Andy's Archive: Star Wars (1977)

Credit: 20th Century Fox

A long time ago, I was a Star Wars-loving kid who watched the movies, and also had toys, video games, trading cards, comic books, and probably more stuff that I begged my grandparents to buy for me. Between then and now, somewhere along the way I outgrew the world of Star Wars. I wasn't even expecting to be pulled back into this galaxy of characters but a special young kid sucked me back into it. I thought I knew the entire story, yet now as an adult there are details that I have forgotten or wouldn't have even noticed as a kid. I also have a view of the greater picture, which is the effect of Star Wars as a pop culture phenomenon and this is definitely the most (or one of) important in the history of motion pictures.

As a kid, it draws on your sense of wonder, with a relate-able young hero, cute little characters like R2D2, a light saber battle, space ships that fly at warp speed, a mysterious villain with an endless supply of goons, and a whole host of unique characters. As an adult viewer, I actually appreciate all of the work done to create each and every character, from the Jawas to the Stormtroopers. There was no doubt a ton of work done to give each character their own language, the sound effects for R2D2 as well as the blasters used by the Stormtroopers, and even Darth Vader's unique voice; I now realize what "Sound Design" truly is. Oh, and plenty of "Wilhelm Screams" are here, too.

Also viewing this as an adult, I have knowledge of Flash Gordon, science fiction films that were produced in the 1950's, and I've now seen what Star Wars has inspired in the decades since it's original release. At the time the closest thing to Star Wars was Star Trek, which featured a crew of space explorers. Star Wars could be considered more of a "coming of age" tale in space, as it's done through the eyes of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as he joins the Rebellion in its galactic war with the Empire. There has been a war going on for some time, and though we don't know the "why" or "how", I prefer it being through Luke's eyes since it makes it a personal story about his rag tag crew. There's Han Solo, portrayed by Harrison Ford, who's a smuggler and has no allegiance but to himself. The real treat of seeing this now is that I realized how effectively Harrison Ford has stolen the show. I love when he's disguised as a Stormtrooper and he is on the radio trying to keep the enemy away from his rescue mission aboard the Death Star, and in frustration he blasts it with his gun; "it was a boring conversation anyway." Accompanying Han is Chewbacca, who is a large, furry, almost Sasquatch-like alien that speaks only in roars. Two droids are the reason for this journey into space- C3PO is a nerdy and nervous protocol droid and the other is the opposite, the stubborn R2D2. While much of the cast is fairly unknown, veteran actor Alec Guinness is the wise, spiritual guide named Obi Wan Kenobi, whose knowledge is sought out by the Rebellion. That seems to be part of the appeal; that the characters are underdogs and each has his own personality. It actually seems like Star Wars takes more inspiration from pirate movies than it does science fiction, only the setting is changed. I could be putting too much thought into the outfits worn by Luke and Han.

Star Wars may have taken the social commentary out of science fiction and that's why many of today's films within the genre are more likely to rely on special effects wizardy and action-packed scenes. However there's a hint of politics, as the Imperial forces are dominant under a tyranny ruled by the unseen Emperor; this would be explored more in its sequels and prequels. Though as I said, I prefer how this focuses more on the characters' adventure as just a slice of the larger war.