Continuing my rewatching and reviewing 7 Star Wars films in 7 days. I actually started watching Episode 4 right after watching Episode 3 for this blog post and it gave me a bit of a different perspective which was interesting. Firstly all the references to the evil Galactic Empire and the Imperial Senate really hit home after seeing so much of them in the prequels. And it was great to see Darth Vader so quickly after just having seen Anakin turn into Vader a few minutes previously. Furthermore, it’s strange to know right from the start that Vader is Leia’s father, when they meet in the first few minutes. It does make the universe a lot smaller when compared to watching A New Hope for the first time and we had no idea that Vader was her father. These two points just highlight how watching the original trilogy and the prequels in different orders can have both pros and cons.

Obviously A New Hope has a huge nostalgia factor but I really do think it massively holds up too. It does have a more raw factor to the film-making of course, as it was made in the 70s, but even without the Special Edition enhancements the effects were still ground breaking back then. And the fact that it was the first movie means that it stands alone as a complete movie more than any other episode. But I just like the simplicity of it too. It’s a fairly simple space adventure and yet it also hints at a lot of history and backstory which gives it a great sense of depth and scale.

I basically know the film off by heart, as I’m sure a lot of us do, and if I had to a ‘filmaoke’ I would either do it with Star Wars or WarGames.

It’s the film that started the legend that is Star Wars, and it’s pretty awesome. I could watch it again and again. And I do.

GOOD POINTS
• That opening shot really is something else, isn’t it?
• The score by John Williams. Incredible
• Seeing Vader for the first time
• I love the whole premise and delivery of the Leia hologram message that Luke stumbles upon
• The banter between C3-PO and R2-D2
• Alec Guinness’s performance
• The whole Cantina scene and meeting Han and Chewie for the first time
• Han Solo / Harrison Ford
• Han shooting first – in the original version
• I love the ship designs, especially the Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters
• The bit where the stormtrooper hits his head on the door
• The set design of the Death Star is great
• It’s got a good sense of humour, and it’s in the script and character interaction, as opposed to the slapstick humour prevalent in the prequels
• I love the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Vader and the sense of history between them that is evoked. Particularly poignant after just having watched Revenge of the Sith
• The cool wireframe graphics of the Death Star plans
• The stylish black and white R2 unit during the mission briefing scene. One of the best R2s in all the movies
• Luke’s awesome jacket at the award ceremony

BAD POINTS
• Leia’s bun hairdo. I mean, really. What is that all about?
• “But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power convertors”
• Greedo shooting first – in the special edition
• Some of the lines really are cheesy and hard to say
• I always feel the trash compactor scene is a little bit too long, especially with Luke constantly repeating “Where could he be?”
• Chewie not receiving a medal at the award ceremony

RANKING
1. Ep 4: A New Hope
2. Ep 3: Revenge of the Sith
3. Ep 2: Attack of the Clones
4. Ep 1: The Phantom Menace