[azerty]

Star Wars is and always was the best film of the series. Look at it this way: Had any one of the other 5 films in the series been released first, none of the rest of them would have been made.

If you say, "wait, that's not fair, because with 'Empire Strikes Back' the audience needed the previous movie..." or something along those lines, I would agree with you - but that is exactly what elevates Star Wars above the rest of them. It stands alone as a kick ass piece of cinema, while simultaneously leaving the door open to a sequel. However, if no next movie had been forthcoming, nobody would have felt jipped. Say that about any other film in the series that you want to elevate as 'the best. Star Wars needs nothing from anywhere. No sequel is required to 'wrap things up', no prequel is required to 'set up the situations'. The characters themselves are mostly dynamic - Luke goes from hick to Hero, Han goes from mercenary to hero, and I guess you can point out that Ben turns into Obi Wan. Sure, Leia and the robots are stagnant, but so what?

People have started to try and nitpick Star Wars in the now, in an effort to divert recent criticism away from 'The Empire Strikes Back'.

"Look," they seem to say, "you can nitpick any movie if you try hard enough." Maybe, but you can't nitpick the original to the lower level of the rest of the films.

What is there really to dislike and nitpick? Why did the rebels shut down the main reactor in the opening chase? Better that, than be destroyed. Why entrust the extremely valuable plans to a little robot? The Princess was grasping at straws, certainly, but things were desperate. What was her bullshit plan? I assume to get the plans off the ship in the hopes that Artoo would somehow manage to find Obi Wan Kenobi. If Artoo couldn't find Obi Wan, then finding practically anybody else would be better than giving them back to the Imperials. I got the impression from the movie that most people were anti-empire, the same way most German's were anti Gestapo in World War 2.

Why does Leia sometimes have a British accent? Assume that the has two personas - Official Princess Performing Her Duty (British), and Human Princess As Herself (American).

Is it lucky that the droids were found by jawas? Not really - the jawas seemed to spend their days looking for metal in the desert. Is it lucky that the droids ended up with Luke? Sure it was, as was Luke's stumbling on the Princess's message. However, without Luke or the message, there would be no story.

Why did Obi Wan change his name slightly? For purposes of the plot, old Ben has to be somewhat mysterious and incognito, but Luke has to be able to work out who he is. If you really need a legitimate reason for the name change, how about 'The ignorant hicks on Tatooine can't pronounce Obi-wan, so he is known as old Ben and can't be bothered to correct the dumbshit locals?

Why does Luke express an interest to get off Tatooine, and then balk when he is given the chance to escape? I suppose the same sort of thing could be said of Solo - he said was only in it for the money, but he came back to help anyway. In guess nobody knows what they want until they are actually up against reality . In defense of the Luke situation, it gave the plot the impetus of dead family and the burned out farm, (those smoking skeletons are still the most hard core 5 seconds in the entire 13 hours of the saga), and opened his eyes to the reality of the war. Everybody is involved, whether they choose to be or not.

Why so many Imperial Cruisers around an insignificant hick planet? They are waiting to get those plans. Why would anybody live on Tatooine anyway? Hell, why would anyone live in Phoenix, Lower Hut, Broken Hill, etc? Why is the whole planet of Tatooine a desert? Because it is supposed to be a alien planet and be strange (and boring!).

A quick change of subject - Star Wars is the only movie in the saga with self imposed technological limitations. Examples are big ships in orbit, and smaller ships as surface to space transports. Small ships with no hyperdrive. Ships seem to actually take time to plot their courses through hyperspace, and seem to actually take time to get across the galaxy to their destination. I kind of like that.

Some of the best dialog in the movie is between when the Falcon comes out of hyperspace until it gets sucked into the Death Star. From the mention of charts and asteroids, the signal indicating the fighter is coming at them, the discussion about space convoys and deep space, arguing about the impossibility of building a space station the size of a Death Star, to the realization that the tractor beam has got them and Obi Wan suddenly shows his wisdom, it's all right there. The Star Wars universe becomes momentarily more believable and legitimate.

Why doesn't Leia scream and rent her hair when Alderaan is destroyed? The same reason that decent British chaps merely think it's a damned nuisance when some catastrophe happens. Not everybody makes a fuss. What would the point be?

Why do 4 Tie fighters attack as the heroes are leaving the Death Star? Well, besides the fact that it looked super cool and was fun, I assume that those 4 tie fighters were constantly patrolling outside the death star anyway (we saw them every time we saw the death star, remember), and attacked without orders. No others were launched. Darth and Tarkin wanted Leia to go to the secret base, and assumed she wouldn't if she was suspicious as to an easy escape, suspecting a tracking device. The tie fighters were supposed to add a bit of realism to the subterfuge. Naturally they didn't know she planned to go straight to the base anyway. Of course there was a risk of destroying the Falcon, but it had just outwitted 3 Imperial cruisers off Tatooine, so the risk was pretty small.

Why did Leia go straight to the rebel base if she knew they were being tracked? Having the Death Star come to the rebels was easier than trying to hunt through the entire galaxy for it 6 months from now. The Death star was operational and had just blown up a planet. She wanted it destroyed as soon as possible, and not have it floating around blowing up other innocent planets. Of course, this is also back when "small fighters couldn't get deep into space on their own". So we are back to the first answer again. Also, if the Imperials has time to examine their station, they might find all the weaknesses and fix them. The attack had to be done immediately.

Why is Luke allowed to fly? Luke claims to be a pilot ,and there is an extra ship, you can either put the pilot in the ship and hope for the best, or have one weapon less in the fight. World War One - plenty of guys going to Flanders with little flight experience and zero combat experience. It's war, matey.

Why the strategy in the trench? The rebels strategy in the trench wasn't bad; send one guy down the trench fast, with a couple of guys behind him going slowly to keep the distance between the enemy and the bomber as great as possible. The only other option was to wait for the enemy fighters to drop in behind the bomber and then drop in behind the enemy fighters and everybody shoots everybody down. But the point of the mission was to give the bombers time to fire the torpedo, not just to shoot down tie fighters. A lot of guys were going to be sacrificed so that one guy could fire that torpedo, no matter what strategy they used. Haven't any of you guys heard of Barnes Wallace and the Dambusters raid of World War Two? Same thing.

Why isn't the guy from the rebel base more pissed off when Luke switches off his targeting computer? They are all professionals, and keep cool and in control at all times. (Like Porkins, who dies without making a fuss)(or the "stay on target" guy, who doesn't make a fuss either). Wedge already said that hitting the target was "impossible, even for a computer". Luke not only claimed that it was in fact possible, he claimed to have done a similar thing before. Maybe Rebel base guy remembered that. Anyway, Luke needed to use the Force to round off the story, and to show that he is starting to be a Jedi Knight.

Why didn't Chewie get a medal? Luke and Han rescued the Princess, and Luke destroyed to death star, with Han helping out. Chewie did jack, except freak out in the garbage masher.

Anyway, it is in keeping with the racist Star Wars world that droids and aliens are inferior and can be shot in bars without repercussions, be called a "thing" to their faces, made to wait outside, forced to wear restraining bolts and be zapped when they act up, told to "shut up", be bought and sold by jawas, can't go into escape pods because they are without value, and can have their memories erased at any time. "Nobody worries about upsetting a droid". Probably nobody worries about upsetting aliens either.

Star Wars is a fantastic film. It had a fantastic 'feel' to it. The ships seemed truly massive, the distances across the galaxy vast, the planets strangely unpopulated, the technology bizarre. (like the super advanced Holograms, yet with the picture quality of a poorly tuned 1950's TV set.) As far as I can remember, it received nothing but rave reviews from every direction, and from all ages. It was so popular that it played in cinemas non-stop for over a year.

None of the other films even come close to that.

[Revan-47]

Amen, this needs to be recognized more often. What was the first movie i popped in after seeing RotS? A new hope. Watching this movie for me is like going back to my childhood. Its like watching the xwings lock s foils in attack position while simultaneously doing the same with my toy x wing. THis is the essence of Star Wars, and all hero/fantasy films. Old teacher takes on a young hero after his relatives die, and he goes to rescue a princess, with the help of a scoundrel. Add some comic relief robots and an evil villain and the story is complete. Its strange to think about that star wars has become such a household name, that nobody even thinks about the title. Imagine sitting in your living room and you hear the words STAR WARS. You think, its about a war in space... wars of the stars. everything. Now what do you think? Lightsabers? goofy aliens? yes, and that my friends is sad.

[Zatoichi]

I agree with you, but I must say one thing.

I got the impression from the movie that most people were anti-empire, the same way most German's were anti Gestapo in World War 2.

AHAhahahaha! ooh my insides are busting. Yeah, most of them were actively trying to stop the Holocaust too. I think you need to get some of your facts a little straighter too. Maybe find some interviews of people who had gone through that time that were not persecuted, or part of the gov. or military.

Many claimed that they somehow couldn't even remember (or something like that) those things that took place. Psycologists even came up with a brand new term to explain the phenomonem (can't spell). Besides the ones that were being persecuted by the Gestapo and such, I'd wager most weren't bothered. That is what nationalism on such a level can do to a large group's collective thinking.

[bad attempt at humor disclaimer] Maybe I am stupid and wrong (or just running my mouth), but I have held a great interest in World War 2 for awihle. I thought I picked up at least some useful information. [/bad attempt at humor disclaimer]

[Despondent]

Great post, Azerty. Most enjoyable.

[azerty]

Three more reasons why Star Wars stands alone at the top of the heap...

This is the only film where you get to go into hyperspace.

This is the only film where you get to come out of hyperspace flying down a tube of crinkly tinfoil.

And MOST IMPORTANT, this is the only film where the lightsabers actually look real. You can actually see the blades rotating and shimmering with potent energy. When Luke is playing with his in Obi Wan's house, you can tell it is humming with power in his hand, and you can SEE it jump when he turns it on. You can feel the gyroscopic effect of the blade as he waves it around because it actually exists. In this movie alone a ightsaber is a dangerous and cool weapon... in the rest of them it is just a glowing toy.

[diligent_d]

I watched it the other day seeing as I got the DVD's for Christmas. EVERY single new thing Lucas added (save for the Dewbacks in the desert) detracted so much from the original movie. Nothing he added was any good. All the added CG in Mos Eisley was such a damn shame.

[Casual Fan]

I agree with everything Azerty wrote.

Its not often you can say that about a long post on an internet message board.

[Gobbler]

And MOST IMPORTANT, this is the only film where the lightsabers actually look real. You can actually see the blades rotating and shimmering with potent energy. When Luke is playing with his in Obi Wan's house, you can tell it is humming with power in his hand, and you can SEE it jump when he turns it on. You can feel the gyroscopic effect of the blade as he waves it around because it actually exists. In this movie alone a ightsaber is a dangerous and cool weapon... in the rest of them it is just a glowing toy.

Well yeah, Luke's first experience with his lightsaber seemed quite real, but damn, I could have sworn that somewhere in the middle of the fight between Kenobi and Vader, Ben's lightsaber suddenly becomes just a little plastic épée... that somehow killed the whole atmosphere...

[Black Dog]

I was looking for this post and I found it. This is just about what I think about A New Hope too. It IS believable, and the plastic lightsaber scene doesn't ruin it either, not for me. The fact that it stops being rotoscoped and still glows at the tip makes it even MORE real in some ways. At least it is actually there and glows and spins. It's not just a stick somebody painted green later on.

Azerty is right, IMHO, Luke needed to blow up the Death Star with the Force to round off the story, and to show that he is starting to be a Jedi Knight. Just like Solo needed to come back to round of his character too. This movie is good, and the point is that if it all didn't happen just the way it did happen they never would have made a movie about it.

[SithAvenger]

Azerty, what a great post. Congratulations!

[Otal Nimrodi]

Bravo.

[barend]

I agree with you, but I must say one thing.
AHAhahahaha! ooh my insides are busting. Yeah, most of them were actively trying to stop the Holocaust too. I think you need to get some of your facts a little straighter too. Maybe find some interviews of people who had gone through that time that were not persecuted, or part of the gov. or military.

Many claimed that they somehow couldn't even remember (or something like that) those things that took place. Psycologists even came up with a brand new term to explain the phenomonem (can't spell). Besides the ones that were being persecuted by the Gestapo and such, I'd wager most weren't bothered. That is what nationalism on such a level can do to a large group's collective thinking.

[bad attempt at humor disclaimer] Maybe I am stupid and wrong (or just running my mouth), but I have held a great interest in World War 2 for awihle. I thought I picked up at least some useful information. [/bad attempt at humor disclaimer]

your running your mouth.

those who knew enough and cared were silenced, others lived in fear, and others accepted their surroundings, but most people didn't know what what was going on.

unlike today.

the terrorvision in is too thin to take seriously, but most people accept that the US military are in country different to the one they claimed they were being attacked by, and most people pretend to swallow it all becuase no one wants to admit out loud that they're happy for civilians in another part of the world to get hammered so that their governement can secure oil supplies for a little longer.
even to a lesser extent this whole reality TV and top 40 music conrolling what we get to hear while independant art is crushed...

i never hear anyone but me complain, becuase people are fucking insects and as long as there's plenty of shit, sugar and blood to go around you all keep your mouths shut.

attacking german civilians under that rule is like a crow calling a leopard black.

nothing changes all people are scum, but lay off the germans for christ sake it's really getting old.

[miladyblue]

Azerty, wonderful post!

I was 11 when Star Wars (Not Episode 4, Not A New Hope, STAR WARS, damn it!) came out.

It is the first movie I ever remember taking me out of the mundane world, into something much bigger, and brighter. It is where I first thought I was in love - Harrison Ford growling, "Han Solo, Captain of the Millenium Falcon," is STILL one of the most incredibly sexy things I have ever heard.

Up to that point, I thought Luke was cute, but from that moment on - "Luke who?"

I have often likened it to the first REAL jump start to my imagination - Up until that point, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Now, I did. I wanted to write, and come up with something like this. I wanted people to stand up as a crowd, and cheer as heartily for something I had created. Yeah, I wanted to be "Georgia" Lucas.

Sure, there are those detractors that say that it was nothing but a collection of cliches, but somehow, it worked. It came together, and that is due not only to the script, which did not get into overly complicated plot points, and George Lucas's original statement that special effects were to help a story, not take over. The casting helped as well - they knew their parts, and just played them. The acting was not exactly top notch, but then again, it was about a million light years from the stiff, uncomfortable acting in the PT.

It is hard to articulate exactly what Star Wars meant to me, then or now.


I saw the special editions, and wondered "WTF?!?!!?!?!?" I got into an argument with a fanboy friend, who argued passionately in favor of these changes. I finally lost my cool and said that it was the equivalent of some tacky idiot taking it upon him/herself that the Mona Lisa would be greatly improved with a makeover - modern upswept 'do, new makeup, and some color for gawdsakes!

[Jedi_1138]

Great post, Barend!
Trust me, you're not the only one who complains. And I just can hope the ones who do grow. It's more difficult nowdays to not-to-know. (Or at least to pretend to.)

I think fear is a key to this - the very embodiment of 'fear leads to the dark side.'
And, yes, the distraction. It is sooo much easier to care about "American Idol' than to think about motives and backgrounds of politics and military operations. What gives me the wiggs, though, is that many young Americans die and nobody (yet) seems to ask if their sacrificy is justified.

However, regarding the movie again. They're not chlichees (sp?). They're archetypes, and I think there's a difference. We wellcome the story, because we're familar with the characters (exept Leia; she's anything but a damsel in distress!) but yet they live in a universe 'far, far away.' Something is so familar with them, and yet they're so ailien.
We're carefully introduced to the background of that world, and it is highly entertaining. The effects are great but needed to tell the story, not the other way around. Nothing ever seems forced, there's a natural flaw in the story arc. And GL makes the most of an 'alien' eviroment (the binary sun setting) and the music backs all of that up very nicely.
While I don't think that the acting is spectacular (except maybe Sir Alec Guiness) it isn't unbeliveable, bad or stiff either. You can easily identify with the characters and like them. Or like to hate them, but I guess that depends on your point of view.
It is a new exciting universe we all would like to be part of, and there so much reasons to like that movie.
If I had to pick a single movie of the series, Star Wars would sureley be it.

And regarding the lightsabers...I think all of us new that they had 'real' lightsabers while shooting, right? Meaning they had props that actually glowed used for the shooting. I am sorry, but I actually think the rotoscope effect added to the movies. Now they could use 'sticks' and really go for a rehearshed fight. The lightsabers they used in Star Wars (or ANH, if you must) broke to easily to make for a good fighting scene. But maybe that's only me.

However...Star Wars definetely is a 'classic movie...before the dark times...before the pequell nonsense..."

[Moyale]

Mr. Azerty, you are right. This is the one true movie (to quote Gandalf)

I watched the original and the new version simultaneously the other day (parts of it at least), and I have mixed feelings about everything. I like the original original of course, but I like

The sunset over artoo in the valley

the stars in the sky with the Jawas and the sandcrawler

Threepio pointing out that the Sandcrawler has stopped

Obiwan's new house

The ships rising from Mos Eisley

the new attack on the Death Star

but I don't like

the new sandcrawler shots

the stormtroopers at the escape pod on Tatooine

the new Mos Eisley

the new creatures in the cantina

The Greedo scene

The Jabba scene

the new Falcon Shots

the new x-wings taking off

the stupid ring explosion

That's off the top of my head right now, but the new version isn't all bad. The attack on the death star really has been improved enormously. This is the single instance where I belive Lucas and his crap about what he originally wanted to achive but didn't have the technology for.