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''Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope'', originally titled '''''Star Wars''''', is a 1977 Science Fantasy Film written and directed by George Lucas . It was the first film to be released in the '' Star Wars '' saga, but it is the fourth film by chronology of events. Among fans, it is commonly abbreviated as '''''ANH'''''. Nineteen years after the formation of the Galactic Empire , Luke Skywalker is thrust into the struggles of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi , who has lived in seclusion for years on the desert planet of Tatooine . Obi-Wan begins Luke’s Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire. Unlike the later prequel films, this film, along with the two films that follow, mostly focuses on the events of one particular sector of the Galaxy , rather than the interstellar perspective that the first three films take. The film was released on May 25 , 1977 , and was re-released several times, sometimes With Significant Changes in its later releases. Most notable were the 1997 Special Edition theatrical re-release and the 2004 DVD version, which were modified with CGI effects and re-done scenes. A 3-D release is planned for 2007 . PLOT SUMMARY '' Tantive IV ''.]] 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 trying to enlist the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi , a fugitive Jedi in exile on the planet. Stormtrooper s take control of the ship, and Darth Vader arrives to assess the damage. Vader is outraged by the resistance and questions Captain Antilles 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 ''. 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 the Death Star, 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 company. Obi-Wan advises Luke through the Force 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, where they pass the plans on to the Rebel leadership. The Rebels retrieve the Death Star plans 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. They make it down to the canyon, with Vader in pursuit. As Luke makes his run down the canyon, he hears the voice of Kenobi, instructing him to use the Force. 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 OVERVIEW ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' remains one of the most financially successful films of all time. Adjusted for inflation, the US grosses are second only to '' Gone With The Wind ,'' and in terms of cumulative gross is second only to the movie Titanic . Considering the distributor, and to some degree the producers, had little confidence in the potential of the film, it was a Word-of-mouth Sleeper Hit , having opened only on 37 movie screens in theaters that were persuaded to show it. However, there was immediate impressive business upon release that wildly surpassed the highest hopes of the producers. Furthermore, the revenue increased dramatically as 20th Century Fox acted to capitalize on the spectacular popularity and moved to make the film a profitable success. Some theaters showed the film continuously for over a year. The '') the greatest film of all time. However, the film is not universally admired. Some blame it for accelerating a trend towards special-effects-driven movies targeting teenagers. Others claim that the trend is a natural consequence of economic and technological forces in the film industry. When originally released in 1977, the film was released simply as ''Star Wars'', both on promotional material and during the opening crawl of the film itself. For this reason, this film, more often than its sequels, is often referred to as ''Star Wars'', instead of by the "Episode IV" number or the subtitle ''A New Hope''. In 1980, the sequel, '''', was released with the episode number and subtitle in the opening crawl. In a re-released version a year later, ''Episode IV: A New Hope'' was added above the original opening crawl. The film became the fourth chronologically and first released in the series of six to date. While Lucas claims that only six films were ever planned, representatives of Lucasfilm mentioned in early interviews plans for nine or twelve possible films. THE MUSIC Sound ''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 the Cinerama and Cinemascope experiments of the early 50's. Score Lucas wanted a grand musical sound for ''Star Wars'', with Leitmotif s where distinction was necessary. This approach was effective in, among others, the operas of Richard Wagner . Lucas therefore compiled a set of classical pieces for composer John Williams ' review to convey the styles he desired. Their influence over the final score is particularly evident in the following cases:
RE-RELEASES Theatrical Theatrical re-releases of the film include the 1978 , 1979 , 1981 , and 1982 releases. For all releases 1981 and later, the episode number and subtitle were added, but for the most part, the re-releases included only small differences compared to the 1977 release. The film was also re-released theatrically for a 1997 Special Edition (see below). Home Video The home video releases often had small changes from the theatrical versions as well. There were numerous VHS , Laserdisc , and Betamax releases of the 1977 version. However, none were released with the original opening crawl, which originally did not include the episode distiction or the episode subtitle. Several versions improved the quality of the film, such as the 1993 "Definitive Collection" Laserdisc release, or the 1995 "Faces" VHS/Laserdisc release. The Special Edition version of the film was released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1997 and VHS in 2000 , and on DVD in 2004 and 2005 . Releases of the original 1977 version
Special Editions In 1997, the movie was digitally remastered as the so-called ''Special Edition'', or ''SE'', for a 20th anniversary re-release. The controversial (amongst fans) Special Edition contains scenes not in the original release, most notably a conversation between Han Solo and Jabba The Hutt , as well as numerous other small changes and visual additions. Some of the added scenes were intended for the original version of the movie, but were not feasible without newer advances in Special Effect s technology, particularly in the area of Computer Generated Imagery . The Special Edition also had several scenes in which the events depicted were changed from those depicted in the original version; these changes were controversial as well, with many dedicated fans feeling the changes weakened the movie. One of the more notorious changes involved the scene in which Han Solo defeats the bounty hunter Greedo , who was holding Solo at gunpoint in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Their conversation reveals that Greedo is after the bounty Jabba the Hutt put on Solo. During the conversation, Solo discreetly removes his blaster from its holster under the table. Toward the end of the conversation, Greedo suggests that Jabba might be content to take only Solo's ship (the '' Millennium Falcon '') to cover Solo's debt. Han says "Over my dead body," to which Greedo replies, "That's the idea. I've been looking forward to this for a long time." In the original version, Solo says "Yes, I bet you have," and then shoots and kills Greedo, who never takes a shot. In the Special Edition, the scene is altered so that Greedo shoots first, somehow missing Solo at point-blank range as Solo fires. This change has been criticized/ridiculed in popular culture, most notably in the films of Kevin Smith . An episode of '' South Park '' entitled " Free Hat " is also a notable criticism of the changes made, in general. There is a scene change that most fans approve of: When Solo was chasing a few Stormtroopers down a corridor in the Death Star, only to be forced to flee when they make their stand and fight. In the Special Edition, Solo suddenly also faces dozens of reinforcements and realizes how much danger he is in. 2004 DVD Special Edition in the 2004 DVD version of ''A New Hope'']] Lucas was apparently concerned that having Solo shoot first portrayed him as an aggressor who takes life in cold blood, which is inconsistent with the heroic persona that Solo is supposed to exemplify. For the 2004 DVD release the scene was reworked once again, so that Han and Greedo shoot almost simultaneously (although Greedo still shoots a fraction of a second ahead of Solo). Further Changes were made in 2004 for the film's debut on the DVD format. With a few exceptions, most of these were minor or cosmetic in nature. SELECTED SOURCES AND INSPIRATIONS See Also: Star Wars sources and analogues 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'' (1958) 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'' (1954) The climactic scene in which the Death Star is assaulted was modeled after the also filmed the Special Effects sequences in '' The Dam Busters ''. ''Battle of Britain'' (1969) 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 Fighter s'', 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 manoeuvrable 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 '' and the TIE fighters are 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. Inspired by the World War II battles, many of the space battles depicted in ''A New Hope'' were edited together based on spliced together film of World War II Dog Fight s. This spliced film was used as an early form of Pre-visualization . In the finished film, the British and German aircraft were substituted with ''Star Wars'' spacecraft. ''633 Squadron'' (1964) Lucas has made mention of the film ", which involves several Royal Air Force planes flying at low level up a fjord against heavy, ground-based anti-aircraft fire, to attack a factory located at the base of a cliff at the canyon's end. ''Dune'' See Also: List of fiction inspired by 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 ''A New Hope'', Han Solo is a spice smuggler. The original treatment for the film submitted by Lucas dealt heavily with the transport of spice, though the nature of the material remained unexplored. Furthermore, in the conversation at Obi-Wan Kenobi's home between Obi-Wan and Luke, Luke expresses a belief that his father was a navigator on a spice freighter. In the '' Dune '' world, Navigators are mutated beings with special abilities suited towards navigating through space at faster-than-light speeds. ''Triumph of the Will'' (1935) 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.) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) The opening shot of ''A New Hope'', which shows an intricately detailed spaceship filling the screen overhead, is a nod to the scene introducing the interplanetary spacecraft ''''. The earlier big-budget science fiction film inspired the look of ''A New Hope'' in many other ways, including the use of EVA pods, hexagonal corridors and primitive computer graphics; although ''2001'' generally presented a more "antiseptic" look. Also, the orbiting space station in ''2001'' has a docking bay eerily reminiscent of the one on the Death Star. ERRORS
BACKSTORY The Expanded Universe reveals the events described in the film's opening crawl. 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 . (The Rebel Alliance operated an efficient and widespread intelligence network of Bothan spies.) Through this network, the Alliance learned of the construction of the Death Star, an extremely powerful Space Station capable of annihilating entire planets with its superlaser. Rebel prisoners aboard the Death Star managed to riot ('' Death Star Uprising '') and got control of a technical readout while Imperial-turned-Rebel Kyle Katarn retrieved further plans ('' Battle Of Danuta ''). From there they beamed it to Leia's ship, the ''Tantive IV'', while the 501st Legion , under Darth Vader , tracked Rebels to Polis Massa ('' Battle Of Polis Massa ''), however this was only a set-up for the Empire. Even so, the Rebels, who fought with the defensive upper hand, were crushed. Imperial forces soon discovered the true plot and the Star Destroyer '' Devastator '', under the command of Darth Vader himself, captured the '' Tantive IV '' in a space battle above Tatooine ('' Attack On Tantive IV ''), where Leia had been trying to reach. She hoped to enlist the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi , who was a fugitive Jedi in hiding on the planet and was watching over the young Luke Skywalker . Following these events from the EU, the film picks up with Stormtrooper s of the 501st take control of the ship, and Darth Vader arrives to assess the damage. Vader is outraged and questions Captain Antilles , whom he eventually strangles and kills. Hiding on the ship, Leia is spotted by part of the 501st, and is shot with a stun blast. Before taking her prisoner, Vader questions her as well. However, before being detained, 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 on Coruscant 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 . TRIVIA
ACADEMY AWARDS OTHER AWARDS The film was nominated for four ), and Best Score. It only won the award for Best Score. It received six BAFTA nominations: Best Film, Best Editing, Best Costume, Best Production/Art Design, Best Sound, and Best Score. The film won in the last two categories. John Williams ' soundtrack album won the Grammy award for Best Album of an original score for a motion picture or television program. The film won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. In 1989, the National Film Registry of the Library Of Congress selected this film for inclusion as a culturally and aesthetically important film. In 2006 , George Lucas ' original screenplay was selected by the Writers Guild of America as the 68th greatest screenplay of all time. The American Film Institute has named ''Star Wars'' or various elements of the film to several of its "top 100 lists" of American cinema, compiled as a part of the Institute's 100th anniversary celebration. These include:
NOVELIZATION See Also: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (novel) The novelization of the film was published in December 1976, six months before the film was released. The credited author was George Lucas himself, but the book was later revealed to have been Ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster , who went on to write the first Expanded Universe novel, '' Splinter Of The Mind's Eye ''. Certain scenes deleted from the film (and later restored or archived in DVD bonus features) were present in the novel, such as Luke at Tosche Station with Biggs and the encounter between Han and Jabba in Docking Bay 94. Also, some scenes from the movie were included in a photo insert added to later printings which never made the original film (such as a closeup of a stormtrooper riding on a Dewback ). Some of the material was omitted from the film by Lucas to maintain a linear narrative. RADIO DRAMA See Also: Star Wars (radio) A Radio Drama adaptation of the film was written by Brian Daley and was produced for and broadcast on the National Public Radio in 1981 . With the longer format no longer imposing an economy of storytelling, a great deal more backstory was presented. DVD RELEASE ''A New Hope'' was released on '' along with a bonus disc of supplemental material. It was digitally restored and remastered, with more changes made by George Lucas, detailed in List Of Changes In Star Wars Re-releases . The bonus disc included, according to the official site, "all-new bonus features, including the most comprehensive feature-length documentary ever produced on the Star Wars saga, and never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films." DVD features:
Bonus disc features:
The set was reissued in December 2005 as part of a three-disc "limited edition" boxed set that did ''not'' feature the bonus disc. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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