Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

Release Date: May 25, 1977

Watch Date: June 16 – June 17, 2024

“Luke Skywalker begins a journey that will change the galaxy in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Nineteen years after the formation of the Empire, Luke is thrust into the struggle of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived for years in seclusion on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke’s Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the beautiful Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader and the evil Empire.”

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   The first time I ever watched this movie, I was a child. An experience I think most people can relate to. I watched it exactly one time. It was the version without the added CGI but with Han Solo still not shooting first. My mother, who had seen it in theaters, is still upset about that.

   About a decade ago I tried to re-watch the series. It was the version with the added CGI. Somehow, I remembered what the original scenes looked like, and I did not like what was added. Sure it makes the world look more populated, but it also sticks out like a sore thumb among the late 70s film quality. There’s pros and cons to it.

   Bob had never seen a version of the film without the added CGI, so for once, I got to point out Star Wars facts to him. I felt superior. I understand the high he must get from watching these films with me, and what everyone else in the fandom must feel like. It’s pretty good. I don’t think I’ll ever get as bad though. Probably. I don’t feel like I could retain that much information with all the other things I’m obsessed with. Think of the fish facts alone that I’d have to drop!

   Does everyone else remember the lightsaber duel between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan to be a lot more impressive than it is? Cause it’s kinda super lame. Just saying. And there isn’t enough Obi-Wan in this film. There just isn’t. Maybe I would have felt differently if I didn’t watch the first three movies, and ‘The Clone Wars’, but I have now. And Obi-Wan should have a bigger role. Darth Vader should be more annoyed by his presence, wouldn’t you think? Considering how much of his body he lost because of Obi-Wan, which is to say – the majority of it.

   I like the character of Han, because who doesn’t, and I like the way he interacts with Luke. Leia, whose name everyone pronounces differently than I think culture has decided it should be pronounced, actually kind of annoys me in this movie. I’m glad she’s a woman that doesn’t require men to constantly come to her rescue. But she also comes off more abrasive than she needs to be, possibly to stand on her own. I don’t know.

   All in all, I can see why people loved this film, and why it’s become the phenomenon that it became. But, it was also safely made so that there didn’t need to be a sequel, though of course the hope was that it would be. So I look forward to the action, and the stakes ramping up even more.