A More Civilized Age: A Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Reflection

HAMFISTED OPENING CRAWL JOKE

The Episode IV One

A MORE CIVILIZED AGE

It is a period of civil war. A random writer, striking from a hidden website, has written his first STAR WARS movie "reflection" post.

While the series sates audiences with its streaming shows, the writer decides instead to discuss his opinions on the SKYWALKER SAGA in an annual MAY THE FOURTH blog series.

Inoffensive and beloved by nearly every fan, the ORIGINAL 1977 CLASSIC seems like a good place to start this nine-year endeavor...

Official Movie Poster

Introduction:

Welcome! As that awkward opening crawl pointed out, I’m starting this annual, May the Fourth tradition of reviewing reflecting on the episodic Star Wars movies. We’ll be doing this in release order, so that means A New Hope comes first.

Given that it’s tied for my favorite movie in the whole franchise, you’re going to hear a lot of gushing about it, so sit back and relax: this is going to be a (mostly) positive, salt-free read.

Part 1: Strength of Simplicity

In the fourth chronological chapter of the greater Star Wars Skywalker story, we watch as young farm boy Luke Skywalker joins up with the wise old Jedi Ben Kenobi, the scruffy-looking scoundrel Han Solo, and his trusty Wookie co-pilot Chewbacca on an adventure to deliver the plans to the planet-killing Death Star into the hands of the Rebel Alliance and crush the tyrannical ambitions of the Galactic Empire. Planets burn, princesses are rescued, and sacrifices are made, but the young Jedi-to-be triumphs over impossible odds—and the vicious Darth Vader—to bring the battle station down and begin his career as the Galaxy’s next great hero.

…And that’s it. No multimedia plot threads or cliffhangers, no need for anything other than the most basic exposition, and not a single subverted expectation or stale meme in sight—just good guys, bad guys, and explosions. Even as part of a humungous franchise, A New Hope is the most fully capable of standing entirely on its own. In a theoretical universe where this was the only Star Wars film—or even the only Star Wars thing—ever produced, it would still be an all-time classic.

Look at the current state of Star Wars and you’ll find a whole universe or two’s worth of other movies, books, games, shows, etc. While I can certainly enjoy a fair amount of it, when things are made (or at least perceived by fans) as being necessary for experiencing other parts of the IP, or worse, serving as a silly explanation for the most minute and ridiculous details, it tends to rub me the wrong way. Some folks with similar complains say things about it making the universe smaller, but for me, it’s just a matter of simple annoyance. I enjoy the likes of Squadrons and Mandalorian (season 1) because I’m a sucker for adventure and excitement, not just because I spot a Twi’lek or just happened to know what beskar or camtonos were going into it.

Even though I’m a guilty little lore junkie, I enjoy Star Wars for two primary reasons: adventure and excitement. For me, things like Squadrons, Mandalorian (season 1) and other things are fun because I’m a sucker for a good time and a good story, not just because I spot a Mon Calamari or because I happen to know what Chandrila, beskar, and camtonos were beforehand.

Sometimes, it’s nice to just… be. To make something that stands strong enough on its own to never need to rely on other media. It’s the ultimate boon of any progenitor piece of media, and it’s what makes A New Hope the easiest and most comfortable movie in the series to watch (for me, at least). Even though I totally could, I don’t need to worry about how those Death Star plans were stolen, or how jumping to lightspeed is supposed to work, or any prophecies pertaining to the destiny of an evil machine-man. Everything you need to enjoy the movie is given to you; how you choose to enjoy it, during or after the movie, depends solely on you.

Maybe what I’m trying to say might be a little hard to imagine or believe. After all, My main avenue to becoming a fan myself was through the likes of Rogue Squadron and Racer for the Nintendo 64. I’m not trying to argue at all that Star Wars should have stayed small and simple, but when it at least comes to A New Hope, I can be happy with it entirely on its own.

Part 2: A product of its time

Even though A New Hope is arguably the plainest and simplest Star Wars movie out there, it is nonetheless famed for being among the most revolutionary movies of all time.

It’s a fun college memory, digging into the history of the original Star Wars production for a speech class and presenting it with none other than an authentic, original-mold Stormtrooper Helmet to go along with it. It was probably then that I really started to love Episode IV, realizing all the sweat and tears that went into assuring its existence, never mind its success.

College me, circa 2016

When actually watching the movie for myself, it definitely feels like a film from the ‘70s. The overall film and sound quality offer that vintage charm, while the practical sets and tight, dynamic cinematography add to the nostalgic appeal to those whippersnappers like myself who never got the chance to enjoy those kinds of movies in theatres.

Yet aged as the film may be, you can still feel that this film was something more than just the sum of its parts. From Tusken Raiders mounting elephants in bantha costumes to heart-pounding action and destruction as model starships combust into plastic shrapnel, the movie pours its heart and soul into creating an entire universe of beauty, grime, metal and dust. It feels almost offensive to not turn this post into a love letter to every little thing in this movie.

And of course, you can’t bring up Star Wars without bringing up John Williams, and I’d say his music has that same out-of-time charm, from the frantic falsetto-pitch strings to the trumpet and French horn’s standout moments, the score is fraught with the most foundational Star Wars musical motifs, serving both as a baseline for future installments and a beauty in and of itself.

Without a doubt, A New Hope is as much a Star Wars movie as it is a ‘70s cinema time capsule, and that’s part of what makes it so lovely. Despite its age, it’s still more than capable of keeping up with modern movies as a fantastic classic.

Part 3: Special Editions:

Ah, but what is a Star Wars movie if it didn’t have an ounce of controversy?

In all fairness, this is a tough topic for me to bring up, partly because it’s a sour spot, but mainly because I’ve only really had the special editions as a means of watching the movies, even back in the old days of VHS. I can only speak in light of knowing what’s original and what’s revised based off of comparison videos, rather than any authentic viewing experience.

For most people, that’s the problem: the fact that there is no accessible way to enjoy these movies in their original form. Instead, the only way to watch the films in any format other than archived tapes and footage is to just swallow your pride and watch the versions with those infamous changes, ranging from dated and unnecessary CGI to full-on historical revisions.

In those moments, the beauty of what makes the original Star Wars so authentic and earnest is temporarily snuffed. Attempting to overwrite the initial final product, regardless of your intentions, ends up mutilating its identity. There’s a fine line between tweaks/corrections/polishing/refurbishing and full-on modifications, and there are some people who, even then, refuse to see a difference. It’s the same mentality regarding remakes and remasters of practically any form of media.

To that end, I’ll even go so far as to point out fan-made “reimagined” or “revisited” edits of content. Certainly, the talent of the creators is on full display, and they certainly deserve praise for their hard work and success. That said, I can never truly enjoy them as “how the movie could/should have looked.” Sure, the Empire could have sent many, many, many more fighters to overpower those thirty rebel fighters, so what? It simply carries none of that special, OG Star Wars essence that makes the original so much fun to watch, and instead just becomes something else entirely.

It’s nothing personal—in fact, it’s just a matter of taste, as well as a bit of “well enough alone” zealotry that I would hope is just self-aware enough to refrain from being aggressive purism, and I’ll be happy to be called out if/when I ever end up making myself a hypocrite.

It’s natural to see the inherent flaws or otherwise be dissatisfied with your own work, even once we’ve passed along the final draft. I feel the same with my own creations, as does nearly every other person who’s ever made anything in their lives. However, that’s not exactly a reason to fix what ain’t broke—or at least do so that makes the original all but extinct. Good or bad, it is what it is, and maybe there’s someone out there who sees beauty in something you otherwise loathed (or loathes something you find beautiful). It’s ok, because that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Back on target, though I’m at least grateful that the things I dislike about this movie have little to do with what it used to be. On the other hand, it’s still a bummer, knowing that what those dislikes mean what it used to be is out of reach.

Conclusion: A Strong Start

As the cornerstone upon which the Star Wars colossus was crafted, A New Hope was a resounding success, or else we wouldn’t be here talking about it. What makes A New Hope special to me, though, isn’t so much its connection to those other films. Rather, I love this movie for what it alone can deliver: a fun and digestible sci-fi-fantasy adventure that pushed filmmaking to its absolute limit during its time.

For that, A New Hope is, in my opinion, the most classic Star Wars of them all.

Outro:

And so ends the inaugural May the Fourth Star Wars Reflection! Being perfectly honest, I came up with this idea last year around December as I considered planning out my year, but now that the time has come, it catches me at a moment where Star Wars feels… I don’t know… stale? I mentioned before that the shows they’ve been making lately just don’t do it for me like the movies do/did, and even though new games are slowly coming out again, I can’t really hype myself up for those either for some reason Writing this didn’t get me out of those doldrums, but looking back on what I love (and less than love) about Star Wars made for a pleasant escape.

As for what comes next, well, you can look forward to what I have to say when next year rolls around. After all, I did say A New Hope is tied for my favorite, and I still have to tell you which film actually ties it—if I don’t chicken out by then, of course.

In the meantime, see you next year when I reflect on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back!