Star Wars

With an opening shot that throws anyone with any soul out of their seat, this is the essential cinema experience for my generation. It can be seen as the herald of the new effects-laden, mega-earning blockbuster which (arguably) pushed "serious" cinema into crisis during the eighties, but all of that goes out the window when Darth Vader strides out of the smoke.

George Lucas took elements from every legend and fairytale around to form the Star Wars saga, and incredibly enough it worked. The young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) dreams of escape from the drudgery of farm life to a half-perceived universe of mystical powers and glorious battles. Fate gives him the chance to rescue a princess from the clutches of the Evil Lord, who has imprisoned her in his impenetrable fortress. He meets Obi-Wan Kenobi and you can fill in the rest for yourself.

Working with a relatively small budget, Lucas creates an epic backdrop that feels totally real. Something about the film's relentless energy carries us unquestioning through sets and dialogue that could easily have felt like another creaky sci-fi movie. The appeal of Star Wars is not the kitschiness of Star Trek, but the sheer scale of its ambitions. Everybody involved believes in it, and are willing to risk looking silly for that belief. And so of course none of them do.

The acting is sincere but accomplished enough not to seem heavy-handed. Harrison Ford particularly excels at pulling off lines that would have been laughable from lesser actors.

This is more than escapist clap-trap because it has been made by people who mean it. If you last saw Star Wars squashed onto TV at Christmas don't miss this chance to see it in full Cinemascope glory.

Review by Andrew Abbott
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94