I have seen “Star Wars” a billion times. In fact, even if you’ve never actually watched the original “Star Wars,” you’ve seen it.
I physically sat down and watched “Star Wars” from start to finish for the first time since probably the prequels, and I watched it with a friend who had never seen the film. His reaction was without surprise, because every plot point, image, line of dialogue, sound effect and more has been done to death in parodies, fan fiction, what have you.
For instance, seeing the Mos Eisley Cantina scene did little for him in terms of visual wonder because all the characters, however unique they once were, are all too familiar today, even if no film has ever modeled anything like it since. The same will go for when he sees Episode V and learns that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, or when he sees Episode VI and learns Luke and Leia are siblings.
The reason people are today introduced to “Star Wars” at a young age is not because the film is dated (which in a way, it horribly is) but because only with the most innocent, naïve minds can you recreate the thrill and fantasy audiences felt watching the film in 1977.
But enjoying it has nothing to do with age or time period. “Star Wars” remains a thoroughly fun, exciting, inventive, colorful, imaginative and in fact masterful film. George Lucas’s saga is the pinnacle of space opera, one of the most influential films of all time and arguably where modern film begins.
The reaction to it back in the 70’s was a phenomenon in itself. It was firstly the original blockbuster, following “Jaws” of course, but it smashed that record too. And because of its massive success, critics either loved it or hated it.
Those who found it boring pointed to long battle scenes that facilitated an essentially action driven film. They also cited one-dimensionality in even the most colorful of characters. They went on to say that “Star Wars” would kill the movies, making every studio film released in its wake a big budget, action driven blockbuster. Already deemed irrelevant to the masses by “Star Wars” were the “New Hollywood” directors of the ‘70s that included Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich and Michael Cimino.
Those critics are not wrong. The film is space opera pure and simple. It blends a childlike fantasy story with the emotions of daytime soaps. Its characters are strictly stereotypes, and the friendship between Luke, Han and Leia hurtles along so quickly following Leia’s rescue.
But “Star Wars” is so much more, and all the fanboys arguing for the complexities of the Force’s philosophy (which is a simple and blatant symbolism of faith and religion) are over thinking the issue.
The special effects for one are hardly wonderful on today’s standards, but the visual style is all in the right place, a style all its own to the point that it has become iconic. Today in film classes, professors point to Lucas’s funky wipe cuts as an example of editing styles. Lucas’s remarkable tilted opening credits do wonders in proving the infinite space of the galaxy, and the subsequent pan to reveal the massive Imperial cruiser flying overhead is a masterful opening shot.
And with that aesthetic is Lucas’s brimming ability to create and invent his characters. The Mos Eisley Cantina scene is famous because within that bar, there are no two aliens that look alike. The same is true of every droid and every other set piece. Lucas lovingly built these puppets, costumes and devices, and the effort shows where it does not in the 100 percent green-screened prequels.
The inventiveness doesn’t even stop there. “Star Wars” is a miracle of sound mixing, and Ben Burtt won a Special Achievement Oscar for just that. It’s the kind of recognition given when an advancement so revolutionary is made it just has to be praised. The noises synonymous with the lightsabers, Darth Vader’s breathing, R2D2’s beeping, the laser guns and the tie fighters are obvious examples of this achievement. But consider the scene prior to the Death Star blowing up Alderaan, or the sound of Obi-Wan deactivating the tractor beam within the Death Star. The noises make the scene what they are, and they’ve become equally recognizable and especially more effective in surround sound.
Speaking of surround sound, there is no better use of the technology than hearing John Williams’s original score. The “Star Wars” theme is hands down the best film score ever composed. The grandeur of it surpasses even “Gone With the Wind” and “Lawrence of Arabia.” It turns quaint throwaway shots into elegiac gems of filmmaking and cinematography, the best of which is Luke gazing out at two sunsets in the Tattooine sky.
The vivid color in such a scene is the perfect counterpart to the life and wit found in Lucas’s cheesified script. Just about every line of dialogue is in some way, shape or form memorable. Do not take for granted the joy in hearing 3-PO utter, “A transport! I’m saved! Over here!” or Luke begging Uncle Owen to go to the Tosche station to pick up some power converters.
I’ve tried to illuminate some of the less obvious aspects of “Star Wars” in this Classics piece. But I will find upon rereading this article that doing so is impossible for the now second most popular franchise in history (just behind Harry Potter). All I can say is that the original “Star Wars,” above the two sequels that are arguably “better” and especially above the prequels, is alone with “The Wizard of Oz” as one of the few films that can be enjoyed by anyone.
This is true no matter how old the movie gets and how old all the jokes surrounding it get. It was great the first billion times and will be great the next billion times too.