Cinema
Star Wars
George Lucas · 1977
Synopsis
A civil war pits the Galactic Empire against the Rebel Alliance. Princess Leia hides the plans of the Death Star in a small robot, which ends up with a second robot on Tatooine, a desert planet; both are sold to young Luke and his uncle Owen, farmers who grow moisture. The message leads Luke to “Ben” Kenobi, who knew his father and hands him his father's lightsaber. When the Empire's soldiers kill his family, Luke leaves with Kenobi and the two machines, and they hire the smuggler Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca.
Context
The location scouting took in Morocco and Tunisia, where the town of Tataouine gave its name to the planet at the start; shooting began in March 1976, disrupted by a rare winter rain. The crew then moved to Elstree studios, whose nine stages housed some thirty sets, and to Shepperton for the rebel hangar. Lucas reworked the film in 1997 by adding computer-generated images, then again afterwards; the Library of Congress, which had entered the 1977 version in the National Film Registry as early as 1989, refused the 1997 version offered to it in its place.
Who it is for
A film lasting two hours and one minute, which has carried the subtitle of episode four only since its 1981 re-release, placing it in the middle of a series made mostly after it.
Prizes and reception
Six Oscars and a special award in 1978, and the highest box-office takings ever achieved by a film until 1983.
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