Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
As it has been announced since the Disney acquisition of LucasFilm Ltd, this will, apparently, will not be the chronological end of the Star Wars movie saga after all. A sequel trilogy following the exploits of the original cast is on track for a 2015 release helmed by J.J. Abrams. What will come of a new trilogy remains to be seen, but for the original trilogy, it ended on a very good note even if it lacked a little something. I think this is the one movie of the original trilogy that has declined over time for me. There is so much depth and peril in The Empire Strikes Back that this movie feels a little starved for that, on the whole. Yet, it is still a highly entertaining, rousing, and powerful film where it truly counts. And no, I’ve never had a negative disposition towards the Ewoks. I certainly understand the issue people have with their part in the film, but it’s never really bothered me. So, let us journey back to a galaxy far, far away one more time.
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) must travel to Tatooine to free Han Solo (Harrison Ford) by infiltrating the wretched stronghold of Jabba the Hutt, the galaxy’s most loathsome gangster. Once reunited, the Rebels team up with tribes of Ewoks to combat the Imperial forces on the forest moon of Endor. Meanwhile the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) and Darth Vader conspire to turn Luke to the dark side, and young Skywalker is determined to rekindle the spirit of the Jedi within his father. The Galactic Civil War culminates in the ultimate showdown, as the Rebel forces gather to attack the seemingly defenseless and incomplete second Death Star in the battle that will determine the fate of the galaxy.
This was actually the first Star Wars movie I saw theatrically, and I was all of three years old at the time. All I remember from the experience was getting scared by the loud noises and the scared visage of Anakin Skywalker. At that age, you can hardly blame me. This film does follow up rather nicely on the cliffhanger plot threads of The Empire Strikes Back. Scenes of Luke visiting Yoda and Obi-Wan are given substantial weight and the comfort of time to play out with importance. Many were in disbelief at Darth Vader’s revelation in the previous film, and they required reliable confirmation. There were no two better characters for that than these Jedi Masters. This is the main crux of Luke’s storyline as he struggles with trying to pull his father back from the Dark Side, and it provides the weight of emotion throughout the picture. It is a little unfortunate that some scenes were cut from the beginning of the film that would have made this a far more constant and overarching element of the film. As it is, none of this is addressed until forty minutes into the movie in favor of the action set pieces of Han’s rescue from Jabba’s Palace.
Never get me wrong. The Jabba’s Palace scenes are expertly done featuring some of the highest grade puppetry in live action films. CGI has never done Jabba the Hutt justice over the original tangible puppet by Phil Tippett of ILM’s Creature Shop. The palace scenes subject audiences to an eclectic menagerie of fantastical aliens that demonstrate a fertile imagination and talented ambition. While everyone holds the Cantina scene from the first film as the groundbreaker, George Lucas truly made this the new gold standard, and achieved something amazing with his dedicated team at Industrial Light & Magic. The atmosphere of the sets is almost classic noir with the smoke all around in this den of seediness and crime. The Rancor scene, matte lines or no, is still an impressive piece of work that has always been an action highlight for me. This is a great example of 1980s fantasy film visual effects where more organic, large scale creatures were integrated into live action. And yes, indeed, I do vastly prefer the original musical numbers by the Max Reebo Band. I am reviewing the original theatrical versions for a distinct reason here beyond just the fact that those are the ones I grew up with and fell in love with. Overall, this entire section of the movie is amazingly well done in every aspect, but unlike the previous movies, it takes quite a while for the story, action, and drama to pick up. Even with Empire, while it didn’t have a rousing opening, it still had danger and peril to create dramatic momentum. Return of the Jedi feels like it lacks an element of excitement and momentum from its outset.
The one thing that I really have come to notice lately about the structure of the film is a marked lack of intercutting storylines. The previous two films used this story structure technique to maintain a tight rhythm and up tempo pace. This made it feel like plots were progressing, and characters were converging. With Return of the Jedi, there’s barely any such regular intercutting until the final third of the film. Anything we do get before then is slowly plotted. The entire Tatoonie sequence, which runs thirty minutes long, is presented without a single cutaway or linking element to anything else in the film. It runs along as its own isolated adventure. While it is smartly written, beautifully executed, and tightly edited, it is this structural issue that makes the film feel too compartmentalized. There are a lot of long sequences in this film that tend to drag the pace of it down, but in the least, they have character building and storyline progressing purposes. Still, maybe it’s just the familiarity of time, but that more deliberate pace seems to work towards the more somber tone for the end of a trilogy where character and story reach their ultimate juncture. They take on a far more important role than action, which is commendable. I’ve felt that the film has lacked something poignant or substantive for the longest time, but maybe it’s not so much an issue of what’s not there but how what is there is presented in terms of structure and rhythm. Just about everything that needs to be there is there, but maybe it could’ve used some greater peril to give it more punch.
I think I have to agree with Harrison Ford and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan in that the film really needed a genuine low point. Both of them firmly believed that Han Solo should have died to give the film that grave sense of peril and consequence. This is probably the film where Solo has the least substantive things to do with no arc to traverse, and he does seem like he’s more just along for the ride instead of having much poignancy to the plot turns. I’m certainly not saying that I would have wanted to see Han die, but I understand where Ford and Kasdan were both coming from. In A New Hope, there were the deaths of Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen, and Ben Kenobi to give the film peril and gravity, and in The Empire Strikes Back, there were low points abound creating an emotional contrast and sense of real danger for the characters. Luke surely has his dark moments in his confrontation with Vader and the Emperor, but they only resonate for about a moment. The triumph of the heroes would hold more weight if we had felt some strong sacrifice or loss from them.
Now, there is a question of who really directed the bulk of this film. While Richard Marquand is the credited director, many claim George Lucas was far more hands-on throughout production as many of the actors did not respond well to Marquand. To me, there doesn’t appear to be any noticeable evidence to this effect. This is a well-directed movie. The Empire Strikes Back is a brilliant movie in all aspects for many reasons. With Jedi, any problems it does have are really not a fault of direction, just a slower pace that may not have given quite as much prominent screentime to the Vader-Luke plot. What we get of it is substantive and right-on-the-mark, but there’s not much thematic material in the film beyond this. Rescuing Han from Jabba, or running through the forest with Ewoks is just fun adventure stuff. The crux of this saga at this point is what is transpiring both internally and externally amongst Luke and Vader, and with so much meaty depth built-up between them in The Empire Strikes Back, I would’ve liked to have more of that spread throughout this movie. I would’ve liked to see more of that internal conflict show through and be dealt with. Ultimately, the film feels a little too light too often for what dramatic weight it is building up to in order to conclude the trilogy.
Regardless, this film features some of the best action scenes in the whole saga. The rescue from Jabba’s sail barge is a rousing, fun, swashbuckling adventure piece where everyone gets their moment of heroism and excitement. It’s great to see the full team of heroes together fighting against a large force, and faring better than they ever have before. This triumph is a great counterbalance to how we left them at the end of the previous movie. It also builds up Luke as we know he was the architect of this plan, and the carefully crafted quality of it all demonstrates his maturing role as a leader and Jedi Knight beautifully. The speeder bike chase is still fantastic making fine use of blue screen effects and optical composites to create this dangerous, high speed sequence. And I hold the entire space battle sequence as the best I’ve ever seen. What impresses me is the depth of elements piled into this energetic and dynamic battle above the moon of Endor. Yet, they never clutter the frame, only add to the scope and visual storytelling of this climax. The technical achievement of this sequence is amazing in the age of optical composites, and it still holds up solidly to any CGI creation made today. This is further reinforced by this film’s Academy Award win for special achievement in visual effects. Beyond just that, it has great tension, danger, and stellar dog fighting. The entire three-way intercut climax gives everyone something purposeful to do, and no one ever gets lost in the mix. Nor does it bog it down with any extraneous story elements. It’s all evenly balanced and clearly conveyed to an audience. It’s the most hair-raising, exhilarating, and epic climax in the saga, to date.
Now, again, I’ve never had an issue with the Ewoks. I just always accepted them. If I have any qualm about Endor is that it never feels sufficiently alien. At least Tatoonie had alien creatures and felt like a full barren world, much the same for Hoth. Meanwhile, Dagobah was lush with its own vibrant, otherworldly life. Endor just feels too terrestrial with no unique personality. There are times when it has a nice, moody feel, but that occurs in scenes that were surely shot on a soundstage. There’s good production design with the Ewok village and a few nice matte paintings, but overall, Endor is a bit of a visual letdown.
The final confrontation with Luke, Darth Vader, and the Emperor is fantastically crafted and executed. I like that the lightsaber battle is almost ancillary to the emotional and psychological struggle playing out between these three characters. As I’ve mentioned in a previous Star Wars movie review, the lightsaber battles are really a plot device to motivate characters and events forward. The action is not really the focus, it’s the character interactions and dynamics. The temptation from the Emperor is masterful and devilish, and Ian McDiarmid plays it so damn good. He never treads the line of over the top acting. He keeps the Emperor a very real and frightening threat. He has all this power over so many, and he barely has to raise a finger to exercise his will. His power is in McDiarmid’s dark mystique and subtle, brilliant villainy. What we see in this climax is a seduction to the Dark Side done correctly. A little push here and there, edging Luke towards the unleashing of his emotions shows the cunning psychological manipulation that the Emperor possesses. The symbolism we get when Luke finally lashes out and severs Vader’s hand is just brilliant. The strength of Luke’s character and belief in his father shines through with inspiring honor as he throws down his arms and refuses to give in to the Dark Side. He’s able to resist the temptation because he is not a selfish person. There are good people that he believes in, and those that believe in him. I like that even Obi-Wan tells Luke that his emotions do him credit. Coupled with his maturity, Luke’s loyalty and emotional connections can lead him to the right decisions where we later saw that Anakin’s more intense, selfish emotions were his downfall. I also like the motif of Luke’s attire. In the first movie, it’s all white, in the next, it’s gray, and in Return of the Jedi, he’s all in black. It shows a certain spectral progression for him, but ultimately, his journey is not towards darkness but bringing his father out of it.
The maturing of Luke Skywalker is one of the beauties of this trilogy for me. Mark Hamill matures with the character from an eager young man desiring adventure to a far wiser, confident, and intelligent adult. Luke’s learned a lot from his first encounter with Vader. He’s no longer impatience and impulsive. He makes calm, calculated, and selfless decisions towards ends he believes in with his heart and mind. He’s more than just a respectable leader at this point, he’s a true Jedi that has taken the best qualities of those that came before and of himself. Each film evolved Luke Skywalker another step forward which resulted in this wonderful, noble, and honorable hero. Mark Hamill brings a fresh strength and air of subtle mystique to the role in this film. He taps a little into what Alec Guiness had in the original Star Wars, but with the added aspect of optimism and hope. He has not been weathered by defeat, but instead, made stronger and more decisive by it. I think very highly of Mark Hamill’s acting talents, and I am excited to see what he will be able to achieve in this new sequel trilogy.
The ultimate pay-off in this movie is the beautiful way that Vader redeems himself. I’m not going to analyze this in relation to the prequels. I’m going to say that this has always been one of my favorite moments of the saga. The silent contemplation, the internal struggle you can read so deeply into Vader’s scuffed up mask while Luke is on the verge of death from the Emperor’s Force lighting is just brilliant and gorgeous. Vader doesn’t have to say a word, his actions speak emphatically for him. The unmasking of Anakin Skywalker is beautifully touching, and the funeral pyre has always been a beloved moment for me. John Williams’ score is amazingly heartfelt and wonderful here. I also love the chorus-backed score in the climax. His work is fantastic throughout this film, as always. This saga would lose something immensely profound if John Williams had not been involved, and I hope that the sequel trilogy will maintain the integrity of his musical brilliance.
There is a great deal of good content in Return of the Jedi, but I wish the film had a stronger opening to pull me in more. That’s what usually turns me off, initially, to the movie. It takes a while for it to get exciting, much longer than most of the Star Wars films, but once it gets there, it’s great stuff! This film has all the elements it needed, and delivers spectacularly on the plot threads and conflicts established in The Empire Strikes Back. In the end, I do wish there was a little more meat on the bone to bring those aspects of character depth and conflict more into the forefront of the film instead of lingering in the background for most of the runtime. Regardless, this is a fine conclusion to the trilogy that does satisfy on many levels, especially on fresh action scenes and emotional pay-offs. Despite any shortcomings, this is still a pure, fun, and exciting Star Wars adventure that you cannot go without experiencing!
Star Wars (1977)
In 1977, an extraordinary motion picture was released that changed filmmaking forever. It captured the imagination of millions across the world, and has remained a magical and beloved treasure of cinema for more than three decades. That film was Star Wars, and I am going to share my love and admiration for this film as it was originally released. Before a mess of mixed quality digital effects were inserted, and other arguable changes were incorporated into the context of this masterpiece, there was the film I grew up with in the age of VHS and cable television. This film was a major part of my childhood, and I could not even estimate how many times I have watched it. This was the first program recorded onto my family’s first VHS tape from when it aired on ShowTime. So, is it any surprise that this is one of the most important films of my life?
In a galaxy far, far away, a brave rebellion fights against a tyrannical Galactic Empire. When the ship of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is attacked and boarded by Imperials troops, she hides secret plans to the Empire’s planet destroying space station – the Death Star – into the memory banks of an Astrodroid – R2-D2. Along with his fellow droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), the two escape to the barren desert planet of Tatoonie where they come under the ownership of Owen & Beru Lars and their farm boy nephew Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Luke yearns for a life away from this dead end planet, but soon, he finds adventure when R2-D2 seeks out Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi (Alec Guiness). Princess Leia recorded a holographic message for the former Jedi Knight and General of the Old Republic to help her in delivering the Death Star plans safely into the hands of the rebellion. After securing passage aboard the smuggling freighter the Millennium Falcon by way of the cavalier rogue Han Solo and his wooly alien co-pilot Chewbacca, Luke, Ben, and the droids must evade Imperial troops and starships to rescue the Princess before she is executed by the vile Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and the powerful Lord Darth Vader. Along this journey, Kenobi begins to teach Luke the ways of The Force, a mystical energy field that surrounds all living things, binding the galaxy together, and may hold the power to defeating the Empire.
I believe what captured my young mind with this film is the level of wonder and fun. Having being born in 1980, I only lived in the era following the innovations of Star Wars, but that doesn’t lessen the amazing cinematic visual brilliance of this film. I didn’t see a widescreen version until the films started airing on the SciFi Channel in the mid-1990s. So, that’s saying something special about Star Wars. The quality of everything is so great with dramatic angles, dynamic special effects, and fascinating locations that even only having half the frame still brought massive impact to my eyes. Just based on nostalgia alone, I can still watch those old grainy VHS tapes in pan-and-scan for that youthful feeling of watching these films on some quiet afternoon in the 1980s. Of course, no presentation rivals that of the full widescreen aspect ratio. The compositions are immensely intelligent and rock solid presenting a film that shows it has a solid foundation in the technical qualities of smart filmmaking.
Simply everything about this film inspired my creativity throughout the years. George Lucas was an ambitious visionary who knew what he wanted to achieve, but had to do some building to make it happen. Industrial Light & Magic was created with a slew of young and passionate people who wanted to create innovative special effects. They had to build the equipment with some of the first computer controlled cameras to do the blue screen visual effects shots, and basically, they had to invent new ways of doing this type of work. Watching documentary footage of them doing all of this is immensely historic, and it looks like the pioneers of the industry taking those first major steps forward into a grander future. Every ounce of sweat, hard work, and long hours paid off. This is one of the absolute finest special effects pictures ever made. While there had been other films that had done amazing outer space-based visual effects prior to this, they had never done anything as exciting or dynamic as was done here. The fast paced motion of ships flying by in dogfights had never been seen before, and made this an intense feast for the eyes. The scope of these effects were awe-inspiring such as the opening shot of the Rebel Blockade Runner being pursued by the relatively massive Star Destroyer, or the Millennium Falcon’s approach to the gigantic Death Star. These filmmakers knew how to convey size, weight, and scope with these shots to give them a believable reality. The laser blasts throughout the film, accompanied by the amazing sound design, are vibrant and intense. They always convey power and danger. Of course, while the lightsaber rotoscope effects were still a little rough, one could not help but be fascinated and enthralled by their appearance.
In the late 1970s, films were rarely using traditional orchestral scores since disco and synthesizers were so popular. However, George Lucas knew that something big, epic, and rich was needed to make this a timeless adventure film. John Williams had already worked with George’s friend Steven Spielberg on the brilliant blockbuster Jaws, and it was Steven’s suggestion to employ Williams for this task. In retrospect, there surely was no other way to go. Star Wars is filled with iconic elements, but those gorgeous, masterful themes of John Williams go above and beyond anything else. Williams has since defined what a rousing adventurous film score is, and that began here. He captured every single emotion in this film from big and exciting to low and menacing to quiet and meaningful to magical and mysterious to deeply touching. Star Wars itself does touch on a wide range of emotions and dramatic tones, and every single one is given such depth and soaring richness with this score. The iconic scene of Luke peering out at the twin suns of Tatoonie yearning for something greater than himself is wonderfully punctuated with a powerful rendition of the main theme. The flourishes Williams adds throughout just bring such beautiful life to every moment striking the perfect chords every time. The musical brilliance of John Williams is lushly on display here, and he more than earned the Academy Award for Best Original Score here. It’s one of the finest achievements of musical art ever committed to film, and he would still be able to build upon and surpass himself later on in this trilogy.
I believe the casting of Alec Guiness was an invaluable one. He instilled such a wonderful depth of wisdom, warmth, wit, and world weariness to Ben Kenobi. Guiness carries a sense of history about him that makes Kenobi fascinating and intriguing. When Ben speaks of the Old Republic, there’s a heartbreaking weight behind it. You feel the burden of history upon Kenobi’s heart and mind. While Lucas had not yet concretely decided upon the back story of Star Wars as we’ve come to know it, you can surely read all that we do know into Guiness’ subtle, intelligent, and emotional performance. His is one of the most powerful and textured performances of the entire saga. He easily endears himself to an audience with his compassion and good nature. It doesn’t take long for Ben’s wisdom and caring manner to influence Luke. While the young Skywalker could still be a little brash, the trust is built right from the start, and it’s very much the tempered wisdom of Obi-Wan Kenobi that guides Luke down the right path.
Now, I have a lot of respect for Mark Hamill as an actor. Seeing how he grew with the character of Luke Skywalker is a remarkable achievement that I don’t think enough people give him credit for. Here, he starts out as an eager young man who is in awe of the wide, adventurous galaxy out there, and frustrated with being stuck on this barren world on the outer rim of that galaxy. Through Luke, an audience is introduced to and experiences the excitement, danger, and wonder of this galaxy far, far away. Mark Hamill brings that fresh faced youthful energy and desire to the role. He feels natural and authentic in everything he puts into the role. He embodies the wide-eyed and open minded innocence of Luke Skywalker perfectly. Some have called Hamill whiny as Luke. They’re not looking close enough at what he’s doing opposite such great talents as Alec Guiness and Harrison Ford. I like the banter between Luke and Han. The eager, young kid creating friction with the weathered ego of Solo results in some great funny moments that work very well. Luke has no problem challenging Han’s ego, and eventually, I think Han comes to respect that spirit in him.
Of course, no one else could’ve portrayed Han Solo as well as Harrison Ford. He brought a cool swagger and sex appeal which really popped off the screen. The laid back confidence and charisma made the character feel seedy and dangerous. He’s a guy who could casually fry an alien bounty hunter in a shady cantina without hesitation or breaking a sweat. He doesn’t wait for Greedo to make a move. He intends on shooting him right from the start, and only strings Greedo along until the moment is right. He’s a definite rogue out for himself only, along with his loyal Wookie friend Chewbacca, but I love seeing how that loner attitude slowly softens as he starts to care for Luke. Ford nicely shows that transition from rugged, egotistical outlaw to reliable, hopeful friend. I find it sly and clever how Harrison Ford worked off of Peter Mayhew’s Chewbacca. How Ford leans up against his seven foot tall, lanky frame in certain scenes reinforces that casual swagger of Solo. These two really felt like two old buddies who had seen it all and been through it all. They’ll back one another up every step of the way, and aren’t afraid to rush into danger, whether it’s wise or not.
Princess Leia is a great change of pace. She’s not a helpless damsel in distress. She can easily handle herself in tough situations whether it’s trading stinging words with the icy Grand Moff Tarkin, or grabbing up a blaster and fending off Stormtroopers in a firefight. She has solid, inspiring leadership qualities mixed with a sense of warmth and compassion that are strongly brought to life by Carrie Fisher. It’s great seeing that this young woman can be a very diplomatic, even tempered person in addition to being sternly intelligent and aggressive. She is not intimidated by Vader or Tarkin, but when others are threatened, you clearly see the humanity that is her core. It’s also a great dynamic between Leia and Han Solo. She’s not going to take any of his ego or machismo, and he clearly doesn’t want to suffer any of her insults. It’s a beautiful piece of writing and chemistry that both Fisher and Ford play up well to comedic effect. It’s a very nice building block for where the following film would take their characters.
The cast overall is great. The characters are very distinct and diverse ranging all the way from Anthony Daniels’ sophisticated, yet cowardly droid C-3PO to the amazing Peter Cushing’s razor sharp, authoritative, cold-blooded Tarkin. It’s interesting that Darth Vader is handled as a secondary villain under Tarkin’s command. Vader has an undoubtedly powerful, imposing presence that makes him more mysterious and intriguing than Tarkin. He’s truly a definite dark opposite to Ben Kenobi, but I take nothing away from Peter Cushing’s chillingly theatrical performance. Having the voice of Vader being provided by the exceptional James Earl Jones was a stroke of genius. Along with that brilliant respirator sound effect, Jones was integral in making the character as powerful and commanding as he has become. While he looked immensely awesome and striking, with the wrong voice it never would have worked.
Now, there are people that regard the lightsaber duel between Vader and Kenobi here as the most boring. I greatly disagree. It’s actually one of my favorites. It has a great sense of two old Samurai from a war long ago meeting again to close out unfinished business. They are not the vigorous young men they once were, but there’s a matter of honor or revenge to settle that neither can deny. There’s something to prove in one way or another for them both, and it is that aura which elevates the sequence for me. Their words hold great weight on a very deep personal level, but for Kenobi, there’s something greater at stake than himself.
I believe the writing of humor here is very smart. It’s always a natural product of the situation or contrasting personalities. R2-D2 is kind of spunky, and C-3PO is certainly a little uppity. So, there’s some magical comedic gold which extends from that, but never hijacks the tone of the film. It adds to the fun and entertainment value. It accentuates the personalities of the characters, and builds relationships. The humor is used as an excellent tool to bond these characters together. They might irritate one another, but eventually, they build a mutual respect through all the shared emotions in these intense life-or-death situations.
The film really does have a wonderful story structure. We follow these two lowly droids firstly who constantly push the story towards introducing Luke, then Ben Kenobi. Their actions initiate this slow assembling of an unlikely heroic team built through unexpected situations. The story nicely transitions into Luke Skywalker being the audience’s guide through this world, allowing us to feel his plight, and incorporating his journey with that of the overall plot. Ultimately, it comes down to an ensemble piece where each character has a purpose and opportunity to be heroic. They all have their threads, either plot or character based, that carry them through this adventure, and that’s a clever achievement. No one’s ever just tagging along without something to contribute or gain from this experience.
The Empire is firmly established right from the start as a dominant, oppressive entity in opposition of the smaller rebel forces. It’s also a nice juxtaposition where the Imperial Stormtroopers are fully armored, masking their human features while the rebel troopers are clearly human. It shows that the Empire is rather cold and lacking in humanity while the rebellion is very much about people. This is a motif carried through the whole film. Even the TIE Fighter pilots have full respirator gear on while the X-Wing pilots can clearly be seen to the audience. It’s a very smart visual idea that is realized strongest in Darth Vader.
I also love the seedy parts of the Mos Eisley Cantina sequence. Touching upon Han Solo’s shady world of smuggling, bounty hunters, and gangsters gives even more flavor and depth to this universe. It adds an extra layer of danger and treachery to this greater galaxy that we are being introduced to. The alien designs, while rough with limited rubber masks, still remain effective today. I can see and understand what George Lucas’ frustrations were with this sequence as he hoped for much higher quality masks and such, it’s still an iconic scene that really captured the imagination of audiences.
While Star Wars is generally a fun, rousing adventure film, it doesn’t shy away from the darker dramatic beats. The death of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru is a very striking moment that penetrates deep inside Luke’s heart and soul, as it does for the audience. It’s an unsettling, grim scene followed directly after by Darth Vader about to implement a very foreboding interrogation upon Princess Leia. These setup the dangers our heroes have to face that will motivate them forward. However, it’s great seeing that Luke never goes down the path of vengeance. He remains true to who he is and to his friends. He also knows there’s a greater good to fight for, and he is fully committed to that. These heavier dramatic beats throughout the film create emotional obstacles for Luke. The loss of family and friends test his strength of spirit, and pushes him further towards believing in The Force.
The idea of The Force is an excellent one that plays into the mystical, spiritual, and magical. Luke must believe in something beyond himself to tap into this power. He learns to trust in himself by way of The Force to accomplish great things. We are gradually shown the extent of The Force with subtle feelings and tricks at first, but it all builds up to and pays off largely in the climax as Luke lets go of the cold technology to embrace The Force to defeat the cold, oppressive Galactic Empire. Kenobi becoming “More powerful than you can possibly imagine” to guide Luke in this assault on the Death Star enhances the depth of The Force overall. It’s something greater than any one person or thing, but if you trust in it fully, it can be yours to command to achieve the incredible.
Speaking of which, Star Wars is filled with incredible action that brings back that swashbuckling mentality of those old serials George Lucas grew up loving. Backed by that thrilling John Williams score, these are sequence that satisfy in a big way. In an era of film where things had gotten mostly dark, gritty, and explicitly violent, Star Wars made action fun again without sacrificing suspense, tension, or danger. The heroes keep getting into increasingly more perilous scenarios where they have to be smart and innovative to escape and survive. It’s one bad turn after another, which brings the film some humor and excitement, but these situations are never played lightly. There’s always a real, imminent threat. This maintains a tight, solid pace. The film simply has exceptional editing along with superb cinematography. George Lucas had a great approach to the editing in having the edits dictate the rhythm and pace of scenes instead of the performances. This ultimately created a much sharper and snappier pace.
The entire climactic assault on the Death Star is one of the best space battle sequences ever. The amazing, dynamic visual effects cinematography creates an exhilarating cinematic experience. George Lucas has always been fascinated by speed, and he accentuates that with this sequence. The fighters are always in motion with an environment that blurs by at a breakneck speed. The dogfights are nothing short of amazing. It all builds to a nerve racking apex, and how it ends must have had audiences on their feet cheering back in 1977.
Star Wars remains a triumphant motion picture that should stand and be preserved for all time. It’s a massive part of cinematic history which revolutionized filmmaking in every aspect. It was innovative and marvelous on a technical level. Still, despite all these awe-inspiring visual effects and technical achievements, this is a story that is all about its characters. It never loses sight of the human aspect, and that is what drives this film into excellence. George Lucas once said that special effects are just a means of telling a story, and that without a story, they mean nothing. At this point in time, he showed us exactly what that meant. He crafted a wondrous, exciting, adventurous, and emotional story first, and then, incorporated those groundbreaking special effects to tell that story in the most original and powerful way possible. For the last thirty-five years, this film has excited audiences like few other films can. Lucas took classic archetypes of literature and the classic hero’s journey, and molded and melded them into one of the best adventure films of all time. Audiences at the time had never seen anything like this before, and could never imagine that another Star Wars film could equal, let alone surpass this one. It would not be an easy feat, but in the right hands, it would become possible.
Forever Cinematic Movie Reviews 
You must be logged in to post a comment.