Grade (A)
A film so well done, its impact on film-making could be considered monumental.
“STAR WARS IV: A NEW HOPE” follows a young man as he leaves his planet behind to help a Jedi Knight save the universe from the Empire’s massive space-station with the power to destroy planets in a single blow, while at the same time, trying to save Princess Leia from the powerful Darth Vader.
Where does one even begin when starting to talk about this film. Almost 40 years since its release the ambition and creativity George Lucas took into creating this world is unparalleled. Watching it today, this movie still looks amazing with special-effects that were so ahead of their time they literally created the foundation of tools the film industry would use to build film techniques that could create cinema magic for decades to follow.
The story-line was so well structured the formula would be taught in writing classes to teach young writers the ways of developing characters, expressing inner conflict and dynamics, that could weave a compelling story of any genre, not simply science-fiction. There is never a moment where the out of this world imagination of Lucas is not on full display. He created not just one, but many worlds, with their own backdrops, societies and ways of life and he was also perfectly able to integrate these worlds into a wide reaching universe. The result was pure cinematic magic that to this day is something never to be replicated.
The amount of material alone that Lucas generated to make these worlds and characters all line up, is staggering when you realize it never was intended to make the final script, but to only make the finished story more complete. George Lucas was a visionary for his efforts and the final cut of “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” is his ‘never forgotten’ trophy, one that will imprint in place in film-making forever, as a pioneer.
No matter how many times you watch this film you can still be pulled into the worlds and characters and be swept away in it. The writing was excellent, develops the memorable characters perfectly and is what cemented these icons as just that. There is a swift pace throughout and takes the viewer on a ride that never gets old.
This movie is completely fantasy yet the characters, relationships, turmoil and philosophies are based in reality. It makes for a great blend of something that despite its wild and quirky science-fiction coating, can still be enjoyed by the masses that do not particularly enjoy the genre.
There is a perfect mesh of emotions that complete this intriguing saga. The characters give you a little bit of everything from comical roles such as C-3PO, and R2-D2, lovable characters like the wookiee Chewbacca, ones you root for like Luke Skywalker, charming heroes such as Han Solo and a villain that rivals some of the best in Darth Vader. The excellence in this movie is very high, this film took the world by storm and holds up over time and this will always be a classic in film history.
Time: 121 min
MPAA Rating: PG (For science-fiction violence and brief mild language)