Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

**Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope** is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. The first installment in the original *Star Wars* trilogy, it stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, and Alec Guinness. David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew co-star in supporting roles.

The plot focuses on the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia (Fisher), and its attempt to destroy the Galactic Empire's space station, the Death Star. This conflict disrupts the isolated life of farmhand Luke Skywalker (Hamill) who inadvertently acquires a pair of droids that possess stolen architectural plansfor the Death Star. When the Empire begins a destructive search for the missing droids, Skywalker accompanies Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Guinness) on a mission to return the plans to the Rebel Alliance and rescue Leia from her imprisonment by the Empire.

*Star Wars* was released theatrically in the United States on May 25, 1977. It earned $461 million in the U.S. and $314 million overseas, totaling $775 million. It surpassed *Jaws* (1975) to become the highest-grossing film of all time, until the release of *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982). When adjusted for inflation, *Star Wars* is the second-highest-grossing film in North America, and the third-highest-grossing film in the world. The film received ten Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture), winning seven. It was selected to become part of the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in its first year of opening as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"; at the time, it was the newest film to be selected, and it was the only film from the 1970s to be chosen. The film's soundtrackwas added to the U.S. National Recording Registry 15 years later. Today, it is often regarded as one of the best films of all time, as well as one of the most important films in the history of motion pictures. It also launched an industry of media tie-in products, including TV series spinoffs, novels, comic books, and video games, as well as various other merchandise, such as toys, games, clothing, and other paraphernalia.

The film's massive success led to the production of two sequels: *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980) and *Return of the Jedi* (1983), both of which became critically and commercially successful. Since 1977, *Star Wars* was subsequently reissued multiple times at Lucas' behest, incorporating many changes including modified computer-generated effects, altered dialogue, re-edited shots, remixed soundtracks, and added scenes. A prequel trilogy was later released between 1999 and 2005, followed by a sequel trilogy which began in 2015.

Harrison Ford
Carrie Fisher
Peter Cushing
Alec Guinness
Richard Chew
 Production
Company
Date
 Lucasfilm Ltd. | 20th Century Fox | May 25, 1977

## Plot

The galaxy is in a civil war. Spies for the Rebel Alliance have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star, a heavily armed space station capable of destroying planets. Rebel leader Princess Leia has the plans, but her ship is captured by Imperial forces under the command of the evil Sith lord Darth Vader. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory of an astromech droid, R2-D2, along with a holographic recording. The droid flees to the surface of the desert planet Tatooine with fellow droid C-3PO.

The droids are captured by Jawa traders, who sell them to moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew, Luke Skywalker. While cleaning R2-D2, Luke accidentally triggers part of Leia's message, in which she requests help from Obi-Wan Kenobi. The next morning, Luke finds R2-D2 searching for Obi-Wan, and meets Ben Kenobi, an old hermit who lives in the hills and reveals himself to be Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan tells Luke of his days as a Jedi Knight, former Galactic Republic peacekeepers with supernatural powers derived from an energy called The Force who were wiped out by the Empire. Contrary to his uncle's statements, Luke learns that his father fought alongside Obi-Wan as a Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan tells Luke that Vader was his former pupil who turned to the dark side of the Force and killed Luke's father, Anakin. Obi-Wan offers Luke his father's lightsaber, a Jedi weapon.

Obi-Wan views Leia's complete message, in which she begs him to take the Death Star plans to her home planet of Alderaan and give them to her father for analysis. Obi-Wan invites Luke to accompany him to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force. Luke declines, but changes his mind after discovering that Imperial stormtroopers searching for C-3PO and R2-D2 have destroyed his home and killed his aunt and uncle. Obi-Wan and Luke hire smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate Chewbacca to transport them to Alderaan on Han's ship, the *Millennium Falcon*.

Upon the *Falcon*'s arrival at the location of Alderaan, the group discover that the planet has been destroyed by order of the Death Star's commanding officer, Grand Moff Tarkin, as a show of power. The *Falcon* is captured by the Death Star's tractor beam and brought into its hangar bay. While Obi-Wan goes to disable the tractor beam, Luke discovers that Leia is imprisoned aboard and, with the help of Han and Chewbacca, rescues her. After several escapes, the group makes its way back to the *Falcon*. Obi-Wan disables the tractor beam and, on the way back to the Falcon, engages in a lightsaber duel with Vader. Once he is sure the others can escape, Obi-Wan allows himself to be killed. The *Falcon* escapes the Death Star, unknowingly carrying a tracking beacon, which the Empire follows to the Rebels' hidden base on Yavin IV.

The Rebels analyze the Death Star's plans and identify a vulnerable exhaust port that connects to the station's main reactor. Luke joins the Rebel assault squadron, while Han collects his payment for the transport and intends to leave, despite Luke's request that he stay and help. In the ensuing battle, the Rebels suffer heavy losses after several unsuccessful attack runs, leaving Luke one of the few surviving pilots. Vader leads a squad of TIE fighters and prepares to attack Luke's X-wing fighter, but Han returns and fires on the Imperials, sending Vader spiraling away. Helped by guidance from Obi-Wan's spirit, Luke uses the Force and successfully destroys the Death Star seconds before it can fire on the Rebel base. Leia awards Luke and Han with medals for their heroism.

## Cast

* Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker: a young man raised by his aunt and uncle on Tatooine, who dreams of something more than his current life and learns the way of a Jedi.

Lucas favored casting young actors who lacked long experience. To play Luke (then known as Luke Starkiller), Lucas sought actors who could project intelligence and integrity. While reading for the character, Hamill found the dialogue to be extremely odd because of its universe-embedded concepts. He chose to simply read it sincerely, and he was selected instead of William Katt, who was subsequently cast in the Brian De Palma-directed *Carrie* (Lucas shared a joint casting session with De Palma, a longtime friend).
* Harrison Ford as Han Solo: a cynical smuggler hired by Obi-Wan and Luke to take them to Alderaan in his ship, the *Millennium Falcon*, co-piloted with Chewbacca.

Lucas initially rejected casting Ford for the role, as he "wanted new faces"; Ford had previously worked with the director on *American Graffiti*. Instead, Lucas asked the actor to assist in the auditions by reading lines with the other actors and explaining the concepts and history behind the scenes that they were reading. Lucas was eventually won over by Ford's portrayal and cast him instead of Kurt Russell, Nick Nolte, Sylvester Stallone, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Burt Reynolds, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Billy Dee Williams (who later played Lando Calrissian in the sequels), or Perry King (who later played Han Solo in the radio plays).
* Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia: a member of the Imperial Senate and leader of the Rebel Alliance.

Many young actresses in Hollywood auditioned for the role of Princess Leia, including Amy Irving,[12] Terri Nunn (also a singer), Cindy Williams,[11] Karen Allen,[12] and Jodie Foster. Foster, for one, turned down the role because she was already under contract with Disney and working on two films at the time.[17] Carrie Fisher was cast under the condition that she lose 10 pounds for the role.[18]
* Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin: Governor of the Imperial Outland Regions and commander of the Death Star.

Lucas originally had Cushing in mind for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Lucas believed that "his lean features" would be better employed in the role of Grand Moff Tarkin instead. Lucas commended Cushing's performance, saying "[He] is a very good actor. Adored and idolized by young people and by people who go to see a certain kind of movie. I feel he will be fondly remembered for the next 350 years at least." Cushing, commenting on his role, joked: "I've often wondered what a 'Grand Moff' was. It sounds like something that flew out of a cupboard."
* Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi: an aging Jedi Master who fought during the Clone Wars, survivor of the Great Jedi Purge, and who introduces Luke to the Force.

Lucas's decision to cast "unknowns" was not taken favorably by his friend Francis Ford Coppola and the studio. Lucas needed an established actor to play the important Obi-Wan Kenobi character. Producer Gary Kurtz said, "The Alec Guinness role required a certain stability and gravitas as a character... which meant we needed a very, very strong character actor to play that part."[11] Before Guinness was cast, Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune (who starred in Akira Kurosawa's *The Hidden Fortress*) was considered for the role. According to Mifune's daughter, Mika Kitagawa, her father turned down Lucas' offer for the role of both Kenobi and Darth Vader because "he was concerned about how the film would look and that it would cheapen the image of samurai... At the time, sci-fi movies still looked quite cheap as the effects were not advanced and he had a lot of samurai pride." Guinness was one of the few cast members who believed that the film would be successful; he negotiated a deal for 2% of the one-fifth gross royalties paid to George Lucas, which made him quite wealthy in later life. He agreed to take the part of Kenobi on the condition that he would not have to do any publicity to promote the film. Lucas credited him with inspiring the cast and crew to work harder, saying that Guinness contributed significantly to the completion of the filming. Harrison Ford said, "It was, for me, fascinating to watch Alec Guinness. He was always prepared, always professional, always very kind to the other actors. He had a very clear head about how to serve the story."
* David Prowse as Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones): A Sith lord, second in command of the Galactic Empire, who hopes to destroy the Rebel Alliance.

Lucas originally intended for Orson Welles to voice Vader (after dismissing using Prowse's own voice due to his English-West Country accent, leading to the rest of the cast nicknaming him "Darth Farmer"). After deciding that Welles' voice would be too recognizable, he cast the lesser-known James Earl Jones instead.
* Anthony Daniels as C-3PO: a protocol droid who speaks over six million languages.

Daniels auditioned for and was cast as C-3PO; he has said that he wanted the role after he saw a Ralph McQuarrie drawing of the character and was struck by the vulnerability in the robot's face.[11][24] Initially, Lucas did not intend to use Daniels' voice for C-3PO. Thirty well-established voice actors read for the voice of the droid. According to Daniels, one of the major voice actors, believed by some sources to be Stan Freberg, recommended Daniels's voice for the role.
* Kenny Baker as R2-D2: an astromech droid who is carrying the Death Star plans and a secret message for Obi-Wan from Princess Leia.

While Lucas was filming in London, where additional casting took place, Baker, performing a musical comedy act with his acting partner Jack Purvis, learned that the film crew was looking for a small person to fit inside a robot suit and maneuver it; Baker, who is 3 feet 8 inches (1.12 m) tall, was cast immediately after meeting George Lucas. He said, "He saw me come in and said 'He'll do' because I was the smallest guy they'd seen up until then." He initially turned down the role three times, hesitant to appear in a film where his face would not be shown and hoping to continue the success of his comedy act, which had recently started to be televised.[26] R2-D2's recognizable beeps and squeaks were made by sound designer Ben Burtt and Lucas imitating "baby noises", recording these voices as they were heard on an intercom, and creating the final mix using a synthesizer.[7]
* Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca: a 200-year-old Wookiee, Han Solo's sidekick, and first mate of the *Millennium Falcon*.

Mayhew learned of a casting call for *Star Wars*, which was filming in London, and decided to audition. The 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m) tall actor was immediately cast as Chewbacca after he stood up to greet Lucas. He said, "I sat down on one of the sofas, waiting for George. Door opened, and George walked in with Gary behind him. So, naturally, what did I do? I'm raised in England. Soon as someone comes in through the door, I stand up. George goes 'Hmm [looked up].' Virtually turned to Gary, and said 'I think we've found him.'" He was actually eligible for either of the two roles: Chewbacca or Darth Vader. He chose the former because he wanted to play a hero; British actor David Prowse took the other.Mayhew modeled his performance of Chewbacca after the mannerisms of animals he saw at publiczoos.
Other actors include Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser, respectively, as Owen and Beru, Luke's uncle and aunt; Jack Purvis, Kenny Baker's partner in his London comedy act, as the Chief Jawa in the film; Eddie Byrne as Vanden Willard, a Rebel general; Denis Lawson and Garrick Hagon as rebel pilots Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter (Luke's childhood friend), respectively; and Don Henderson and Leslie Schofield as Imperial Generals Cassio Tagge and Moradmin Bast, respectively.