Star Wars: Episódio IV - Uma Nova Esperança

In respect to the many kids of the seventies. I rated this movie as one of the greatest movies ever made. I was thirteen and enjoyed this fantasy getaway more than I could count. Like many other kids of the seventies you left reality before walking into the theatre and escaped into the adventure once the reels begin rolling. It provided the special effects and excitement a kid was looking for. Even today when I watch this movie on VHS I recall those times. Whenever I get the chance to watch it I feel like that eager thirteen year old over and over again. I hope the new movies will meet the same expectations of kids of this decade and the next.

Star Wars is simply a fantastic film, on every level this film is amazing.

Each of the characters in this film are so well developed and so interesting that you just cannot wait for the next scene with them in it, the interactions between the characters us at times tense and at times downright hilarious, leaving no room for boring or lacking dialogue. The particular stand outs in this respect I feel are: Han Solo, the wise cracking bounty hunter with a tendency for arrogance that makes every scene as entertaining as possible. Secondly there is Darth Vader, who is the optometry of cool, scathing evil who poses as the ultimate villain.

Surprising to me, the cinematography and special effects have held up all this time. Although there are some minor issues, one particularly notable one is during the scene where Luke is training with the training droid aboard the Millennium Falcon there are a few frame skips where Luke extends and contracts his lightsaber. Other than this though, the cinematography and special effects are amazing to have held up, particularly the shots of the Empire's space fleet moving through space which are absolutely stunning.

One of the things that absolutely makes this film for me is the magnificent score, composed by John Williams. This score, while being one of the most iconic scores of all time, manages to make every single scene, fitting the mood of the scene perfectly.

The story as well is fantastic, there is never a dull moment; every second of it an absolute thrill ride. Whether its the attack on the Death Star or the Cantina of Mos Eisley the story takes you through the twists and turns of this classic space opera.

If I could recommend one sci-fi adventure film to someone, it would be this, it's an absolute must see.

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The beginning of one of the most legendary franchises with one of the most elaborate worlds in the history of cinema.

There is no denying, even if you are not a fan of this franchise, the contribution to cinema that this film has made.

A charming and memorable soundtrack combined with strong and soulful scenes gives a wow effect.

It is this movie that includes a huge number of events that capture you and immerse you in history. The powerful and dramatic first half, contrasting with the cheerful and humorous second, gives a very complete and versatile film.

Characters - there's nothing to say here. Darth Vader - who can compete with him in popularity among villains except the Joker? The "kind" characters of the film - Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, Han Solo and others - are known to almost everyone. And for good reason!

Yes, the graphics here are still a bit weak, but after such thoughts, look at the release date - 1977, and then remember the atmosphere and elaboration of this picture and think about whether you gave the right claims to this story?

And the same "old" special effects are still very cool for those years and the eyes are not too sore.

The only thing is that because of the possibilities of that time, Darth Vader does not look as cool as in new films and animations, and fights on light swords not best. But, unfortunately, these were the conditions before.

George Lucas came up with an interesting idea - to start the franchise with the 4th film. But there were conditions for that - filming the first three episodes was impossible at that time.

In general, this is the beginning of a great saga that is worth watching, it is not for nothing that it is considered a classic and revered by more than one generation.

My rating is 9/10. Great!

Star wars made epic fantasy real. For a generation of people it has defined what the cinema experience is meant to be. Today it is probable that pc games will offer a deeper and more satisfying entertainment solution, but for pure visual and aural pleasure, mixed with basic emotional manipulation, there has never and will never be a better example of cinema than when star wars appeared over 25 years ago. When you think of star wars, you must remember what else was happening at the time. In America, the war in Vietnam had been lost. In the U.K economic disaster was occurring(a 3 day working week, and the army collecting rubbish). It was almost like the two most technically advanced countries in the world were going backwards. Star wars let everybody escape from that reality and reach for a future that was uncertain but ultimately good.

Though now known as "Episode IV-A New Hope," for many of us, namely those of us who first saw this exhilarating entertainment in theaters back in '77, this will always be the first "Star Wars." We will always think of it as just "Star Wars" - plain & simple, no pretensions, no aspirations to deep film-making or high art. This is where we first met them all: Luke, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi (old 'Ben'), Chewbacca, the 2 robots C3PO & R2D2 and, of course, Darth Vader. They were instant pop culture icons; you got the sense you'd seen them before somewhere, but were sure this wasn't possible. But they'd been there before in our minds. We'd read about them constantly in science fiction novels and short stories - tales of outer space civilizations, of spaceships zooming through asteroid belts, of exotic-looking aliens hanging around space ports. We'd dream about them at night and try to imagine ourselves in their midst; up until then, we could only imagine such things - there were no projected images to realize such dreams. "Forbidden Planet" from 1956 came close, and then there were the "Star Trek" and "Lost in Space" TV series, both hampered by dime store budgets and cheesy sets. We ate 'em up since there was nothing else. Then Lucas made it real.

I remember when I first got wind of the upcoming movie, to open in May of 1977, I think. I saw the first publicized poster and bought the novel adaptation. On the poster, a young man stood with some light sword raised, a princess at his feet, numerous spaceships flying all over the place. I was in my mid-teens and felt the first pulse of building excitement as I realized all those fantastic tales I'd been reading the past few years were going to come alive on the big screen for me. It didn't disappoint. Luke Skywalker, who stood in for all the boys pretending to be on a galactic adventure, gets swept away from his mundane desert home smack dab into the middle of an honest-to-gosh galaxy-wide civil war! The strength of the narrative is / was amazing. There are no slow spots and you can't wait for the next scene during the entire experience; and, experience is the better description for it, rather than just 'movie.' You can't wait, for example, for the moment when Luke actually meets the princess; what will happen then? It's a textbook case of an exciting narrative and what I believe makes this superior to all the sequels (knowing that many feel "The Empire Strikes Back" is superior - I must disagree).

The one character you really can't wait to see again is the ominous Vader, naturally. The instant he steps into view during the first few minutes of the story, you just know this is the ultimate villain. This is the baddest of the bad, the coolest of the cool, the supreme uber-evildoer of the entire galaxy. You just know it by his stance, by his attitude, and by the electric chill that runs through your frail form as he steps down the corridor, moving into the annals of film history with one fell swoop. You can't wait to see what he does next, what nefarious action will send someone or some planet to its doom. Sure, he seems under the control of Tarkin (Cushing) here and later, the Emperor, but you just know he's simply biding his time until he takes over the whole damn universe. There is no precedent for Vader, and nothing close to him after. He's at his best here where there's still much mystery attached to his dark frightful form, a minion of Satan and Nazi stormtroopers all rolled into one.

This was also the movie-experience which catapulted Harrison Ford (Solo) into superstardom. He seems almost childish here, not really straining to create a character, and it's this flip charm that makes it work, against all odds. He really does appear to have stepped out of the pages of some juvenile space opera, laser guns blazing, all snide remarks and foolhardy bravado. But he also becomes the older brother figure to Luke, who cannot carry the story by himself. Hamill, whose movie career began & ended with Luke, epitomizes the center of destiny for a galaxy. Both humble and arrogant, he's perfect in the role. Fisher's main surprise is that she's not all sugar and sweet as one would expect of a princess. These three characters evolved in the next two films, but they were always at their best here, icons given life for a short period - but also forever in film. The same could be said for Alec Guinness as Kenobi, a first class act all the way. You almost believe this elderly warrior could topple an empire, given enough time. Unless he runs into Vader...