Star Wars IV: A New Hope (the 1977 original): A+
by Patricia Draznin
IN 1977, George Lucas tapped into the Universal Mind with the heroic
sci-fi adventure of good versus evil and the temptation that blurs the
line between them. The mighty epic launched a culture that has picked
up steam and followers through two generations—so far. And since
the final installation of Revenge of the Sith, there’s never been
a better time to revisit the original episode with all the gusto and
triumph that electrified our imaginations a long time ago in a galaxy
far, far away.
Lucas’s powerful and timeless story is packed with rich passages
about the existence of a mysterious force that binds the universe, and
the legend of a heroic race of Jedi warriors who fought against the
evil Imperial forces. The cast of intriguing characters includes the
believers and non-believers, and the opposition led by Darth Vader,
who uses the dark side of the Force. Lucas’s magical genius serves
up a smorgasbord of creatures like the Sand People, the jelly-like Jabba
the Hutt, the prissy pessimistic droid C3PO, and a legendary bar scene
where Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) meets Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the
Wookiee Chewbacca.
In this ever fresh and amazing episode, the feisty Princess Leia (Carrie
Fisher) is the consummate Rebel hero for her fearless leadership and
her low threshold for B.S. Leia is captured by the Imperial forces for
stealing the secret code to their destructive Death Star. She feeds
the code to R2D2 with an S.O.S. to Obi-Wan Kenobi, an aging Jedi master
who lives as hermit Ben Kenobi on the desert planet of Tatooine on the
Outer Rim.
Also on Tatooine lives a restless young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill),
whose foster parents keep him working their moisture farm. But when
Luke tunes his uncle’s new droids, R2 beams a hologram of a princess
asking Obi-Wan Kenobi for help. Luke’s encounter with Ben Kenobi
reveals the backstory of the Jedi race that was all but annihilated
when Darth Vader joined the Dark Side and killed Luke’s father.
Ben gives Luke his father’s lightsaber and asks him to join the
Rebel cause. But Luke has responsibilities at home. Or did. His family
has just been killed by Stormtroopers searching for the droid carrying
their secret code. Luke’s destiny is clear. He’s about to
become a Jedi.
Twenty years later, Star Wars IV captured me all over again,
from the wide text introduction to the closing credits. Alongside the
other classics, Lucas’s legend will live forever as the triumph
of good over weakness and evil. Star Wars gives us something bigger
and better to believe in. It gives us A New Hope.
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