I think if I had a gun to my head and was asked what my favourite film of all time is, I think I'd say A New Hope. I think I've seen it over 200 times and I never get bored of it.
I find 'A New Hope' hard to watch nowadays
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I think if I had a gun to my head and was asked what my favourite film of all time is, I think I'd say A New Hope. I think I've seen it over 200 times and I never get bored of it.
There’s just something special about it in my head. Maybe it’s the classic hero’s journey. Maybe it’s the message that: anybody can be a hero. Maybe it’s a lot of nostalgia growing up with it. I have absolutely no idea. But I unapologetically love every minute of that movie.
In my recent (very numerous) rewatches, I've been trying to look at it with as fresh eyes as possible, and I've simply come to the conclusion that it's one of those rare films where everything just comes together in perfect unison, from the still stunning opening to the gorgeous cinematography on Tatooine which unravels the story nicely - the iconic Cantina sequence and fantastic Millennium falcon escape (I'll ignore the unnecessary Jabba scene and Hand not shooting first) - I could go on but it's just one classic scene after another all topped off with the groundbreaking visuals and wrapped up in that amazing score and sound design.
To me it is the perfect blockbuster.
Yes. You really can.
Of course they win - it would have been a bit strange if they didn't - in the initial shootout ('where are you taking this...thing?) they had the element of surprise being in Stormtrooper outfits - but I concede someone getting shot in the arm or something could have been a little better maybe - it's never bothered me at all.
The later shootout in the corridor is just fine to me, they were pinned down and barely escaped.
Name me a film that's over 42 years old that looks as good as this one does today.
As a kid, it's just pew pew action with shiny pretty lights and lifesize muppets and an art deco costume merging 1970s mod fashion with Samurai style. That and some day-glo fencing matches that would be bettered in 1980's sequel and only nerds like fencing, right?
When those teenage years kick in, the pure B-grade plot cheese of that flick smells like Limburger combined with Al Bundy's feet. It's always been an effects piece with art deco spaceships that made great toys. Like "He-Man" except that cartoon, despite being as highly simplified as Star Wars, still had more engaging writing. But considering they had DC Fontana and J. Michael Straczynski, who have been historically robust script writers while keeping in mind their target audience as well as parents, it became more than a pallid (sigh) "Merchfest".
That, and they already remade Star Wars. It's called, "The Force Awakens"...
...or was it called, "Return of the Jedi"?
(BTW, the sequel trilogy got it right with having enough emotional connection to the lightsaber fights*, the prequel trilogy believed that showing a million waving glo-sticks would be that many times more compelling than watching Obi and Darth duke it out (which, at the time, was fairly enthralling as we actually were emotionally invested in Old Ben Kenner at the time, another reason the prequels did a swing and a huge miss.)
* I'll spare the nitpicks for later, odd but true...
A pretty cynical view of the movie I think but a valid viewpoint nonetheless.
This I will agree on.
...or was it called, "Return of the Jedi"?
I can only partially agree on this in that there's a second Death Star they have to fly in to blow up, but the rest of the film is very different. Jedi will always get a pass for the greatest space battle ever put to film and the Throne room scenes for me.
There were always going to be a LOT of Jedis in the prequels swinging their sabres around - these films were showing them at the height of their powers and numbers. At least the prequels were ambitious, original and pushed technology like the OT did. The ST seem a bit 'by the numbers' to me. They should be head and shoulders above your average summer blockbusters in terms of visuals and - they're just not, though I do concede TROS looks very promising on this front.
I absolutely love the Tatooine scenes - more now than I did as a child. It just introduces you to this grimy, lived in, realistic world and really gives you a feeling of the place being remote and inhospitable. Each to their own I guess.
Love the throne room scenes. Absolutely epic. I do have to say, while I think Rogue One isn't all its cracked up to be, what it does with space battles outdoes Jedi by just a smidge.
In general, I just love the first act of Star Wars. I can totally understand why the first twenty minutes or so really could have turned people off (my in-laws left halfway through the movie) with very little dialogue and following the droids and the Jawas for a bit there. But I think that's part of what makes it so unique for me.
I kind of agree, but only because of the technology available it it's disposal in 2016. I still think the sheer scale of the Jedi battle and the scenes where the ships fly into the structure of the Death Star II are just insane still, the dizzying camerawork and epic music just gives it the nod for me, by the smallest of margins. Imagine what this sequence would have been like with today's technology, the fact that this was from 1983 (and was seemingly unaltered in the special editions) and has only just been equalled makes this a bigger feat of film-making in my view.
Agree 100%.
A fair assessment for sure. Like I said, its close and totally subjective. But absolutely, The Battle of Endor is most definitely impressive, particularly based on the growth of effects in a five year period. In 1976/77, ILM was just figuring out how to do realistic shots with a handful of ships, most of the time with them moving in tandem. That they were able to composite multiple ships on their own flight paths is flipping amazing.
Side note: I do wish the B-Wings were able to be utilized more. That the compositing process basically made the effecting difficult made me sad. It always has been my favorite starfighter.
Can't agree with the OP. It is my favorite film, the one I enjoy revisiting the most. Even if it was the only film and never spawned a franchise it still be tops for me.
To be fair Empire doesn't need the set up scenes that the original does.
It doesn't need them, but I think it does a good enough job setting the table that one could watch it on its own and still be thoroughly entertained.
I kinda feel the same, but it is hard to say for certain because mostly I can't watch the Special Editions. Specifically, I can't make it past Mos Eisley in the special Editions. Lucas made it hard to watch, and I mean that literally. Starting at 43:25 he has giant things passing in the extreme foreground, blocking the conversation taking place in the background. First a giant dinosaur-like creature, then an astromech. I'm sure at least some of it is there to mask edits where he inserts new or different shots, but personally they pull me out of the movie. And the is after wasting screentime not on our heroes but on CGI gags like one robot hitting another or a jawa hanging from his mount. For me, these are distracting choices that pull me out of the movie because I know how bolted on they are, and it makes it difficult for the movie to draw me back in. That's why I hope some day Disney/Fox releases some HD cut from before the CGI insertions.
Those bits are absolute shite, no question, and I wish they weren't there, but we're stuck with them unfortunately. They don't bother half as much as the Jabba scene or Han not shooting first though, and they are outweighed with the upgraded Yavin battle - I haven't seen the original for a long time, and I suspect it will look just a crap as the inserted Mos Eisly stuff so it balances it all out for this viewer.
That's why I have the VHS copy. I prefer that to the Special Editions, though it's quite easy to skip past the editions for me, and I do like the Imperial Lander. Ok, it's a mixed bag.
I skip the Jabba part.
I skip the Jabba part.
I find that's part of the problem. SOME of the special edition changes I love. The changes to Bespin where they go from white walls to beautiful shots of the cloud city outside. The Battle of Yavin is certainly better. But then they do those dumb shots like Mos Eisley, Jabba's Palace, Han walking over Jabba's tail, etc. that yank me right out of the story. It becomes less engrossing. I honestly wish I had held on to my VCR and my Non-Special Editions. Or my DVD player and the DVDs with the non-anamorphic laser disk cuts.
I find multiple VHS copies at thrift stores all the time. I pretty much save them all
I would recommend that.
