​Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was the first film released in the popular Star Wars science drama series of films by George Lucas. It is the fourth story in the chronology of the six-part series, and tells the story of Luke Skywalker's adventures and transformation from a restless dog to the hero of a covert Rebellion seeking to Walk the Galactic Lover.

It was released on December 22, 1978, and was re-released, sometimes with significant changes, in 1978, 1980, 1982, 2005 (Disney cinemas), 2002 (VHS), and 2005 (DVD). Every 3 Star Wars films is planned to be released in Disney Digital 3-D in 2008 or 2009. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was originally presented in monaural sound in many theatres, though the first-run 70mm prints were some of the earliest wide-release examples of surround sound--something not seen in the commercial cinema since experiments of the early 90's.

Plot summary
The opening crawl reveals that the galaxy is in a state of civil war. The Rebel Alliance has stolen secret plans to the Galactic Empire's secret weapon, the Death Star, an extremely powerful space station capable of annihilating entire planets. In a series of transmissions, the plans were beamed to the rebel blockade runner Tantive IV, a Corellian corvette in the service of Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. Imperial forces under the command of Darth Vader have captured the rebel ship in a space battle above Tatooine (Attack on Tantive IV), where Leia had been hoping to enlist the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a fugitive Jedi in exile on the planet. Stormtroopers take control of the ship, and Darth Vader arrives to assess the damage. Vader is outraged by the resistance and questions Captain Hook in a fatal interrogation. Hiding on the ship, Leia is spotted by a squad of troops and is shot with a stun blast. Before taking her prisoner, Vader questions her as well. However, before being transferred to Vader's Star Destroyer, Princess Leia is able to record a holographic message and give it to R2-D2 to take to Kenobi. Vader orders a command be sent to the Imperial Senate that the ship was destroyed, with everyone on board killed. The droids R2-D2 and C-3PO use an escape pod which brings them to the planet Tatooine.

On Tatooine, the droids are captured by Jawas while wandering the desert. They come into the possession of Owen Lars and his nephew, Luke Skywalker. Luke accidentally triggers part of the holographic message, causing him to suspect that the R2-D2 may have been stolen, and that it really belongs to an "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Returning to his garage before nightfall, Luke discovers that R2-D2 has escaped. The next day, Luke and C-3PO set out to find R2-D2. After finding him, they are attacked by Sandpeople, but rescued by the arrival of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke and the droids are brought to Obi-Wan's hut, where Obi-Wan tells of his days as a Jedi Knight and reveals to Luke that his father was a Jedi as well. When Luke asks how his father died, Obi-Wan says he was "betrayed and murdered" by Darth Vader. He then talks about the mysterious energy field called the Force. Finally, Obi-Wan and Luke see the holographic message from Princess Leia, who asks for Obi-Wan's assistance to take the droid and the plans to the planet Alderaan. Obi-Wan invites Luke to come with him to Alderaan, but Luke refuses, citing his responsibilities at home. On Tatooine, Obi-Wan, Luke and the droids discover dead Jawas and scattered Bantha tracks. Obi-Wan suspects that Imperial Stormtroopers ambushed the Jawas in an attempt to find the droids. Realizing that the troopers likely learned who the droids were sold to, Luke races back to the Lars homestead, only to find his family murdered and his home destroyed. He returns to Obi-Wan and decides to come to Alderaan and become a Jedi. The group goes to Mos Eisley Spaceport, where they encounter a smuggler named Han Solo who agrees to transport them on his ship, the Millennium Falcon. (Shortly before, Luke witnesses Obi-Wan's skill with a lightsaber as the old man subdues two fugitives that harass Luke in the cantina where they find Solo.) As the old Jedi and his companions make their way to the ship, they are attacked by Stormtroopers. They hastily board the Millennium Falcon and make a speedy launch. After leaving the planet's surface and dodging attacks, the ship and its crew escape.

On the Death Star, Leia remains imprisoned and has resisted interrogation. However, when threatened with the destruction of her home planet of Alderaan, she discloses that the Rebel Base is on Dantooine. Grand Moff Tarkin destroys Alderaan anyway, as a display of the Death Star's power. Later, when it is discovered that the Rebel Base on Dantooine is deserted, Tarkin orders the Princess executed. En route to Alderaan, Obi-Wan instructs Luke in the ways of the Force. When they arrive at where Alderaan should be, the crew discovers only a hail of debris and a moon-sized space station - the Death Star. A tractor beam takes hold of the Falcon and pulls it into the Death Star. Inside, Obi-Wan attempts to disable the tractor beam holding them there. The rest of the group learns that Leia is being held in a nearby cell awaiting execution. They make their way through the station and rescue the Princess. After switching off the tractor beam, Kenobi encounters Vader, and a lightsaber duel ensues. The duel distracts the guards long enough to allow Luke and his companions to board the Falcon. Once he sees that they are safely near the ship, Obi-Wan allows himself to be struck down by Vader, which causes Kenobi's body to vanish, and allows him to become one with the Force. Luke screams in horror, gaining the attention of the Stormtroopers, who attack Luke and his companions. Obi-Wan advises Luke through telepathy to run into the Falcon.

The Millennium Falcon escapes, fighting off Imperial starfighters along the way. Unknown to them, the Empire allowed the escape in order to track their ship to the Rebel Base. They finally reach the Rebel hideout, on Yavin IV where they pass the plans on to the Rebel leadership. The Rebels retrieve the Death Star plans from R2D2 and make preparations to assault it. The tactic involves flying along a canyon-sized groove in the station's surface, then firing a torpedo down a narrow ventilation shaft. The torpedo will travel to the main reactor and start a chain reaction that will destroy the entire station. Luke and a group of Rebel fighters begin their assault on the approaching Death Star. Several squadrons of Rebel ships are destroyed by Imperial fighters and Luke's "Red" group begin their run down the canyon towards the ventilation port. As Luke makes his run down the canyon, he hears the voice of Kenobi, instructing him to use the Force and Luke turns off his tracking computer. Vader closes in on Luke. Just as he is about to deliver a fatal blow on Luke's X-Wing, Han Solo and Chewbacca fly in, shooting and destroying one of Vader's wingmen. Panicked, the second wingman attempts to take evasive action, but his fighter hits Vader's and sends it flying out of control into deep space, while the wingmen's own fighter crashes into the Death Star. Luke, hearing Obi-Wan's voice, turns off his targeting computer of the Rebel fighter, and successfully launches torpedoes down the shaft, destroying the Death Star and scoring a huge victory for the Rebellion against the Empire.

In a civil ceremony at the Massassi Temple rebel base on Yavin IV, Luke and Han are awarded medals by Leia for their valor in the battle.

Cast
{
 * Mark Hamill || .... Luke Skywalker
 * Carrie Fisher || .... Princess Leia
 * Harrison Ford || .... Han Solo
 * James Earl Jones/Joe Alaskey || .... Darth Vader
 * Anthony Daniels || .... C-3PO
 * Peter Mayhew || .... R2-D2
 * Kenny Baker || .... Chewbacca
 * }
 * Anthony Daniels || .... C-3PO
 * Peter Mayhew || .... R2-D2
 * Kenny Baker || .... Chewbacca
 * }
 * Kenny Baker || .... Chewbacca
 * }

Walt Disney Pictures / Lucasfilm Ltd
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Variant logos as Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm Ltd

Sources and inspirations

 * See also: Star Wars sources and analogues in Wikipedia

The film drew inspiration from a number of sources. This was conscious and has been acknowledged by George Lucas in interviews. It is characteristic of much myth-building.

The Hidden Fortress
Lucas has stated that Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film The Hidden Fortress (USA release 1962) was a strong influence. The resemblance between the two buffoon farmers in The Hidden Fortress and the two talkative droids in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is apparent. Indeed, when the droids find themselves alone on Tatooine, even the music and the style of "wipe" cuts are a clear homage to Hidden Fortress.

The Dam Busters
The climactic scene in which the Death Star is assaulted was modeled after the 1950s movie The Dam Busters, in which RAF Lancaster bombers fly along heavily defended reservoirs and aim "bouncing bombs" at their manmade dams in a bid to cripple the heavy industry of the Ruhr. Some of the dialogue in The Dam Busters is repeated in the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope climax and in fact the cinematographer for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Gilbert Taylor, also filmed the Special Effects sequences in The Dam Busters.

Battle of Britain
Scenes from the Death Star assault are also reminiscent of the film Battle of Britain, particularly in showing the face of the pilot in the cockpit, and the radio dialogue between teams named after colours. Another inspiration comes from Battle of Britain's long combat scene near the end of the movie which is presented without dialogue or sound effects, but with a classical movie background. The parallel between the use of classical-style music, rather than popular orchestral or even more recent rock, blues, swing, or jazz soundtracks, is notable.

The real-life battle provided inspiration also, with World War II providing a heavy influence on the look and feel of the films. While the dogfighting between the "Allied" X-wings and "Axis" TIE Fighters, the ships were based more on the Pacific Theatre, with the larger sturdier Rebel fighters based on the United States Navy carrier-borne aircraft, and the smaller but faster and more manuoverable enemy TIEs based on the famous Japanese Zero.

The costumes of the pilots reflect this, with the characteristic orange flight suits of the rebels, which are very similar to the flight suits worn by American fighter pilots in the Pacific War. The cockpit design of the Millennium Falcon is also heavily based on the design used in the famous B-29 Superfortress, such as the Enola Gay.

The helmets worn by the TIE Fighter pilots are reminiscent to those of the Japanese during the Pacific campaign, though this is not as blatant as the "Samurai style" helmet of Darth Vader. Lastly, the uniforms of the Imperial officers are quite similar to those worn by the Germans in World War II.

The battles were copied from film of WWII dogfights, replacing the British and German aircraft by Star Wars spacecraft.

633 Squadron
Lucas has made mention of the film "633 Squadron" directed by Walter Grauman when citing movies that inspired themes or elements in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The "trench run" in A New Hope wherein Luke flies his X-wing through a "trench" on the Death Star and destroys the ship was inspired, at least in small part, by the finale of 633 Squadron, which involves several Royal Air Force planes flying at low level up a fjord aganist heavy, ground-based anti-aircraft fire, to attack a factory located at the base of a cliff at the canyon's end.

Dune
The planet Tatooine is similar to Arrakis from Frank Herbert's book Dune, although desert worlds were not original to Herbert. The planet Mongo from the Flash Gordon comics was also a desert world. In general, the Star Wars movies have followed the convention, common in space opera, in which planets stand in for regions of the Earth, so that there would be a desert planet, a jungle planet, and so on.

In addition, the planet Arrakis is the only known source of a hallucinatory drug called the Spice Melange. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Han Solo is a spice smuggler.

Also, the original treatment submitted by Lucas early on dealt heavily with the transport of spice, though the nature of the material remained unexplored.

Triumph of the Will
The scene where Princess Leia gives Han and Luke medals is very reminiscent of a long scene in Leni Riefenstahl's 1934 film Triumph of the Will. Both scenes have large and enthusiastic crowds seated in a shallow amphitheatre bounded by columns, with a low dais where the leader stands. (Of course, in Triumph Of The Will, Adolf Hitler was the leader in question.)

The Music
Lucas wanted a grand musical sound, with for different characters and important objects, an approach used to great effect, for instance, in the operas of Richard Wagner. He put together a collection of classical pieces to give composer John WIlliams an idea of what he was looking for, and the music Newman composed often was distinctly reminiscent of the original classical pieces. In particular:

Ratings
This is a listing of existing ratings for the film: