Subject: Retrospective: Star Wars (1977)

From: "Dragan Antulov" <[email-masked]>
Date: 28 Oct 1998 05:54:13 GMT

STAR WARS
A Film Review
Copyright Dragan Antulov 1998

Countries and legal systems that take the Rule of Law
principle seriously, had forbidden judges and juries to make
judgements in all matters that could involve them
personally. Luckily, movie reviewers aren't burdened with
such legislation. Otherwise, small pool of very special
movies would be forever ignored by this reviewer. In case of
STAR WARS, 1977 science fiction epic by George Lucas, the
consequences would be even more severe, because that film is
very special for tens of millions, if not hundreds of
millions of fans. In any case, objectivity is something
seldom seen in STAR WARS reviews, because undisputed
majority of reviewers rate it as one of the best, if not the
best film of all times. Those who don't usually have some
difficulties in hiding their artistic snobbery.

The author of this review must also concede his inability to
use cold, objective standards in reviewing this film. Like
so many previous reviewers, I must note that I watched STAR
WARS for the first time twenty years ago, and that I
remained enchanted by the experience ever since. Perhaps it
was childlike fascination with, until then unimaginable,
wonders that happened long time ago, in a galaxy far away.
Or perhaps it was the rush I felt minutes before the opening
shots, with my expectations already pumped up by serialised
comic books and novelisation I had read before. Anyway,
watching of STAR WARS was one of the most important movie
going experiences of my life. And it was also unmatched for
many years to come, because very few movies managed to have
such a strong impact on me like George Lucas' epic.

STAR WARS wasn't just important movie for me (or the
millions of fans who probably share the same sentiment). It
was the defining moment in the history of modern cinema.
Until than, American motion picture industry was in a limbo;
social turmoil in 1960s practically destroyed the Old
Hollywood, and new authors filled the void, mostly by using
Hollywood's financial and technical resources to create
serious, "personal" or "artsy" movies. As a result,
audience, traumatised of dark reality of Vietnam and
Watergate, didn't want to see the same dark and serious
content on the silver screen. George Lucas with its science
fiction epic was among the first to come into rescue. The
audience responded with unprecedented enthusiasm, and huge
financial success of the movie, later backed by supplement
industry of toys, books, comics, role playing games and
other merchandise, slowly began to change the face of
Hollywood. Serious, adult movies with artistic ambitions
faded into oblivion, and were replaced by industrial
products of "blockbuster" philosophy.

One of the biggest casualties of that trend was the science
fiction movie genre. Until 1977, science fiction movies were
mostly in B-production domain. In late 1960s, bigger budgets
for science fiction didn't look so strange anymore, thanks
to the great success of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. But the same
success coincided with the surge of pesimism, and Hollywood
science fiction was as bleak as the rest of its production -
mostly dark, dystopic movies. However, in 1977 STAR WARS
showed once and for all that this genre can be inspiration
for popular movies, even among the audience that usually
doesn't like it. As a result, seriousness in cinematic
science fiction began fading away, although some good, dark
and cult quality SF and continued to be filmed until early
1980s. After that, science fiction continued to be
considered a synonym for family entertainment.

Ironically, the man responsible for STAR WARS was in its
time considered to be member of "New Hollywood" generation
of young movie authors who made "artsy" and "personal" films
in early 1970s. George Lucas established himself with the
dystopic SF movie THX 1138, and nostalgic drama AMERICAN
GRAFFITI. Both movies were considered "personal" in its
time, despite latter one becoming very popular. In a sense,
STAR WARS is an also very "personal" film, and the thorny
way to the final production shows that commercial
considerations were against it, not for it. But unlike many
"personal" movies of the era, its "personality" was in line
with the wishes of the general audience.

The plot, set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far away",
begins in a time of civil war. The evil Empire is threatened
by rebels who want to restore the old Republic. In order to
quash any opposition, the Empire had built Death Star,
superweapon powerful enough to destroy whole planets. The
information about Death Star, acquired by Rebel
intelligence, is being transported by Princess Leia Organa
(Carrie Fisher) when her ship gets intercepted by Imperial
cruiser. Princess is arrested by Imperial warlord Darth
Vader (played by David Prowse and voice by James Earl
Jones), but the information is being sent to nearby desert
planet of Tatooine via two humanoid robots - C3PO (Anthony
Daniels) and R2D2 (Kenny Baker). Those two robots are sold
to the family of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), young
restless man who wants to leave his farm and become space
pilot. His adventure begins when R2D2 escapes, because the
information must reach mysterious local hermit Obi Wan
Kenobi (Alec Guiness). Old man is actually the last
surviving Jedi knight, member of the ancient order that
defended Republic through the use of mystical Force. After
some hesitation, Luke agrees to join Obi Wan in his mission
to save the Princess, while the old man would teach him the
ways of the Force. Their small band comes to the colourful
spaceport of Moss Eisely, where they hire the spaceship
owned by rogue pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his furry
sidekick Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).

Critics who don't like the movie, especially those who can't
forgive Lucas for his contribution to the quashing of "New
Hollywood", are prone to point the lack of originality. On
the surface, they might be right; Lucas himself admits that
he found a lot of inspiration in the lore of Old Hollywood -
westerns, WWII aviation movies, old SF cliffhanger serials
of the 1930s and 1940s; yet the most obvious element would
be Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic THE HIDDEN FORTRESS. On
the other hand, those who had spent last two decades
studying the movie to death would say that the inspiration
for STAR WARS went even further - into collective
subconscious of Western civilisation (hinted by some mild
Tolkien references). The others would find the author's
element within the story - STAR WARS could be seen as an
anti- establishment film; young, long-haired, easy going,
nature-loving heroes are fighting against old, uptight and
oppressive forces who use supertechnology in most demonic
purposes.

Even out of its historical or social context, STAR WARS is
an impressive as a strictly technical piece of the seven
art. George Lucas' direction is very good, with the clever
editing and a well-paced segments between action and
dramatic buildup. Characters are well-drawn and deliver all
the necessary ingredients, both for the space opera and
Hollywood blockbuster. We have a "coming-of-age" hero,
damsel-in-distress (somewhat toned down due to the popular
feminist trends of the time), reluctant helper, benevolent
mentor, diabolical villain and, finally, comic relief in
form of two non-human characters. Some of the actors are
very good - Alec Guiness in his most famous role to date,
James Earl Jones whose voice is enough to cause unease,
Peter Cushing as an incarnation of pure evil in human form.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the main leads -
among the main trio of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and
Harrison Ford, only the last one had the character
three-dimensional enough to launch his further acting
career.

The thing that looked like the most important segment of
STAR WARS phenomena during its initial release was the new
level of special effects technology. Often comparisons with
2001: SPACE ODYSSEY, another ground-breaking SF film, were
citing the sheer number of effects as a proof of the Lucas'
superiority over Kubrick. However, the special effects by
John Dykstra and John Stears are indeed impressive, even
after two decades (although 1997 Special Edition did improve
them significantly), yet they aren't the most remembered
trademark of the movie. That honour should definitely go to
the "Oscar"-winning soundtrack by John Williams, whose work
on STAR WARS is probably the brightest gem in his brilliant
career.

Newer generations of viewers might be somewhat deprived of
the enchantment that still holds those lucky enough to
witness STAR WARS original release. Yet, even if they are
immune to the George Lucas' magic they should watch this
film nevertheless, perhaps only to become familiar with
something that is essential part of contemporary culture.

RATING: 9/10 (++++)

Review written on October 26th 1998

Dragan Antulov a.k.a. Drax
Fido: 2:381/100
E-Mail: [email-masked]
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