Year: 1977
Director: George Lucas
Country: U.S
Language: English
George Lucas' Star Wars is commonly considered the greatest science fiction film of all time, by people who have yet to see Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and/or Ridley Scott's Blade Runner Adjusting inflation, Star Wars is one of the highest grossing films of all time. Every generation in North America has seen the film, if you have not you will receive very curious looks from your friends, family and peers. Star Wars is a film that absolutely refuses to go away, for better and for worse.
Lucas' film concerns Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a simple farm boy who dreams of a better life. He soon gets what he wants when he meets his a curious bunch of filk (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2) and attempt to rescue a Rebel leader, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), from the clutches of the evil Empire.
Every-time I chat with a person who saw Star Wars when it was released in 1977 they always say the same thing, "It was unlike anything that had been made up to that point in time!" Was it really? Perhaps memory isn't very consistent with reality. The special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film made nearly a decade earlier, were greater from a visual aspect than the effects seen in Star Wars. This is not to say the effects in Lucas' film were bad, they are certainly very appealing, but the film can't be credited for being "new" and/or "revolutionary". Many of the characters and senes from the film are just rehashed from older samurai films and re-designed to have a Sci--fi look that will appeal to Western audiences. The plot itself is essentially Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. While the ability to alter ideas to fit a genre is somewhat impressive, this doesn't make Lucas any more of a genius than James Cameron.
The plot of Star Wars is as simple as its characters. There isn't much complexity in Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, just the fact that one character is good while the other is evil. Though some films can create complex reflections regarding society with the simple "good vs evil" idea, Night of the Hunter does this incredibly well, Star Wars does not. The script is weak and doesn't help in making the characters seem more "human", the only impressive piece of dialogue is in The Empire Strikes Back when Solo says "I know" after Leia says "I love you", and that line wasn't even in the script!
That being said, in regards to cinematography and effects the film looked quite good. There is a decent amount of detail in the background of every scene and it seems like it would be enormously difficult to create, film & edit the fast paced outer-space battles. The score is fantastic, definitely one of the greatest scores in the history of cinema. It makes the film exciting and worthwhile, without it the film as a whole may not be as loved as it is. Though most of the acting is sub-par, Alec Guiness (who absolutely hated the film with good reason) and Harrison Ford play their roles fairly well.
In conclusion, nowadays there are many people who wonder where Hollywood started to lean on special effects rather than a great plot with realistic characters. I believe Star Wars is the source of this problem. It was, and still is, a cash cow because of its simple story and visual appeal. While Woody Allen's Annie Hall beat Star Wars for "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards in 1977, it is clear that there are less film like Annie Hall being produced by major studios and more films like Star Wars. I cannot recommend Star Wars due to the negative impact it has had on the film industry in terms of choosing technology over intelligence, however I do have to give credit where credit is due. 3/5
You like this just a bit more than I do....It's a bore.
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