Star Wars (film)
Star Wars is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and released by Twentieth Century-Fox. It is the first film in the Star Wars franchise and the fourth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set in a fictional galaxy under the rule of the tyrannical Galactic Empire, the film follows a resistance movement, called the Rebel Alliance, that aims to destroy the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star. When the rebel leader Princess Leia is captured by the Galactic Empire, Luke Skywalker acquires stolen architectural plans for the Death Star and sets out to rescue her while learning the ways of a metaphysical power known as "the Force" from the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, and James Earl Jones.
Lucas had the idea for a science fiction film in the vein of Flash Gordon around the time he completed his first film, THX 1138, and he began working on a treatment after the release of American Graffiti. After numerous rewrites, principal photography began in March of 1976 in locations including Tunisia and Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. Lucas formed the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic to help create the film's visual effects. Star Wars suffered production difficulties: the cast and crew believed the film would be a failure, and it went $3 million over budget due to delays.
Few were confident in the film's box office prospects. It was released in a small number of theaters in the United States on May 25, 1977, and quickly became a surprise blockbuster, leading to it being expanded to a much wider release. Star Wars opened to critical acclaim, with particular praise for its special effects. It grossed $410 million worldwide during its initial run, surpassing Jaws to become the highest-grossing film until the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ; subsequent releases have brought its total gross to $775 million. When adjusted for inflation, Star Wars is the second-highest-grossing film in North America and the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. It received six Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and thirteen Saturn Awards, among others. The film has been reissued many times with Lucas' support, including the 1981 reissue giving the film the subtitle Episode IV – A New Hope, and the 1997 "Special Edition". The reissues have contained many changes, including new scenes, visual effects, and dialogue.
Often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films of all time, Star Wars quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, launching an industry of tie-in products, including novels, comics, video games, amusement park attractions and merchandise such as toys, games, and clothing. It became one of the first 25 films selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1989, and its soundtrack was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2004. The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi followed Star Wars, rounding out the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy and a sequel trilogy have since been released, in addition to two standalone films and various television series.
Plot
In a period of galactic civil war, Rebel Alliance spies have stolen blueprints to the Death Star, a colossal space station built by the Galactic Empire that is capable of destroying entire planets. Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, secretly a rebel leader, has obtained the schematics, but her ship is intercepted and boarded by Imperial forces under the command of Darth Vader. Leia is taken prisoner, but the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO escape with the plans, crashing on the nearby desert planet of Tatooine. Darth Vader orders his troops to pursue the droids.The droids are captured by Jawa traders, who sell them to the moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew, Luke Skywalker. While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, he discovers a recording of Leia requesting help from a former ally named Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2-D2 goes missing, and while searching for him, Luke is attacked by Sand People. He is rescued by the elderly hermit Ben Kenobi, who soon reveals himself as Obi-Wan. He tells Luke about his past as one of the Jedi Knights, peacekeepers of the former Galactic Republic, who drew mystical abilities from the Force and were all but exterminated by the Empire. Luke learns that his father, also a Jedi, fought alongside Obi-Wan during the Clone Wars until Vader, Obi-Wan's former pupil, turned to the dark side of the Force and murdered him. Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's lightsaber, the signature weapon of the Jedi.
R2-D2 plays Leia's full message, in which she begs Obi-Wan to take the Death Star plans to Alderaan and give them to her father, a fellow veteran, for analysis. Luke initially declines Obi-Wan's offer to accompany him to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force. However, he quickly changes his mind after Imperial stormtroopers murder his family and destroy his home while searching for the droids. Seeking a way off the planet, Luke and Obi-Wan travel with the droids to the city of Mos Eisley and hire the smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee partner Chewbacca, pilots of the starship Millennium Falcon.
On the way to Alderaan, Obi-Wan begins Luke's training in the use of the Force. Meanwhile, the Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin has Alderaan obliterated by the station's superlaser. The Death Star's tractor beam captures the Falcon, but Luke and his companions manage to avoid detection and infiltrate the station. Vader, however, senses Obi-Wan’s presence, and begins searching for him. As Obi-Wan deactivates the tractor beam, Luke persuades Han and Chewbacca to help him rescue Leia, who is scheduled for execution after refusing to reveal the location of the rebel base. After disabling the tractor beam, Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a lightsaber duel against Vader, which allows the rest of the group to escape. Using a tracking device placed on the Falcon, the Empire locates the rebel base on the moon Yavin 4.
Analysis of the Death Star schematics reveals a weakness in a small exhaust port leading directly to the station's reactor. Luke joins the Rebellion's X-wing squadron in a desperate attack against the Death Star, while Han and Chewbacca leave to pay off a debt to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. In the ensuing battle, Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters and destroys several rebel ships, while Tarkin prepares to destroy Yavin 4 with the Death Star. Han and Chewbacca unexpectedly return in the Falcon, knocking Vader's ship off course before he can shoot Luke down. Guided by the voice of Obi-Wan's spirit, Luke uses the Force to aim his torpedoes into the exhaust port, causing the Death Star to explode moments before it can fire on the rebel base. In a triumphant ceremony, Leia awards Luke and Han medals for their heroism.
Cast
- Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker: A young adult raised by his aunt and uncle on Tatooine, who dreams of something more than his current life.
- Harrison Ford as Han Solo: A smuggler and captain of the Millennium Falcon
- Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa: Princess of the planet Alderaan, member of the Imperial Senate, and a leader of the Rebel Alliance
- Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin: The commander of the Death Star
- Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi: An aging Jedi Master who introduces Luke to the Force
- Anthony Daniels as See Threepio : A humanoid protocol droid
- Kenny Baker as Artoo Detoo : An astromech droid
- Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca: Han's Wookiee friend and co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon
- David Prowse / James Earl Jones as Lord Darth Vader: Obi-Wan's former Jedi apprentice who fell to the dark side of the Force
Production
Development
George Lucas had the idea for a space opera prior to 1971. According to Mark Hamill, he wanted to make it before his 1973 coming-of-age film American Graffiti. His original plan was to adapt the Flash Gordon space adventure comics and serials into films, having been fascinated by them since he was young. Lucas attempted to purchase the rights, but they had already been acquired by the producer Dino De Laurentiis. Lucas then discovered that Flash Gordon was inspired by the John Carter of Mars book series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of Tarzan. Burroughs, in turn, had been influenced by Gulliver on Mars, a 1905 science fantasy written by Edwin Arnold. Lucas took the science fantasy concept and began developing what he would call a "space fantasy".In May 1971, Lucas persuaded the head of United Artists, David Picker, to take a chance on two of his film ideas: American Graffiti and the space opera. Although Lucas signed a two-picture deal, the studio ultimately declined to produce Graffiti. Universal Pictures picked it up, and Lucas spent the next two years making the coming-of-age film, which was immensely successful. In January 1973, he began working on the space opera full-time. He began the process by inventing odd names for characters and places. By the time the screenplay was finalized he had discarded many of the names, but several made it into the final script and later sequels. He used his early notes to compile a two-page synopsis titled Journal of the Whills, which chronicled the tale of CJ Thorpe, an apprentice "Jedi-Bendu", who was being trained by the legendary Mace Windy. He felt that this story was too difficult to understand, however.
Lucas began writing a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars on April 17, 1973, which had narrative parallels with Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film The Hidden Fortress. He later explained that Star Wars is not a story about the future, but rather a "fantasy" that has more in common with the Brothers Grimm than the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. He said his motivation for making the film was to give young people an "honest, wholesome fantasy life," of the kind his generation had. He hoped it would offer "the romance, the adventure, and the fun that used to be in practically every movie".
While impressed with the innocence of the story and the sophistication of Lucas' fictional world, United Artists declined to fund the project. Lucas and Gary Kurtz, a producer, then presented the treatment to Universal Pictures, the studio that financed American Graffiti. Universal agreed it could be a successful venture, but declined to fund it, citing doubts about Lucas' ability to execute his vision. Kurtz claimed the studio's rejection was primarily due to Universal head Lew Wasserman's low opinion of science fiction, and the general unpopularity of the genre at the time. Francis Ford Coppola subsequently brought the project to a division of Paramount Pictures named the Directors Company he ran with fellow directors Peter Bogdanovich and William Friedkin, but Friedkin questioned Lucas' ability to direct the film, and both Friedkin and Bogdanovich declined to finance it. Walt Disney Productions also turned down the project.
Star Wars was accepted by Twentieth Century-Fox in June 1973. The president of the studio, Alan Ladd Jr., did not grasp the technical side of the project, but believed in Lucas' talent. Lucas later stated that Ladd invested in him, not in the film. The Fox deal gave Lucas $150,000 to write and direct the film. In August 1973, American Graffiti opened to massive success, which afforded Lucas the necessary leverage to renegotiate the deal and gain control of merchandising and sequel rights.