The film that changed cinema forever!

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2016)

This film will go down as a defining moment in cinema history, this was the moment when cinema came out of its shell and showed its true potential.
George Lucas, I think it would be stupid not to mention the elephant in the room and the that is his vision for the project. This film in every way is groundbreaking, new and truly wonderful in execution. This film definitely has call backs to Lucas's first notable film THX 1138, the directing is this film is top class and shows the raw talent that Lucas had. Although this film is a huge sprawling space epic, the more intimate moments are captured perfectly and never seem out place. He managed to find a way of cohesively blending the big action set pieces and special effects with a real in depth and rich character portrayals for the majority of the cast.
The story of this film is rather simple but extremely effective due to the background its set against . The main focus of story is a struggle of good against evil, the rebellion lead by Princess Leia against the loathsome galactic Empire lead by Darth Vader. Although the story is so simple its the new small little details and the backdrop of space that elevate it to mythic status. You have all the ingredients for a good story, firstly you have the young hero (Luke Skywalker) who you go on the adventure with. Next is the mentor of the film, the wise man/women who leads the young through difficult times (Obi Wan-Kenobi). Then there is the charismatic side character and his companion who are both out of there comfort zone (Han Solo and Chewbacca). Finally there is the damsel in distress, even though actually in this film she is more of a feisty woman of power (Princess Leia). However add in the terrifying elements of the evil empire lead by Darth Vader and there planet destroying weapon the death star. All of a sudden this simple plot/story is put on drugs, and shown in a way never done before.
The performances are needless to say amazing in this film and specially from the once obscure three main leads. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison ford were three know body's even though for Ford he had work on American Graffiti with Lucas he was not a house had name, none of them were. So to pull of what they did is truly studding and amazing, none of them show any weakness and all have iconic moments in this film that will last forever. There are also the more mature and house hold name actors in this, firstly Sir Alec Guinness. Who not only gives a out of this world performance as Obi Wan Kenobi but gives some experience and wisdom to the character that is really impactful especially in the characters death. Even though the character hadn't last no more than an hour of the film it felt as is we had known the character for years, that was the level that Guinness had achieved. His voice at the end of the film tell Luke to use the force is truly amazing and will never be forgotten. Also Peter Cushing as the villainous Grand Moff Tarkin, who is perfect in this role. Ruthless and unforgiving in his efforts to bring down the rebellion in any way is the ultimate reasons as to why his character dies. Its the pure determination of victory and the absurd thought of the other side winning is reason why Tarkin is such a perfect villain to the film. The film performance is Darth Vader as a whole, including David Prowse and James Earl Jones. Vader is the pinnacle of evil, dark, mysterious, terrifying and pure genius. The suit itself is one reason why the character works so well, the haunting mask will make you never forget his face. The breathing is also just as haunting as the suit, louder than normal humans breathing this gives the hierarchy of the character. Finally the fantastic voice of James Earl Jones is truly out of of this world and will go down in history as the defining voice of the saga.
Another positive are the special effects that really pushed this film into a new age of what was technical possible for that period in time. No other film had pulled off special effects like Star Wars did, even this the day they are seamless and do not stick out of place they still work. Which is a true testament to work and craftsmanship that took place all these years ago in the making of this epic film. The perfect blend of practical and special effects is something that every film should look up to in respect to this film, revolutionary in every way.
Lastly the iconic score which was composed by the legendary John Williams. Firstly it was for the timed still to this day extremely bold to accompany the film with a classical score. However the results speak for themselves and it will have just a lasting legacy as the films do. This score is instantly recognisable as the Star Wars theme and works perfectly with the huge sci-fi epic the the film can debut also brilliantly encapsulate the more tender/emotional moments in the film. The score helps even more to elevate this film to an even higher reach that ever was indented to go for.
Finally as you can tell there are no negatives in this film in my opinion, although I could potential see some people having some problems in pacing and story elements. 85 % out of 100 a true marvel that cinema produced which changed the world of the cinema industry forever, surely a sequel to this film couldn't be better!