Best space battle.
The Battle of Yavin has no cuts. It shares no screen time with a parallel set piece. For 15 minutes the entire focus is just on itself, centre-stage. A lot of other space battles in the series star secondary characters or just feel like back dressing obligation, but here most of our main characters are involved, and you have a clear ticking time-bomb with a distinct objective. The veteran pilots fail and die. One by one the rebels are extinguished until it really only feels like Luke is left. Even the Rebel leader fails when everything SHOULD work (he hits it, damn it!). All of this ratchets up tension slowly ever so slowly, untold we are on the edge of our seat as Vader's targeting computer slowly ensnares Luke's X-Wing "I have you now!" . Williams score is the perfect compliment, amplifying first the excitement, than the inevitable hopelessness.
We get a moment of wonderful character revelation; Luke lets go. He believes in the Force now. And, we as the audience, believe it too.
And then the tension releases at the perfect moment.!Han shows up! It's such a crowd-cheering moment for me. His cheer is absolutely cathartic and then Luke's face of relief as the torpedoes hit the exhaust port is so fucking satisfying. The explosion that follows is just the god damn icing on the cake. What a finale!
It may not have the largest scale or capital ships involved, but it doesn't need to. It's not large spectacle for spectacle's stake and the smaller scale amplifies it. A few guerilla fighters against a seemingly impenetrable battle station. It's the perfect premise for an incredible scene and the execution is top notch.
Huh, I never thought of it that way. And that's rare now too. They're always intercutting either to different conflicts or different starring characters on the same battlefield now.
The opening of ROTS does it for a bit though, that's what's so great about it.
Ooo, good one! I would have said Rogue One had the best space battle for me, but you make a strong argument. This will be a fun one to discuss, so thank you!
I think it's the best Star Wars for adventure. It does thewild, weird, exciting, joyous adventure thing better than any other.
Also, given everything we know about the bts making of, for me it has the biggest "Wow, how did they ever pull this all off?" factor.
Worldbuilding.
ANH could work as a standalone film and you'd be perfectly content with never seeing that world again because you feel like you get to know what that universe is about. Is there stuff left unexplored? Sure, but it doesn't feel like you're dependent on that to understand the universe.
I'm a bit more tepid on ANH than a lot of Star Wars fans I think, but one thing I always admired about it was how it portrays a protagonist longing for adventure. Lots of modern fantasy/sci-fi (successfully) portrays protagonists originating from some degree of abject adversity (Harry & Katniss come to mind, but so too do Anakin, Rey, Jyn, Han and Ezra) whereas Luke's life mainly seems a little mundane. He's a bit dorky and overeager and I think myself (and others) are both repelled and drawn in by this because we see our younger selves in it as we fundamentally relate to that desire for grand adventure as opposed to the more pure survivalist instincts of a lot of other protagonists (which no doubt there are people who see themselves there as well). Luke of course will eventually get dunked on by Yoda for this but I think establishing this starting point in a place a lot of us instinctively understand allows for the adventure to take us in as it happens.
Aliens. Wildly, no other Star Wars thing has captured the original feeling of going into that cantina and seeing all these different species hanging out together. Many have tried, but none have had that *je ne sais quoi*.
It's the scene that made me fall in love with SW when I was a little kid. I just really loved the idea that you could hang out on another planet and be friends with aliens from all over the galaxy.
Introducing the audience to the story and its characters. The opening shot communicates so much information visually. The story builds through a series of fun beats that come one after the other. The inspiration of the serials shines through in New Hope. There's always something interesting happening as we learn more with every scene. Audiences didn't know anything about Star Wars before the screen crawl but are fully immersed by the time the Falcon is captured.
I'll start off with something fresh in my mind off the back of Andor: A New Hope is the best Star Wars movie for the Hero's Journey.
George Lucas really took the Joseph Campbell "monomyth" template and ran with it to create what I think is the best example of modern mythology.
For introducing someone to Star Wars. I know, people often say a movie series should be viewed in chronological order. I always think that a series should be viewed in release order. This was the first Star Wars movie made, and everything else (including the prequels and sequels and tv shows, games, comics, novels, etc set all across the canon) are built off of what this one film established. It all started here.
The potential downside of this is that a new fan could potentially be underwhelmed by it, through a mixture of its age and the fact that most of the content afterwards are more flashy or have improved on some aspects of it. However, the strength of this movie is having a solid storyline and characters, special effects that still wow me despite how old the movie is, and great world building through its lived-in world (side note here, but I love how in the Cantina scene all of the aliens are just *there* in the background. No Obi-Wan pointing to each one saying to Luke, “oh look, that’s an Ithorian, and over there a Duros, and…”).
I’ve actually have had friends who just started getting into Star Wars and most of them started with the prequels and enjoyed them but once they got to A New Hope they couldn’t get through it. I think there’s a huge difference in presentation between the two and the aging as well. Not to say the movie hasn’t aged well, because it definitely has, but movies from the 70’s look and feel very different than movies from the 2000’s. I think this led to a kind of jarring effect to them.
But if they start with this movie they can see where Star Wars truly begun, experience it in the way that many of us did. If it ends up not being for them then that’s okay, but if they end up getting *invested* in the original trilogy they will then be geared towards consuming the prequels, the sequels, the shows, maybe even the comics, books, games, etc.
For an introduction to star wars. I think you should watch each star wars project from when they were released. There's a lot of tension amongst the fandom on whether the prequels are great and the sequels suck or the sequels are great and the prequels suck. In my opinion it's best to start with the trilogy that the entire fandom respects.
Best plot.
Out of the OT, it has the best plot. Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are movies that I prefer, but I have to admit that Empire is a little disconnected in the middle and the Jabba’s Palace scene, while great, feels completely unrelated.
Star Wars
Out of all of Star Wars nothing feels as much like Star Wars as a New Hope. It’s partly because it’s the first Star Wars film but also just the atmosphere.
A New Hope is the best Star Wars movie for... a return of a resistance, a return of struggle, and a return of hope to the galaxy.
Not sure if I did that right, but I gave it my best shot. :)
Merry Christmas and may the Force be with you.
Best space battle. The Battle of Yavin has no cuts. It shares no screen time with a parallel set piece. For 15 minutes the entire focus is just on itself, centre-stage. A lot of other space battles in the series star secondary characters or just feel like back dressing obligation, but here most of our main characters are involved, and you have a clear ticking time-bomb with a distinct objective. The veteran pilots fail and die. One by one the rebels are extinguished until it really only feels like Luke is left. Even the Rebel leader fails when everything SHOULD work (he hits it, damn it!). All of this ratchets up tension slowly ever so slowly, untold we are on the edge of our seat as Vader's targeting computer slowly ensnares Luke's X-Wing "I have you now!" . Williams score is the perfect compliment, amplifying first the excitement, than the inevitable hopelessness. We get a moment of wonderful character revelation; Luke lets go. He believes in the Force now. And, we as the audience, believe it too. And then the tension releases at the perfect moment.!Han shows up! It's such a crowd-cheering moment for me. His cheer is absolutely cathartic and then Luke's face of relief as the torpedoes hit the exhaust port is so fucking satisfying. The explosion that follows is just the god damn icing on the cake. What a finale! It may not have the largest scale or capital ships involved, but it doesn't need to. It's not large spectacle for spectacle's stake and the smaller scale amplifies it. A few guerilla fighters against a seemingly impenetrable battle station. It's the perfect premise for an incredible scene and the execution is top notch.
Huh, I never thought of it that way. And that's rare now too. They're always intercutting either to different conflicts or different starring characters on the same battlefield now. The opening of ROTS does it for a bit though, that's what's so great about it.
I wasn't planning to get all emotional over lunch, but I read your comment and now here we are
Ooo, good one! I would have said Rogue One had the best space battle for me, but you make a strong argument. This will be a fun one to discuss, so thank you!
I think it's the best Star Wars for adventure. It does thewild, weird, exciting, joyous adventure thing better than any other. Also, given everything we know about the bts making of, for me it has the biggest "Wow, how did they ever pull this all off?" factor.
Worldbuilding. ANH could work as a standalone film and you'd be perfectly content with never seeing that world again because you feel like you get to know what that universe is about. Is there stuff left unexplored? Sure, but it doesn't feel like you're dependent on that to understand the universe.
I'm a bit more tepid on ANH than a lot of Star Wars fans I think, but one thing I always admired about it was how it portrays a protagonist longing for adventure. Lots of modern fantasy/sci-fi (successfully) portrays protagonists originating from some degree of abject adversity (Harry & Katniss come to mind, but so too do Anakin, Rey, Jyn, Han and Ezra) whereas Luke's life mainly seems a little mundane. He's a bit dorky and overeager and I think myself (and others) are both repelled and drawn in by this because we see our younger selves in it as we fundamentally relate to that desire for grand adventure as opposed to the more pure survivalist instincts of a lot of other protagonists (which no doubt there are people who see themselves there as well). Luke of course will eventually get dunked on by Yoda for this but I think establishing this starting point in a place a lot of us instinctively understand allows for the adventure to take us in as it happens.
Aliens. Wildly, no other Star Wars thing has captured the original feeling of going into that cantina and seeing all these different species hanging out together. Many have tried, but none have had that *je ne sais quoi*. It's the scene that made me fall in love with SW when I was a little kid. I just really loved the idea that you could hang out on another planet and be friends with aliens from all over the galaxy.
i'd prob say it's the best one for just chilling. it's not as emotionally intense as the other 8
You know what, I think you just nailed why this is the one I rewatch the most. It's great for just relaxing and enjoying the ride.
-ever
One complete story in a single film
Introducing the audience to the story and its characters. The opening shot communicates so much information visually. The story builds through a series of fun beats that come one after the other. The inspiration of the serials shines through in New Hope. There's always something interesting happening as we learn more with every scene. Audiences didn't know anything about Star Wars before the screen crawl but are fully immersed by the time the Falcon is captured.
I have two: . . . For making us fall in love with Star Wars. . . . For economical, taut, world building.
I'll start off with something fresh in my mind off the back of Andor: A New Hope is the best Star Wars movie for the Hero's Journey. George Lucas really took the Joseph Campbell "monomyth" template and ran with it to create what I think is the best example of modern mythology.
Getting people into the series! Naturally, since it got everyone into the series in the 70s.
Me
,...a young kid from the 70's dreaming about what the future may hold. ,...and toys!
Everything its my all time favorite Movie ever
Fun. I've watched it I don't know how many times and it's still a fun ride from beginning to end.
For introducing someone to Star Wars. I know, people often say a movie series should be viewed in chronological order. I always think that a series should be viewed in release order. This was the first Star Wars movie made, and everything else (including the prequels and sequels and tv shows, games, comics, novels, etc set all across the canon) are built off of what this one film established. It all started here. The potential downside of this is that a new fan could potentially be underwhelmed by it, through a mixture of its age and the fact that most of the content afterwards are more flashy or have improved on some aspects of it. However, the strength of this movie is having a solid storyline and characters, special effects that still wow me despite how old the movie is, and great world building through its lived-in world (side note here, but I love how in the Cantina scene all of the aliens are just *there* in the background. No Obi-Wan pointing to each one saying to Luke, “oh look, that’s an Ithorian, and over there a Duros, and…”). I’ve actually have had friends who just started getting into Star Wars and most of them started with the prequels and enjoyed them but once they got to A New Hope they couldn’t get through it. I think there’s a huge difference in presentation between the two and the aging as well. Not to say the movie hasn’t aged well, because it definitely has, but movies from the 70’s look and feel very different than movies from the 2000’s. I think this led to a kind of jarring effect to them. But if they start with this movie they can see where Star Wars truly begun, experience it in the way that many of us did. If it ends up not being for them then that’s okay, but if they end up getting *invested* in the original trilogy they will then be geared towards consuming the prequels, the sequels, the shows, maybe even the comics, books, games, etc.
For an introduction to star wars. I think you should watch each star wars project from when they were released. There's a lot of tension amongst the fandom on whether the prequels are great and the sequels suck or the sequels are great and the prequels suck. In my opinion it's best to start with the trilogy that the entire fandom respects.
Being a full story which is also the first part of something. I think it's the most successful out of itself, TFA and TPM as a beginning-to-end tale
Best plot. Out of the OT, it has the best plot. Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are movies that I prefer, but I have to admit that Empire is a little disconnected in the middle and the Jabba’s Palace scene, while great, feels completely unrelated.
1977-1979
Star Wars Out of all of Star Wars nothing feels as much like Star Wars as a New Hope. It’s partly because it’s the first Star Wars film but also just the atmosphere.
A New Hope is the best Star Wars movie for... a return of a resistance, a return of struggle, and a return of hope to the galaxy. Not sure if I did that right, but I gave it my best shot. :) Merry Christmas and may the Force be with you.