How Star Wars Changed Cinema

[00:00] It goes without saying that Star Wars is one of the biggest media franchises of all-time.

[00:04] I've had a deep connection to the series for as long as I can remember.

[00:07] And that's not hyperbole.

[00:08] I genuinely don't remember a time when Star Wars wasn't a massive part of my life.

[00:12] A lot of the films I cover I hadn't seen before deciding to make a video on them.

[00:15] Here however, this is a movie and franchise that I'm very familiar with.

[00:19] I've watched it more times than I can count.

[00:21] I can honestly say that, without Star Wars,

[00:23] I wouldn't be doing this YouTube thing.

[00:25] One of my earliest memories with film is watching Episode 4,

[00:27] and being completely awestruck by the battle of Yavin.

[00:30] Star Wars showed me what film could be and for that I'm incredibly grateful.

[00:34] I likely would never had cared much for YouTube as a platform either,

[00:37] if I hadn't discovered the many reviews, parodies, and video essays, on the franchise I grew to love.

[00:41] I was first introduced to Star Wars by my best friend when I was 7 years old.

[00:45] He was watching an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

[00:47] A show that I would grow to love and watch countless times.

[00:50] If you like Star Wars and somehow haven't seen it, I highly recommend the show.

[00:54] Soon after being introduced to The Clone Wars, The Force Awakens would be announced.

[00:58] Up to this point, I hadn't seen a single Star Wars movie.

[01:01] My friend owned the original trilogy on Blu-Ray though.

[01:03] and that's where my obsession officially began.

[01:05] He came over one day with the original trilogy, and we watched all three films in one night.

[01:09] I was immediately hooked.

[01:11] Episode 4 became my favorite film of all-time.

[01:14] At least for about two hours until I finished Episode 5.

[01:17] To this day, The Empire Strikes Back is in my top 3 favorite films.

[01:20] With Episode 4 not far behind.

[01:22] After that night, Star Wars became the most important thing to 8 year old me.

[01:25] I would soon go to Best Buy and get the prequels on Blu-Ray for myself,

[01:28] and watch those in a single night as well.

[01:30] It was a good time to be a Star Wars fan.

[01:32] Excitement was in the air.

[01:33] Though many were skeptical about The Force Awakens, most were excited.

[01:37] And since I was just getting into the series, I still had so much more to discover.

[01:40] I spent much of my childhood watching Star Wars movies and shows,

[01:43] reading Star Wars books, playing Star Wars video games,

[01:46] and of course, having lightsaber duels with my friend.

[01:48] Star Wars means something to me.

[01:50] And while the future of the franchise is uncertain at the moment,

[01:52] at least as fans, we always have the classics to fall back on.

[01:55] This is a franchise I could talk about for hours on end.

[01:58] For now though, I'll focus on the film that started it all.

[02:01] Simply titled, Star Wars.

[02:02] Although subsequently renamed, Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope.

[02:15] Any discussion about Star Wars needs to begin with the story of one man,

[02:19] George Lucas.

[02:20] Nowadays, for one reason or another,

[02:22] many have a negative opinion of George Lucas.

[02:24] He infamously insisted on including many of the weaker elements of the series,

[02:28] and without his incredible editing team,

[02:29] many believe he wouldn't be anywhere close to where he is today.

[02:32] And while that may or may not be true,

[02:34] Personally, I'm not interested in that story.

[02:37] Instead, I'd like to focus on the story of an ambitious young filmmaker,

[02:40] who wanted nothing more than to introduce a new galaxy to the world,

[02:42] and express his love for cinema.

[02:44] Star Wars wasn't George Lucas first feature film.

[02:47] He ended up making two projects before Star Wars ever came to be.

[02:50] Although, he had the idea for a space fantasy adventure before either project.

[02:54] One of his films was a financial flop,

[02:56] but the other was a massive success.

[02:58] In both cases however,

[03:00] Lucas was unhappy with the level of corporate meddling.

[03:02] With his first film,

[03:04] THX-1138, in particular,

[03:06] five whole minutes of the film had been cut out by Warner Bros.

[03:09] This instilled in the young filmmakers mind the importance of making his work as independently as possible.

[03:14] In January of 1973,

[03:16] George Lucas began working on his space opera full-time.

[03:19] Three months later, he had completed a 13-page treatment called,

[03:22] The Star Wars.

[03:24] The goal with The Star Wars, was to tell a classic story of good vs. evil.

[03:27] Cinema in the 70s was characterized by crime and anti-heroes.

[03:31] An honest, wholesome adventure wasn't seen as marketable, and thus not profitable.

[03:36] Still, Lucas shopped around his story to several different companies.

[03:39] Many of which unsurprisingly turned down the proposal.

[03:41] Interestingly, one such company would be Walt Disney.

[03:44] Who would eventually purchase the franchise for over 4 billion dollars in 2012.

[03:48] After two months of shopping around the treatment though,

[03:50] 20th Century Fox would agree to produce the film.

[03:53] There was still the issue of the budget the film would require, however.

[03:56] Naturally, with the amount of special effects shots, abstract costumes, and large locales required to tell this story,

[04:01] a high budget would be necessary.

[04:03] To secure such a budget,

[04:05] Lucas knew he would need something visual to appeal to the Fox board of directors.

[04:09] To do this, he enlisted the help of Ralph McQuarrie.

[04:11] Who painted several pieces of concept art to be shown to the board of directors.

[04:15] One look at these pieces, and it becomes clear why Lucas was soon granted an 8 million dollar budget.

[04:20] These are seriously incredible.

[04:22] And they serve as one of the earliest looks into the original vision for Star Wars.

[04:25] Around this time, Lucas had completed a script that was reportedly over 200 pages.

[04:30] Far longer than a typical feature film.

[04:32] He elected to instead take the first act of this story and make that into a film.

[04:36] Saving what he later dubbed as Episodes 5 and 6 for future movies.

[04:40] After the success of Lucas' second film, American Graffiti,

[04:43] it came time for Lucas to renegotiate the contract for Star Wars.

[04:46] Now having proven himself as a director.

[04:48] Instead of seeking a larger salary however,

[04:51] Lucas was solely focused on obtaining the licensing rights,

[04:53] to produce sequels and merchandise for Star Wars.

[04:55] This would prove to be one of the most important decisions George Lucas would make in his life.

[05:00] And a decision that would change the course of cinema history forever.

[05:03] That's a story for another time though.

[05:05] Next in the pre-production phase would be casting.

[05:08] George Lucas had a preference for casting unknown actors.

[05:10] This is what led to Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher landing the roles of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, respectively.

[05:15] Both actors auditions are available online,

[05:18] and interestingly, when viewed alongside others being considered for the role,

[05:21] the pair clearly had the best auditions.

[05:23] Obviously, I'm no casting director, but the talent is evident.

[05:27] Especially in the case of Carrie Fisher.

[05:29] I genuinely could not imagine anyone else playing this character.

[05:32] For the third lead character, Han Solo,

[05:34] Lucas planned on following a similar route of casting an unknown actor.

[05:37] Harrison Ford was relatively unknown,

[05:39] but had already been in Lucas previous film, American Graffiti.

[05:43] Initially, Ford was only brought on to help with the auditions.

[05:45] But eventually, he won Lucas over and was cast as Han Solo.

[05:49] It goes without saying that he did an incredible job here.

[05:51] The charisma and cockiness he brings to the role feels natural.

[05:54] And it's in direct contrast to Luke's earnest character.

[05:57] The only big names to end up in the film would be Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan,

[06:00] and Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin.

[06:02] Other supporting characters include Chewbacca, played by Peter Mayhew.

[06:05] C-3PO, played by Anthony Daniels.

[06:08] R2-D2, played by Kenny Baker.

[06:10] And finally, Darth Vader, played by David Prowse.

[06:13] During post-production however, Prowse's lines would be dubbed over by the legendary James Earl Jones.

[06:18] Prowse actually wasn't even aware that his lines would be dubbed over by another actor.

[06:21] But, after hearing what he sounded like in the mask...

[06:24] "Start tearing this ship apart piece by piece until you find those tapes."

[06:28] "Find the passengers of this vessel."

[06:29] "I want them alive!"

[06:31] It was definitely for the best.

[06:33] James Earl Jones brought a certain level of gravitas to the role.

[06:36] Darth Vader is a major part of pop culture today,

[06:39] and, of course, alongside his design and signature breathing,

[06:41] his voice is a big reason for that.

[06:44] "Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans."

[06:47] And bring me the passengers; I want them alive!"

[06:50] Finally, once the casting choices were ironed out,

[06:52] production finally began.

[06:54] Star Wars was a production characterized by malfunction, stress, and innovation.

[06:58] The legacy of Star Wars is often discussed,

[07:01] but a sometimes overlooked product of the Star Wars saga is the creation of Industrial Light & Magic.

[07:05] Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic to handle the VFX shots in Star Wars,

[07:09] after finding out that Fox visual effects department had been shut down.

[07:13] ILM would eventually go on to become a juggernaut in the industry.

[07:16] Working on over 300 films,

[07:18] and winning 15 academy awards for best visual effects.

[07:21] Nowadays, chances are, if a blockbuster film has visual effects,

[07:24] they were done by Industrial Light & Magic.

[07:26] And it all started here, with the original Star Wars.

[07:29] Originally slated for a holiday 1976 release,

[07:32] Star Wars was pushed back to the summer of '77.

[07:35] As previously mentioned,

[07:36] saying it was a troubled production would be putting it lightly.

[07:38] At one time the crew had to split into 3 separate groups in order to meet deadlines.

[07:43] During this time, Lucas was diagnosed with hypertension and exhaustion.

[07:46] Unfortunately for him however,

[07:48] post-production would prove to be equally as stressful.

[07:50] Initially, the films editor was John Jympson.

[07:53] By George Lucas own admission, he did a poor job of explaining the film's material to John.

[07:57] This led to his cut of the film being described as "leisurely-paced."

[08:01] Halfway through production, Jympson was fired by Lucas and replaced by,

[08:03] Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew, and George's then-wife, Marcia Lucas.

[08:08] This is where the film we all know and love today began to take shape.

[08:11] They cut out massive segments of the story that were deemed unnecessary.

[08:15] We'll come back to these deleted scenes in a bit,

[08:17] but for now I'll just say this,

[08:18] they absolutely made the right call.

[08:20] The final piece of the Star Wars puzzle to fall into place,

[08:23] and arguably one of the most important,

[08:24] is the sound of Star Wars.

[08:26] Both sound effects and music.

[08:28] The sound effects were done by Ben Burtt.

[08:30] And it goes without saying that these played an instrumental role in the success of the franchise.

[08:34] From the ignition of a lightsaber,

[08:36] the howl of a TIE fighter,

[08:38] the beeps of R2-D2,

[08:40] and the most iconic of all,

[08:41] the breathing of Darth Vader.

[08:43] Star Wars has a unique sound to it.

[08:45] All of these noises are very clearly not of Earth.

[08:47] And they fit perfectly in the galaxy of Star Wars.

[08:50] And, of course, we can't forget about the score.

[08:53] Composed by the legendary John Williams,

[08:55] the score is nothing short of iconic.

[08:57] George Lucas himself said that,

[08:58] the score was one of the only aspects of the film to exceed his expectations.

[09:02] While there are a number of incredible tracks in this film,

[09:05] the best would be yet to come I feel.

[09:07] Future entries in the franchise would only continue to build on the sound of Star Wars.

[09:11] Finally, on May 25th, 1977,

[09:13] Star Wars was released.

[09:15] And immediately, it was a critical and financial success.

[09:18] Instantly, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford were thrown into superstardom.

[09:22] George Lucas became wealthy overnight.

[09:24] And the film was nominated for 10 academy awards, winning 6.

[09:27] Star Wars had become a cultural phenomenon.

[09:30] A status it maintains to this day.

[09:41] In making Star Wars, Lucas was heavily inspired by mythology and philosophy.

[09:45] He wanted Star Wars to be a classic tale of good vs. evil.

[09:48] A story of a knight saving a princess, with the help of a wizard.

[09:51] It is the quintessential example of a hero's journey.

[09:54] The hero's journey is a narrative framework which Star Wars strictly adheres to.

[09:58] It's comprised of 12 stages, and while slightly out of order,

[10:01] Star Wars does contain all 12.

[10:03] I won't go over each one, but the first 5 serve as a good example of this concept.

[10:07] The first stage is the ordinary world.

[10:09] During this stage, we're introduced to our hero, and their life before their adventure.

[10:13] The second stage is the call to adventure.

[10:15] This happens when Obi-Wan asks Luke to come with him to Alderaan.

[10:18] The third stage is the refusal of the call.

[10:20] The fourth stage is meeting the mentor.

[10:23] This is what I mean when I say the stages are slightly out of order.

[10:25] The mentor, being Obi-Wan in this case, is actually the one who proposes the call to adventure.

[10:30] And finally for this discussion, the fifth stage is crossing the first threshold.

[10:34] This happens when Owen and Beru are murdered by the Empire,

[10:37] and Luke finally decides to go with Obi-Wan.

[10:39] This film doesn't actually begin with the aforementioned first stage though.

[10:42] We don't get introduced to the quote, "ordinary world," until 17 minutes into the story.

[10:47] The first 17 minutes are spent with two droids,

[10:49] R2-D2 and C-3PO.

[10:51] Oh wait actually, before we get to that, we've gotta talk about...

[11:00] The title crawl.

[11:01] One of the most iconic elements of Star Wars.

[11:04] I've always been split on the title crawl personally.

[11:06] I would prefer if a lot of these elements were shown to the audience, of course.

[11:09] I mean, they made a whole movie based on a single sentence in this crawl.

[11:12] But, with a galaxy as vast as Star Wars,

[11:14] there's simply too much going on for us to be shown every single aspect of the narrative.

[11:19] The title crawl also allows for us to be dropped right into the middle of the action,

[11:21] and still know what's going on.

[11:23] It's important to hook an audience with your first scene,

[11:25] and the title crawl gives the director the freedom to make the first scene as interesting as possible.

[11:29] Also, I know this is subjective,

[11:30] but the level of nostalgia I feel whenever a Star Wars title crawl begins is unreal.

[11:34] I genuinely get chills every single time.

[11:37] It's one of many reasons I can't wait for Star Wars films to come back to theaters.

[11:40] Back to those two droids from earlier though,

[11:42] they actually solve a problem I just brought up.

[11:44] Star Wars is a vast galaxy that is a complete unknown to us as an audience.

[11:49] The audience likely couldn't handle being introduced to so many moving parts at once.

[11:52] So instead, the opening of this film does something clever,

[11:55] to not bombard the audience with more information than they can handle.

[11:58] Instead of being introduced to our hero and the main conflict at the same time,

[12:01] we simply follow these two droids.

[12:03] They quite literally weave their way through the conflict.

[12:06] Introducing us to the major elements and characters.

[12:08] They then naturally introduce us to our protagonist,

[12:10] his world, his eventual mentor, and the call to action.

[12:13] The plot quite literally being a straight line,

[12:16] makes it impossible for anyone to become lost up to this point.

[12:18] Speaking of our protagonist though,

[12:20] it's impossible not to love Luke Skywalker.

[12:22] He's your typical coming-of-age story protagonist.

[12:25] He wants to go out and see the galaxy and he feels like his friends are all moving on without him.

[12:29] He wants adventure, excitement,

[12:31] anything but moisture farming with his aunt and uncle.

[12:33] I do sometimes forget how whiny Luke is in this film though.

[12:36] He's still a likable character here.

[12:38] But his development throughout this trilogy is insanely impressive from a writing standpoint.

[12:42] In a story like this, it's vital that the audience can connect with our protagonist.

[12:45] In this opening segment of the film, we learn a lot about Luke.

[12:48] We know why he behaves the way he does, what he wants, and how he plans on getting it.

[12:53] But all that dialogue pales in comparison to the binary suns scene.

[12:57] This moment allows us to feel the emotional weight of Luke's problem.

[13:00] We sense the intensity of his yearning for adventure.

[13:04] This is, of course, due to the great performance by Hamill, as well as the excellent direction from Lucas,

[13:08] but, let's be real here, the music does a lot of the heavy lifting.

[13:11] John Williams puts on a masterclass in this scene.

[13:14] The music softly growing as Luke ascends the hill, and finally hitting a crescendo,

[13:18] as he longingly gazes at the twin suns.

[13:21] Gazing at a sunset is a familiar concept to the audience.

[13:24] So the binary suns do a great job of,

[13:26] having the audience experience a feeling that is familiar, yet over so slightly different.

[13:30] Showing us that, even though Luke is in a galaxy far, far away, he's just like us.

[13:35] Just as suddenly as the musical crescendo grew however,

[13:37] it fades as Luke dejectedly turns away.

[13:40] I genuinely don't know how, but this scene gets me every single time I watch it.

[13:44] I've viewed it countless times, and it somehow hasn't lost it's impact.

[13:48] The audience feels everything they're supposed to feel.

[13:51] We now also want to see Luke go on this adventure he longs for.

[13:54] We want to see him leave the only home he's ever known and explore the galaxy.

[13:58] Luke being sheltered from the galaxy up to this point actually serves a purpose too.

[14:02] It allows for him to be a surrogate for the audience.

[14:04] We get a ton of necessary exposition from characters simply explaining things to Luke.

[14:09] My favorite example of this is Han's explanation of hyperspace.

[14:12] "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy."

[14:15] "Without precise calculations we'd fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova,

[14:19] and that would end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"

[14:21] This is obviously a concept the audience isn't going to be familiar with.

[14:25] Without a proper explanation,

[14:26] hyperspace would seem like a get-out-of-jail free card, with no repercussions.

[14:30] It would lessen the tension in every subsequent dogfight.

[14:33] With this one line of dialogue though,

[14:35] we understand that there are consequences to this.

[14:37] And someone can't simply jump whenever they feel like it.

[14:40] Speaking of Han Solo, as previously mentioned, he serves as a narrative of foil to Luke.

[14:44] Whereas Luke still has a glimmer in his eye and hasn't seen much of the galaxy.

[14:48] Han Solo has been everywhere and seen everything.

[14:51] He's cynical and believes in himself over anything else.

[14:54] Of course, with new characters come new conflicts.

[14:56] Han Solo currently owes a mobster named Jabba a lot of money.

[14:59] This is shown to the audience in a way that doesn't waste time,

[15:02] and really fleshes out the character of Han.

[15:04] The scene I'm talking about of course, being the infamous "Han shot first" moment.

[15:07] Disregarding the controversy, it's an incredible scene.

[15:10] It shows us that Han really does come from a different world than our protagonist.

[15:14] And that's all we needed, one simple scene to establish these stakes.

[15:23] "Right here, Jabba."

[15:27] "Been waitin' for ya."

[15:28] George Lucas once mentioned that, upon the completion of Star Wars,

[15:31] he felt as though the film was more so abandoned, rather than finished.

[15:34] He wasn't all too proud of the finished product.

[15:37] So naturally, when given the opportunity, he made alterations.

[15:40] To say these have been met with some criticism would be putting it lightly,

[15:44] Now, keep in mind, the 2011 rerelease was the first version of the film I had ever seen.

[15:48] So I'm generally more forgiving toward it.

[15:50] I'm not gonna talk about every change made in these rereleases,

[15:53] but I will comment on the most relevant.

[15:55] A lot of the changes I'm generally neutral on.

[15:57] The CGI Dewbacks don't drag down my enjoyment of the film,

[16:01] the slightly updated and enhanced shots don't distract from the narrative at all.

[16:04] and some scenes, like Han chasing the stormtroopers down the hallway,

[16:07] are actually better in the rereleases.

[16:09] I just have two major complaints.

[16:11] Firstly, the infamous "Han shot first" scene.

[16:14] In the original theatrical release,

[16:16] Han shoots Greedo before he even has a chance to fire back.

[16:19] In the subsequent rereleases, it was changed so that Greedo shoots first,

[16:23] with Han's head being digitally moved over to dodge the blast,

[16:25] before he finally fires back.

[16:27] This may seem like a small thing, but it really takes away from Han's characterization in my eyes.

[16:32] Him dodging the blast before firing back fits his confident persona,

[16:36] but him firing, no questions asked, sets him up as a morally grey character.

[16:40] Greedo did make it clear that he was intent on killing him.

[16:43] So it's not as though Han killed him for no reason though.

[16:45] I believe this was changed to paint Han in a better light,

[16:47] but to me it's just a pointless addition that takes away from Han's character arc throughout the trilogy.

[16:51] With this change there's less of a 180 in his character throughout the trilogy,

[16:55] and more of a slight shift in his priorities.

[16:57] Admittedly, I don't feel all too strongly about that change though.

[17:00] It's the next change we'll discuss that baffles me to this day.

[17:03] Two major scenes were added to the rereleases.

[17:06] One is a scene just before the battle of Yavin,

[17:08] where Luke talks to his friend Biggs.

[17:10] A character originally largely cut from the film.

[17:12] I don't mind this scene being added in all that much.

[17:15] I like the performances here and it makes Biggs death more emotional

[17:18] The other scene that was added however, is the Jabba the Hutt scene.

[17:20] Words cannot accurately express how much I hate this scene being added back.

[17:25] In the Greedo scene it's established that Han owes this guy Jabba some money.

[17:29] If he brings Obi-Wan and Luke to Alderaan, he can clear his debt.

[17:32] That's all we need to know.

[17:34] In an originally deleted scene however,

[17:37] Jabba was meant to threaten Han and reiterate all this information that we already knew.

[17:41] Realizing that the scene was nonessential,

[17:43] and wanting to save money on the stop motion model necessary to complete it,

[17:46] Lucas and his editors decided to cut it out entirely.

[17:49] This was the right move in my eyes.

[17:51] However, in the 1997 rerelease, the scene was added back in.

[17:55] This time, with a full CG model for Jabba,

[17:57] and for some reason, Boba Fett is here too.

[17:59] I'll start with the things I like.

[18:01] Boba Fett being here builds anticipation for his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back.

[18:04] Now to the things I dislike.

[18:06] Firstly, having Jabba be shown this early on kills the mystery of who exactly this guy is.

[18:11] Having him be mentioned in this film before we finally get to see him in Episode 6,

[18:15] was a good set-up and eventual pay-off for the character.

[18:17] Secondly, just look at the model used in the 1997 release.

[18:21] Yes, it would eventually be updated in 2004, but both models are hideous.

[18:25] I don't know if it's just me but the model used in 2004 and 2011 looks off too.

[18:29] Something about the lighting is weird and Han just stands uncomfortably close to it.

[18:33] Speaking of Han's positioning being off in this scene.

[18:36] That brings me to my final complaint.

[18:38] Take a look at the original deleted scene.

[18:40] Keep in mind, at this time, Jabba's design hadn't been finalized.

[18:44] This presented a problem when it came time to put the scene back in the film however.

[18:47] As Han, at one point, walked behind Jabba.

[18:50] Naturally, at this juncture, a sane human being would give up.

[18:54] It's not worth the effort of solving this impossible problem for a scene that's pointless anyway.

[18:58] George Lucas isn't the kind of man to give up however.

[19:00] When he sets out to do something, he does it.

[19:03] They said he couldn't make a comedy, but he proved them wrong with American Graffiti.

[19:07] They said he could never make a space opera in a similar vein to Flash Gordon.

[19:10] But he proved them wrong with Star Wars.

[19:12] He is a master of innovation.

[19:14] So what did his infinite genius come up with.

[19:16] "Look, Jabba, even I get boarded sometimes."

[19:21] "You think I had a choice?"

[19:23] This is uniquely terrible.

[19:25] Jabba's reaction is strange and the noise he makes is just weird to be honest.

[19:30] The way Han awkwardly jumps up and down looks horrendous.

[19:33] And the worst part is in my opinion, this isn't in character for Jabba whatsoever.

[19:37] He's supposed to be this big crime boss that's been ruling over Tatooine for at least 30 years now.

[19:42] He spends a majority of this scene talking about how Han dropping cargo is bad for business.

[19:46] Letting that same man bully you like this in front of your henchmen isn't exactly good for business either.

[19:50] Jabba would've had this guy shot on sight for attempting something like this in any other film.

[19:55] Nothing about this scene makes sense.

[19:58] They created an impossible problem by trying to include it,

[20:01] and then clearly couldn't solve it.

[20:02] All for nothing because the scene just tanks the pacing anyway.

[20:05] I'm well-aware that there are upscaled versions of the theatrical release online, which is cool.

[20:10] But I honestly don't mind watching the rerelease for this film.

[20:12] It's just this one scene I have a problem with.

[20:15] Alright, now that's over with.

[20:16] That's pretty much all the negativity I have toward this film.

[20:19] And it's only because of a dumb change in a rerelease.

[20:23] "That's no moon."

[20:25] "It's a space station."

[20:27] "It's too big to be a space station."

[20:31] "I have a very bad feeling about this."

[20:34] One thing I love about the original Star Wars, is how neatly the three acts are separated.

[20:38] The first act takes place on Tatooine.

[20:40] The second on the Death Star.

[20:42] And the third on Yavin 4.

[20:43] It's small, but it helps us keep track of where we are in the narrative.

[20:47] Whenever I rewatch the film, I tend to forget the third act is coming up,

[20:50] because of just how good the second act is.

[20:52] The Death Star feels like such a massive set piece,

[20:54] with all the moving parts in the narrative and the events that take place within it.

[20:57] Firstly, you have Obi-Wan going to shut down the tractor beam.

[21:00] This plot line is dramatic, and culminates in Obi-Wan's duel with Darth Vader.

[21:04] You also have the plot line of C-3PO and R2 avoiding capture.

[21:07] This has the lowest stakes but it's meant mostly for comic relief, which it succeeds in.

[21:12] And finally, you have the main plot line, which is Han and Luke rescuing the princess.

[21:15] With these events balancing comedy and drama.

[21:18] They all come together to create a scenario worthy of a final act.

[21:21] And all the plot lines eventually converge in the hangar bay.

[21:30] "No!"

[21:34] To say this scene is iconic would be an understatement.

[21:37] According to various sources,

[21:38] Lucas had originally intended to simply have someone on the team get injured in order to add tension.

[21:42] Before later deciding on killing off Obi-Wan.

[21:45] And I think it was undoubtedly the right call.

[21:47] After getting all our heroes together, Obi-Wan had served his purpose within the story.

[21:51] With the final act being a battle in space, there wasn't any reason for him to be there physically.

[21:56] Him communicating with Luke later on also adds to the mysticism of the force.

[21:59] Which would be expanded on in future films.

[22:02] Another thing I love from the escape from the Death Star, is when Leia says the Empire let them go.

[22:06] It can be difficult in a story to let the good guys win, without making the bad guys look incompetent.

[22:10] By explaining why the Empire let them go, it allows them to remain a fearsome enemy.

[22:15] The reason the Empire let them escape makes sense too.

[22:17] In every scene in the Death Star up to this point,

[22:20] Tarkin has been trying to find the location of the rebel base.

[22:23] Finally, he decides to place a tracker on their ship and have the Falcon lead them straight to it.

[22:27] It doesn't come across as a plot contrivance because this has been built up throughout the entirety of the film's runtime.

[22:32] This leads directly into the final act, the battle of Yavin.

[22:35] Every time I watch it, I question how this was even possible in 1977.

[22:39] The effects work and editing in this scene is spectacular.

[22:42] The editing for this scene was done largely by Marcia Lucas.

[22:45] In the last few years, Marcia Lucas involvement with Star Wars has been greatly exaggerated.

[22:50] But, if there's one thing she deserves credit for, it's this sequence.

[22:53] It is an absolute masterclass and was mostly done by her alone.

[22:57] What's even crazier to me is the fact that a major element in this scene was added in post.

[23:01] We all know the story by now,

[23:03] The Empire tracks down the rebel base to Yavin 4.

[23:05] They go their in the Death Star to wipe out all the rebels at once by blowing up the moon.

[23:09] Meanwhile, the rebels decipher the Death Star plans and find a weakness.

[23:13] A 2-meter wide thermal exhaust port, which if a proton torpedo is fired into,

[23:17] would cause a chain reaction that would blow up the whole base.

[23:20] The stakes are firmly established on both sides.

[23:23] The rebels have to complete this near impossible task,

[23:25] before the moon of Yavin comes out from behind the planet.

[23:27] and the Death Star fires upon them.

[23:29] The thing is, that whole bit about the Empire firing on the rebel base,

[23:33] was added in post.

[23:34] That wasn't in the original script.

[23:37] I genuinely couldn't imagine this scene without that added tension.

[23:40] I would consider it absolutely necessary.

[23:42] Without it, the escape from the Death Star would've been a more exciting conclusion.

[23:46] As is though, the trench run is one of the most exciting set pieces in the series.

[23:50] The dogfighting is exceptional and the special effects play an instrumental role in that.

[23:54] The pacing is also amazing, it lasts for the perfect amount of time.

[23:58] The initial miss, followed by Red leader's death,

[24:00] gives the impression that this next run is going to be the rebels last chance.

[24:04] Luke's final run with Darth Vader right behind him serves as a thrilling conclusion.

[24:08] Vader picks off each X-Wing one by one, until finally, only Luke is in view.

[24:12] Only for Han to come in at last second with the save.

[24:15] And of course, Luke's force training comes full circle.

[24:18] With him relying on the force before hitting the shot.

[24:21] The way everything comes together in this scene is genuinely so impressive.

[24:25] All the plot lines are neatly wrapped up in one action-packed and dramatic sequence.

[24:30] Until all that's left is the medal ceremony, which is appropriately triumphant.

[24:34] In this moment, we're reminded of the kid on Tatooine who wanted to go on an adventure.

[24:38] And now here he stands, a hero.

[24:41] As was previously mentioned, George Lucas took inspiration from classic stories.

[24:45] Ideas like good vs. evil, a hero's journey, and knights rescuing princesses,

[24:49] are stories that have been told countless times and will continue to be told.

[24:53] Whether or not they're popular just depends on who can put the nicest coat of paint on it,

[24:56] and their own personal twist.

[24:58] In terms of the coat of paint,

[24:59] Star Wars has some of the most spectacular VFX ever seen up to that point.

[25:03] The music and sound effects are superb and the acting is top-notch.

[25:07] From a technical standpoint, the film is a marvel.

[25:09] And it was built on the back of a time tested narrative.

[25:12] That's not all Star Wars owes to its success though.

[25:14] The personal twist Lucas put on this story is it's setting.

[25:17] The galaxy far, far away.

[25:19] The simple narrative wasn't just put in place because it was safe.

[25:22] The straightforward events allow the galaxy of Star Wars to shine through.

[25:26] We aren't distracted by moral dilemmas or complex narratives.

[25:29] We're simply free to explore and learn about this galaxy.

[25:32] Later films would, of course, become increasingly complex,

[25:35] as the viewers become more accustomed to these characters and this world.

[25:38] and while I do consider a few of these films to be superior to this one,

[25:41] none of them would exist without this all-time classic.

[25:44] It set the foundation and established a legacy.

[25:56] I spent a lot of this video talking about how impactful Star Wars has been on cinema.

[26:00] And I've also spoken at length about it's effects in my own life.

[26:03] When making a video for this channel I try to keep the topic as positive as possible.

[26:07] I don't care much for negative film discussion.

[26:10] That's not to say I'll completely avoid talking about things that bother me within a film.

[26:14] But it is to say that if I overall don't enjoy the product,

[26:16] I'd rather not discuss it here.

[26:18] And a big reason for that is because I grew up on the Star Wars side of YouTube,

[26:21] during the release of the sequel trilogy.

[26:23] Where discussion was only negative all the time.

[26:26] Don't get me wrong, I hate those movies.

[26:28] But because of them, I honestly feel like I've hated on cinema enough to last me a lifetime.

[26:33] So I try to see the good in film as much as possible.

[26:35] And a positive mindset, especially when it comes to Star Wars, is hard to come by these days.

[26:40] Disney has done a lot of things wrong with Star Wars.

[26:42] But they also did some things right.

[26:43] Like Rogue One, Andor, the Clone Wars finale, and season1 of The Mandalorian.

[26:48] The future of Star Wars is in a dark place right now.

[26:51] We don't really know what's going to happen next for the franchise.

[26:54] It seems like it's stuck in Disney plus purgatory at the moment,

[26:56] with few theatrical releases on the horizon.

[26:59] I'm confident that the franchise will pull through however.

[27:01] And find it's rightful place in pop culture once again.

[27:03] Star Wars is a franchise synonymous with innovation.

[27:08] One of the best things to come from the franchise since the acquisition by Disney,

[27:11] is the Star Wars Visions series.

[27:13] It's an anthology series that features stories done by various animation studios.

[27:17] It gives these creators a chance to shine on a big stage.

[27:20] And some of these episodes are frankly incredible.

[27:22] In a similar vein to George Lucas preference for unknown actors,

[27:26] I'd love to see Star Wars serve as a testing ground for new ideas.

[27:29] Whether those be in VFX or just using the name

[27:31] to promote a story that may not have gotten the attention otherwise.

[27:34] For instance, you can do action films, drama, romance, comedies,

[27:38] all set in the Star Wars universe.

[27:40] That's just an idea though and I could see a lot of people hating that.

[27:43] A lot of fans have an idea in their head on what Star Wars should be, and that's mine.

[27:47] If Star Wars means something different to you, who am I to disagree with that?

[27:51] Fandom can be a beautiful thing.

[27:53] No matter what different ideas we all have, at least we have one thing in common.

[27:57] We love Star Wars and we want to see it succeed.

[27:59] We want to experience that same feeling as when we were first introduced to this galaxy far, far away.

[28:04] That sense of adventure and discovery.

[28:06] And whether that's even possible or not, I'd love to see someone try and recapture that feeling.

[28:11] I'm excited for the future of Star Wars, no matter how bleak it may seem.

[28:15] For now, I'd like to continue covering this franchise I love.

[28:18] Next in this series would be a video on one of my favorite films of all-time.

[28:22] Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

[28:26] If that's something you'd like to see, let me know in the comments.

[28:29] And subscribe for more content like this.

[28:31] Thanks for watching.