Star Wars (1977)

Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the universe from the Empire's world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader.

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 | planet | galaxy | princess | rescue | 

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Taglines:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

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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

Luke went through several changes. Lucas toyed with the idea of changing him into a woman after cutting Princess Leia from the script. He also entertained the notion of casting the principal characters as a dwarfs. In an early screenplay, Skywalker was a 60 year-old general. In the shooting script, he was called Luke Starkiller but this was changed to Luke Skywalker during production.

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Goofs

Upon their arrival at the Yavin Base, we see Luke, Leia, and Han Solo get off of the little car. Han Solo's gun is now strapped to his left leg, thus indicating a reverse shot.

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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

To compensate for the new special edition credits inserted in versions 1997 and beyond, a longer instrumental suite plays during the credits roll, integrating various themes from throughout the film.

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Connections

Referenced in A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! (2008)

User Reviews

The film that changed the world

Star wars made epic fantasy real. For a generation of people it has defined what the cinema experience is meant to be. Today it is probable that pc games will offer a deeper and more satisfying entertainment solution, but for pure visual and aural pleasure, mixed with basic emotional manipulation, there has never and will never be a better example of cinema than when star wars appeared over 25 years ago. When you think of star wars, you must remember what else was happening at the time. In America, the war in Vietnam had been lost. In the U.K economic disaster was occurring(a 3 day working week, and the army collecting rubbish). It was almost like the two most technically advanced countries in the world were going backwards. Star wars let everybody escape from that reality and reach for a future that was uncertain but ultimately good.