^^^ The version I watch has that sequence in its entirety - and yes, it's one of my favorites bits in the film.
OK, I have to go off the rails here on "close the blast doors". George put the line back in the 1997 Special Edition. And I thought it sounded totally wrong. What was this nonsense? Why didn't they use the "real" recording that I so vividly remembered? Years and years later I find out about the differences between the Stereo soundtrack (that most people know from VHS onward) and the Mono (that arguably is what most people saw in the theaters on the original release). THEN I find out that the LP (vinyl record) The Story of Star Wars (that I obviously played into the ground before home video) was based on the MONO mix. And IT has "Close the blast doors!" Clearly this record is why I remember this line and I know I heard it way more times than the four times I saw Star Wars in the cinema. And FINALLY I get to hear The Story of Star Wars for the first time in 30 years. You know what? "Close the blast doors!" sounds EXACTLY like what is in the SE. Cool story, bro.
Love The Story of Star Wars. Had it on tape growing up. Picked it up off of eBay a few years back on vinyl. Brought back so many memories! That was how I experienced the 1977 Star Wars for most of my childhood until I managed to get it taped off of USA around 1993 not too long before I got purchased copies of the trilogy on VHS. I had Jedi from an HBO free weekend probably around 1985 or 1986 and Empire taped off of NBC around 1987. Also love the "CLOSE THE BLAST DOORS!" bit.
A New Hope isn't the only 45 minute story to use alternate lines. In the 45 minute version of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Luke's line when he picks up R2 out of the swamp shortly after landing on Dagobagh, he says "You were lucky to get out of there". This line is used in the 2004 special edition, changed from the 1980 original "You're lucky you don't taste very good". Simiairly, RETURN OF THE JEDI, the original 1983 release has Han telling Lando "It's alright, trust me" just before he shoots the sarlacc off Lando's leg. In both the 45 minute Story and the 2004 special edition, the line is changed to "It's alright I can see alot better". I have no idea what versions were used in later releases because I don't have the Blue Rays.
The story is simpler, the characterizations aren't quite as deep, and I don't find the action sequences as impressive as the later movies. I still enjoy it, just not as much as most of the later movies. Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are the only ones I'd put below it in my rankings, with Revenge of the Sith pretty much equal.
I can get with this. But there's something just so very special about this film for me. It is just an all time classic, and the only SW film that is a self contained adventure. I can't in good conscious rank any of the others above it.
Some great comments here. I'm having a hard time getting past the idea that Star Wars was not a well-made film. I think it's pretty clear that it was, and would not have been such a great success if it hadn't been. We tend to forget now how many new things SW brought to the table in 1977, things that really could have turned viewers off if handled badly. There are some very basic assumptions which we take for granted now, but were just dumped on the audience without explanation. Like, why can one robot talk and the other can't talk? At the beginning of the movie, the droids are the audience's only characters to identify with. Most movies before would never have allowed that situation to happen, first of all, and even if they did, they would offer some kind of explanation to the audience, "You see that's a different kind of robot that does such and such and doesn't need to talk to humans..." Instead, through 3PO's dialogue and visually, the audience is told that the robot is communicating, in its own way, and in fact has a very human personality. And in just a few minutes of screen time. Star Wars is older now than The Wizard of Oz was when Star Wars came out, and everyone has seen so much material that was heavily influenced by Star Wars. It gets harder to remember exactly what made it magical in 1977. I think one key to it was: If you were young, you'd never seen anything like it before, not even close. And if you were older, you'd never seen anything like it before, but it felt like something you had seen. It pushed a lot of nostalgic buttons from old swashbuckling adventure movies and Westerns, and even stuff like WW2 newsreel footage. This was welcome for a lot of adult viewers who felt like movie-going had been kind of a downer experience in recent years.
Perfectly said. It's like an old pulp comic book come to life. Even the somewhat rough editing (like the way the opening scene is done) feels like I'm going from panel to panel. The SFX were amazing but not always perfect.. as if I had a wrinkle or tear in the comic book I'm reading: I can still enjoy it. Some people say that the film loses narrative drive with the adventures on the death star, as they get form one hang up to another. Lucas definitely was inspired by Flash Gordon episodes that always ended with cliffhangers and resolved with escapes and it kept escalating. I'm glad the film had fun with this notion
Watched ANH last night back to back with Rogue One. Had to laugh when one of the pilots gets in trouble on the trench run and is advised to eject into the cold vacuum of space.
Yeah that was always a little questionable. My assumption was that they had some kind of capsule system. https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/V.../Display/Article/197523/f-111a-escape-module/ https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/V...s/Display/Article/195843/b-58-escape-capsule/
X-Wings are equipped with ejection seats, and the pilot's uniform included the needed equipment to protect him or her (temporarily) from the vacuum of space.
I don't consider it my favorite film, but it is perfect and it is one of the few films (that had sequels) that didn't need one to add to it's greatness. In some ways it is like the Godfather - followed up by a film that some say is better, but doesn't need THAT film to bolster its greatness.
He actually says "I'm all right, I'm all riggghhhh" before exploding. The EU explanation for that death was that Porkins kept his gravity compensator on full... so he couldn't feel himself dropping suddenly to the surface.
I was referring to the "Eject!" line from Biggs. I always thought it was Biggs saying "Jek!" in reference to Portkins first name.