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When I was really young, I was absolutely enamored with Star Wars. I loved the music. I had tons of video games. I had a freaking plethora of Star Wars toys and costumes, dude. I fancied myself a master lightsaber swordsman from just watching the movies (even though I probably looked a lot more like the famous broom-wielding "Star Wars Kid"), and I was positively sure that if I just meditated hard enough, I would one day find myself to be capable of actual jen-yew-wine force powers.
But here's the twist...
... The only movies I'd really seen for more than a scene or two were the prequels. I wasn't ignorant of the original trilogy: I knew the basic storyline; some famous quotes, shots, and scenes; I thought Darth Vader was the sickest, but who doesn't?
I wanted to watch them, but never really got to, so my entire perception of the Star Wars series was completely based off of videogames...
... Episodes I, II, and III (which of course might've been bad for my perspective of the series in retrospect)...
... And the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars mini-series, which was magnificent and is still one of my favorite depictions of the Star Wars universe. The man's a genius.
As I got older, however, and became more of a film nerd, I began to lose interest and respect for Star Wars in favor of more auteristic sci-fi like Alien, Logan's Run, and 2001: A Space Odyssey (which is still the greatest movie of all time, in my opinion). I got kind of stuck up about it and began to view Star Wars as sort of sensational, joy-ride type blockbuster drivel, like standard Hollywood Summer flicks. It just couldn't compare to the true artistry and restraint of the aforementioned movies, not according to younger David.
But before someone doxes me and has me murdered for not liking Star Wars in the past...
(Preferably in this manner)
... Hear me out:
As I've gotten a little older, I've matured out of that film-douche superiority complex and learned to appreciate fun movies again, and with The Force Awakens coming out (I started writing before its release), AND with me playing tons of Battlefront II lately and rekindling the old excitement for Star Wars that I had as a youngling, I decided to finally pop in some VHS tapes of the original trilogy that I bought at a yard sale a while back. With notepad in hand, I experienced the legendary series properly for the first time, with eyes of a decently seasoned film lover.
As a younger guy, I had doubts about the series and didn't understand what was so great about Star Wars. I was eager to put my doubts to the test and answer finally answer that question for myself.
EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE - SIMPLICITY WITHIN FULLNESS
Now, the fact that I'm watching the movies on VHS tapes from 1995 carries some significant ups and downs for the viewing experience: There's the terrible VHS quality and 4:3 aspect ratio, a far cry from how the film should be viewed; but on the other hand, these tapes are pre-Lucas re-edits, so they're the theatrical versions aside from the ratio and picture quality!
The most significant thing I noticed with these two variables in mind was that Episode IV was still visually awesome, because there isn't a whole lot of super flashy direction with angles or camerwork, but the design of everything and the framing of it all is superbly simple (remember that word). It was also very nice to not see any of this annoying, obstructive CGI editing that everyone talks about all the time. I was able to fully appreciate the innovative practical effects and see the movie in a rich, organic way.
One of the coolest things to me, and one of the main reasons I think the movie worked so well as a whole, is the way that it just throws you into the universe. To prove my point, here's the opening scene of Episode IV (you needn't watch the whole thing, maybe just the first two minutes):
I have a lot to say and I'm going to try to organize my thoughts as best I can.
Starting from the opening crawl, you're given a sort-of narration for backstory, context, etc., but notice how nothing is ever explicitly explained to you. What I mean is that although you're given context to the situation, nobody ever sits you down and says "This is a universe where there are these ships that serve this purpose, and we have droids like these for jobs like these, and people use blasters because lasers are not affected by gravity, and now here's the entire philosophy of the Jedi and The Force."
Instead, they give you backstory as if you already fully understand and are familiar with the universe of the movie, you know what I mean? And then in keeping with the spirit of just throwing the audience right in, the camera pans down after the opening crawl to a space chase with lasers between a tiny ship and a huge ship, and then an exciting laser battle within small hallways. The universe is already fully thought out and you're just suddenly in the middle of it. It's freaking fantastic.
Speaking of large ship vs. small ship, did you ever notice how easily that conveys so much about the situation? The battle between the Empire and the Rebels is not on even ground. The rebels have a princess with super duper important information with her that could change the tide of the war, and the best they could do was get that little ship with a small crew of soldiers, while the empire has a behemoth of a ship that is obviously faster, with presumably a lot more soldiers on board. The genius of Star Wars, and Episode IV specifically, is in it's simplicity!
The first movie was made on a budget that was considered low for a big movie, even by 1970's standards. It was made on $10 Million, As a result, the money and attention had to be proportioned in the right places, which in this case, were the costumes, sets, and music. It's all so aesthetically striking and ingenious.
The white-with-black-accents colour of the hall, with minimum clutter, is easy to read and very memorable, while making it easy to frame up and pose cool shots. The rebels' weird uniforms (specificaly the helmets, they set the tone for the whole getup) help to distance the universe from us, deeper into sci-fi territory...
... And then their whiteness, as well as the hallway, is countered heavily by Darth Vader, large, dressed from head to toe in black. It instantly sets him apart, giving him a large, menacing presence.
Then, in the middle of it all, you have two characters who are even further away from the color palette, R2D2 and C3PO:
They come in out of nowhere all shiny and quirky and are even more jarring and visually striking than the ongoing scene, and you're like "HOLY BALLS DUDE ARE THOSE ROBUTTS?! LOOK AT THE LITTLE ONE, THAT'S SO COOL, IS HE A REAL ROBOT?" The effect of them jarring you is that you're pulled further into the universe, and also understand it a little more by inferring the implications of their presence ("Oh dude! There are different kinds of robots in this world, and they're probably everywhere because the soldiers make no attempt to protect these particular ones!"), because if there's one single thing that the original trilogy did well, it's immersion. Two guys in simple metal suits help the movie make a huge leap in terms of that.
This thing where rules and aspects of the universe just get thrown at you happens for the enirety of the movie. You're just thrown into the fact that Luke's home is surrounded by sand and has two suns (which, again, are just shown to you, and distance the universe from ours even further). You don't question it, you subconsciously go, "Okay, a desert world that is definitely not Earth. And he's a farmer. I guess people live simply here."
"Okay, 'Jawas,' and 'Sand People,' and a bar full of all sorts of crazy-looking characters. Not only does this universe have multiple, varied species, but this world itself has an entire culture and way of life of it's own. It even has it's own weird music."
I guess what I'm trying to say is that Star Wars is a lot of show, not tell, but in a subtle way. It doesn't spell out the universe or it's workings for you like Harry Potter might, but it also doesn't leave you struggling to understand it's rules like Inception might.
Not only is it important that the movie suddenly throw you further into its world at every turn, but it's equally (if not more) important that the movie has a fully built lore in which to throw you in the first place. Through simple and memorable sets, absolutely striking costume design, killer special effects, already highly developed characters, and a beautifully timeless score, Episode IV goes above and beyond in creating a universe to throw the viewer into.
The strength, in my eyes, of Episode IV, is not so much in auteristic or stylish direction (although the choices to frame shots in predominantly war-movie or western style certainly don't go unnoticed), but in it's atmosphere and the universe that is created and presented within it. It is the base of all Star Wars media.
Think about it: How is it possible that through changing hands from so many wildly different directors like Lucas, Tartakovsky, Abrams and others, and from taking so many different iterations in games, or being drawn by a multitude of different artists for purposes of birthday cards, fan art, concept art, etc, that EVERYTHING Star Wars-related FEELS like Star Wars?
BECAUSE THE DESIGN OF THE MAIN FRAMEWORK IS GENIUS. It's through design of sets and characters and technology, musical score, and the atmosphere of many different planets that any iteration of Star Wars by any creator FEELS like Star Wars. And that base is cemented in Episode IV! In this way, because of it's lack of particularly stylish direction, one could say that Episode IV is Star Wars in it's purest form.
I could go on, but I'd just be repeating myself with similar points of design and immersion, because that's the purpose this movie serves in the big picture, and we have two more movies to cover, so we'll move on.
EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - SCALE AND STYLISTIC DIRECTION
Not only is it important that the movie suddenly throw you further into its world at every turn, but it's equally (if not more) important that the movie has a fully built lore in which to throw you in the first place. Through simple and memorable sets, absolutely striking costume design, killer special effects, already highly developed characters, and a beautifully timeless score, Episode IV goes above and beyond in creating a universe to throw the viewer into.
The strength, in my eyes, of Episode IV, is not so much in auteristic or stylish direction (although the choices to frame shots in predominantly war-movie or western style certainly don't go unnoticed), but in it's atmosphere and the universe that is created and presented within it. It is the base of all Star Wars media.
Think about it: How is it possible that through changing hands from so many wildly different directors like Lucas, Tartakovsky, Abrams and others, and from taking so many different iterations in games, or being drawn by a multitude of different artists for purposes of birthday cards, fan art, concept art, etc, that EVERYTHING Star Wars-related FEELS like Star Wars?
BECAUSE THE DESIGN OF THE MAIN FRAMEWORK IS GENIUS. It's through design of sets and characters and technology, musical score, and the atmosphere of many different planets that any iteration of Star Wars by any creator FEELS like Star Wars. And that base is cemented in Episode IV! In this way, because of it's lack of particularly stylish direction, one could say that Episode IV is Star Wars in it's purest form.
I could go on, but I'd just be repeating myself with similar points of design and immersion, because that's the purpose this movie serves in the big picture, and we have two more movies to cover, so we'll move on.
EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - SCALE AND STYLISTIC DIRECTION
... Now this bad boy right here... Lemme catch my breath, hold up...
This one wasn't directed by Lucas, but by Irvin Kershner with Lucas overseeing the project. So there are some key differences in style from Episode IV. We'll start again with the opening scene of the movie:
So right off the bat, the movie begins a lot like the first, with the opening crawl and stuff, but something is a little different. We have the big Empire ship coming through again, but now, look, a bunch of little ships! All zooming in different directions at different speeds! And what is up with that freaky robot! He moves and floats so smoothly! Look at that animal Luke is riding! What the heck is that?!
From the beginning, the improved special effects (probably from an improved budget) are shown off in some pretty sweet ways. Lucas made use of heavily improved superimposition techniques for the ships, as well as heavy use of great stop-motion throughout the film. The improved space scenes with ships going everywhere kind of makes the physical universe feel a lot bigger, and getting to see more different types of creatures and technology make the universe feel more full and alive.
The setting of Hoth for a large majority of the movie is VERY smart, as well. Being an icy, snowy, barren place, it serves as a stark opposite to Tatooine's desert theme. A complete 180 in atmosphere like that immediately makes it feel like a totally different movie (and it should), so it feels like a totally new chapter, like major progress in the story.
It's made very apparent that no corners were cut in the SFX department when you watch the Hoth battle, You have the stop-motion AT-AT's and AT-ST's superimposed onto the wide old-school landscape battle shots, the fighter ships superimposed into the action as well (and very subtly seen from the windows of Luke's cockpit). So you have this huge battle where the Empire is coming full force at the central Rebel base, like a Nazi Blitzkrieg, so this battle has the scale of something out of World War II. It's pretty intense, and that's because you're able to see it all.
The whole thing is shot like an old war movie battle, and with this huge overload of great special effects, the second movie feels so much larger in scope. Compare that battle scene with this clip from Sgt. York, it has key similar shots to the scene in Empire Strikes Back. Of course it's just one example of many, but this is just the first one that came to mind.
The first one was really good, but Episode V is EPIC by the true defnition. It's often thought of as the best Star Wars movie, and it's very easy to see why with just this first act. Scale brings this thing to an entirely different level.
Episode V, unlike Episode IV, is very much a stylistic movie, if you couldn't tell from that scene above. You have the wide, landscape battle shots...
... The side shots of soldiers at the trenches...
One of the biggest tragedies in big-budget filmmaking today is the loss of this "Landscape Warfare" aesthetic. Star Wars V does this right, where you have tighter, more intimate shots of pivotal things main characters do or one-on-one fights (like when Luke crashes and takes out the AT-AT with a Lightsaber), but large battles are generally kept in a wide perspective.
The scenes with the fighter ships can be compared to this scene from Battle of Britain, which is probably the pinnacle of old movie dogfights (starting at around 0:50, you only need to watch a little bit).
As I stated before, it's through constant, well-placed use of the special effects in Episode V that the universe of Star Wars feels even larger and more alive and complete than in Episode IV. One of my favorite ways is the quick bit where you see the stop-motion creatures of Dagobah.
Just that quick little glimpse in addition to Luke saying something about detecting a lot of life on Dagobah makes the whole world seem alive as soon as you're introduced to it. Not to mention how it carries the ever important tradition of Star Wars planets having simple themes. Tatooine is a desert. Hoth is a snowy, ice world. Now Dagobah is a swamp that seems to mostly be devoid of intelligent humanoid life besides wild creatures. The simplicity of the planets is an easy, smart way to build up the universe.
Not to mention, you have to respect Lucas immensely for his sheer ambition with Episode V in particular. The crazy new robots and vehicles, the flashy, improved movement of the ships, the swamp monsters of Dagobah, the design of Yoda himself (no human could ever play Yoda the way he's designed). It's all so out there, and could very easily be done super wrong and cheesily. If I was making a movie, even a big-budget one, in 1980, I would stay as far away from ideas this crazy as I could. Even today, the go-to for stuff like this would be CGI because it's so insane. But Lucas found ways to make it work, and timelessly so. Episode V is a movie that needs no updating.
Speaking of ambitious ideas and simply-themed settings, Cloud City is depicted very nicely, and it's visual tone in particular is probably the most important of the whole movie. It's at this point in the movie that the stylistic direction comes out in a more subtle way than huge grand battle scenes. Rather, it comes out through restrained pace, and sutble tone-creation through focus on colour and lighting. You have the beautiful sky setting the colour of the clean, serene city. offset by the rusty dirtiness of the room where they broke C3PO, which hints that something dark lurks beneath Cloud City.
Once the gang is captured by the Empire, lighting in generally becomes a bit darker. Even the sun starts to set as the plot gets darker. A few examples in particular stand out: The dark palette of the room where Han is tortured and when Lando is talking to Vader, and the shadowy, dark room where our heroes are being held:
Then some red is thrown in to counter very dark lighting conditions when Han being frozen to dramatize and intensify the scene further, as well as just to look great on camera.
Finally, we have my 2nd favorite scene in the whole movie (after the Hoth battle), the fight between Luke and Darth Vader. The main tension of this scene comes from Yoda and Obi-Wan warning Luke not to give in to his emotion and confront Vader because he's not ready, so from the get-go, you have the uneasy feeling that this is probably not going to end well for Luke. The lighting is dark and accented with red floor lights, they're sillhouetted against smoke a lot, it has those beautiful moments of quiet tension mixed with quick flurries of action, no music throughout the majority of the fight until Vader starts to win, ending in one of the most melodramatic but perfectly done scenes in the entire movie. with Vader revealing to Luke that he is his father, with a very wide setting, Luke backed into a corner, strong wind blowing, and with that awesome, soaring musical score.
It's awesome. It's a beautifully paced and set-up fight scene with awesome, thoughtful direction, ending with one of the greatest moments in cinema history. Don't take my word for it though, watch it yourself:. It's with this scene, the increased scale given by the increased SFX, the thoughtful placement of SFX themselves, and the darker ending of what is essentially ACT II of the entire trilogy, that Empire Strikes Back makes it clear that it is a film to be reckoned with.
EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI - "LET'S END THE SERIES RIGHT"
This one has a similar deal with Episode V, where it was directed by Richard Marquand, and overseen by Lucas, so it has it's own key differences in style apart from the other two movies as well.
This movie is pretty notable for a good amount of reasons. One of the first things that comes to mind is how markedly different the general tone is in the movie compared to Episode V. For starters, it's so fun. Episode IV is interesting for the universe we're shown. Episode V is exciting and compelling because of the scale, growth of the universe, and the stakes of the situation, but it's hard to say that either was nearly as plainly fun to watch as Episode VI.
Even though the movie starts off with the Empire, like usual, when we really start to get into the main going-ons, we focus on the comic relief characters, R2 and 3PO, and how they interact with the strange, seedy, and kind of silly world of Jabba's Palace. The characters are a lot of funny costumes and puppets. That seedy aspect and reinforcement of Jabba's greaseball-ness is kept intact though, thanks to scenes and moments like when he sends the dancing slave girl to the Rancor.
It's also very different (and satisfying) to see our heroes be totally on top of everything for once, having the drop on the enemy instead of the other way around, like when Chewbacca pretends to be captured by a bounty hunter that turns out to be Leia in disguise. Unfortunately, the charade falls apart after Leia unfreezes Han and the two are captured by Jabba.
Then there's the sheer confidence and display of skill coming from Luke. I can't find the clip, but he comes in calmly, hood and robe on, alone, easily uses Jedi mind tricks on Jabba's tough goons to let him in, and has the bualls to come before and Jabba and demand his friends back or else. He's just got this... swagger... about him this time around.
And with that hood on, he's more mysterious, and kind of reminds you of Obi-Wan, and you get this feeling that he really knows what he's doing. Look at this screenshot and tell me you don't just feel the power oozing out of him, or his great presence:
Then you know for sure he's not bluffing when he takes out the Rancor like it ain't no thang. (There surprisingly isn't good video on this that I can put here) Our heroes really take the upper hand in everything during the fight by the Sarlacc pit. Luke uses his now-great Jedi abilities to surprise Jabba's entire crew, while Han, Lando, and Chewie give him some back up, and Leia even manages to kill Jabba himself by strangling him with the chains in which he bound her.
Cool bit of trivia about that scene: It's actually a little homage-thing to the famous garroting of Luca Brasi in The Godfather. It's supposed to sort of add to Jabba's whole gangster greaseball thing.
Apart from that, the action in this movie is absolutely fantastic, and it feels so good to watch. That's because it's our heroes finally succeeding at everything they do, even if there's a little struggle before that happens, plus there's seemingly always a bit of humor in everything, like everyone fumbling around while Luke wrecks, or how they constantly goof and gaff with the Stormtroopers on Endor with the help of the Ewoks.
I heard that a lot of people don't like the Ewoks, so this might be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM. They're hilarious! And freaking adorable. HOW CAN YOU HATE THIS?!
If you hate that, then maybe you're more suited to the Dark Side. They make the movie 60-70% comedy, and I think that's very fitting for a closing of such an intense series. There's an interesting thing I found out about them, too. It's no coincidence that they seem like shrunken Wookies, because that's literally what they are.
According to Lucas himself, he initially wanted to introduce an entire Wookie planet in Episode VI (it later came in the form of Kashyyyk), but something something wanting Chewbacca to be special and not just another Wookie (I forget the exact reason), and bada bing, bada boom, he decides to just shrink them down and switch the name up. Kind of obvious by just looking at them.
He was even hilariously lazy with the naming process. "Wookie. Wook-ie. Ie-Wook. E-wook. Ewok. That's it, cut print perfect. They're Ewoks. Get on it, Lance."
The hugest change in tone comes at the end, when Luke, held captive by Vader, confronts the Emporer. Everything is dark and intense like in Episode V. The music is darker, and Luke is tempted by Vader and the Emporer.
The Emporer edges Luke on, mocking the imminent death of his friends until he makes Luke mad enough to try to attack, forcing him to tap into the Dark Side. Then, Luke and Vader have another awesomely choreographed fight until Luke gives in to his anger and uses it to defeat Vader. After refusing to kill him, the Emporer shocks Luke for quite a while, until Vader has a change of heart and kills the Emporer, bringing balance to the force, while Luke's outfit reveals white underneath the black, symbolizing how he's truly good on the inside, and could never be swayed to evil.
And then Vader dies. *SPOILER ALERT!*
Aside from what I've said, I know I've glossed over quite a bit regarding this movie, because I honestly don't have much else to say about it from a film perspective that I didn't also say about the other two films. It doesn't add too much new stuff, but that's actually okay, and probably for the better. It's greatest strength film-wise is it's perfection on techniques and visual themes that were introduced before, and not to make a spectacle out of those same things. For the end of a series, at this point, you just want things to resolve, you want to feel good, you just want a fun movie to watch and have satisfying closure with the trilogy.
That's not to say that it isn't great film-wise, because it clearly is, but unless I'm just missing out on a lot of stuff (which is totally possible), it just feels like matured filmmaking relative to the last two, which is great!
Episode Six delivers a strong, satisfying conclusion to the brilliant original trilogy of Star Wars, not by showing off freaky deaky new film techniques, but by using it's existing arsenal wisely, and it definitely proves that the three-act three-movie journey was entirely worth your time, and most of all: It perfectly encapsulates what exactly is so great about Star Wars.
*Oy you lot! Do you have something to add to an existing point I made, or wish to make your own point that I might've missed in my post? Was I a complete idiot who completely missed the mark on the old Star Wars movies? Be sure to let me have it in the comments!
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May the Force be With You All In The New Year!
