as scenes get. |
| 1:29:15 | Actual Batman utility belt. |
| 1:41:49 | Harrison Ford is slightly typecast as the grumpy, reluctant hero who is mean to the girl he secretly likes. |
| 1:45:56 | They’re called Red numbers, like the Red Arrows! |
| 1:50:55 | Is it wrong to be slightly impressed Darth Vader has got in the plane himself? |
| 2:00:10 | Totes emosh about R2-D2. |
Thoughts
Well.
Somehow I managed to get to a respectable age without seeing Star Wars. Of course it seeps into the consciousness, and there are a gazillion cultural references to it everywhere, but I had never seen it. I had one scene in my head, where there’s some kind of hole in the sand that sucks people in which I think had to do with Jabba, but I couldn’t have told you much else about the plot or the point of the whole thing.
And I honestly didn’t think I would get to see it, because it didn’t seem like the films would ever come out in digital form. Thankfully, George Lucas and/or Disney have seen the light and it’s all over iTunes this week.
It took a lot of debate to get to the point we could sit down and start watching, particularly with regards to the order they should be consumed in. I can’t tell you how upsetting it is to me to start watching something at Episode 4, but I can grudgingly accept that is the correct place. Except I wish it didn’t say Episode 4 right at the start, and have a big ol’ backstory as though you’ve missed out on a lot of stuff before you’ve even started. ARGH. How did people put up with this when it first came out?
Anyway, on to the film itself. I was a bit concerned I wouldn’t like it, but thankfully those were misplaced fears. It was great! And it was even better for those epic cultural references suddenly making sense. When he said “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” in context, well, I nearly died.
I had a few complaints, the remastered Jabba didn’t seem to fit in the scene with Hans very well, and C-3PO was far more annoying than I’d anticipated. Some of the space politics did go over my head, but for the most part, I thought it was excellent, and I can totally see why it became such a phenomenon.
Revisited - May 2022
In preparation for the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+, and to get myself out of the Marvel obsession that’s taken over recently, I decided to rewatch the original six movies. I think the new series is set in that post-prequel pre-original time period, but still, I opted to go right back to the start of the Star Wars journey.
It’s amazing to me that this film started it all, it’s such a bold and confident piece - so much to take in, so different to anything else that existed then, and with such a strong Princess character at the forefront.
There are odd moments on a rewatch of this, like what Obi-Wan is telling Luke when they first meet, all that stuff about his father that subsequent films prove are all lies… or as he says later ’truth from a certain point of view.’ Sure, sure.
The complaints I made above still stand, C-3PO really does my head in, but overall the score is right and what an adventure this film both is by itself and lends itself as an intro to.
Rating: 4 / 5
