Before Star Wars, USC graduate and Independent filmmaker
George Lucas was best known for his debut feature THX 1138, and his 1973 smash
hit American Graffiti. A fan of the classic Flash Gordon Sci-Fi serials, and
fascinated with Joseph Campbell philosophy, his success then led him to his
most ambitious project yet. It was a trilogy of films under the name of Star
Wars.
After taking his idea to 20th Century Fox, and
adapting the first third of his story (which years later would be given the subtitle A New Hope) to form its first installment, Lucas’
desire for creative control over his dream project and the heavy influence of
the production company created friction to the work environment. Couple that
with a disastrous initial edit, and various production problems on location,
and it seemed like this project was doomed to failure.
However, the film just kept pressing forward, against all
odds and expectations making its way to theaters in May 1977. To everyone’s
surprise, including Lucas’, the film was a gargantuan success, selling out
theater showings for months, and eventually earning a total of ten Academy
Award nominations, including six wins and a separate Special Achievement Award.
Ever since its release, it has remained one of the most fondly remembered films
in all of cinema, and is commonly included among the greatest films of all
time, and all for good reason.
In the midst of a war between the Rebel Alliance and the
Galactic Empire, the ship of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is raided by the
Imperial Stormtroopers searching for stolen plans to the Death Star space
station. Hidden with two droids who eventually make their way into the care of
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a message asking for the help of hermit and
former Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) is discovered, and so Obi-Wan
and Luke, along with the two droids, attempt to give the plans to the Rebels.
Seeking the aid of rogue smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford), they eventually
find themselves captured by the massive space station, attempting to rescue the
captive Princess as they try to escape, and evade the ruthless Imperial general
Darth Vader.
The overwhelming cultural impact and widespread inspiration
of Star Wars simply cannot be understated. Very few films have connected as
strongly with audiences and rising filmmakers in the same way that this film
has, building an empire out of some of the most striking imagery in cinematic
history, so much so that even those who haven’t seen the film know of its most
iconic characters and worlds. It reinvigorated adventurous Sci-Fi for years to
come, and despite numerous imitations cashing it on its success, its timeless atmosphere
and endearing storytelling still makes it stand above all of them even to this
day.
While perhaps simplistic in comparison to its eventual
successor The Empire Strikes Back, that one thing is what has helped Star Wars
stay as profound and impactful as it is; Simplicity. Star Wars is the classic
example of a good story, well told. Lucas relied on so many influences when forming
this film, ranging from age old religious philosophy, old-fashioned theatrical
serials, to Japanese culture such as Samurai and the films of Akira Kurosawa.
Using all of these elements, he took them and infused his own unique and
creative spin on them, establishing some of the most fascinating lore and
mythology in any movie ever made. Any time you revisit this series, the various
small details of its history and the power and mysticism of the Force continue
to astonish with every rewatch, making for a rich history that could fill
several encyclopedias on their own.
On top of that, the structure of the script is fantastic all
across the board. Bemoan the occasionally cheesy dialogue all that you want,
but comparable to a case like James Cmaeron’s Titanic, the actual structure of
the script is flawless. Lucas bounces effortlessly and rapidly between
skillfully assembled character development and exposition, emotional resonance,
escalation to bigger action, world building, seamless visual storytelling, and
moves from sequence to sequence without a dull moment to be seen. It’s that
kind of quick and perfectly built up progression that has made the film a name
for itself, and continues to be the standard template for films of this size
and style.
Speaking of character development, those players in the
story are much of the reason the film has had as much staying power as it does.
First and foremost is our audience surrogate Luke Skywalker, who’s become a bit
of a punching bag for his whiny nature (“I was gonna go to Tosche Station to
pick up some power converters”), but that whiny nature is actually much less
grating and more powerful in context than it’s given credit for. Yes, Luke is
initially presented to us as whiny and overly temperamental and eager to get
off his home planet, but through the slow burn course of the film, develops
into a much more mature and knowledgeable boy growing into adulthood, driven by
his desire for something much greater than he can imagine, and through his
direct actions and experience becomes a man every bit as noble and selfless as
his father once was.
Princess Leia herself serves as a clever ode to the classic
damsel in distress archetype, which the film subverts with her very direct and
no-nonsense participation and natural leadership in many of the film’s most
important sequences, but especially for her hilariously sarcastic and sassy
sense of humor. Obi-Wan also serves as a fond tribute to the wise sage of
classic adventure fare, with Alec Guinness’ warm-hearted nature, spry sense of
humor, and general sophistication, universal knowledge, and ethereal presence
fitting him to a tee. Other fan favorites include the panicky and bumbling
C-3PO, the eager and stubborn R2-D2, and the tender muscle Chewbacca the Wookie.
However, the true scene stealers come in the form of Han
Solo and Darth Vader. Solo is perfectly played by a suave and cunning Harrison
Ford, with a very evident violent streak (HAN SHOT FIRST!!!) and a rogue lone
wolf personality, initially caring little for the wellbeing of anyone other
than himself, and armed with a quick-witted sarcasm, himself maturing over the
course of the picture, and learning to fight for things other than himself,
revealing the heart of gold underneath that scruffy exterior.
Then we come to Darth Vader, as far as I’m concerned, the
greatest cinematic villain ever created. Fitted with intimidating all black
armor, and towering above all of his soldiers like a fearsome SS commander (no
surprise, given the World War 2 undertones of the film), the mystery and
mysticism of the character, a carryover from an older era, commands every scene
he’s in with a methodical and quietly unsettling aura of terror, always
heightening the tension of the room, with characters always sweating if they’ve
done anything to anger him. Much of this is owed to the hulking and aggressive
body language of David Prowse in the suit, but even more so for the sinister
and deep tones of James Earl Jones. Even the sound of his heavy breathing,
which has become synonymous with his character, is enough to give the viewer
goose bumps.
What’s perhaps more important to Star Wars than its written
storytelling is its visual storytelling. To bring much of Star Wars to life,
George Lucas put his faith and trust into a legendary team of technicians.
Because so much of the movie revolved around space travel and aerial fights,
Lucas and effects supervisor John Dykstra worked extensively with miniature
effects and blue screen to integrate the lifelike models into the film,
realized through inventive and swift camera work as well. The opening shot of
the film which sees a Rebel cruiser fleeing from an Imperial warship alone is a
marvel of wordless establishment, using low camera positions to show the
overwhelmed oppression of the rebels, and the massive, intimidating reach of
the Empire. There was also reliance on seamless matte paintings for much bigger
environments like the Mos Eisley spaceport, and on set practicality that
continues to wow me every time I watch it. It’s remarkable that after almost
forty years, the timeless effects continue to look as impressive as they were
when the movie was first released.
This was also back in the day before CGI was possible,
meaning that George Lucas couldn’t rely on digital tools to construct his
iconic set designs. This was back when his production designers actually built
things, and for my money, Star Wars has the best production design and
art-direction of any movie I’ve ever seen. From the serpentine corridors of the
Death Star to the seedy and worn down streets of Mos Eisley, the sets
appropriately complement the tone from scene to scene, and intelligently uses
the blue screen to enhance the production design rather than *act* as the
production design. All the costumes, creature designs, various spacecrafts, as
well as the many props and weapons are as essential to its unmistakable
identity.
Just as important to the film was its sound, supervised by
the legendary Ben Burtt. Because of the boundless scale and numerous imaginary
creatures, spaceships, and weapons at play, Burtt left no stone unturned when it
came to creating many of the sound effects that have become synonymous with the
Star Wars Universe. It set the standard for future sound design in film, with a
wide array of imaginative effects that films to this day attempt to emulate,
from the recoil pulses of the blasters, to the faint buzzing of the
lightsabers.
Another equally impressive sound element came in the form of
the music by John Williams. As one of the few initial elements of the production
that actually exceeded Lucas’ expectations, Williams took his own space opera
and classical influences, even setting aside nods to the Errol Flynn epics of
old, and the result was one of the most perfect achievements in musical
history. Its one thing to write a grand, fully-orchestral adventure score with numerous
memorable themes, exhilarating action, and beautiful individual pieces, but it’s
an entirely different thing for the combination and execution of all of these
elements to be so flawless, that not only is it unlikely that anyone (even
those who haven’t seen the film) doesn’t know them, but that they’ve actually
become more famous than their actual accompanying film. For years, it’s rightfully
remained the standard that every composer strives to reach, and while Jurassic
Park will always remain my personal favorite score, I have no hesitation in
calling Star Wars the greatest film score ever conceived.
And because this was an epic space adventure, Lucas pulled
absolutely no punches and spared no expense when it came to some of the most
satisfying action sequences of all time. These sequences ranged from small
scale like the opening raid on Princess Leia’s ship and the shootout in the
detention cell, to the suspense of our heroes being trapped in a trash
compactor, the daring escape from the Death Star, the cathartic duel between
Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, all the way to Luke and Han’s dogfight with tie
fighters. Star Wars is a classic example of escalation, in that you establish
your characters and allow your audiences to connect with them, pit them in
brief but memorable moments of excitement with high stakes, and wait as long as
you can to play your best cards. That’s precisely what the film does as it builds
to the climactic assault on the Death Star, in which the Rebel alliance engages
in a race against time to destroy the space station before it obliterates their
base. Through its dazzling photography, majestic fanfares, and nail-biting
suspense, It stands as the most perfectly set up climax in any movie ever, and
easily ranks among the greatest action sequences of all time.
Its overall production may have foretold disaster, but
despite it all, for Star Wars to have come through it as one of the most fondly
remembered films of all time is nothing short of a miracle. Who knows how
different it would have turned out if Lucas back then had the power he has now,
but there’s no denying that the amount of creative and environmental challenge
he faced during production could only have brought out the best in his
perfectionist filmmaker - at least until he felt the need to spend millions of dollars on new CGI dance sequences. With all of its memorable and endearing characters and
storytelling, there’s good reason that Star Wars has become an eternal symbol
of pop culture that continues to enchant viewers of all ages to this day.
And to think that this was only the first step into a much
bigger, better universe…
***** / *****
No comments:
Post a Comment