

Moreover, it’s one of the most important movies ever made. Overall, though, it goes without saying that this is a classic piece of fantasy / sci-fi / adventure cinema. For example, the action stays on Tatooine for over thirty minutes without shifting at all until a cut to the Death Star for the outstanding “I find your lack of faith disturbing” scene, during which the audience begins to realize that Darth Vader is something far more enigmatic than a run-of-the-mill villain. Episode IV is actually grandiose in scope, of course, but it is by far the most “focused” of all six films. One thing that stands out about this film is how “small” it feels, especially after watching the prequels. The special edition “improvements” sometimes aren’t. Some of the effects don’t quite “work” (but they’re the exception). Princess Leia’s intermittent English accent is inexplicable. It’s not perfect, and it’s important to note that the rating below isn’t indicative of perfection.
#OBI WAN HUT SCENE STAR WARS REVISITED MOVIE#
The movie itself, of course, is tremendously entertaining. Either way, it changed the way movies were marketed and their creators were compensated, specifically in regards to high concept potential blockbusters. The deal Lucas actually had once the proverbial dust settled was either the most brilliant in the history of film or the luckiest. It understandably appeared that way from a mid-1970’s perspective. Therefore, the studio didn’t care about sequel rights (because there would be no sequels to an unsuccessful movie), licensing (because licensing was irrelevant before Star Wars), and merchandising (because no one would buy a t-shirt emblazoned with the logo from a failed film).įox thought it was making an advantageous deal. But Lucas didn’t care.įox erroneously believed Star Wars wouldn’t be a success because sci-fi or fantasy pictures had a poor recent track record at the box office. The film industry’s creative accounting would have reduced even 40% of a blockbuster’s net profits to a pittance, if that. As anyone with knowledge of the movie industry will attest, net profits mean little, no matter the percentage. Lucas was entitled to 40% of the net profits from Episode IV. Secondly, there was George Lucas’ contract with Fox. This was a somehow believable rendition of fictitious planets and battles in space.

Effects production was nothing new, and was practically as old as moviemaking itself. It was a revolutionary film on two very important fronts.įirst, there were the special effects.

People of my vintage have the beats of this movie ingrained in our collective DNA. The other is essentially a collection of interview snippets placed in a somewhat context-specific way throughout the movie, rather than a recording of someone who was actually watching the movie at the time.Įpisode IV: A New Hope – Writing a review of Star Wars A New Hope in 2011 seems a little pointless, but pointlessness never stopped me from writing anything, so here goes. One is a more traditional track that features George Lucas and a few others who were instrumental in the original trilogy. I talked about the commentary setup last time, but, briefly: You get two per movie. The movies look noticeably better even than the high-quality DVD versions from a few years ago. As with the prequels, the picture and audio quality are very good. Discs four, five, and six of the Star Wars Complete Saga blu-ray set correspond to the so-numbered episodes.
