Star Wars, Episode 4: A New Hope (1977)

Where do I even begin in reviewing a film that has entered into the zeitgeist to such an extent as the original Star Wars, now over 40 years old? And is it possible to review a film to which almost everyone knows not only how it ends, but how the series that came after it ended? That question seems a little strange now that I read it back, but I guess what I am trying to say is now that nearly everyone knows that perhaps the link between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker is stronger than Luke may have first thought. And no, this is not my attempt to avoid spoilers on a film from nearly four decades ago, but anyway...Let's begin.

The plot of this film is relatively straightforward. And in fact, I'm not even going to go into it in this review. Like I said, I think the story is pretty well known by now. But I do have a couple of things I want to say about the film.

Firstly, considering the film came out in 1977 (not that I saw it back then, but I saw the same version, before it was re-released over and over and over again with an ever-increasing percentage of added digital effects), it stands the test of time incredibly well. I was always (in every viewing for some time) engrossed in the world of Tattooine with its two suns and its Jabba the Hutt and its whatever. I loved the lightsaber duels, the far-reaching story and characters, the entire galaxy in which it all took place, just everything about the film.

For a while.

Well, at least until its sequel came out. But, that's not the film I'm reviewing here.

Having now seen the rest of the story that has followed since this first instalment, I don't find that I enjoy this one quite as much. Let me clarify: This first film sets the scene excellently, establishes most of the characters we are going to be following throughout at least the original trilogy of films, and so on. But I still don't personally enjoy this film as much as I enjoy most of the others.

I'm not deliberately trying to be obtuse, and I don't want to suggest that I don't enjoy this film, but it's certainly not my favourite. It does still hold up as a masterpiece of filmmaking and storytelling, even if you watch the original release with what would now be regarded as sub-par effects. You see, the point is, it shows the ingenuity of George Lucas in the early days: a storyteller so focused on having his story told, he wasn't about to be held back by the fact that technology wasn't where it needed to be yet. As a child watching this film, it never occurred to me to criticise the simplicity of the effects, because I was so swept up in the story. That is a mark of a true genius in filmmaking.

And speaking of story, that brings up my next point. You may have heard of something called the Hero's Journey, given its name by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. It's basically a template that he discovered through his research pops up time and time again in the oral traditions of cultures around the world, that all lasting stories that get passed down over and over again can be understood using this same template. Campbell's book came out about the same time that Lucas was starting to write, and the correlation between the two is so obvious, Joseph Campbell should almost be credited as a co-writer of the screenplay.

Later instalments of the Star Wars story don't necessarily follow the Hero's Journey quite so closely, and I think that is to their benefit. But watching this film is like reading the Hero's Journey, but with character names instead of archetypal descriptions of character.

Again, I'm not trying to be obtuse, or offend anyone. Let me make something quite clear. I do love this film, as I love all the Star Wars films. And yes, I did say all.

But looking back on it now, as I write this review, I cannot ignore these two points in reaching my conclusion. I will always enjoy watching it again and again until I have completely disintegrated the disc from over-playing it, but I must give it a rating that takes all these factors into account.

Please don't hate me for this. I'm only giving this film 6 out of 10.