Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
"Star Wars" (original title)

Luke Skywalker, a spirited farm boy, joins rebel forces to save Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader, and the galaxy from the Empire's planet-destroying Death Star.

Director:

George Lucas

Writer:

George Lucas

Stars:

Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher

Top 250 #16 | Won 6 Oscars. Another 33 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Hamill	...	Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford	...	Han Solo
Carrie Fisher	...	Princess Leia Organa
Peter Cushing	...	Grand Moff Tarkin
Alec Guinness	...	Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO
Kenny Baker	...	R2-D2
Peter Mayhew	...	Chewbacca
David Prowse	...	Darth Vader
Phil Brown	...	Uncle Owen
Shelagh Fraser	...	Aunt Beru
Jack Purvis	...	Chief Jawa
Alex McCrindle	...	General Dodonna
Eddie Byrne	...	General Willard
Drewe Henley	...	Red Leader (as Drewe Hemley)

Storyline

Part IV in George Lucas' epic, Star Wars: A New Hope opens with a Rebel ship being boarded by the tyrannical Darth Vader. The plot then follows the life of a simple farm boy, Luke Skywalker, as he and his newly met allies (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2) attempt to rescue a Rebel leader, Princess Leia, from the clutches of the Empire. The conclusion is culminated as the Rebels, including Skywalker and flying ace Wedge Antilles make an attack on the Empire's most powerful and ominous weapon, the Death Star.

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Plot Keywords:

empire | galaxy | planet | princess | farm | 

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Taglines:

Coming to your galaxy this summer. (Teaser poster)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi violence and brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adventures of the Starkiller: Episode 1 - The Star Wars

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£6,032,329 (UK) (21 March 1997)

Gross:

ESP 1,366,116,825 (Spain) (13 July 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lucasfilm, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min 125 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Upon receiving the script prior to her audition, Carrie Fisher read it aloud with her friend, actor Miguel Ferrer. Struck by how unique the story was, Fisher decided to lobby hard for the role of Princess Leia - a decision which paid off.

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Goofs

After Greedo is killed in the Cantina we see him again crossing a street in the distance as Han and Luke are walking down the street. However, it's probably another alien of the same species, and they just look alike.

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Quotes

[first lines]
C-3PO: Did you hear that? They shut down the main reactor. We'll be destroyed for sure. This is madness.

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Crazy Credits

The film has no opening credits. Instead, the first credits seen at the end of the film are presented in the order in which they would have otherwise been shown at the start. Although by the late 1990s it was commonplace for films to not have opening credits, in 1977 it was somewhat unusual for a major film to not have opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Comedian (2002)

User Reviews

An adventure story, replacing six-shooters or swords with laser guns and horses with rockers…

The film turn on the endlessly renewed battle between good and evil, the former represented by the Jedi knights and the mystical Force which they are in touch with, and the latter by the Galactic Empire with its Nazi-like storm-troopers…

Luke Skywalker's simple farming life on a remote planet is dramatically changed when he intercepts a distress call from rebel leader Princess Leia Organa… The message leads him to Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi and with the two droids C3PO and R2D2, and later Chewbacca and Han Solo, their journey to release the princess from the evil Empire begins…

Now a quarter of a century old, Lucas' project has benefited from improvements in special effects technology, but his vision has remained the same: a naive, even childlike belief in absolute good and evil, a preference for action over character and spectacle over everything…