Film Review
PROLOGUE
The following review mentions only the original Star Wars film and makes no direct mention of ANY of the other films in the series and makes references only to the original film and the context of the times in which it appeared and its subsequent evolution over the decades.
In a previous post “The Absence of the Cinematic Experience”, I wrote about movies and I mentioned that I would write about Star Wars as I listed it as the best movie ever made. This is also the right time I think to break from politics as I spent a good deal of time writing many political posts. What can be said about Star Wars that has not already been written?
I saw Star Wars for the first time when I was seven years old in a movie theatre that no longer exists. I had already had a knowledge of the idea and the characters. I became a Star Wars fan at school and read the comic versions before I had seen the movie.
Those were the days when there were no DVD’s and blu rays. Home video was still a long way off. Even betamax had still not arrived. Forget anything like Netflix. Cable television was still something that would arrive later.
If you wanted to see a movie you had to go the theatre to see it. Then you would have to wait for it to show up on network television, or local television channels. Star Wars was so successful that having been released in 1977, it would not be on aired on cable television until 1983, and network television in 1984.
The film would be rereleased in the theaters from time to time, so if you wanted to see it you had to wait for it to return to the theater. This was why the infamous “Star Wars holiday special” was aired in 1979. More on that below.
Whenever it returned to the theater, it was always a fun experience. A great time always.
The plot of the film centers around Luke Skywalker, a farm boy who lives on the planet tatooine. He is a dreamer and an idealist. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle. Well, everybody knows the story,
It is a great movie that has aged very well. It is very well written and directed by George Lucas. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guiness, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Cushing. The movie has plot and adventure.
The movie has drama. From the beginning of the film when we see the Star Destroyer up to the end with the ceremony at the throne room, we have seen a true adventure. Believe me, you could not see this movie enough times in the late 1970’s when it came back to the theater.
As mentioned above, “The Star Wars Holiday Special” was shown during the holiday season of 1979. I still remember watching this but I always remembered it as being shown for thanksgiving, and not Christmas as many online reviews have stated. If you were a Star Wars fan you would watch anything Star Wars even crap like the Holiday Special.
I remember being disappointed that the main cast from the film appeared in only a few minutes of the special. I always remembered this special and the fact that the cast appeared only briefly. In 1999, I came across a VHS copy of somebody’s old tape in a used video and CD store.
I knew what it was, I remembered seeing it but did not actually remember much else. I bought it, took it home, and watched it. Yeah, the real cast was only briefly shown and the rest was this really stupid variety show typical of the 1970’s. The only thing that made this interesting was the appearance of Boba Fett. I had forgotten that. I still remember the TV commercial advertising the Boba Fett action figure in the run up to the “Empire Strikes Back”. I thought that was the first appearance of Boba Fett.
The Holiday Special was put together by morons who apparently never took the time to actually go see “Star Wars”. Why bring in other celebrities for this thing? They had the cast of the film which is why this thing is historically important and is in the collection of Star Wars fans.
If they could not commit the cast to more than a few minutes they could have made a thirty minute (with commercials twenty two minutes) special with a plot involving stormtroopers and a guy to wear a Darth Vader mask. It would not have had to be as good as the film (no one would have expected it to) but it would have been watchable.
In any case, Star Wars was a unique phenomenon. At the time, one assumed that Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were going to become a couple (the subsequent revelation that Luke and Leia were brother and sister began to ruin the whole story.) That is how it should have been played over the long term.
Han Solo was the best character in my opinion. Total jerk but the guy who does the right thing in the end. And quite frankly, he is the real hero of the movie. If Han Solo did not return and bump off Darth Vader’s tie fighter when the latter was going to blow away Luke’s X wing fighter, the death star would not have been blown up and the rebel base at Yaavin might have been completely destroyed.
Obi Wan Kenobi is a superb character. A mixture of priest and warrior. The Jedi remind me so much of the Emperors of the Byzantine Empire who were honorary priests. Obi Wan is a hermit living a monastic life in complete solitude. His mission is to wait for the day when Luke will be ready to train to become a jedi and to teach him the ways of the force, a mystical energy.
The story begins when a rebel ship is sucked up by the imperial star destroyer and the rebels are annihilated by the stormtroopers who over power them when they enter the rebel ship. Princess Leia puts plans with the details of the Empire’s Death Star into R2 D2. The droid along with c3po are put in an escape pod and escape where they fall to the planet tattoonie.
The two droids subsequently are captured by Jawas, a small group of hooded aliens who resell captured droids. The two droids are purchased by Luke’s Uncle Owen. R2D2 not only carries the Death Star plans with him, but a message from Princess Leia for Obi Wan Kenobi. R2D2 sneaks out to find the retired Jedi master who lives on Tattooine.
The moment arrives when Obi wan saves luke after the latter has been attacked by the sand people. Obi wan sees the message that Princess Leia has put in R2D2 and comes out of retirement. When Luke finds his Aunt and Uncle have been killed by stormtroopers looking for the droids, he embarks with Obi Wan to Mos Eisley Space port where they meet up with Han Solo and Chewbacca.
The six of them escape the stormtroopers after a shoot out and subsequently find that the planet Alderaan (where Obi Wan is supposed to meet Princess Leia’s father) has been blown up by the Empire’s Death Star. The Millenium Falcon (the ship they are traveling on gets sucked into the Death Star by the tractor beam.
The group gets split up and Han, Luke, and Chewbacca rescue Princess Leia. They eventually make their way back to the ship except they are now witnessing a dual between Obi Wan and Darth Vader.
The lightsaber dual with Darth Vader is brief but highly dramatic. The expression on Obi Wan’s face when he sees Vader is great acting. Alec Guinness played this part brilliantly. Obi Wan is a man of faith above all and like the early Christians under the Romans allows himself to be killed in anticipation of eternal life.
Vader slays him and then finds his body is gone. Obi wan had faith in resurrection like Christians do. After a space battle in the falcon and the heroes have escaped they make their way to the rebel base on Yavin. The rebels will dissect the death star plans that R2 D2 has carried and they launch an offensive against the Death Star.
Great action scenes and outstanding special effects. When Luke is the last fighter left fighting the Death Star he hears the voice of Obi Wan, He turns off the computer. Again, the power of faith over reason and technology.
At the last minute before Darth Vader is about to finish off Luke, the Millenium Falcon is back and Han Solo knocks off Vader. Han Solo had taken off with his reward money after refusing to participate in the fight against the Death Star. His heroic action redeems him and makes him a hero.
Luke takes the final shot and blows up the Death Star. The final scene of the throne room where Han, Luke, and Chewbacca get their medals is great drama.
The film is a masterpiece and represents all that is good about movies.
As noted above, Star Wars made its initial premiere on cable television in 1983, and network television in 1984. I am not sure when Star Wars was first released on home video.
Like any other film, Star Wars (and its sequals) was released on betamax, laser disc, and VHS formats. The last version of the original theatrical cut was released in the fall of 1995. I always found it strange that these releases were advertised as the original “one last time”.
I am a classic fan of Star Wars having been there from the beginning but I was never a nerd or a fanatic. I never understood what the “one last time” was supposed to mean”. In 1997, on the twentieth anniversary of the release of Star Wars, George Lucas rereleased the film and its sequals as “special editions” featuring both restored footage and newly filmed footage that were inserted into the films.
Further changes were made when Star Wars was released on DVD for the first time in 2004, and yet even further changes were made when Star Wars was released on blu ray for the first time in 2011. As it is the original theatrical versions have become unavailable.
It is true that the theatrical versions of the film were released in 2006 on DVD but George Lucas basically cheated the fans with these releases. At the time, video stores advertised that the original theatrical version of Star Wars were going to be released on DVD. This was misleading.
The final product was a rerelease of the 2004 special editions in which the theatrical versions were included as bonuses. The transfer was garbage as it was an outdated transfer from 1993 laser disks. The quality of the picture and sound was terrible and the film does not fit on widescreen televisions.
No other artist hates his fans as much as George Lucas does. All that Star Wars fans want (especially those of us who were there from the beginning) is a blu ray high definition transfer of the original film and its sequals. Lucas could have had as many special editions out there as possible, but he could have at least had the original theatrical versions available for film afficionados.
Many Directors have used the technology of DVD and blu ray to release several versions of their films. Some Directors have to cut their films for length of time, or to avoid a rated X or NC-17 because of too much violence or sex. The availability of technology enabled them to bring back their original films but they did NOT eradicate the original theatrical versions.
Star Wars has to be the only cinematic masterpiece that is not available to film fans. Yes, the various special editions are available but that is not quite the same thing. Considering the phenomenal success of Star Wars, one would think it would be available forever.
Without the availability of the original theatrical cut(s) Star Wars no longer exists for viewing.
Alas, Star Wars is a matter of nostalgia.