Star Wars

DVD, Star Wars (1977) film

What a thrill! Even now, almost forty years after it was originally made, and multiple viewings over many years, you still feel a real joyful high coming out of this film, as fresh as the day it was made. It's quite astonishing in some ways, but not having even been born in the decade this was released I can only imagine the impact it had on people back then - that, and reading old issues of Starlog Magazine, which gives a flavour of the wild excitement that 'science fiction' was 'finally' being treated properly, getting the money and the interest that it deserved. But these things only deserve such things if they're worthy of them, and the original 'Star Wars' film is by far the most ground-breaking, and, in technological regard and vision, way ahead of its time. While it's never been my favourite of the Original Trilogy, it has always had a strange, magical power that the prequel films can only attempt to recapture. It was a landmark in cinema, and you only have to think about how many films or franchises have been such a major step up from what came before in creating a living, vibrant universe, full of mystery and unexplored corners, to realise that very few have that power (for me, only 'The Lord of The Rings' trilogy consistently matches the sense of another time and place across a film series, recognisable, yet completely withdrawn from our own existence).

Yet, for me, this film (before it became Episode IV - the lack of a subtitle is very apparent in the opening crawl), was, as far as I can remember, the last of the OT that I actually saw! It seems strange to say it, but I watched them in reverse order. 'Return of The Jedi' is 'Star Wars' for me, and I have very fond memories of seeing that at Christmas time(s), and I certainly remember catching 'The Empire Strikes Back' on TV one afternoon (again, possibly in the Christmas holidays), where, in the best way to watch a film, it began in daylight and ended with the dark winter early evening surrounding me. But this one? I saw it on video round a friend's house. I believe I first saw this original version in 1996 (as opposed to 1995 for 'Empire'), and I've never watched this version again until this time. For I decided to break out the 'Limited Edition' DVDs that contained the first Special Edition (or, technically, the second, as they made minor alterations to the cinematic releases of the late nineties versions which I did not appreciate, though nothing that was in this film), and the unaltered original, the only way you could see it at the time (and perhaps even now, I don't know). Lucas' relentless desire to tweak and alter his original masterpieces is akin to a great Renaissance painter deciding to go back a couple of centuries later and add a few dabs here or there, paper over that crack, etc.

I can understand the desire to update effects, and possibly even add scenes that were only cut out for reasons of time, and for the record I personally prefer the Special Editions (the first version, of which I still own videos!), even though some of the additions do look a little out of place to CGI-savvy eyes. I'll go into more detail about what really didn't work on the other reviews. But for this viewing I wanted to revisit the unaltered originals, just to make a change. I'd become jaded with the OT purely through watching it too many times in too short a period, but with the next trilogy on the verge of release and enough time having passed since I last saw them, it was time to relive all the SW films. There's actually very little alteration between this film and the SE that I know of, and really nothing that took me out of the experience, a testament to the quality and amazing depth of world-building that was achieved in this first instalment. I was almost thinking it a risk to be watching the 'untidy,' 'uncleaned' version, but slick high-definition images and twenty times surround sound is nothing compared to story and character, and you can't take away those things from a film like this, no matter how you view it. I even had to zoom in on my player, as for some bizarre reason it was cropped to 4:3, a letterbox within a box! But once zoomed, it still looked really good, and there was something exciting, almost daring to be watching an unchanged cinema version, the one that had originally been released. And, although the changes, as I said, will be more evident in the sequels, I was never bored for an instant.

That said, I preferred the beginning and the end, with the middle, set aboard the Death Star, for me the weakest or least interesting part of the film. It may have been because it was more formulaic action fare, inventive setting, but familiar situations, as the gang take advantage of their situation to rescue a princess. Ironically for a moon-sized space station, once the Death Star has been reached it becomes a much 'smaller' film, internal and artificial. The dullness of the colour palette, compared to the earlier parts of the film, full of exotic aliens and landscapes, was another factor, changing to stiff uniforms, dark corridors and, while you couldn't accuse the Death Star of being claustrophobic, it has far less sense of scope and scale than when we were on Tatooine. That could be a deliberate choice, like the incredible contrast of scorching day to blackest night in 'Pitch Black,' certainly wrapping a mood of evil and vast power around you, mirroring the characters' control and freedom being taken away when we go from such an expansive environment and move into the huge industrial mega-city that is the Death Star. The strong impression of right and wrong, good and evil, is palpatine… sorry, palpable. I noticed that, although we don't receive an introduction to the real evil controlling all this until the next film, the Emperor is mentioned by Grand Moff Tarkin, having just dissolved the Imperial Senate. It only took him twenty years to do it when you remember how we left Episode III, which is bizarre, but I suppose he wanted some semblance of order maintained until… what? They'd bred more Clone Troopers, or recruited humans to take their place? These Stormtroopers, aside from having similar armour, don't speak like Jango Fett, and there are clearly non-clone soldiers whose faces aren't covered by helmets.

I wouldn't be surprised if in the latest round of tweaks Lucas changed all their voices like he did poor Boba's in 'Empire,' but we're getting ahead of ourselves. The point is, the Emperor's power is felt, even though he's off screen, but within what is a simplistic expression of good versus evil there's actually more subtlety than that, as at least one character on each side expresses more complexity than might be remembered. It's easy to think of this as a simple, old-fashioned story, wrapped up in a big bow of future technology and fantasy - they even call Vader or Obi-Wan wizards and refer to the Jedi way as a religion. Vader takes the opportunity to demonstrate just what his 'religion' is capable of when he makes an example of an unbeliever, choking him from across the room. It's one of the first reveals that Jedi (as they all seem to be lumped together at this stage), have inhuman abilities to affect their environment or those inhabiting it. Before this, we just saw Vader as some big, stompy bully, a Lieutenant to the real bad guy, Tarkin, and even after this show of power he remains a subordinate, perhaps a fitting continuation of Episode III when he was enslaved by Palpatine. He's just a higher class of slave, where Tarkin seems to be the guy running the show. Anyway, Vader warns the unbeliever about putting too much faith in this technological monstrosity they've created, because no physical power is as strong as The Force. So although he's on the villains' side, Vader's quick to show his allegiance to a mystical power rather than an achievement of science, and his interest in, and use of such power serves to add more parallels with the Nazis, which is clearly what the Empire is based on.

They have Stormtroopers, they wear rigid military uniforms, and they have a policy of eradicating anyone that doesn't fall into line with their ideals, and since Hitler was also interested in occult power and mysticism we have that same peering into forbidden realms. Except in this case, The Force is shown to be something to aspire to. Vader may have twisted it, used it as a 'master of evil,' but Luke is invited to take the first step into a larger world, both figuratively and literally. The character on the heroes' side who mirrors Vader's complex loyalty, is Han Solo, a man seemingly only interested in wealth. He's proud (his ship is his pride and joy; he enjoys chasing the Stormtroopers who run from his madness in a most unsoldierly fashion), greedy, violent if needed, and only cares about himself. But then we see him realise the stakes and what the Rebellion is facing, he takes a shine to Luke, and perhaps something inside stirs, some noble spirit he'd forgotten or never considered. So he's one of the good guys, but he has to overcome himself to be fully accepted. This pretty much all happens off screen, allowing for the grand moment when the Millennium Falcon comes roaring to the rescue and gives Luke the time he needs to take the vital shot at the exhaust port. It's a shame we didn't get more insight into the inner workings of this complicated man's mind, but it would have reduced the impact of the surprise return if we'd seen him mope about and snap at Chewbacca, eventually realising he has to make the decision to do what he can to help.

I also feel that he has a sense of adventure, no matter how jaded he's become, and how focused he is on being around to use any reward that comes his way, whether from smuggling or rescuing princesses. Perhaps he sees something of his younger self in Luke, a boy turning man who's dissatisfied with the boring farm life he's forced to lead, one who dreams of a more worthwhile, exciting, purposeful existence. When we see Luke gazing wistfully out at the twin setting suns of Tatooine, with that haunting score behind it, you experience something of the frustration and sadness of someone chained to a life that isn't enough. He's mentally ready to go out into the 'big, wide world' and carve his own existence, though he doesn't have the guidance to do that, an adopted child who wants to know about his past, but is kept in the dark - Uncle Owen really put his foot in it mentioning his Father, which makes him doubly interested in… Old Ben Kenobi. In the two decades since Obi-Wan (for it is he - they didn't fool me with that Old Ben nonsense!), sequestered himself away on his 'favourite' planet in order to watch over Luke as he grew up, it doesn't sound like he's done much, except perhaps forget R2-D2 and C-3PO. To be fair, we saw him meet many droids in the prequels, R4 the one he had most to do with, that dustbin destroyed in Episode III, making his forgetfulness easier to accept - there are tons of the little blighters out there, many of them similar models, and he may not even have considered R4 to be his property. Or maybe the old fossil really is losing his marbles, as Han suggests! So we can forgive him, especially as droids are shown to be second class citizens, if they're even citizens at all! I wonder if they'll ever address the fact that droids are essentially slaves in the SW universe!

He hasn't aged that well from when Ewan McGregor played him, but then again, this time he's the real deal and you warm to this definitive version much more than his younger self: reassuring, powerful and wise, I guess he didn't have a lot to do in his little hovel, aside from chatting to his dead master, and that much time indoors can do terrible things to a man, I'm sure. I'd love to know what he did in that period - though likely there for the majority of that time, he could well have gone off on his own important missions at times. Perhaps we'll one day get a film set during Luke's childhood where we see Obi-Wan take an active part in the affairs of the galaxy again? His self-imposed isolation finally comes to an end in this film. Did he know his destiny was about to be fulfilled, the endless years of waiting coming to an end? No doubt he was aware of Luke's impending departure to join the Academy (thanks to Uncle Owen it would have been just one more season), but would he have followed his charge out into the galaxy to continue watching over him? What is the Academy, anyway? In 'Star Trek' it would be the HQ of the good guys, Starfleet's training school, but we're in a world where the 'Federation' are the bad guys. Luke's excited to hear about the Rebellion, so his sympathies clearly fall against the Empire, so who runs this Academy? His friends have already joined and show up in the Rebellion, so it's an odd inconsistency - if it were a rebel organisation it wouldn't sound so formal or be common for people to join up, but if the Empire's, they'd all be indoctrinated. I can't believe it would be a remnant of the Old Republic, though it could appear to be removed and separate from the Empire's control even if it actually wasn't, so maybe it was best Luke didn't end up there?

I'm getting sidetracked, as is easy to do in such a vast and fascinating universe peopled by archetypal characters, simple, yet so well defined, both in the writing and music. I've always thought of this first film as being somewhat bland in comparison to the other two, mainly, as I said, because of the whites, greys, blacks and muted greens and blues that make up much of the film's visuals aboard the Death Star. It's in large part due to the fact that my introduction to the toy box of ideas, execution and the whole experience was in reverse, so of course I think of 'Return of The Jedi' as the best - it was doing all that this film did for viewers that began with it, and taking things a stage further, so this was like a step back. Yet this was the defining film, creating so many of those musical themes, the entire aesthetic, the style of the visuals, the characters themselves, easy to take for granted now they're so familiar. So of course this seems more basic, but it's also because I think of the characters as basic and stereotypical, which to an extent they are, being unfinished creations. But it's not just the characters, though so much was crafted and put in place, you can see clearly that it's not yet completely set in stone. Names are mispronounced (Tarkin and the Rebellion lecturer call her Leia, Leah!), the family elements aren't quite there (Vader stands behind Leia without the slightest inkling she's related to him - perhaps anger clouded his feelings, it did?; Luke takes a fancy to Leia as if she was never intended to be his sister), and even key characters are played differently (is it just me or is Vader having a bad day? He's really angry, ranting and raving with less of the cool assurance of power seen in the other films).

Despite all this evidence that Lucas didn't have all the details of his epic in place, and never really believed he'd be able to make the story longer, it holds together better than I remembered with the inconsistencies and the niggling cartoony feel that I'd always thought was there, less of a problem. Case in point: at the beginning we see the two droids on Leia's ship trundle across a firefight between the invading Empire forces and the Princess' guards. I know droids are considered irrelevant, but it's just so silly to see them walk through a firefight like that and it could have been a decision that carried through the film, but actually that's as ridiculous as it got in terms of comedy undermining drama. And though Vader is less controlled (even his mask's eyes are tinted, so he's literally seeing red!), it's not as hard to accept as in my memory - it could be that he's feeling the pressure from the Emperor to keep things on track and yet things are getting out of hand. If he did feel concern it was justified as he ends the film spinning off into space. Regardless of all these signs of an unfinished vision, consummated in the sequel, the film is remarkably accessible, and it is this quality above all that shines out. In the prequels I'd often find myself feeling irritated by the lack of definition, things were unexplained and unclear. Here, the lack of planetary names, races, lore is often absent so as not to bog you down, but because story is king rather than environment you make mental notes about things being interesting and that you'd love to know about, but it's more like the unfurling of a great map for you to pore over at leisure, while at the moment of watching you're too busy following a specific route. The prequels are a glimpse into some of those avenues we want to explore, just not done in the best way or with the best actors, and due to these, and other reasons, don't work as well.

You're dropped in the middle of vast scale, mystery, and a generational story, our imaginations fired by talk of crusades and knights, a thousand generations of Jedi keeping order in the galaxy, and it is this common parlance that makes it so easy to keep up. It helps that Luke is also unknowing and eager to learn of such things, but even his simple farm life, though it's on an alien planet, is broken down into phrases we understand - Luke wants to go somewhere and do something that sounds weird to us, but Owen tells him he can waste time with his friends when his chores are done, interpreting for our benefit. The rules and period are set out organically as and when we need it - we're not left bored by continual references to cultures or seeing creatures that leave us lacking understanding, but grow with the characters as they discover and learn of their place. Luke is obviously the main character, with his fresh-faced idealism, but they're all played with warmth (well, maybe not the icy Princess Leia, almost the only female character in the film), or scowling roguishness, wise good nature, severe cruelty or plain jittery worry. Some of them aren't even easy to comprehend fully: one of the best devices to create a sense of alienness was the use of unintelligible characters that use interpreters to get their message across (the joyful reunion of the medal ceremony is played with knowing looks and glances, all enough to convey the mood, though technically R2 and Chewie get the last words!). It's just one more unique aspect of the vision we inhabit. Chewbacca is huge and like nothing else, a dangerous creature, though Han and he (for some reason I used to think he was a she when I was young), talk up the threat of Wookies for their own amusement.

The droids are our way in, poor C-3PO (whom I noticed seemed to switch on his eyes only when he was indoors), constantly left dazed or bewildered, he'd much prefer a nice, quiet life away from all this, though like all the characters, there's more to him than he thinks. Even so, he provides much of the comedy and gives us an outsider point of view - though familiar with much of the galaxy and technology, he only wants to perform the tasks he was built for, not get involved in rebellions and battles. In spite of his reservations and constant comical complaining, he still thinks he knows best, such as when he goes his own way in the desert (why didn't R2 tell him he knew all about the Rebellion, and of their past life before they served Captain Antilles? Probably because 3PO wouldn't have believed him and might have become a liability). There must be a lot of droids wandering around out there judging by the full hold of the Sand Crawler! The cute factor is something else the film does well, again giving contrast to the nastier aspects of the adventure: R2 somehow expresses himself in a way that his size and shape begs to be hugged, yet is also resourceful and the SW equivalent of a penknife. How they managed to make a penknife crossed with a dustbin appealing is just one of the magical wizardry they achieved through sound and design. The Jawas also have the cute factor - size is important in establishing a universe very different to our own, whether it's the huge difference between a Jawa and Chewbacca, or the Falcon and the moon-sized Death Star, opening things up so you expect anything.

Not all droids are cosy and helpful, however, as we get a view of the nasty side of life with such things as the interrogator droid that hovers nightmarishly towards Leia with outstretched needle. For a 'U' certificate it's surprising how grim it can be - the top end must be the still-smoking skeletons of Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Although his life wasn't satisfying, it was all he knew and to see his home destroyed and his only living relatives burned up is quite a stern shove into his new life. We also see the bloody arm of an alien that took a dislike to Luke, Obi-Wan showing just what a lightsaber is capable of. It's a flurry of action, but the shot looking at the arm with blood at one end does seem a bit much. And of course, we also have torture (Vader constricting that guy's air passage), and violence (the sound of a broken neck when Vader lifts up the guy on Antilles' ship (is that Captain Antilles himself, or someone else?), not to mention the destruction of an entire planet, without mercy. The funniest moment in the whole film is a misconstrued phone call as 3PO thinks he's hearing his party being crushed to death in the waste disposal of the Death Star, when really they're whooping in joy at survival! So although it is a film with great appeal for children it also shows this is a real world of consequences and has more depth to it than its glossy surface belies, one reason why its remains an attractive proposition even to adults. One thing changed for the SE was Han shooting in response to Greedo at the Cantina - I never understood what was wrong with him doing that, since we know he's a criminal and a rogue, and especially that his life always comes first. If they were trying to make him more noble, it was unnecessary as we see the change at the end.

The Death Star really isn't built with health and safety in mind, is it? Just look at those lifts with their lack of guard rails, or the doors that slam down at super-speeds - you have to walk through quickly or you'd be chopped in half, as one Stormtrooper famously almost discovered! No wonder everyone's frowning all the time: a safe workplace is a happy workplace! While I'm on the subject of things that don't make much sense: why does Leia say Luke is a little short for a Stormtrooper, the armour fits perfectly, or was she just trying to assert her princessly authority, realising it was someone just wearing the armour and not behaving in the same stiff, regimented style as a real soldier? In the first place what was she doing near Tatooine that forced her to send the Death Star plans via R2, to Obi-Wan, so he could pass them to her Father on Alderaan? Was it simply that the Outer Rim is less likely to see Empire forces around, so it was a safer route (the same excuse used for a visit in Episode I)? And just who was Obi-Wan tasking Luke to deliver the plans to anyway, since Alderaan gets blown up, and he knew about the destruction, feeling it in The Force (incidentally, something that was inspired by Spock in 'TOS' episode 'The Immunity Syndrome' where the Vulcan telepathically senses that a ship full of Vulcans has been destroyed). The Death Star modules must have been delivered wrapped in polystyrene judging by the contents of the waste disposal area! But if something as big as that eel creature could escape, wouldn't all the water drain out, too?

An asteroid collision is expected to be on a chart, how? Google Maps turned Google Galaxy with constant rolling updates on every little piece of rock in the galaxy would require a computer the size of the Death Star - maybe that was its secondary purpose, so the Empire could track everything and everyone? The grappling hook Luke uses to swing himself and Leia across the gap had a rope that was more like string, and with that much weight it would have cut deeply into his skin! R2-D2 looks black when he's aboard Luke's X-Wing, perhaps to avoid complications from the blue screen mattes used behind the craft. The Death Star seems to have no central bridge, so a guy has to run round this massive station in order to find and tell Vader what's going on, who then orders him to get all pilots to their fighters for ship to ship combat - surely there's a better way of relaying commands! And the station itself can somehow shift itself to catch up with the Falcon on Yavin, yet takes ages to orbit the planet to get into range to fire on the base! Not to mention that in this original version Vader is seen to have a white lightsaber after his fight with Obi-Wan as he strides towards the closing blast doors (having toed the remains of Obi-Wan, presumably just to make sure he wasn't hiding in there somewhere!). Why did Obi-Wan give up in the first place, was it to prevent Luke from risking himself to come and save him, leaving the conflict between Father and son for the future? I suppose Qui-Gon had taught him how to 'become more powerful than you can possibly imagine'? But why does he say "Only a master of evil, Darth," as if that's his first name, not rank? It never sounded right to me. And finally, although I enjoyed seeing this original version in widescreen for the first time, it also showed up the considerable flaw of very badly painted rebel soldiers in the throne room scene - the ones closest to camera!

Fortunately, despite all the holes and a story that's pretty slight when you think about it, (which doesn't really matter thanks to the presentation and different structure to what you'd normally expect for a fantasy adventure), Luke had the best mentor he could have in Obi-Wan - he doesn't force The Force on him, but gently suggests it, explains it and encourages his energy and verve along the right path ('Luke, you switched off your targeting computer, what's wrong?' 'Nothing, I switched on my midiclorians!'). Luke's a quick learner, and not just in the ways of The Force, using Han's greed to manipulate him into helping rescue Leia - and who wouldn't be impressed by that chunky, solid lightsaber he's given, a proper weapon and tool. I always used to be surprised at Han saying a good blaster was much better until I saw Episodes II and III with all those Jedi cut down so easily! Other blitzed preconceptions were Obi-Wan saying Anakin was betrayed and murdered by a young Jedi - I'd always assumed Anakin was middle-aged when he became Vader from reading the 'Return of The Jedi' souvenir annual, which talked of 'the face of an old man' when the mask's taken off. So Anakin was the right age in the prequels, it just lessened my imagination of how his life might have been (such as becoming evil as he lost his body, not losing his body to technology after becoming evil - perhaps a subtle shift away from technology being often evil in the OT, to being a necessary part of life, in the prequels).

So Obi-Wan tells Luke how his Father was 'killed' - interestingly, I don't think this was evidence of Lucas' lack of planning, I think Obi-Wan felt Luke wasn't yet ready to hear the truth, perhaps underestimating him, but playing it safe - you could even say he manipulated the young man, bolstering his natural enmity to the Empire, and risking Vader having an advantage when they inevitably met, so not the best planning from him, but makes sense to the story. He also talks of him as the best star pilot in the galaxy (which must be how Vader regains control of his spinning TIE fighter to live again), a cunning warrior (we never saw that in the prequels), and a good friend (or that, really, just a matey rivalry). And he mentions that Vader was seduced by the Dark Side, when in reality he just had bad dreams and decided he wanted all the power there was! So on the whole, paying full attention in order to write a review does mean you learn the truth about things, catch many a loose line that you may have missed before, or a little visual thing you never noticed. At the same time you're not paying as much attention to the broader canvas, maybe not taking in the magnitude of what was achieved - the model work is astonishingly good, whether it's the horseshoe design of the Millennium Falcon that became such an icon of cinema, a different spaceship, yet somehow realistic, to the X-Wings, TIE Fighters, Death Star or Star Destroyer, the house style was brilliantly executed, providing a playground like no other seen before.

To sum up, this remains a really good film, and if it had been the only one it would still have been in a class of its own. That it kickstarted a marketing juggernaut is a whole other angle, basically creating the merchandise culture of tie-ins that we still see to this day and making Lucas a very rich man. Yet it wasn't the success that drove it, it was an unknown and could have failed miserably (though that's hard to imagine simply looking at the sets, models and design - even with a bad story that would have been compelling). It may have just rehashed the old 'Flash Gordon' serials in a new way, strapped on World War II design and approach to combat, but it did it with imagination and a creative hunger to release all this pent-up talent that it still holds up today. Yes, you can still see the seventies in the hairstyles and some of the clothing, but not enough to take you out. I thoroughly enjoyed re-watching this film and I look forward to examining the next two in great detail to see how much was changed for the Special Editions and whether the 'untidy' version of them will similarly hold up - going by this one, I think that's a definite.

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