The Force Is With You Luke (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD))

Member Name: chrisc92

Product:	Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD)
Date:	04/07/09 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's 30+ years old but as good today as it was then

Disadvantages: The film is open to interpretation

I have to ask myself am I really doing this, showing my age like this I mean, but hey

The film was first released in 1977, and yes I watched it 4 times when it was first released at the cinema, and I can remember the massive queues waiting to get in. It's one of those films that you either like or don't, there's not really an in between. It's the classic good v evil, with as you know it never really being decided.

I wondered when I watched it, why episode IV? What happened to the others episodes? Now years later I know, and why they didn't do the other first!.

It's set in a galaxy far far away.....

The leader of the rebel alliance, Princess Leia (Carie Fisher) is being chased across the galaxy by the Star Destroyer of Darth Vader, (the first man to wear just black - including his odd looking helmet) sith knight (Dave Prowse - the green cross man as the body, James Earl Jones as the voice). No wonder he must have had a complex! In this, the rebel alliance is the good and The Empire is the bad. Darth Vader not only is on the side of the Empire but as a former jedi knight has turned to the Dark side of the Force, an energy that is everyone. What I really don't understand is with his and the emperors true powers why didn't they just crush the rebelion on their own - who needs an army when you can do what they can?

There's lots of interpretations possible from this film, but to me it was a fight against opression, with the dark side of the Force trying to build the ultimate weapon The Death Star in a bid to keep the galaxy under its control.

As the film opens, Princess Leia's ship is attacked and boarded by Darth Vader's forces, and in a last gasp bid she gives a message to her lovable droid (r2d2) to give to the last hope, Obi Wan Kinobi (Alec Guiness) a jedi knight who now is old and leads a reclusive life. However, not all is lost, as r2d2 (Kenny Baker) and it's fellow droid c3po (Anthony Daniels) the most annoying intellectual droid (that you'd just like to thump!) are eventually bought by Luke Skywalker's uncle.

Luke (Mark Hamill) befriends Obi Wan Kinobi and they plan a rescue mission to save the princess. They meet Hans Solo (Harrison Ford), the pilot of a rogue cargo ship, the Millenium Falcon and his assistant Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) a hairy beast known as a wooky. Together with the droids they form an overwhelming force capable of destroying an empire of billions! (We'll look over that).

It's a brilliant film and I still play it on my dvd from time to time, yes 30+ years on! The other good thing about this film is despite the serious messages it portrays George Lucas (its writer and Director), it includes a lot of humourous moments throughout.

I won't spoil the film, but I'm probably wasting my time as most of the world's population must have seen this by now, surely?

I certainly would recommend buying this film (or realistically the last 3 - episodes IV, V and XI, ie the first 3 films to be made).

So in the immortal words "May The Force Be With You".

Summary: Can you resist the Force?