What started it all... that which continues even today
Ah yes, I'll never forget when I first saw the name Star Wars flying directly away from me followed by the scrolling text driven by John Williams' rousing score, throwing us right into the high-speed chase in space. For its time A New Hope was the greatest accomplishment in science fiction and a masterwork of George Lucas' depiction of his rich vision. Of late, some have been dissatisfied with Lucas' attempt to go back and add to the film he made 30 years ago from the date of this review. I personally haven't. In my opinion, Lucas as the artist has every right to go back and make his vision more complete. That's why in filmmaking (though more short-term) you have periods called "principal photography" and "pick-ups". For those who aren't familiar with those, principal photography almost always involves the bulk of the actual filming. Pick-ups are designed to add anything that might have been missed during principal photography, and after the footage has been edited to a rough cut. In hindsight, I think we have to re-examine this film in the context of Lucas' complete vision of the ENTIRE story. When only this film was out, people enjoyed it because it's one of those blockbusters with characters we cared about, identified with. After all of the installments we have to go back and say this is just one piece to a puzzle that when finally placed together contributes to one of the greatest tales of tragedy and redemption in modern fiction.