Act One in the Art of Entertainment  Rise of the rebellion.

Rating: 9/10 (7 September 2003)

To put this trilogy into perspective, it should be compared to another of great success. The one that I am referring to is of course The Godfather'. An appropriate analogy for comparison would be that of a family visiting an art gallery. They come to the The Godfather' display and the parents take a step back and seriously consider the portrait. The children take a look but soon loose interest and start to nag their parents ushering them to move along. The father has his hand on his chin  the customary body language of a man in deep thought and looking intellectually satisfied moves on the next display. A big hurrah for the young ones for the next artistic offering is that of Star Wars'. They go 'Wow' and the parents attention is also drawn in  the child within touched. They all move along with a facial display of joyful appreciation.
Star Wars' was pure entertainment  an example of the art in entertainment in its purest form. It appealed to all, no matter what colour, creed or gender. The imagination is emotionally hauled away on a journey relieving the traveller from reality. There was no sophisticated effort at delivering a message or any subliminal images necessary of interpretation. This is the epitome of big movie entertainment  screaming Hollywood, but without the big name actors. An aspect of Hollywood which if used would have detracted from the audience's attention to the engulfing story and adversely affected its ability to transport the audience to an unknown world. The other aspects were well included. Firstly, it is loud, it has dazzling special effects, and there are glamorous actors. A reflection of the style of American culture and the movies success is indicative of the worldwide acceptance of this culture. Hollywood is indeed the hub for the exporting of American culture to the world. Although lacking the artistic sophistication of The Godfather', it will entertain even the most discerning members of the audience. One need only ask How many people do you know who have not seen this movie?' to gauge the magnitude of the applicability of the preceding statement.
The attributing of the success of this movie to any single element would be wholly incorrect. No element of the movie steals the show entirely as it is the seamless combination of these elements which flow together throughout the movie, one stealing a scene here or there, but each delivering significantly when the movie is reviewed overall. It would be more practical to identify the weakest element rather than the strongest one. The elements that will be discussed are the acting, the music, the story, and the special effects.
The acting is the element that is the weakest here. I believe this is due to the fact that Lucas is not a natural director. Writers are asocial by nature and directing is social. This is a natural consequence of each artists make  up and is therefore a strength when this natural consequence is applied to the appropriate trade. All the actors are good but in certain scenes, especially Hamill often had contrived expressions. Given the fact that Lucas never did many retakes or communicated to any great extent with his cast, it is hard to lay the blame at their feet. Ford and of course Guinness rendered sublime performances. Guinness utilising to its full extent the suspension of disbelief necessary for his lines, gave them credibility and life. He was ideally cast as the old Jedi who would pass on his knowledge and experience in order to prepare the young Skywalker for his battle against the Emperor and his dark forces, most notably Darth Vader.
The music is my affectionate choice as the number one contributor, but in an attempt to be objective, I have to put my personal sentiments aside as I am aware that a movie of this grand scale needs to have all the elements giving great contribution. This is indeed the case here. The opening scene jolts you awake and you are whisked away by the triumphant orchestra to the world of Star Wars'. It booms away salvo after salvo and your imagination capitulates to the unrelenting attack. As the introductory storyline brings light to bear on the ensnared audience, the music gives the story a sense of grandeur and a spirit of adventure. The words and images are given an elevated status  one which could not have been achieved alone. Memories of this composition will linger for the audience, so powerful it is almost ungraceful, but it never crosses the line.
The story is a testimony to the creative writing. The story flows through all the acts and we are transported between them without noticing the start or exit signs. The characters are all different each playing a part in the life of our hero, Skywalker. Many of them are met by Skywalker as embarks on his quest and not only do they add value to his adventure, they all entertain. The obvious choice for the best character must be Darth Vader. He is the complete caricature of evil. His life support system makes him inhuman and therefore seemingly devoid of any righteous emotions. Like the cover of the video indicates, he is the face of Star Wars'. Our hero is given a grand task and many obstacles are encountered along the way before the satisfying conclusion is reached. With great imagination came great craftsmanship and everyone, especially the audience, wins with this one.
The special effects also deserve special mention. Any inclusion herein of the impact the special effects of Star Wars' on cinematic history made would add to value to anyone and will probably bore all and sundry. This has been documented exhaustibly. My own experience all those years ago, as I am sure was the experience of many members of the audience, was to go Wow', then Wow' again. They gave authenticity to the storyline and bought the world of the galactic battlefield to life. The opening sequence showed a craft being chased by a gigantic pursuer and the camera rolls by closely thus emphasising its enormity. This effect would have been simplistic in comparison to what we further to witness, but it set the tone. By today's standards, the effects are a little dated, but besides thrilling older viewers reminiscing about the enjoyment felt in their youth during their first experience of the movie, it will still provide enjoyment for the young audiences of today.
Lucas has taken an age  old convention and combined it within a relatively new genre and created one of the great stories. Knights battling against forces of evil and rescuing a damsel in distress have always captured the imagination generation after generation. Wizards used their white magic to counter the black magic of the dark forces. They mustered their power from an all powerful source which could only be accessed by the gifted few. It was stories like this that adventurers told their sweethearts and became a part of folklore as a source of inspiration for the weak and helpless. When all this folklore, as well as elements from great stories of old is transposed into the futuristic world of sci - fi, it deepens the fantasy. The timeless appeal of Knights and the fantasy world of the future when used together in a well crafted story will enthral audiences giving them a unique experience and the rolling of the final credits will serve to ease their return to reality from a galaxy far, far away.