Ever wondered where Star Wars came from?

Rating: 10/10 (4 March 2002)

1) Origins of Star Wars
2) Summary for Star Wars (1977)
3) Summary of Episodes 1, 2 and 3
1) ORIGINS OF STAR WARS:
Star Wars is really the best film series of all time. As if Star Wars (1977) wasn't enough, we get a total number of 6 Star Wars movies which are all great by themselves but even more incredible if you watch the whole series. It's kind of a modern myth set `a long time ago in a galaxy far away'.
Star Wars I one of the most important films in history. The story is kind of old fashioned, but it is set in space, it is told through two less important characters. George and his team invented a lot of new special effects to get this working. It brought science-fiction to main stream audiences again. It redefined the blockbuster. And it broke all box office records. It's an adventurous epic for young and old.
I've just seen `Episode IV - A New Hope' for the first time after seeing `Episode I  The Phantom Menace'. Before that I've also (re)seen some other movies which influenced George Lucas. For example `The Hidden Fortress' (1958) by Akira Kurosawa and `The Searchers' (1956) by John Ford.
Akira Kurosawa is a talented Japanese director. His best known film is `The Seven Samourai' which inspired John Sturges to make `The Magnificent Seven' later in 1960. He often used wipes to go from one scene to another, so now you know where George Lucas got that idea.
Another idea George took from Kurosawa was to tell the story through the two droids. Just have a look at `The Hidden Fortress'!
I heard he was also inspired by the original Flash Gordon serials and the original `Planet of the Apes' (1968) by Franklin J. Schaffner.
George also used the works of Joseph Campbell, in particular `The hero with a thousand faces'.

2) SUMMARY FOR EPISODE 4: A New Hope:
The Empire intercepts and boards a rebel ship with princess Leia on board. A moment before the Empire Stormtroopers capture her inside the ship she sends two droids R2-D2 and C3PO away with the plans to a new secret weapon of the Empire. They land on a planet called Tatooine and are captured by Jawa's who sell droids. Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker lives with his uncle Owen and aunt Beru on a farm on Tatooine. When he purchases the droids R2-D2 and C3PO from the Jawa's, he accidentally discovers part of a distress message from Princess Leia, his sister, for the old Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi who lives a single existence at the edge of the desert. When Lukes aunt and uncle die, he joins Obi-Wan to get RD-D2 back to Alderaan. The little droid carries the plans to a very powerful space station called the Death Star inside him. They find two mercenaries called Han Solo and Chewbacca to take them to Alderaan. But by the time they get there Alderaan is completely destroyed by the Death Star. Their ship, the Millennium Falcon gets pulled in by its tractor beam. They find out princess Leia is on board and go rescue her while Obi-Wan turns off the gravity pull. While everyone is heading back to the Millennium Falcon Obi-Wan faces his former apprentice Darth Vader. He lets Vader kill him and becomes more powerful than ever. The others flee to a moon called Dantooine where the other rebels are. The Empire follows them and when the Death Star approaches the rebels send out figher ships to destroy it. Luke and Han are the ones who finally pull it off. Darth Vader escapes in a small Empire Tie-Fighter.

3) SUMMARY FOR EPISODE 1, 2 and 3:
Shortly after the first Star Wars film became a phenomenal success director George Lucas announced his intension to make a total of nine films in the series. But he only finished episodes 5 and 6. After twenty years he finally announced that he would finally make episodes 1, 2 and 3.
In these first three episodes we learn how the Jedi found Anakin Skywalker, the father of Luke Skywalker. For ages the Republic has ruled the galaxy. But now it is old, tired and corrupt and the Sith are rising. Senator Palpatine becomes the head of the Senate thanks to an evil conspiracy. When his apprentice Darth Maul is killed he chooses count Dooku to become his new apprentice. The Clone Wars sound in the beginning of the end of democracy in the republic. Anakin Skywalker, who is becoming the most powerful Jedi ever, has to begin dealing with some of his more intense emotions like anger, hatred, sense of loss, possessiveness and jealousy. He defeats the new Sith, but is seduced to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. Vader hunts down and destroys almost all of the Jedi so Palpatine can make himself Emperor of the galaxy.