AI-Themed Blogging: STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE, 1977 - Photo credit: getwallpapers, edition by Amber255 for bitLanders.com
STAR WARS - a cult fantasy film saga directed by George Lucas. The episodes of the series absorbed the archetypes of both science fiction and classical mythology, as well as provided their magnificent musical interpretation. Films are an excellent example of space operas; they have occupied a prominent place in pop culture and have become the highest earned film series of all time. In recent years, the series has gained even greater popularity, giving rise to a new generation of enthusiastic fans.
There is a classic trilogy, a prequel trilogy, as well as the latest trilogy. The first movie was STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977). Two sequels - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983) followed after the New Hope. The director of all these films was George Lucas. He is the founding father of the universe loved by many viewers with an army of fans.
After the release of these films, STAR WARS was forgotten until 1999. Then G. Lucas decided to film the prequel trilogy, telling about those events that occurred before the classic trilogy.
What George Lucas accomplished is truly remarkable.
Credit: rachelsreviews
Today I want to talk about the first film of the STAR WARS' franchise - STAR WARS: A New Hope, released in 1977.
STAR WARS, Episode IV: A New Hope first appeared to the cinemas as STAR WARS. Only later when were created new series, it got a longer name, and now it's STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE, the writer, and director of which was George Lucas.
This film became the first chapter of the original trilogy and marked the beginning of the STAR WARS saga.
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE, 1977 Trailer - Video credit: youtube
The Plot
The events of the film take place 19 years after the formation of the Galactic Empire. At this time, the construction of the Death Star, a weapon capable of destroying the planet, has already been created.
Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), the leader of the Rebel Alliance, carrying stolen super-weapon blueprints, was captured and detained at a combat station.
At this time on the desert planet Tatooine, a young farmer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) meets Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), an old hermit who lived in solitude for many years. When Luke’s house is burned, and his uncle and aunt are killed, Obi-Wan begins to train Luke as a Jedi. From this point on, Luke realizes his true purpose: he is Jedi Knight, one of them. They, along with Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), attempt to rescue the princess from Imperial captivity.
For the first time in the history of cinematography in the center of the plot is a civil war, which must decide the fate of the entire galaxy
STAR WARS' Franchise - Photo credit: imdb
The Content
The first versions of the STAR WARS scenario, combining epic, fiction, and children's fairy tale, George Lucas wrote in the 70s, but, unfortunately, the film company met his idea with a great deal of skepticism. The Vietnam War was just over, American society was at the center of political scandals, and the film industry was stamping films in the spirit of harsh realism. No one could have imagined that the story of the distant-distant galaxy could somehow interest the ordinary viewer. All these innovations, landscapes, creatures, robots, and events seemed too exotic and alien to those times. However, the studio 20th Century Fox still entered into a contract with Lucas.
When, in 1977, Lucas mounted the preliminary version of the film and showed it to his friends, they were so wildly horrified by the picture that they diligently told him to throw away the film and forget about it. And only Steven Spielberg convinced him that he had shot something worthwhile.
Science fiction film STAR WARS - Photo Credit: getwallpapers
As for the film itself, comments are simply superfluous here, because the excitement of watching this masterpiece cannot be overshadowed by the fact that critics and fans counted 261 mistakes in it. Even against the background of the modern film industry, if you do not take into account the special effects, the fourth episode of STAR WARS is considered one of the most popular films of all time.
But could anyone have assumed even one day before the release that the film will have such a stunning effect on people? Did anyone think that it will set a new record for earned money that will be not beaten for twenty years?
Lucas first took the 4th, 5th, and 6th episodes. In the 70s, Lucas did not plan to film this trilogy at all. He worked on the script for several years, but still, in 1977, the first episode New Hope was released.
Science fiction film STAR WARS - Photo credit: sptimo7sello.blogspot
Lucas started filming the STAR WARS in 1974. With a production budget of $ 11 million, released on May 25, 1977, the film became one of the most successful in history. It earned $215 million in the United States and $337 million abroad only during premiere shows in cinemas and received several prestigious awards, including those it has won in seven out of eleven Oscar nominations.
From the modern point of view, this may seem absurd, but the film, which marked the beginning of the franchise, which has become such an essential part of modern mass culture, that without it, perhaps, it would be simply inconceivable today, initially earned reviews like banal film, mediocre film, and the film not able to captivate a viewer.
At that time, films in this genre were often made, but they had very little in common with Lucas's creations. American viewers were accustomed to the fact that science fiction meant films touching the disturbing topics, with gloomy anti-utopian plots. All these films raised the problems of social control, inequality, and the lack of freedom, and their action took place in the world of the future.
STAR WARS, Episode IV: A NEW HOPE - Photo credit: imdb
We can say that they anticipated the further development of social fiction in science fiction cinematography. Thus, the directors, depicting a possible future, as if conducted a social experiment but not only on paper but on the screen.
Science fiction has always been designed not only to explore possible ways for the society's development of society, but also to warn it about dangerous tendencies and, moreover, to make thinking about the destinies of humanity accessible to as a large and wide circle of people as possible. And George Lucas also turned to science fiction - but only went in such a way that he turned his film rather into space fantasy.
Using some techniques, Lucas focused less on the social and much more on the moral aspect. But besides all this, he set himself the goal of creating such a film that would open a completely new space for people to the imagination, would give them a new Universe where they would feel at home, and which they would like to explore.
STAR WARS franchise - Photo credit: getwallpapers
Lucas used the plot, moving the action into space. Once again to get involved in this plot is as easy as empathizing with characters who are strong but simple, and who have so many things that are close to all of us, including minor character flaws and high hopes with disappointments.
At the heart of the film is not a death star, robots, shooters, and laser swords. Here are love and betrayals, hatred and loyalty, philological games overlap all his seemingly cosmic nature. The film is not about space but about people, feelings, and emotions.
The very same story keeps us in suspense from the first minutes. This is how the films of George Lucas differ so much - there are practically no extra frames, episodes, and characters in them - each plays its own unique role and carries a certain semantic load.
Events unfold so rapidly that sometimes you do not have time to enjoy the incredible atmosphere that surrounds the main characters. All this is so new and unusual, but the actions are constantly riveting our attention to the actors and the dangers that hang over them.
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE movie review - Photo credit: getwallpapers
The Characters And The Actors
Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness are incredible in their roles' images. The actress Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill added to their personages some striking characteristics, filling them with youthful energy and passion.
David Prowse performed the role of Lord Darth Vader who supported the side of evil. In a funny role of Chewbacca was invited Peter Mayhew.
The charisma of Harrison Ford, who plays the spectacular, self-confident, and very gambling character of Han Solo, with his disputes with Leia and constant reproaches towards Luke and Chewie, added a realistic contrast to this fantastic saga.
Considering that bitLanders started AI-themed blogging, I must mention why I write STAR WARS review. What about artificial intelligence there? We have two AI personages here: robot R2-D2 and robot C-3PO.
AI-Themed blogging: STAR WARS - Photo credit: twitter
Robot R2-D2 - AI robot in STARS WARS, the droid. It is a friend of C-3PO robot, Skywalker, and Leia. Kenny Baker embodied the robot R2-D3 in the classic trilogy.
Robot C-3PO - a humanoid robot. This robot was designed for STAR WARS as a protocol droid. Its mission was to assist in translation, etiquette, and customs. The robot -3PO played Anthony Daniels.
The Technical Side
For the incredible characters' creation, it worth saying thanks to John Stears who was mechanical effects supervisor in this film. His own contribution added also the costume designer John Mollo. He created very spectacular futuristic clothes. The make-up artist Stuart Freeborn worked from the heart too. Technicians of the film also added their best efforts. Every member of the filming team should be very proud of their incredible contribution to the tape.
John Williams created a rich, lush soundtrack. Its important part is the Dolby sound system, thanks to which the music is crystal clear. You will not forget the fascinating John 's music that has become legendary, from the single sound of which hundreds of images from this incredible universe come to mind.
Photo credit: imdb
The STAR WARS epic takes place in a distant galaxy, and screen beauties are mainly created by studio decorators and special effects artists. However, the film crew finds the corners of the Earth, which look as alien sights. Even in Tunisia, few people knew that there was a small semi-underground town in the country. Its inhabitants kept apart until record rains flooded the settlement and forced its inhabitants to ask for help from the state. So on the map of southern Tunisia appeared the town of Matmata, which has since become one of the main attractions of the country. This was taken care of by George Lucas, who chose Matmata as the location for filming Luke Skywalker's house on the desert planet Tatooine.
And although most of the events occurred on board the Death Star and in outer space, the viewer throughout the film does not leave a sense of transcendence and the inaccessibility of this reality. Detailed the interior aboard spaceships and a variety of costumes immerses us in the atmosphere of the mysterious world of STAR WARS.
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE - Ending - Video credit: youtube.com
On A Final Note
To say that it made a revolution in the film industry is the same as saying nothing because the brainchild of Lucas showed the world such possibilities of science fiction films that no one could have dreamed of. In fact, I can say that the history of cinematography got divided into two periods: until 1977 and after, especially with regard to fiction, because most at that time could not have imagined that the storyline could have such large-scale events.
Today, the STAR WARS franchise is an integral element of popular culture, and sometimes even people who have not watched any of them can name key characters and quote these films.
STAR WARS' success in the audience (in particular, New Hope) not only predetermined the appearance of many films of the same genre, which later became cult, but also once again confirmed that negative, as well as sometimes positive, reviews of critics can be deceptive and not predict what the fate of a film will be in a relatively distant future.
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE movie review - Photo credit: getwallpapers
In conclusion, I just want to say that it is simply not possible to convey with words the delight of watching this fascinating episode of the saga. Therefore, for those who for some reason have not yet watched this wonderful film, I advise you to watch immediately!
This was the movie that started it all. The reason the Star Wars saga still influences us in our daily lives was because of this one movie. Thank you George Lucas for giving us a masterpiece and creating the best saga ever!
Credit: metacritic
My rating: 9.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93/100
Metacritic: 90/100
Critics average: 96/100
IMDb: 8.6/10
HAVE FUN!
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