George-Lucas Movie Reviews

This definitely caps off what has gone on in the X-Files for the past several years. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson both shine in this wonderfully directed (by Chris Carter) production. Also, those of you who are shippers will find this movie to be a real treat. It covers the conspiracy surrounding Agents Mulder and Scully, sends them on a journey around the world in search for the truth, and touches on the more-than-just-friends relationship between Mulder and Scully. I loved it!

Es espectacular! , si siempre has visto los capítulos por la tele o no, no importa porque esta película es un capítulo más pero con todos los ingredientes del cine, ya sea efectos especiales e historia. IMPERDIBLE! .

Definitivamente Chris Carter no nos defraudo a nosotros los x-philos. Toda la pelicula de comienzo a fin es 100% X-Files, con eso se dice todo.

I don 't think there'll be any argument about who the co-stars of this serial are. Kane Richmond has to settle for 3rd billing, and the leading lady, the comic sidekick, the villian, all are strictly supporting actors to Rex, the wonder horse and his pal, Rin Tin Tin.

This serial really strikes at the heart of the 12 year old within each of us, regardless of our true age. The only downer is the obligatory cliff hanger end of the chapter which generally shows one of the two starring animals in frightful peril.

Oh yes, the humans are important too. Unfortunately, Kane Richmond's usual hero status is greatly diminished by the canine and equine actors. However, Harry Woods shines as a nasty villian, and Smiley Burnette comes off as a likeable, good natured, if not overly bright, comic sidekick.

And keep your eyes open for a very minor character, a forest ranger portrayed by Ralph Byrd two years before his first Dick Tracy role.

I saw both of these episodes on televison, on different days, and I enjoyed them both very much. I was very lucky to find both of them on the same video tape. Another good episode id the Film Noir (also available at amazon.com). If you are interested in film or trying to better understand a specific genre, BUY THESES VIDEOS!

This movie is a compelling drama about migrant farmworkers focusing on one family featuring Sissy Spacek.It's a must see!!

This is a very good movie. It takes you on twists and turns that you would never expect. Duchovny and Anderson make the movie a must see. From romance to life and death action you will love this movie. A must see.

Don Alejandro's brother-in-law, Don Estaban (played by Cesar Romero!!) comes to visit, and wrecks havoc on the peaceful life of the de la Vega's. Through his various get-rich-quick schemes, he manages to amuse Diego and infuriate Don Alejandro. Don Estaban manages to even capture the attention of Zorro, who manages to foil each scheme as it happens. And how Zorro/ Diego kept his sense of humor with Don Estaban is beyond me... Even when Don Estaban steals Tornado and tries to set Diego up with Margarita (then decides that her 10,000 acres and 1000's of head of cattle would make his fortune pretty quickly)! I thoroughly enjoy this movie!

Subtitled, "A Filmmaker's Apocalypse", this 1991 film is a documentary about the making of "Apocalypse Now", the 1979 film based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Set in Vietnam, it is the story of a captain, Martin Sheen, and his crew's mission to find and kill an insane colonel, Marlon Brando, who had created his own kingdom deep in the Jungle. On the way, everyone is touched with the evil around them. This summer I saw the re-edited version of the film and have been intrigued by it ever since. When I heard about this "Hearts of Darkness" I just HAD to see it.

The filming of Apocalypse Now was supposed to take just sixteen weeks at a budget of $13 million. It wound up costing more than $30 million, much of it put up by Francis Coppola himself, and took almost three years to get to the public. Coppola' wife Eleanor and their three children went along on location in the Philippines. She was interested in making a documentary and shot a lot of behind-the-scenes footage, even secretly recording private conversations she had with her husband about the film. The authenticity of the experience really comes through, as everyone involved with the production seemed to go a little bit insane.

Coppola had serious doubts throughout and we hear his words of despair as he thinks he's making a bad movie. We see the terrible typhoon that destroyed all the sets and realized that the helicopters that were being used for the shooting were actually property of the Philippine government who kept calling them away to fight a real disturbance that was going on just ten miles away. We see shots and scenes that never made it into the original film (although much of it eventually made it into the 2001 "Redux" version). We see and overweight Marlon Brando who insisted on being filmed in shadows. And we are right there to watch the filming of the scene in which Martin Sheehan has a mental breakdown. In order to do this he became bleary-eyed drunk, cut his thumb on a mirror and used the blood as part of the scene. The intensity is chilling and when, a short time afterward, he has a life-threatening heart attack at the age of 36, we're all there to see him as he is given first aid.

Now, years later, some of the actors are interviewed about their experiences. We learn that they did a lot of drugs during many of the scenes - acid, speed, marijuana, alcohol, which certainly added to the authenticity as well as the craziness of the whole production. Robert Duval talks about how his famous line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning was improvised. And the whole cast talks about how they improvised a massacre scene. Laurence Fishburne was only 14 when the film was made, a real coming-of-age experience for him. But this very stirring film portrait belongs to Francis Coppola. We get to meet him as a very imperfect human being doing his best to create an art form out of the script, changing it constantly as he went along, and eventually turning out a small masterpiece which went on to be nominated for eight academy awards.

I give this video my highest recommendation. It is a "must" for movie buffs. And an essential education for anyone involved in filmmaking itself. Don't miss it!

Shot by Francis Ford Coppolla's wife, Hearts of Darkness is an incredible, one hour fifty minute documentary that reveals the horrors of making the very popular Apocalypse Now. The film took forever to make, driving many of its participants to the brink of insanity, not just Coppolla, who was emotionally-unstable for much of the film. Viewers of this fascinating documentary will be amazed to learn that Harvey Keitel was originally cast as Willard, but was dropped after only two weeks of shooting. Though only 36 years-old, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming, an event that further postponed its debuts in theaters. There is some really great footage included here, especially the shooting of the opening sequence of the film which involves a very drunk Sheen lashing out as both his character and himself (at that point, Sheen was experiencing a lot of hostility towards Coppolla and had it out with him right then and there, an episode that would appear in the finished movie). Even if you didn't particularly care for Apocalypse Now, you will most likely find Hearts of Darkness interesting, nonetheless. It is a magnificent look at the troubles and triumphs of a film crew headed by a somewhat mad, but brilliant director. This shouldn't be missed.

The only known versions of this "essential" documentary are V-taped from the "Pay-Per-View" broadcast. ALL officially packaged VHS versions have long since disappeared from the video store shelves once it was discovered that this title was pulled "out" of release. Now my 1st reaction was that they were preparing to "bundle" "Hearts of Darkness" with a Special Edition release of "Apocalypse Now:Redux" and was thoroughly dumbfounded to find out otherwise.

That said I will take this oppurtunity to advocate that the ONLY other RIGHT way to release this "essential" documentary left would be as part of a 25th Anniversary ( "Apoc..Now" was 1979 release ) Special Edition Collector's Boxed Set of "Apocalypse Now".I say this because ALL afficianadoes of masterworks of filmcraft will agree that you just CAN NOT apprreciate "Apocalyspe Now" ( or Redux version for that matter ) WITHOUT the inclusion of "Hearts of Darkness" .

In essense, "Apocalypse Now" and "Hearts of Darkness" are ONE FILM and are to be experienced as such. I would also stress that suched a special Edition Boxed Set would be found slakcing "with extreme predjudice" if it didn't also include a "commentary" version from none other than AND inclusion of the ORIGINAL ending.
That amazingly surreal soundtrack intensifying the mysterious destruction of Kurtz's temple compound makes the full ending credits far more dramtically displayed by being displayed "in context" with the obliteration of the world of "Apocalypse Now"; an ending also portraying a rather telling , if subconcious, expression of Copolla's psyche at the time of "that" final cut.
The eerie set of events and the surreal convergences of professional lives on the line surrounding the making of "Apocalypse Now" is one of the great , even historic , filmmaking stories of the 20th century and I effortlessly rank it right up there with the story of the making of "Citizen Kane". Orson Wells' wunderkind stature in pulling off the "Citizen kane" masterwork humbles even Francis Ford Copolla ( which I'm quite sure HE would readily admit ). Copolla was cetainly in awe of that Wellsian masterpiece, as well as of Wells himself, when making his artistic masterpiece, but the parallels of BOTH of their artistic daring and "risking it all" to get their vision on film are striking and awesome nonetheless.
( Perhaps one day we'll see someone equally surreal, like some future Terry Gillaim, attempt making an even more Wagnerian-proportioned dramatization about the making of "Apocalypse Now" the way they made "RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane" ).
Anyway, the absolute importance that "Hearts of Darkness" serves toward understanding just what planet "Apocalypse Now' came from is inarguably cast in stone as "essential"!
I just wanted to bring in some salient points not yet presented here in making the case for DVD release of "Hearts of Darkness".
My job is done here.

In 1973, when George Lucas made this movie, the preview audience liked it. They loved the performances of Cindy Williams, Ron Howard, Richard Drefuss, and Harrisson Ford kind of spoke to the early 70's generation of youth who distrusted the establishment and lived a life of fast cars. But Universal did not like the movie and cut about 8 minutes from the film to make it more "mainstream". Lucas was furious. But it did not stop the movie from becoming a hit with the public. about ten years later, after George Lucas had become a very successful film maker, he went back to Universal and said "I want to finish my movie and do my director's cut." By this time, the studio was under new management who realized that a large mistake had been made, and they said "Okay." So today the movie as you see it on the DVD is the director's cut and it's one of the most best praised movies ever spoken of. Since then Lucasfilm and ILM have done a lot of business with Universal in making some very good movies that have done well at the box office.

American Graffiti was the movie that broke George Lucas into the mainstream. The movie is based on his teenage days growing up in the early 60's in a small Northern California town. The movie starred virtual unknowns who went on to big Hollywood careers. Ron Howard was the only well known actor and the role of Steve was his first chance to play a more adult role. The film takes place over the course of one night where Mr. Howard's Steve and his best friend Curt are preparing to leave town and head off to college on the East Coast. Richard Dreyfus plays Curt and Cindy Williams plays his sister and Steve's boyfriend. Paul LeMat plays John Milner who is the cool guy in town with the fastest car around. He gets tricked into picking up the 13 year old MacKenzie Phillips and spends the night driving around with her. Charles Martin Smith plays the nerdy Terry the Toad. Steve entrusts him to watch his car while he's away. he cruises around and picks up Candy Clark and through a series of elaborate lies, gets her to park by the lake. The car is stolen, but they get it back with the help of John. The movie closes out with a drag race between John and Harrison Ford's Bob Falfa. The movie is spiced up by its soundtrack which helped bring back the 50's nostalgia that permeated the 70's. The film also introduced the infamous DJ Wolfman Jack to the country. The film is an unapologetic feel good, warm movie and its major success allowed Mr. Lucas to make another little movie by the name of Star Wars.

Wait a minute--didn't I go to that school? I'm ten years younger than the characters but the cliques are the same: the nerds, the greasers, the respectables, the vo-techs; and cruising the strip is the only thing that unites them. This is a marvelous story about hitting life at that exact moment when its possibilities seem endless. Curt's ambition is to shake President Kennedy's hand. Steve wants to go East to college. Big John wants to stay king of the highways. And Terry wants a woman. Their plots and destinities collide in funny and heartbreaking ways.

"American Graffiti" was an important movie, too. It made stars of Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams and Mackenzie Phillips, and introduced Wolfman Jack to a new generation of fans. And all those movies with music playing in the background that forms a commentary on the action? We have "Graffiti" to thank (or blame) for that technique. Not to mention the fact that this movie was the financial stoker for "Star Wars."

"Graffiti" is best seen and enjoyed in widescreen. George Lucas filmed the movie in widescreen and used grainy color film stock in homage to the Universal-International films of the late fifties and early sixties.

George Lucas' first instalment in the immensely popular STAR WARS franchise is generally regarded as the greatest movie ever made. Why? Well, what's not to like? From the opening shot of the Blockade Runner accompanied by that great theme tune by John Williams, you know you're in the unique world of the STAR WARS universe. Before George's prequels THE PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES, A NEW HOPE was known only as STAR WARS. Audiences had never seen anything so original and amazing. Now, the series has entered into the fanboy culture all over the world. In comparison, Episode 4 seems somewhat tame compared to AOTC in terms of action, but it's still an astounding adventure filled with great characters and wonderful escapsim.
From Hero Luke Skywalker's symbolic journey from his home Tatooine to the moment of victory at the finale, we are greeted with a myriad of fantastic characters, especially Han Solo, played by a pre-Indy Harrison Ford and his buddy Chewbacca. And the ultimate incarnation of evil, Darth Vader. And that, more than anything, is what made TPM so hollow. While the action was good, the lack of good characters is disappointing. But AOTC has regained much of the sense of adventure that this film started off.
Lucas' grand vision illuminates the entire film, with inventive creatures and events. Several scenes that are my favorites are Obi Wan's conversation to Luke about the Clone Wars and Vader, Solo's disposal of Greedo, Obi Wan and Vader's last confrontation and the battle of Yavin. One of my all-time favorite films, STAR WARS is THE great adventure.
Directed by Irvin Kershner, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK moved away from the high-sprited antics of the first film and took a step towards the dark side. The Empire is preparing to seek revenge on the Rebel Alliance, C3P0 gets blasted to bits and Luke Skywalker finds out that Darth Vader is his dad! Even John William's score is much darker in tone than his previous efforts. But the film is an excellent adventure that many fans consider to be superior to the original. Mark Hamill returns as Luke, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as the sardonic Han Solo. And we are introduced to the wise Yoda, who trains Luke about the ways of a Jedi. The action ante is upped considerably, with fantastic chases through asteroid feilds, battles between snowspeeders and the AT-ATs and Luke's rescue mission. And the Bespin Duel, where the confrontational battle between Vader and Luke ends with one of the most shocking revelations in movie history (Even if it's somewhat un-surprising for future fans who watch all the completed films in sequence).

RETURN OF THE JEDI starts off with Luke and Leia rescuing Han Solo from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. While the film is less exciting than it's counterparts, it does have some good action, including the rescue on the desert skiff, the speeder chase through the forest of Endor, the dark final battle between Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine and Luke and the destruction of the second Death Star. The lightsaber fights are some of the best in the Star Wars cannon and Princess Leia is hotter than ever! John William's score is even more exciting than ESB.
If I were to place the Star Wars films in order from best to not-as-good, they would go THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, A NEW HOPE, RETURN OF THE JEDI, ATTACK OF THE CLONES and THE PHANTOM MENACE.
This presentation is very impressive, with added scenes and improved SFX. We see more of Jabba the Hutt, there are some great additions including the amazing Bespin City and the added celebration scenes at the end of JEDI. A classic trilogy, and a must-buy when it gets on DVD (Hurry up George).

I would like to have reviewed this movie if it were on DVD, but since George Lucas will not do that untill Episode III is finished by 2005, I'll just go ahead. This is pretty much a ground stone in science fiction fantasy action movies. While Lucas updated the era of Flash Gordon for a new age, he created characters we love so well. Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamill) has always been my favorite hero, but yes I love the others as well(giggle). A wonderful story set around the time when the evil Empire led by Sith Lord Darth Vader plan to finish off the Rebellion forces with the ultimate weapon called the Death Star. After Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer)hides the stolen battle plans in lovable droid R2-D2, Luke Skywalker discovers them, and with the aid of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (the late Alec Guiness)and rogue pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford), embarks on a thrilling quest not just to save the princess, but the hope of the entire galaxy. Great fun and entertainment in a true Saturday matinee fashion told by the great Jedi master Lucas himself. With wonderful special effects that were a milestone in movies it will always remain a classic of all movies.

It's been over a quarter century since George Lucas (THX 1138, American Grafitti) first shared Star Wars with millions of awestruck moviegoers in the late spring of 1977. Both the director and the studio executives at 20th Century Fox thought they'd have a modestly successful sci-fi/fantasy film with "just okay" box office receipts. Instead, bucking their logic and lowered expectations, Star Wars became not only the biggest hit of its time, but it also launched both a multi-movie series and a huge merchandising/multimedia "empire" that made millions for the shy, unassuming USC film school graduate from Modesto, California.

Star Wars (later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) begins with one of the most stunning opening scenes in movie history: After the 20th Century Fox Fanfare and a moment of silence for the "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" card, the Star Wars logo appears with the opening chord of composer John Williams' now famous "Main Theme" -- which serves as accompaniment to a title crawl that sets the stage for a battle between good and evil. "It is a period of civil war," and Rebels have united to challenge the evil Galactic Empire. From a hidden base in the Outer Rim, the Rebel fleet has won its first victory against Imperial forces. In the heat of battle, Rebel agents have discovered the secret plans for the Death Star, a huge space station with a planet-killing superlaser. Now those plans are in the hands of Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and her starship carries her back to her home world of Alderaan with a huge Imperial Star Destroyer in hot pursuit.

It is the very climax of this pursuit that starts Star Wars: A New Hope with that indelible first scene of a small Rebel blockade runner being pursued by the huge wedge shaped Star Destroyer. The Blockade Runner is tractored into the Star Destroyer's ventral docking bay, and after a short and furious battle, Imperial troops led by Lord Darth Vader (David Prowse, voice by James Earl Jones) overrun the ship's defenses and capture Princess Leia.

But wait! Just as the battle is ending, C-3PO and R2-D2, a pair of droids who are a comedic pair along the lines of Laurel and Hardy, have evaded capture and left the captured Rebel ship aboard a small escape pod. Below them lies the desert planet Tatooine, with its twin suns, small farming settlements, and two persons whose destiny was inextricably linked decades before.

The first of these two that the droids will encounter is young moisture farmer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a restless teenager who yearns for adventure and excitement beyond the confines of his Uncle Owen's (Phil Brown) struggling farm. With good mechanical skills (he modified his landspeeder on his own) and natural flying skills, Luke wants to follow his friend Biggs and enter the Imperial Space Academy. But Owen and his wife Beru (the late Sheelagh Fraser) fear that Luke's dreams are much too dangerous, and Owen does everything possible to stall his nephew's ambitions. At first glance, one might think Owen is just a stubborn man, but when Beru points out that "Luke's just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him," his earnest gaze and simple reply ("That's what I'm afraid of.") hint at things yet to come.

The other person of great import to the struggle between Empire and Rebellion is Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness), an old hermit who lives beyond the Western Dune Sea. Considered by the locals to be a "crazy old wizard," he keeps to himself in a spartan hut carved into the face of a cliff. But looks can be deceiving, for as Luke discovers when "Ben" rescues him from a band of Tusken Raiders, Kenobi was once the legendary Jedi Knight and General Obi-Wan Kenobi.

When Obi-Wan hands him an old lightsaber, Luke also discovers that his father had not really been a navigator on a space freighter, but had fought alongside Kenobi in the Clone Wars as a Jedi Knight. "A cunning warrior" and "the best starpilot in the galaxy," Skywalker the elder had been betrayed and murdered by a young former pupil of Obi-Wan's named Darth Vader.

After watching a holorecording of Princess Leia's plea for help, Kenobi then attempts to enlist Luke to take the droids to Alderaan with secret plans vital to the Rebellion, Luke hesitates. He wants to leave Tatooine, yes, but he feels an obligation to his aunt and uncle.

Alas, the long arm of the Empire has reached Owen and Beru first. Having tracked the robots to the jawas who had sold them to Luke's guardians, stormtroopers have slain the couple and orphaned Luke. Now, fate -- or the Force -- has taken a hand, and Luke Skywalker vows that he wants to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi.

Star Wars' second half, starting with the fateful meeting in the now famous Mos Eisley cantina with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and culminating with the climactic space battle over the Death Star, is a fast-paced chain of cliffhangers intended to be an homage to the cheesy-but-thrilling movie serials of the Thirties and Forties. Will the Rebels get past the detention cell? Will the droids stop the trash compactor in time? Will Darth Vader face off against his former Master? Will Han Solo and Chewbacca go off to pay Jabba the Hutt, or will they save Luke during the last attack run down the Death Star trench?

Lucas' clever mix of various movie genres (Westerns, gangster films, sword-and-sorcery, and war movies), his pioneering advances in special effects, and John Williams' Academy Award-winning score are just a few reasons why movie audiences embraced Star Wars in such a manner that it became a part of American culture. It's not perfect and it's hokey, yes, but it allowed many of us to forget (for two hours, anyway) all the troubles of the world.

George Lucas' first instalment in the immensely popular STAR WARS franchise is generally regarded as the greatest movie ever made. Why? Well, what's not to like? From the opening shot of the Blockade Runner accompanied by that great theme tune by John Williams, you know you're in the unique world of the STAR WARS universe. Before George's prequels THE PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES, A NEW HOPE was known only as STAR WARS. Audiences had never seen anything so original and amazing. Now, the series has entered into the fanboy culture all over the world. In comparison, Episode 4 seems somewhat tame compared to AOTC in terms of action, but it's still an astounding adventure filled with great characters and wonderful escapsim.
From Hero Luke Skywalker's symbolic journey from his home Tatooine to the moment of victory at the finale, we are greeted with a myriad of fantastic characters, especially Han Solo, played by a pre-Indy Harrison Ford and his buddy Chewbacca. And the ultimate incarnation of evil, Darth Vader. And that, more than anything, is what made TPM so hollow. While the action was good, the lack of good characters is disappointing. But AOTC has regained much of the sense of adventure that this film started off.
Lucas' grand vision illuminates the entire film, with inventive creatures and events. Several scenes that are my favorites are Obi Wan's conversation to Luke about the Clone Wars and Vader, Solo's disposal of Greedo, Obi Wan and Vader's last confrontation and the battle of Yavin. One of my all-time favorite films, STAR WARS is THE great adventure.
Directed by Irvin Kershner, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK moved away from the high-sprited antics of the first film and took a step towards the dark side. The Empire is preparing to seek revenge on the Rebel Alliance, C3P0 gets blasted to bits and Luke Skywalker finds out that Darth Vader is his dad! Even John William's score is much darker in tone than his previous efforts. But the film is an excellent adventure that many fans consider to be superior to the original. Mark Hamill returns as Luke, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as the sardonic Han Solo. And we are introduced to the wise Yoda, who trains Luke about the ways of a Jedi. The action ante is upped considerably, with fantastic chases through asteroid feilds, battles between snowspeeders and the AT-ATs and Luke's rescue mission. And the Bespin Duel, where the confrontational battle between Vader and Luke ends with one of the most shocking revelations in movie history (Even if it's somewhat un-surprising for future fans who watch all the completed films in sequence).

RETURN OF THE JEDI starts off with Luke and Leia rescuing Han Solo from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. While the film is less exciting than it's counterparts, it does have some good action, including the rescue on the desert skiff, the speeder chase through the forest of Endor, the dark final battle between Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine and Luke and the destruction of the second Death Star. The lightsaber fights are some of the best in the Star Wars cannon and Princess Leia is hotter than ever! John William's score is even more exciting than ESB.
If I were to place the Star Wars films in order from best to not-as-good, they would go THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, A NEW HOPE, RETURN OF THE JEDI, ATTACK OF THE CLONES and THE PHANTOM MENACE.
This presentation is very impressive, with added scenes and improved SFX. We see more of Jabba the Hutt, there are some great additions including the amazing Bespin City and the added celebration scenes at the end of JEDI. A classic trilogy, and a must-buy when it gets on DVD (Hurry up George).

I would like to have reviewed this movie if it were on DVD, but since George Lucas will not do that untill Episode III is finished by 2005, I'll just go ahead. This is pretty much a ground stone in science fiction fantasy action movies. While Lucas updated the era of Flash Gordon for a new age, he created characters we love so well. Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamill) has always been my favorite hero, but yes I love the others as well(giggle). A wonderful story set around the time when the evil Empire led by Sith Lord Darth Vader plan to finish off the Rebellion forces with the ultimate weapon called the Death Star. After Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer)hides the stolen battle plans in lovable droid R2-D2, Luke Skywalker discovers them, and with the aid of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (the late Alec Guiness)and rogue pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford), embarks on a thrilling quest not just to save the princess, but the hope of the entire galaxy. Great fun and entertainment in a true Saturday matinee fashion told by the great Jedi master Lucas himself. With wonderful special effects that were a milestone in movies it will always remain a classic of all movies.

It's been over a quarter century since George Lucas (THX 1138, American Grafitti) first shared Star Wars with millions of awestruck moviegoers in the late spring of 1977. Both the director and the studio executives at 20th Century Fox thought they'd have a modestly successful sci-fi/fantasy film with "just okay" box office receipts. Instead, bucking their logic and lowered expectations, Star Wars became not only the biggest hit of its time, but it also launched both a multi-movie series and a huge merchandising/multimedia "empire" that made millions for the shy, unassuming USC film school graduate from Modesto, California.

Star Wars (later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) begins with one of the most stunning opening scenes in movie history: After the 20th Century Fox Fanfare and a moment of silence for the "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" card, the Star Wars logo appears with the opening chord of composer John Williams' now famous "Main Theme" -- which serves as accompaniment to a title crawl that sets the stage for a battle between good and evil. "It is a period of civil war," and Rebels have united to challenge the evil Galactic Empire. From a hidden base in the Outer Rim, the Rebel fleet has won its first victory against Imperial forces. In the heat of battle, Rebel agents have discovered the secret plans for the Death Star, a huge space station with a planet-killing superlaser. Now those plans are in the hands of Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and her starship carries her back to her home world of Alderaan with a huge Imperial Star Destroyer in hot pursuit.

It is the very climax of this pursuit that starts Star Wars: A New Hope with that indelible first scene of a small Rebel blockade runner being pursued by the huge wedge shaped Star Destroyer. The Blockade Runner is tractored into the Star Destroyer's ventral docking bay, and after a short and furious battle, Imperial troops led by Lord Darth Vader (David Prowse, voice by James Earl Jones) overrun the ship's defenses and capture Princess Leia.

But wait! Just as the battle is ending, C-3PO and R2-D2, a pair of droids who are a comedic pair along the lines of Laurel and Hardy, have evaded capture and left the captured Rebel ship aboard a small escape pod. Below them lies the desert planet Tatooine, with its twin suns, small farming settlements, and two persons whose destiny was inextricably linked decades before.

The first of these two that the droids will encounter is young moisture farmer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a restless teenager who yearns for adventure and excitement beyond the confines of his Uncle Owen's (Phil Brown) struggling farm. With good mechanical skills (he modified his landspeeder on his own) and natural flying skills, Luke wants to follow his friend Biggs and enter the Imperial Space Academy. But Owen and his wife Beru (the late Sheelagh Fraser) fear that Luke's dreams are much too dangerous, and Owen does everything possible to stall his nephew's ambitions. At first glance, one might think Owen is just a stubborn man, but when Beru points out that "Luke's just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him," his earnest gaze and simple reply ("That's what I'm afraid of.") hint at things yet to come.

The other person of great import to the struggle between Empire and Rebellion is Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness), an old hermit who lives beyond the Western Dune Sea. Considered by the locals to be a "crazy old wizard," he keeps to himself in a spartan hut carved into the face of a cliff. But looks can be deceiving, for as Luke discovers when "Ben" rescues him from a band of Tusken Raiders, Kenobi was once the legendary Jedi Knight and General Obi-Wan Kenobi.

When Obi-Wan hands him an old lightsaber, Luke also discovers that his father had not really been a navigator on a space freighter, but had fought alongside Kenobi in the Clone Wars as a Jedi Knight. "A cunning warrior" and "the best starpilot in the galaxy," Skywalker the elder had been betrayed and murdered by a young former pupil of Obi-Wan's named Darth Vader.

After watching a holorecording of Princess Leia's plea for help, Kenobi then attempts to enlist Luke to take the droids to Alderaan with secret plans vital to the Rebellion, Luke hesitates. He wants to leave Tatooine, yes, but he feels an obligation to his aunt and uncle.

Alas, the long arm of the Empire has reached Owen and Beru first. Having tracked the robots to the jawas who had sold them to Luke's guardians, stormtroopers have slain the couple and orphaned Luke. Now, fate -- or the Force -- has taken a hand, and Luke Skywalker vows that he wants to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi.

Star Wars' second half, starting with the fateful meeting in the now famous Mos Eisley cantina with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and culminating with the climactic space battle over the Death Star, is a fast-paced chain of cliffhangers intended to be an homage to the cheesy-but-thrilling movie serials of the Thirties and Forties. Will the Rebels get past the detention cell? Will the droids stop the trash compactor in time? Will Darth Vader face off against his former Master? Will Han Solo and Chewbacca go off to pay Jabba the Hutt, or will they save Luke during the last attack run down the Death Star trench?

Lucas' clever mix of various movie genres (Westerns, gangster films, sword-and-sorcery, and war movies), his pioneering advances in special effects, and John Williams' Academy Award-winning score are just a few reasons why movie audiences embraced Star Wars in such a manner that it became a part of American culture. It's not perfect and it's hokey, yes, but it allowed many of us to forget (for two hours, anyway) all the troubles of the world.