A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…
Don’t you just love seeing those words appear at the start of a movie? I will never get sick of it personally. Followed by the insane burst of energy flooding out of John Williams brain. It’s now stuck in the hearts of millions of people across multiple generations. I watched A New Hope when I was fairly young, obsessed with the idea of Jedi Knights and the Rebel Alliance existing out there. It wasn’t long before I brought my Darth Vader costume to own-clothes day at school.
In our current age Star Wars is hitting the front page of every store out there and it feels like an exciting time to be a fan. We are 8 weeks away from The Last Jedi so I’m bringing up one movie each week until the release. The first 6 movies will be done in a remember style where I talk more about the movie experience over critiquing it. However when it comes to The Force Awakens and Rogue One you can expect my normal style of review. With that said, lets take a trip back to 1977.
While I don’t remember the first time I saw A New Hope, whenever I see it now it feels like I’ve known it all my life. There’s a lot going on all at once which just makes it different to everything else. Weather the movie is good or not is entirely subjective, but you can’t deny there’s a magic in the air when people talk about Star Wars. When Darth Vader just walks into the ship right at the beginning you’re instantly amazed at the figure staring down those fools you just saw get destroyed. He’s menacing and you know he’s trouble. The movie doesn’t try to explain everything at once either, it’s a living, breathing world with a large history. When Ben Kenobi starts talking about the clone wars you have no idea what the fuck he’s talking about in the 70’s. For us kids now it’s “Oh my god I’ve seen that movie/show/animated show movie/book/comic.”
That’s what I’ve appreciated a lot about Star Wars growing up, all of these interesting things I’ve wanted to see have been explored and shown to me. I was around 8 when Revenge of the Sith came out in cinemas so I still had that wait to see Obi Wan take on Anakin Skywalker. Back then I can only imagine the wonder and interest in the rest of the world being presented in this single movie. There’s a government, an emperor, the force, jedi, lightsabers, a rebel alliance. It’s all set up ahead of you and you want to become a part of this world and learn the lore.
Beside the film you have this enchanting score by John Williams, that would stick in the heads of millions of people across generations. As soon as you see that “A long time ago…” you know whats coming next. I watched this movie a few weeks ago to introduce it to a friend who had never seen Star Wars. All the time I was humming quietly to the little melodies here and there, despite yelling out the main theme at the beginning. I’m glad that one key thing that has stuck with Star Wars up until the present day is John William’s magic, the very magic that’s giving me chills as I listen to it while I write.
Now I don’t think that I could ever give these classic films a score, I’ve teased with the idea on imdb before but I’m way too biased to my childhood sometimes. It’s weird to image that there are still people out there who haven’t seen this, especially with the rise in popularity again in the last 2 years. Star Wars is trending once again to the new age, and people may not like it when they first see it. “It was just a bunch of old guys in the dessert, and what the heck is a tochi station”. I can get the appeal to longtime fans and why that might be confusing to onlookers. However I do think it’s a saga people should watch before they die, if not for the film quality, then for the experience. To see why everyone quotes every single line in the movie without delay.
From this moment in 1977, a universe was born for all of us to enjoy. There has been video games, spin offs, shows, books and thousands of adventures outside of the main films. There’s a sub conscious feeling of family, hope and friendship that gives you the chills when explored. Even a spin off about the opening crawl of this movie has layers of emotion and the overall feeling of not giving up despite no chance of survival. It’s crazy how this series has influenced me growing up, and the fact it’s come back now I’m old enough to appreciate it thrills me. This is a story I will tell my children when I’m old. The story of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa and Han Solo, and how they took on the most terrifying force in the galaxy, as a family.
Stick around, as I’ll take on a movie every Friday until we can get our hands on The Last Jedi.