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 Star Wars: Episode IV
A New Hope
Box Office Stats:
Originally opened May 25, 1977. Special Edition opened January 31, 1997.
$798 million worldwide (10th biggest ever)
$460,998,007 domestic (2nd biggest ever)
Ahh.... the original Star Wars. A long time ago, in a
galaxy far, far away, there lived a little whining kid named Luke Skywalker. He
lived with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, because his parents had "died..." or so
he thought.
Then, one day, he happened upon these two little droids named
R2-D2 and C-3PO. Intrigued by a message for "Obi-Wan Kenobi," he wondered if
perhaps that old hermit Ben Kenobi was related to "Obi-Wan." When R2 runs off
and Luke and 3PO must give chase, they are attacked by vicious Sand People until
who should come to the rescue but old Ben, perfectly imitating the call of the
native Krayt Dragon to scare off the "Tusken Raiders." At that point it's
revealed that - surprise! - Obi-Wan is Ben! After realizing that his aunt
and uncle had been killed by an Imperial Stormtrooper raid, and that these two
droids were immensely valuable, carrying plans for the Empire's Death Star, they
all set off for Mos Eisley, where they found Han Solo, Captain of the
Millennium Falcon, and his copilot Chewie. They then flew off and set a
course for Alderaan, where Princess Leia had told them to go with the droids in
her hologram.
When they arrive, they find the planet blown to smithereens by
the Death Star, which they then board. They rescue Leia from the clutches of
Cell Block 1138 and escape, but minus Old Ben. Sadly, Darth Vader had chopped
him in two just before they took off. They blow up a few TIE Fighters and head
to Yavin 4, home of the Rebel Alliance.
But - oops! - they had no clue the Darth and his buddies had
secretly planted a homing beacon on the Millennium Falcon, leading him -
and the Death Star - to the Rebellion's base. The Rebels quickly find a crack
in the Death Star's armor and dispatch a small bunch of starfighters to take it
on.
The special effects are amazing when you think that this was
made in 1977, and the Special Edition version updates those. The music - done,
as always, by John Williams - is exceptional, with my favorites being the Main
Theme and the Throne Room & Finale songs. While the movie doesn't have quite
as much action as the other Star Wars movies, it still works as a wonderful
introduction to one of the biggest franchises in cinematic history.
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