In a galaxy not so far away...

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2017)

A remarkable, timeless piece of film making, the original Star Wars later titled "A New Hope" continues to carry a lot of sway even to this very day.
In its most basic form, the story of Star Wars is as simple as it gets..., it doesn't need to be glitzy and confusing, leave that to the special effects and set dressing.
Groundbreaking, the special effects of Star Wars were ahead of their time, for example: the final battle above the Death Star, the X-Wing star-fighters looked spectacular, weaving their way around a flurry of laser-fire, both from the opposing tie-fighters and the turrets mounted to the Death Star itself, even to this day the battle, and everything else in Star Wars for that matter can hold up, whereas other films from the period look camp and dated, rather embarrassing.
This is the story of a young farm boy coming of age, of a strong and heroic rebellion taking a stand against adversary, an evil empire intent on oppressing and gradually destroying a once thriving galaxy, of a smuggler and his fury companion getting drawn into the fight, of a relic of the past hiding away in the desert, rearing his head one more time to take his last stand, of a Princess from a ruined planet, trying to stay strong and do the right thing for a cause she has handed her life to. This is just the beginning of the saga, but what a way to kick things off..., it leaves the viewer gagging for part two, which sadly they had to wait another three years for.
Star Wars is dirty, it's gritty..., especially the scenes on the remote desert planet Tatooine, there's no glory or finesse here, it's raw, it's dangerous, it's disgusting, a truly great way to introduce the audience to the world of Star Wars. The droids C-3PO and R2-D2 begin the story and the audience is expected to hold onto them as they slowly bring you into the deeper story, and they act as comic relief, which is kind of nice.
Now for George Lucas butchering his own creation, how many times has the man taken his films and changed things, adding and taking away various things? Like a mad scientist our George is, not content with what he has created and given to the world, he finds the need to keep with the times, if something looks old or scraggy in any way, he'll change it. For example, in "A New Hope", the lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, if you ever watched the original copy, you'll notice a staggering difference between the presentation of the light emitting swords, in the reworked and changed re-release, the colours of the sabres are vivid, both blue and red swords sparkle beautifully, however in the original, the sabres pale in comparison, they are a pathetic transparent whitish colour, this is a good change, but should Lucas keep butchering and playing about with his classics?
There's so much more I could write about "A New Hope", but I'll leave you to watch and enjoy, there's a whole galaxy of wonders out there waiting for you.