My Dad knew Anthony Daniels, the actor who plays C-3PO. He’s a really nice chap. I was about 11-12 when the Phantom Menace came out, and I got invited to go to his house for afternoon tea and to talk about all things Star Wars. I got to try on a couple of parts of the C-3PO costume that he had at home, and Mr. Daniels signed a few things for me. That was such a good day.
Well I've heard different that he's rather arrogant, and he famously didn't get along with Danny Baker the guy who played R2D2. So you're lucky to have had a good experience.
I MET HIM AT THE CHICAGO WIZARD WORLD ABOUT 10 OR 12 YEARS AGO AND HE WAS VERY ALOOF AND SNOBBY. I WAS NOT VERY IMPRESSED. BILLY DEE WILLIAMS (LANDO CALRISSIAN) WAS ALSO PRETTY RUDE AS WELL. HEY, SOME CELEBS ARE SUPER NICE, AND SOME ARE ARROGANT AND MEAN. JUST LIKE KIDS YOU USED TO GO TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH. MANY OF THESE ACTORS NEVER GREW UP OR WENT TO COLLEGE. SOME NEVER EVEN MADE IT THROUGH TO HIGH SCHOOL.
I don't care how large your TV is today, I still remember the effect of the opening sequence on a real movie theater screen, looking up and the massive star destroyer comes into the screen and the sound of battle filled the theater. We all knew this was something different, special, and would change our lives forever. And it did.
that summer '77 EVERYBODY in the theater cheered CRAZILY when the 1st star destroyer bay passed overhead ... and there was still MORE star destroyer still passing overhead.
Correct, that was the pivotal moment when we knew it was going to be everything we had hoped for wrt special effects etc. I can still hear the gasp of the audience as the Star Destroyer thundered overhead chasing Leia's tiny ship.
@@GM-fh5jp For me in 77 when the pan down to Tatooine happened just before the SD the audience let out a huge gasp, my first experience of a group reaction
Absolutely. I even got to see it at the outdoor theater in out town. Amazing to see that and enjoy the mono sound coming out of the metal box hanging off the window.
The Jabba the Hutt scene wasn't in the original theatrical cut. The scene was filmed in 1977, but with a human actor standing in for Jabba. At the time, George Lucas hadn't figured out what Jabba the Hutt was going to look like. The plan was to try to do hand-drawn animation on top of the film to give the actor playing Jabba an alien look. It didn't work out, though, so the scene was abandoned. The deleted scene was then finished with CGI 20 years later as part of the 1997 Special Edition re-release.
The original Jabba is a not too subtle Baron Harkonnen expy - a bloated gangster running a spice empire - that they turned into an even less subtle Leto 2 expy - a worm with arms and a face running a spice empire 🤣🤣🤣
One of THE most foolish additions. If he wanted to add a few little desert mice, or a dewback, that's set dressing. Taking that scene, adding in a Jabba with 1990s CGI technology: horrible. For one thing, it turns Jabba into a figure of jokes and disrespect. Stepping on his tail?! For another thing, it severely dilutes his appearance later on: it worked so much better as a major reveal. For another thing, this Jabba is more or less human-sized, and a year or two later he's enormous? Ridiculous. Ill-conceived, ill-rendered, just an all-around poor decision. I know that artists are never truly satisfied, but at some point you have to let it be what it is, and his constant "fixing" and tinkering just made things worse. -My 2¢
I was 10 & it came out on my BDay weekend. One of the best movies of its time. It was the era of Star Wars, Close encounters, JAWS & many other now classics.
I was 6 and 13 days. My dad took me to see it after I got my shots for school. Those needles in my ass pissed me off so bad, I made him carry me in and out of the theater.
Finding an original version of Star Wars without "A New Hope" is hard because Lucas doesn't allow the original version to be sold anymore. But it can be seen if you go to the Audio-Visual Conservation at the Library of Congress Packard Campus. Located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Culpeper, Virginia. Lucas demanded that the library return the original copy for a replacement of the new version. The library politely told Lucas to go pound sand. The libraries job is to preserve history, not update history.
There was a DVD of the original 1977 print available in the mid 2000s. Thankfully I picked a copy up from the WalMart in Charlottesville VA. Unfortunately, I've not had a DVD player in 10 years.
@@robertgallegly8267 I had delusions of Mandela Effect when it came out digitally, but I was still able to find an original version on VHS to prove to myself I wasn't losing my mind! The nascent CGI of the time was absolute rubbish compared to the original practical effects & puppets too. Breaking the suspension of disbelief cost so much more than the additional vignettes added, but it's what Lucas wanted, so...
There's a fan cut of the original trilogy on the internet called the "Despecialized Edition". It's got the enhanced audio and visuals of the newer versions without the changes everyone hates.
I don't watch many Star Wars reactions anymore, mostly because I vehemently disagree with first-time viewers (especially adult ones) watching them in release order -- even though about 98% of reaction viewers still pig-headedly insist on it (and 98% of reactors also indulge them as a result). It's as if they don't care that it largely spoils Eps. I-III. 🤷♂(And, for the record, I'm an old school fan, not a Millennial.)
@@kennethbaker5223 Other than the whole aforementioned going into the prequels already knowing their general outcome and thus potentially not being as invested in its story as a result. I know those of us who grew up on the movies and saw them as they came out didn't have a choice, but don't deny that choice to people who now *do* have it.
I remember getting my mother to watch it with me in the theater. She ended up loving the whole trilogy. Sadly she passed away from cancer in 2011. This movie will always be special to me. She was the best.
I saw it in the theaters originally with my mom as well. She kept poking me and asking "Do you like this?" and I kept telling her to shoosh. LOL.. Ironically, when my mom was in the hospital and out of her mind with drugs, a few years before her death, she told me that in her huluscinations , she was seeing aliens attacking everyone and that "I knew I had to get to you, because your the person who would know how to handle aliens." LOL, Still arguably the greatest compliment I have ever gotten.
@@BillyButcher90 We saw It's a wonderful life . I kissed her goodnight. The next morning she passed away. Now whenever I hear a bell ring I know she got her wings.
same. people born later just can't really comprehend how world-changing this film was at the time. there hasn't been anything so impactful since. the previous milestone had been 2001, released 9 years earlier, which changed film entirely, not just sci fi.
I love the meme where Leia is comforting Luke after Obi Wan died. “My entire planet was just destroyed but I’m so sorry that the old man you’ve known for a day is dead.”
It is from a Robot Chicken bit actually voice by carrie fisher before she died. It is as funny as Gary the Storm Trooper standing up for his daughter on bring daughter to work day
@@cartwrightworm1317 I think it also characterizes them well. She's a diplomat and a princess while Luke is a farmer who just lost his family and Ben. Realistically Leia has spent days or even weeks mourning her planet because the time to travel from Tatooine to Alderaan is pretty long.
Chewbacca was played by Peter Mayhew, a 7'3" hospital orderly. He continued to play the role until 2015, when health issues forced him to split the work with a younger actor, who then took over the role in subsequent movies. Sadly he passed away in 2019. Chewbacca's "voice" was created by mixing various animal noises.
I got to meet him at Dragon*Con in 2006 I think. It's really hard to describe how TALL 7'3" is. The whole place would kind of stop and watch him get up and walk. And David Prowse was there too. He was also the sweetest guy. Shook my kids' hands, his hands were like five times their size. You could totally tell he was the guy inside chewbacca's suit, too. The way he moved and the way his eyes moved. They were part of the character. A beautiful human being.
I hear George Lucas patterned Chewbacca's voice after the sounds coming out of his Husky. I can guarantee that's exactly what Husky dogs sound like when they try to talk back.
According to, I think, the Heir to the Empire trilogy, Leia mentions that Chewie turned down the medal because he hates being touched by a lot of beings.
Like the start say a long time ago in a Galaxy far far away. So no Earth I always put it at the time of the Dinosaurs. The story got to us in 1977. Traveling millions of years in space.
"THERE'S NO UNDERWEAR IN SPACE"... George Lucas had to convinced Carrie to go Commando under her outfits, explaining that underwear was "an Earth Thing".
The braless look was in in the seventies. Lots of women went braless in movies and in their personal lives. The braless look was even associated with feminism. Carrie Fischer certainly embellished the story to make it seem more sleazy than it really was.
Totally mate there really is nothing contemporaneous that you could compare it to. I think I was like nine years old at the time and my sister took me to see it and my mind was just blown. I still have my Star Wars cards.
Yes. Very much like Dorothy stepping through that door in The Wizard of Oz, this movie changed the way everything looked when I saw it when I was 7 years old. I imprinted on Carrie Fisher like a baby chick.
This is now one of my favorite videos I’ve ever watched. Star Wars is and has always been a huge part of my life; it’s been a comfort in times of despair and a beacon of (a new) hope in my life as a husband, father, teacher, and writer. Watching you experience the original film brought me so much joy; I’m not exaggerating when I say it was truly moving. I know these films backwards, forwards, and behind the scenes, but seeing you witness it all for the first time brings all the magic I’ve loved since I was a little kid right back. Thank you for this! It’s aaaaalmost as much fun as sharing these movies with my daughter for the first time! I can’t wait to continue watching your first journey through that galaxy far, far away. May the Force be with you!
Here's a fun little fact -- when Luke tells 3P0 the number of the garbage masher's door to open, Mark Hamill says he just improvised and said his home phone number.
"prisoner transfer from cell 1138" is a reference to Lucas's first movie THX 1138, which is also the source of the name of the sound quality assurance company THX, created for the sound in Return of the Jedi.
"Boring conversation anyway" does pop up from time to time but it's probably one of those deals you may not have even known it was a reference in context.
If by "forgot his lines" you mean "intentionally didn't learn anything but the gist of the dialogue to sound like someone trying to come up with the right thing to say" then yes, yes he did.
I watched this movie the first day it was released in 1977 as a 16-year old kid, and have been a fan since then. I had never been to a movie where the line went around the outside of the building for hours. It is difficult for someone to understand the distinctiveness of this movie when watched for the first time in 2024. Some truly groundbreaking features were seen and heard when this movie was released: Modern CGI was essentially invented for this movie, incredible camera tracking, an amazing musical score, and an ongoing script requiring multiple movies to complete the story. This was mind-blowing a movie when released, with nothing like it seen before.
First saw it in ate July (I had joined the army in June). When the parking lot features a guy basting the soundtrack out of his Camaro flaunting a HUGE SW belt buckle and T shirt in OK well...Oh and have you ever seen it in German?
Silly people were SO OBSESSED with this movie in 1977. Just couldn't understand them AT ALL. I only saw it a mere eleven times in a Cinerama theatre in Denver.
@@jughead4845 ruclips.net/video/v_QoigEbwyA/видео.htmlsi=WlbpJDbA0ImjdAXd Creating Computer Graphics for Star Wars: Episode IV (1976) In 1976, pioneering computer animator Larry Cuba was responsible for creating the 45 second animated Star Wars sequence as the Rebel leaders are explaining how to attack the Death Star. Here he explains his process and what was involved in creating the historic schematic on PDP-11/45, the computer that led eventually to Pixar and the digital effects we see all the time now. This, in a big way, is where it all started.
@@jughead4845 There is a video here on RUclips called: "Creating Computer Graphics for Star Wars: Episode IV (1976)" ruclips.net/video/v_QoigEbwyA/видео.htmlsi=VnHPzQ99SfRYo3yM That says the following: "In 1976, pioneering computer animator Larry Cuba was responsible for creating the 45 second animated Star Wars sequence as the Rebel leaders are explaining how to attack the Death Star. Here he explains his process and what was involved in creating the historic schematic on PDP-11/45, the computer that led eventually to Pixar and the digital effects we see all the time now. This, in a big way, is where it all started."
I think one thing that most don't ever really mention ever is that humans only walked on the moon in 1969. In about 8 years, this movie as we as other space movies came out. Can you imagine someone age 10 watching the moon landing, and THEN watching this movie!? Freakin INTENSE!
I'm so jealous of anyone who gets to experience Star Wars for the first time. There is nothing like that feeling of awe and escapism George Lucus' galaxy of stories gives you. I was never the same after the first time I saw it. The senses of hope, freedom, to fight for what's right, to strive to be a hero... All of these emotions completely cemented within me as a child, from the moment I watched this movie. Now, watching you, Coby, (and you're so naturally intelligent in your guesses of the story lines and impacts of any given moment, it is such a pleasure watching you're reactions. You're brightness and joy as you discover and react. It's enough that this ol' Aussie movie geek is falling in love with you. I daydream to have a girl as bright and beautiful as you to share in movie watching joy like this. And then have so much to chat about it with. You're pretty special, hey?! Never change superstar 🤩 ❤J 😘
I’ve just watched it today for the first time. It truly was amazing! Such a fun watch. I’ve started the Star Wars series a few days ago in chronological order. “A new hope” is by far my favorite. ❤
yes, but vader does not answer to tarkin, he respects him and defers to him because hes commander of the death star. but overall, vader is the number 2 power in the universe, behind the emperor.
@@foreignmilkexactly, Vader is the emperor's attack dog, a free agent, not unlike an inquisitor. Not part of the military / imperial command structure. Any one of those officers could be cut down by Vader and no one would blink an eye, or cause a fuss. Even Tarkin, but Vader, yes, respects Tarkin and his decision making, quite severe and hard-nosed, like Vader himself.
@@foreignmilk But that's not what is presented in the original film and not how viewers would have perceived it in 1977. Cushing was deliberately cast as essentially the main villain to give the Empire a human face, as Lucas explained. Vader was the important breakout character, rather like a Bond henchman with a great back story. If Tarkin is Goldfinger, Vader is Oddjob, to make a clumsy comparison. He clearly does defer to Tarkin, ("holding his leash") but that is retconned slightly in The Empire Strikes Back when he gains his own Star Destroyer and is presented as the main villain. It was a narrative decision. But viewed on its own, the 1977 film does show Vader in a different light, rather like an emissary from The Emperor to keep an eye on things and act as his strong arm. He's the thug sent to do the dirty work.
@@simoncroft5416that is all completely correct as of this film, however, i, without giving anything away, was remarking on the broader scope of the story vs this film alone. this is the only film where it could be seen that tarkin was in control, and in all other films, it isnt even in question, so officially, vader is number 2. but even in iv, it didnt make sense that tarkin would be in charge. vader just by the force alone couldve been in charge if it wasnt for the emperor, so it may have even just been clunky writing or editing to not expressly show vaders positionbof authority. having said that, none of it actually matters considering its all make believe lol
@@mwvidz324 Hahahahaha, nothing made after 83 comes close, nothing made after 83 is real star wars. The prequels were an abomination. Worse than the sequels.
Not in the film itself, but it had been shot with a guy with the intention of replacing him in post. That didn't happen due to cost. So they used CGI to do it in the Special Edition. I don't think they really knew what Jabba would look like and so we ended up with the scene where Han walks around him and also calling him a wonderful human being...
@@presencerocks2224 That "Wonderful human being" hits even better because we know now that Jabba is not a human.. So it feels like extra sass from Han. Unintended, but works great.
Indeed. It's a strange one though because while it's not needed for "STAR WARS" as a standalone movie, the scene works as being in part 1 of a 3 part series.
I was 14, my brother 12. Mom dropped us at the theatre on a Saturday, 3 consecutive viewings of Star Wars later she picked us up. Best day of my life!!
Anthony Daniels was C-3PO, the late Kenny Baker was inside R2-D2 and the late Peter Mayhew was Chewbacca. Baker was only 3' 8" tall. Peter Mayhew was diagnosed with giantism and also had Marfan's Syndrome. His peak height was 7' 3". The late David Prowse (6' 6" tall) played Darth Vader with James Earl Jones doing the voice.
Every Star Wars film begins with "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" meaning this story takes place a million years ago in a galaxy other than our own, so it has nothing to do with Earth at all.
Kid me liked to think that this story from a very long time ago in this distant galaxy was only reaching us 'now' after travelling at the speed of light to get here. Then George made the prequels and that theory went out the window for university me...
Apparently there was a comic book, definitely *not* canon, where Han Solo crash landed on Earth and was killed by native Americans. Centuries later, his remains are found by Indiana Jones, searching for the Sasquatch, who turns out to be Chewbacca. 🤣
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” should be interpreted within our context. Our solar system which consists of our planet earth and the moon 🌙 and the sun ☀️ and all the planets 🪐 are circa 4.5 billion years old. The whole universe is circa 14.5 billion years old. Our sun which is just a humdrum star is about middle age so it should continue to burn and sustain the solar system for about another 4.5 to 5 billion years. Other galaxies have star systems very much like ours but have already come and gone within 9 to 10 billion years since the Big Bang began. All this means that the place, story and creatures of the Star Wars universe have already come and gone in very ancient times in another remote galaxy and only their story survives
@@mattp6089That was meant to be it. That's why it's a long time ago, because it was far away and the light took time to reach us. Not because of us seeing Star Wars through a telescope, but the inspiration of the time and place setting is the fact that when you look at a far away galaxy you are seeing it in the distant past. The prequels don't ruin any of that. It's just looking at the slightly further past. That's like saying that learning about Julius Caesar ruins what you learned about Claudius. I know that it was not because of the information in the prequels, it was the time setting. But it was destined to be written about since at least 1980. So that's before Return of the Jedi was complete. So I can't think of what you could have learned from the University that changed it. I understand about the light reaching us. But dude, my man, the movie starts with writing on the screen, so it was telling you about the story and then you see the vision. You can't think that you were seeing it from Earth. Prequels have nothing to do with that or with University. If someone was to see Star Wars for the first time and they started at Episode 1, it's going to be the same for them as it was when you were a kid and the same thing if they started at Episode 4, or any of them, even episode 7 (even though it sux). Please tell me what you learned about in University that you didn't know about as a kid. When I was a kid we knew that the light from the Sun took 8 minutes to get to the Earth and that the other stars were lightyears away and that lightyears are a measure of distance. We also knew that galaxies were hundreds of lightyears apart. So we knew from the scroll that if Star Wars is in a galaxy far far away, then it was a very long time ago if you looked at it because of the light travelling that vast distance to reach us. I don't know what more you could have learned from the University on the subject. 🤔 Maybe you (people) just get older and less fun and you think that it was because of going to University. I would not know, not having been to University myself. Anyway I thought that I ruined Star Wars for myself when I learned about Einstein's theory of relativity when I was a kid, and that it was not scientificly possible to go to "light speed" but it was explained to me by theoretical Physicists that they were thinking of the possibility of "folding" space for warp travel. So I don't think I will rule out anything. Even time travel? Of course, time travel is fun. But not too much time travel. And really, what did I know about the FTL drive on the Millennium Falcon when I was a kid? I didn't even know what a carburettor was. 😂
I was 11. My dad took me. There was a line around the theater and we ended up in the front row which I remember my dad grousing about. From the moment the stormtroopers came down that corridor, total brain reboot. From what we played with, read, drew pictures of in class, talked about, and covered our walls with (though my KISS Spirit of '76 poster didn't budge) all changed.
This might be the best reaction to Star Wars I’ve ever seen. I loved how authentic you were throughout…I could tell how intently you were watching, and picking up on little things (like when you said about Luke’s aunt…”she knows something”). Considering you knew next to noting about the movie, only some names and images, it was so much fun to see how excited you got when you met certain characters for the first time…like when Obi-wan appears and you mentioned you had goose bumps. For someone who almost prided herself on having never watched it, you still permitted yourself to give it a totally fair chance and just went along for the ride.
I also found it interesting that you thought that the “gang” was together from the start, and were surprised to find out that was not the case. I can see that. In other franchises like Star Trek, typically the main characters are all together from the start. But, I never thought about it from the POV of someone who has never seen it, but who would have been exposed to the characters all their lives. Anyhow, great reaction! And welcome to the fandom…nerd! 😉
I love watching people's reactions for their first time watching Star Wars! This did not disappoint, I'm glad you enjoyed! It's like watching it for the first time vicariously through you and it's sooooo gooood! Can't wait to see more!
Fear not, yes, there are millions of Star Wars nerds out there willing to troll beginners.. But these are just movies. They are meant to be enjoyed first and foremost. Have fun!
Governor Tarkin (the "older" guy "bossing around" Darth Vader) is British classic horror film actor Peter Cushing. (Cushing starred in a number of horror films with Christopher Lee, who appears in the prequels as Count Dooku). Obi-Wan Kenobi is another famous British classic film actor Sir Alec Guiness ("The Bridge on the River Kwai" among others). You probably know that James Earl Jones (another famous classic film actor) voices Darth Vader (the man in the suit is someone different). R2D2 and C3PO are supposed to be kind of a parody take on "Abbott & Costello". All of your questions including family relations will eventually be answered if you watch all 3 films, plus the 3 prequels, and even "Rogue One" which takes place between episodes 3 and 4. Yes, aside from the very small handful of CGI creatures and effects that Lucas added in later, most everything else is matte paintings, blue screen (back then), large sets (on soundstages and in the Tunisian desert), models, costumes, and real special effects.
Developed by George Lucas and his team and his newly formed company Industrial Light Magic (ILM) which went on to become Hollywood's premier special effects company. 😊
@@3DJapan That film is by the modernist auteur Akira Kurosawa (who subverted some of the then-standard Japanese period drama conventions), the filmmaker who also made The Seven Samurai (remade in Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven), Rashomon, Yojimbo (remade as A Fistful of Dollars), and Ran (his version of Shakespeare's King Lear). As it happens, the Japanese (samurai) period film genre is referred to as "jidaigeki". Pretty obvious how George Lucas used a shortened version of that word to name those light-side "Force" users in Star Wars lore.
The 70s was a magical decade to grow up in. First in 75 you had the hallmark of summer blockbusters...Jaws. The the bicentennial 76. I was 14 in 77 when Star Wars hit the screen. Everyone was blown away it raised yhe bar for movies. Think about it. Where would movies be without Star Wars? Even the music of the 70s was magical. No autotune. People had talent. If you weren't alive then I feel for you.
Droids are common place within Star Wars. They are used for all sorts of things and are considered property. The Stormtroopers not questioning C3P0 wouldn't be unusual just because there are tons of droids working on the Death Star. In addition what makes R2D2 so special is that he has never had his memory wiped so he has accumulated years and years of knowledge. Most droids will have their memories wiped on a regular basis to avoid them gaining enough knowledge to potentially rebel against their owners.
To watch the original, "un-special edition," you need to find Harmy's Despecialized Edition. It is a complete restoration of the original, produced by dedicated fans in the Fanedit community. It represents Star Wars as originally seen in its first theater run.
Did it say “episode VIII(8, maybe, I don’t remember what exact number it was)” since Lucas wanted it to appear as if this movie was just another in a line of movies with no actual intention of making any prequels.
@@wonderfulwookiee6443 not the one I’ve watched. It did the “Star Wars “ thing the started the crawl with “episode (something, but definitely not 4): a New Hope”
18:19 "Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise." That simple line has spawned not only laughter from fans who have witnessed otherwise throughout the series, but also some very interesting theories to support Ben's remark. And thank you. It was fun reliving Star Wars for the first time with you, and you made some very insightful and accurate observations along the way.
I met Dave Prowse when I was ten. Massive guy. He visited our school in his guise as the Green Cross Code Man (British safety ‘superhero’ for kids). He picked me up with one hand - I always claimed it was with the force. I was the coolest kid in the school. For at least 2 or 3 days, anyway. Great times.
You need to go back and watch the Binary Sunset again without talking through it. Right after Luke has dinner with his aunt and uncle, he goes out and watches the sunset, and it has some of the most beautiful music from any movie ever.
Most of the original visual effects are still in the film. They were groundbreaking at the time, and it's only a handful of scenes that have been updated, and you can usually tell by the CGI. Realistic CGI wasn't really a thing until the mid 90s.
@@Pianodean well there is more cgi incoming to regret in the other films some of the explosions are a bit extra but easier to wave them off than Jabba that's for sure the extra animals or floating droids aren't that bad, only the "Han shot first" bit compares to showing Jabba so early changing that from a sneak attack to a dodge and counter was just a bit too far
@@fastertove I have the old official theatrical release, that is the best one to have. The OG film before the updates. It might be cleaned up I dunno but it's exactly how everyone remembers seeing it. The set also comes with the updates version and maybe an ad for xbox lego star wars. I just know I checked the store every time to find it, and there were like 30 different versions of these movies. None of the other sets I saw were clean. I just got lucky one day.
I recall watching this, when it came out, at the Continental Theater in Denver. "The theater had a 35' x 83' screen, seated 916 people, and could be responsible for up to 35% of a film's business in Denver. It hosted many 70mm presentations over the decades, including the original Star Wars trilogy." It was one of those huge, wiiiide, curved screens so rarely seen with a monstrous sound system. When they were flying in the ditch the wide screen wrapped so far around you felt as if you were in it with them. After the movie was over everyone leaving the lot in their cars were juiced and whipping around on Hampden and I-25 as if they were fighting for The Alliance. It was so large it is now being turned into two apt. buildings with 417 units.
Thats sad its gone now, that would have been great to see in that theater. I saw it in our small town theater, a big old screen in a theater that had been there since the 20's. We used to go in after the bar closed and play poker on the stage and listen to the sound system, or watch a movie. I really miss theaters.
The Jawa transporter is left over from stuff abandoned by a mining consortium that tried to make Tatooine pay off. They used them to transport large quantities of ore. When they went broke, they abandoned the transporter crawlers, which were taken over by Jawas, with each one becoming home gor one Jawa clan.
A lot of first time viewers assume storm troopers suck at shooting. But Obi-wan said earlier "only storm troopers are this precise" with the Jawa Tank. So they were missing very precisely on purpose to allow them to get away so they could track them to the base on Vader's orders.
It’s refreshing to see you noticing Lucas’ retconned CGI effects. Many other reactors just make comments like, “I didn’t realize they had such good special effects in the 70s.”
Yes, for all the jagoffs who insist that Star Wars is sci-fi first and foremost as opposed to fantasy, show me where Earth factors into its universe. 🙄 I'll wait.
@@westcoast7429 it can, doesn't change the fact that SW is more of a fantasy / fairy tale - that happens to take place in space - than being sci-fi the pure existence of technological devices doesn’t make it science fiction. it's about the themes the movies focus on. sci-fi stories focus on the effect of science and technology on society... the main question of sci-fi movies is “what would be if we had technology XYZ or scientific knowledge ABC?” in SW futuristic technology exist, but the story is never about said technology and their impact. thematically, SW is fantasy and, at the end of the day, tells us a very classical fairy tale of good versus evil the same could be said about the dune movies too.. very classical fantasy story as well..
@@crappiefisher1331 Ahhh you never read Dune you would find it full of details about EVERYTHING, Dune cannot be equated with Star Wars at least if you read the book it is far more intellectual than Star Wars can even dream of being. Dune is certainly science fiction in fact it is the science fiction answer to War and Peace.
One of my favourite movie experience moments was when I first watched this in theatres when I was 12 years-pld in 1977. When the Millennium Falcon swooped in out of nowhere in the attack on the Death Star. The entire theater cheered aloud.
_A long time ago, in a movie theater about 50 miles away ..._ *THERE WAS NO EPISODE TITLE* The studio didn't think this film would make much money. Lucas was crossing his fingers that it didn't bomb. For all he knew, Lucas was making one standalone movie. "Episode IV" and "A New Hope" were added in later releases, to be in line with the numbering adopted with Episode V. I first saw _Star Wars_ in 1977, at the Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, US (a city of about 1M). The Indian Hills was one of the last remaining Cinerama theaters in existence (it's long gone, now). Cinerama was an experimental widescreen format seen in the 1950s and 1960s. It had an extremely curved screen, such that films shot in Cinerama used _three cameras_ and _three projectors_ : one for the center of the screen and one for each side. Everything had to be constantly synchronized so that the film looked normal onscreen. If you see Cinerama films on DVD/Bluray/streaming today, it often looks distorted on the left and right. This is caused by converting a curved film to a flat screen. So there I was at the Indian Hills at the tender age of 12 -- the film's precise target demographic. The Indian Hills seated 810 patrons: 662 on the main floor and 148 in the balcony. It was completely packed, as was every screening of _Star Wars_ in every theater in the world, until the film left theaters. I'd gotten to the theater rather late, forcing me to sit in the center seat of row one. This turned out to be fantastically good bad luck. Today, the center of row one is a terrible seat due to parallax distortion. In a theater the size of the Indian Hills, that distortion didn't exist because the screen was far enough away from the seats. However, it was close enough so that it filled my field of view from top to bottom. The screen was large and curved enough so that it filled my field of view from periphery to periphery. _Star Wars_ was shot in CinemaScope, a more popular widescreen format that we still see today. While not technically the same as Cinerama, it still lent itself well to that screen. I watched _Star Wars_ with the film filling my entire field of view from top-to-bottom and side-to-side. I didn't have to turn my head to watch it unless I wanted to, and I usually didn't. It was an astonishingly immersive experience. Not even IMAX comes close. Add to that the massive audience reaction that shouldn't be overlooked. It was a shared experience that I've only seen at _Infinity War_ and _Endgame_ on their opening nights, when there were a lot of fans present. This audience reaction happened at every screening, in every theater, everywhere in the world, until _Star Wars_ left the screens. Imagine 810 people all cheering, clapping, jumping to their feet, and occasionally crying all at once. The shared experience was amazing, as it fed on itself. No one held back, it just kept growing and growing until the destruction of the Death Star -- which prompted massive roaring from the audience. The film itself was like nothing put to the screen at that time. While cinematically based on old _Flash Gordon_ and _Buck Rogers_ movie serials of the 1930s, this was a big-budget, big-screen version like nothing anyone had ever seen before. It completely changed science fiction on the movie screen. Until that time, you occasionally got a good science fiction film, but they tended to be years apart. After _Star Wars_ , there were multiple good science fiction movies every year, a trend that continues to this very day. There would be no modern _Star Trek_ without _Star Wars_ . _Star Wars_ was such a massive hit for 20th Century-Fox that Paramount quickly looked around and said, "Aha! We have this _Star Trek_ thing that Trekkies are always saying they want more of. Let's make it into a movie!" Thus _Star Trek - The Motion Picture_ was released in 1979. Without that, there would be no _Star Trek_ today. _Star Wars_ changed filmmaking from a business perspective. The film grabbed audiences like nothing seen in the entire history of cinema. While _Jaws_ was technically the first summer blockbuster, _Star Wars_ cemented summer as the time to release action-heavy, family-friendly films. The special effects of _Star Wars_ were utterly innovative, and the tools created by the likes of John Dykstra became commonplace in films that don't even have special effects. Almost all special effects in the Original Trilogy were achieved either in-camera, with optical effects, miniatures, extremely detailed paintings, or a combination of those techniques. CGI that allows an entire film to be shot on a green screen wasn't even a glimmer in anyone's eye. In 1977, the most advanced computers were the size of an SUV and didn't have the computing power of your phone. CGI as a primary filmmaking technique wasn't popularized until _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_ in 2004. By then, computing power/square centimeter had skyrocketed exponentially. The special effects spawned Industrial Light and Magic, a company created and owned by George Lucas. ILM is still in existence today, constantly innovating with new technologies to create visual effects for many, many films and TV series. From it's inception, ILM has been considered the gold standard of VFX companies. In short, this film was nothing like what had come before. It changed _everything about cinema_ . And I got to see it with an audience of 810, on a screen so immersive that I got nauseous during the Trench Run.
Hold up. Explain that about Sky Captain again? That movie bombed, even though I liked it. There were plenty of movies that came out before 2004 that used CGI as a primary filmmaking technique, two of them being Star Wars movies. So unless there's a technicality I'm not understanding here, please explain further.
@MeanMrMustard1 _Sky Captain_ bombed, but it was shot 100% on a green screen. There were no sets of any kind. Even things like the cockpits were all green. Behind-the-scenes interviews with actors routinely show them as frustrated with the entire process because they had absolutely no idea what they were supposed to be reacting to nor interacting with. Yes, there were films prior to 2004 that made use of green screens, but they still had at least some sets. _Sky Captain_ was all green. Since then, other films have followed suit for certain scenes, but still have at least some sets. I just meant that _Sky Captain_ marked the first time you could make a movie totally on a green screen with no sets whatsoever. As a 40-year veteran in computer science, I simply mark that film as the moment when computing reached a new milestone, nothing more. I rather enjoy the film because it's got so many nods and homages to older scifi films. When Polly is describing the arrival of the giant robots over the phone, her dialog is exactly the same as part of the 1938 _War of the Worlds_ radio broadcast. The robots themselves are nearly identical to those seen in the 1941 Fleischer Brothers Superman cartoon, "The Mechanical Monsters" (though they're much larger). The people pointing to them and the police shooting machine guns at them are nearly shot-for-shot the same as in the cartoon. The film is Baron Laurence Olivier's final screen appearance, a couple of decades after his death, achieved via CGI and footage from films in his youth. There's a lot of that in _Sky Captain_ . I understand why it bombed, but it's something I get a kick out of. So it was just a computing milestone, that's all. CGI had certainly been used before, with _Jurasssic Park_ being its first major milestone. However, _Sky Captain_ was a milestone because it was 100% green screen. 👍
@billolsen4360 I lived in Lincoln. I'm sure I saw it multiple times at the Cooper, too! Probably also at one of the drive-ins when it reached them. As I'm sure you remember, as kids, our parents took us to the drive-in so they could throw us out of the car to the playground in front of the screen, and probably to watch the movie until it got too cold or the mosquitoes came out. Ah, the joys of Gen-X! 😁
the lord of the rings movies and star wars prequels used CGI and green screen a lot and it was before 2004. btw that was one of the most common complaints about these movies.
My brain is hardwired at this point to give me chills when I see even the few seconds of the climax that you kept in this edit, just need the three key elements: 1) The glowing torpedoes veering down the shaft 2) just a few notes of John William's score at its bombastic peak 3) Mark Hamill's gasp of relief and lean back in his cockpit. Effects, music, and acting = all time iconic action scene.
I was a military brat living overseas in 1977... we came back stateside on vacation to visit my great grandmother who wasn't going to be around much longer. On a Saturday during that vacation I went and saw StarWars and Smokey And The Bandit back to back at a small town two screen theater. Pretty good Saturday!!
A fun fact I found out only today myself, When Luke, Han, and Chewbacca enter the elevator (in Stormtrooper garb and prisoner), Luke says something "I can hardly see in this thing", Hamill thought the cameras weren't rolling and was actually saying that to Harrison Ford. It became a keeper. I love that stuff. There's less overall fixes and adds than you may think though Lucas did clean up some things that really bothered him. He tweaked each of the films to some degree.........On the Deathstar when Han chases the stormtroopers to a bunker full of them, it was originally just a dead end and the few troopers turned around and chased Han back. The bunker full of troopers makes it more stressful and fun. Enjoy this galaxy, think you will love it.
Oh nice! Your editor edited this scene --- 23:13 --- as it should have been as originally shot back in 1977 but infamously altered in 1997. Kudos to the editor!
The trench run at the end is based on real events. In WW2 Brittish bombers blew up three German Dams and they had to run a gauntlet of anti aircraft fire to get to the target. Most of the planes never returned. There is a movie called the dam busters about it. Its a classic movie, and worth a watch.
Those snooty British bomber pilots were always so damn casual about it too. You can't convince any of them to take credit for doing a fantastic job in WW2...mostly because they only consider their comrades who didn't return from the dogfights as the real heroes.
I love that Coby recognizes that Star Wars is based on old-time serials. As far as having the confidence to start with episode IV. George Lucas wanted to make a six episode serial, but the studio would only back three movies, so he made the last three as there was still enough information for people to understand the story and still feel complete
that smile at 19:42 when Luke says he wants to go to Alderan....thats why these reactions are so beautiful to watch, seeing the joy, the goose bumps, the tears of someone feeling these movies for the first time just brings back all those emotions for all of us who have memorized every line from these movies and so many more. keep it up darling ill be watching Empire after this
There's a rumor that Baker left behind R2DooDoo in the costume a couple times just because the director & actors were too worn out after a day of shooting and didn't want to add a bathroom break cuz it was really late in the evening,. 🤨
The Emperor is the top baddie. They talk about him during the conference meeting where Vader chokes one guy. Moff Tarkin is the head of the Death Star and one of the Emperor's top military commanders. You hit it on the head, Vader isn't military, he's more like the Emperor's attack dog, or lead henchman. Lord Vader is technically not military, more like the Speaker of the House (lol).
So, imagine Vader as a dignitary coming aboard a vessel. The commander of the ship is still in charge of the vessel, and therefore has some command over the visiting dignitary while on board. But, they are of separate command structures overall (within The Empire).
Darth Vader is the Sheriff of Nottingham for those who remember another famous swashbuckler the Adventures of Robin Hood which was also cited as an inspiration for Star Wars.
You have to not overthink the movie. It’s a kids movie really…made for kids. It’s simplistic and fun and that’s all it’s supposed to be. It’s amazingly awesome.
George Lucas really spent some time trying to make this an old fashioned hero's journey. He studied Joseph Campbell's work on old myths and the elements that make them up. He also clearly took inspiration from Japanese samurai films. Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress" in particular. If you watch it, you'll immediately see where C-3PO and R2-D2 came from. 😄 The exact relationship between Luke and his uncle and aunt is made clear in the prequels. Clearly, you already know that you're watching a revised version. I don't mind it as much as others. The effect of the stun ray on princess Leia in the beginning was as it always was, I think. Maybe cleaned up a little. However, the entry into the Mos Eisley spaceport was greatly expanded, clearly to make it look like a city. There was no overhead view in the original, and we saw very few buildings. I'm not sure if there was some model work, or if it's all CGI. Clearly, all the creatures who populate the streets are CGI. And you weren't the only one who got confused about who was getting blown up in the final battle. Denis Lawson played Wedge, the other remaining pilot, but when he saw the movie, he saw an explosion that he thought was his death, so he was surprised to be asked to come back for The Empire Strikes Back. 😊
Coby, please don't read the rest of my comment. It regards spoilers. Yngvarfo, don't hint at future spoilers. You don't have to tell her certain things will be revealed later. She doesn't know what to expect so let her enjoy the ride blind, like many of us did.
@@MeanMrMustard1 - Considering that there were several actual spoilers here concerning things like Jabba and The Emperor, and she did ask the question several times, I thought it better to just say that it would be addressed later, and so leaving it dead, rather than letting her question be left dangling and possibly be actually spoiled later like other questions have been.
There is an actor, Kenny Baker, inside the Artoo suit *some* of the time. Other times it is entirely mechanical and controlled from offstage. If Artoo is traveling, its a remote controlled version. This version generated bloopers as it occasionally went off on its own, and frequently fell over. Threepio is Anthony Daniels, who wore the suit and later did voiceover as well, dubbing over himself in post.
24:25 in the original filming of the scene, Jabba was just a human, but the scene was ultimately cut from the movie because it didn't really serve any purpose (we already learned everything we need to know from the Greedo scene in the cantina). reintroducing the scene with a CG Jabba is one of those things Lucas did just because he could at the cost of solving the "who is Jabba" mystery way too early. but at least it gave us the line "Jabba, you are a wonderful human being."
i grew up watching all the original star wars movies at least once or more a week as a kid growing up in the 00s and the films are so iconic. i get goosebumps every time i hear the intro
Obi-Wan Kenobi's name isn't really Ben, it was just an alias he used when he hid on Tattooine after the Fall of the Republic and to watch over Luke. This will be explained in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, so I won't spoil it here.
In case you missed it, Coby I've watched a few New Hope reactions. You did a fantastic job, this was really fun watching it with you. Also, don't be afraid of watching popular movies. We watch you because we trust you and your taste in these movies. So be at ease, and May the Force be with you. 😘
@@kevinmoore2929 Definitely no need to get too into the details, but the concept does help explain things like Vader's "the force is strong with this one" comment even from the beginning.
This is the Stars Wars people love. Character building. You said you thought they started out together because most movies start out powerful and a team these days. But this, character building, team building. It was part of the experience.
Lotta people in the comments assuming that just because the first scene we see is in a galaxy far far away, that they couldn't travel to another one later :P (Yeah yeah I know canonically it's all one galaxy, just sayin, this is space fantasy and they didn't rule it out within the film!)
One of my favorite Sci Fi movies ever made! It was nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture but won for Best Visual Effects Best Film Editing Best Costume Design Best Production Design Best Sound Editing Best Sound Effects Best Original Score. It made $777 million dollars ($2 billion dollars today) against a $10 million dollar budget. Believe it or not, the cancelled 1975 DUNE adaptation was one of the major inspirations for the movie, as well as the western and samurai films.
I saw this at a drive in when I was six. They still used the clip on window speakers. Between the movie, drive in, staying up late it was an awesome night.
The reason the banthas (the sandpeople's mounts) look so much more convincing and cooler than the "dewback lizards" (the stormtrooper mounts) is the original dewbacks (which looked awesome, IMO) have been degraded with the "updated" special effects. Personally, I don't know anyone who saw the original films in the theaters (as I did) who thinks the updated effects are anything but a desecration -- either superfluous, adding nothing, or totally breaking the spell of the original films.
Yeah, the updates feel pretty alien. In Ep. 4, it's not all that bad, I can easily ignore it, but what I really hate is the extended scene in Ep. 6 in Jabba's palace with the CGI singer that's screeching around and doing her little show for Jabba. That's horrible, it's embarrassing, and it totally interrupts the whole story. I'd like to go back to the originals, but sadly, I only had the before CGI version on VHS (what I like though is replacing the actor playing Anakin with Hayden Christensen at the end of 6; Lots of people don't approve of that, but I like that they did this).
@@claudiag8823 -- 100% agree: Return of the Jedi suffers the most from the "updates" (then A New Hope, with Empire the least degraded by the added/enhanced scenes, IMO). I hate the insertion of bad-CGI-Jabba in Star Wars IV, but yes, the new & "improved" all-Muppet/CGI band in Jabba's palace (in Jedi) is beyond cringe. Most maddening, personally: I have DVDs with the original films remastered -- minus the 1990s additions -- but no matter what player I used, they appear tiny, tiny in the center of my screen, the size of a half-sheet of paper. Feels like a damn conspiracy to prevent me from enjoying some of my favorite films of all time!
Saw this in the theater when it came out, first day. We sat on the theater floor in line for 1½ showings of the movie, playing cards, because we had tickets for the later show which was at 10:00 p.m. I think. We weren't even sure we were going to be able to get tickets that day. It was four of us - me and my girlfriend, my sister and her boyfriend. Showtime arrived and we watched the previous crowd coming out of the theater, trying to get a clue from their faces about how good the movie was. Lots of smiles and jabber but that was about it. We sat down in the theater in the perfect spot. The studio fanfare plays over the normal sound system, and then silence. Then CRASH, the insane loud orchestra playing over a sound system we hadn't heard before, with the tympani and cymbals and horns, the instant cut to black space and stars everywhere, no action at all, and then the text scroll starts from the bottom and we're all reading and trying to keep up with the text, not understanding anything about what's going on. Then the ship flying over, lasers blazing - sound everywhere. Experiencing that movie was magic right from the beginning. Nothing else had ever been anything like it except maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey 9 years earlier, which was a much slower and quieter movie. At the end, the entire audience stood and applauded and cheered. We knew something special had happened. Movies were different now.
No, not everyone can be a Jedi, first they have to be born with the capability to feel and use it and then train to tap into it. There are also varying degrees of how much power they can access, how much they can draw from it, meaning that the weaker you are in it the harder youd have to train to touch the power, while those more powerful in the force are able to more easily tap into it and even do things without even know you're doing it, as well as just being stronger and having better results, i.e. pushing or lifting things higher/faster/further.
Jabba was added, was originally a human in a cut scene. Cgi was used to add Jabba in the re-release. Han shot first, Greedo didn't shoot in the original. Planet explosion, some fighter sequences, the rest is original. Those are the biggest changes of note. imo
Yup. In the original, Greedo was aiming his pistol, unaware of Han reaching for his holster under the table. Then, suddenly… bam! Greedo drops to the table. There were several versions, as George kept changing it, of Greedo and Han shooting simultaneously. None of them made sense.
This scene seems to have become a bit of an obsession for Mr. Lucas. There wasn't anything wrong with the first version where Han just blasts Greedo with no warning. But Lucas felt that this made Han look bad. Maybe a little, but that only enhanced his character arc. So Lucas changed it to Greedo shooting first, but hitting the wall about a foot above and 2 feet right of Han's head. That looked absurd, because Greedo was supposedly a bounty hunter and the gun was about 3 feet from Han. Then he had a version where Han seems to unnaturally move his head, as if to explain how Greedo missed by so much. That one looked unnatural. Then he added a version where Greedo say "MAKLUNKY" before they both shoot. I don't even know what that was about. @@visionaryventures12
You are far too young to understand but in 1977, this movie was absolutely groundbreaking. The special effects, practical though they were, were like nothing anyone had ever seen. It was a true cultural phenomenon and those of us who were around to see it in '77were forever changed by it.
Originally the only episode and called just Star Wars, "Episode IV A New Hope" was added later when the franchise expanded to six and then nine episodes. Surprisingly, Darth Vader escapes despite no sequel planned at the time.
yes the title was added later but we knew, early on, that Lucas was contemplating a series, and that this movie was in media res, even if the story wasn't fleshed out yet. by the time the first three were done, it was pretty well accepted they were to be the middle set of a nine movie arc.
Star Wars was always planned to be bigger, but Lucas was worried he wouldn’t get a chance to make another film if the first one failed. That’s why he skipped to the middle of the story.
I've always loved playing beloved movies for my family and friends and watching their emotions running through the films. I have surprised myself though, with how much joy I just got out of watching a stranger experience this movie for the first time..... It's kind of made my day.
I've just found your channel. Your comments, questions, perspective and insight had me smiling and grinning the whole time. My dad took my sisters and I to see Star Wars in the theatre when we were young. I feel so lucky to have been a kid as these movies were released. This is the first video of yours I've seen and am going straight to your Empire Strikes Back. (If it matters, I hardly ever comment but i just felt I had to.) Please keep it up. I'm cooking while i watch, I can't wait for you to meet Yoda and the Ewocks(sp?) 🙂 May the Force be with you.
WTF im speechless Coby never watch Star wars? Welcome to our Universe of Star Wars this is going to be awsome watching Coby discover all the characters and storys. Cant wait for more. Great reaction like always.
Im very happy that you started watching Star Wars with a New Hope. Watching the prequel movies first, ruins every surprise that the original trilogy has.
Bail Organa was on Alderaan when the Death Star blew it up, so he died with his wife and the rest of the citizens of the planet. This is confirmed in a scene in Rouge One: A Star Wars Story which is set shortly before A New Hope.
The bizarre/annoying thing about the effects updates is that the original - Academy Award-winning - effects have aged far better than the 1990s era CGI. Lucas took all that amazing work from the 1970s, and finger-painted shitty CGI all over it.
I was 11 yrs old in 1977. I saw this opening week 6 times and 12 times that summer. It's impossible to explain how this story and the aesthetics/effects were mind-blowing at the time.
So far in the reaction world, I have seen one person watch the movies in their pre-"Special Edition" form. At this point, that isn't to be expected but that is the best way to get a good understanding of the original impact of the films. Most wouldn't think there was anything inferior about the original visual effects without changes pointed out to them.
It's a shame that there has never been an official "theatrical cut" release of the original trilogy on DVD/Blu-ray. The practical effects of the original cut hold up better than the CGI additions to the special editions. I like many others would gladly give Disney my money for a de-specialized original trilogy. I guess they hate money.
My Dad knew Anthony Daniels, the actor who plays C-3PO. He’s a really nice chap. I was about 11-12 when the Phantom Menace came out, and I got invited to go to his house for afternoon tea and to talk about all things Star Wars. I got to try on a couple of parts of the C-3PO costume that he had at home, and Mr. Daniels signed a few things for me. That was such a good day.
That was a perfect day for you. So very glad you had the opportunity to meet him.
That's an awesome story
Well I've heard different that he's rather arrogant, and he famously didn't get along with Danny Baker the guy who played R2D2. So you're lucky to have had a good experience.
I MET HIM AT THE CHICAGO WIZARD WORLD ABOUT 10 OR 12 YEARS AGO AND HE WAS VERY ALOOF AND SNOBBY. I WAS NOT VERY IMPRESSED. BILLY DEE WILLIAMS (LANDO CALRISSIAN) WAS ALSO PRETTY RUDE AS WELL. HEY, SOME CELEBS ARE SUPER NICE, AND SOME ARE ARROGANT AND MEAN. JUST LIKE KIDS YOU USED TO GO TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH. MANY OF THESE ACTORS NEVER GREW UP OR WENT TO COLLEGE. SOME NEVER EVEN MADE IT THROUGH TO HIGH SCHOOL.
@@rednasseel4113 they say, "never meet your hero's"
I don't care how large your TV is today, I still remember the effect of the opening sequence on a real movie theater screen, looking up and the massive star destroyer comes into the screen and the sound of battle filled the theater. We all knew this was something different, special, and would change our lives forever. And it did.
that summer '77 EVERYBODY in the theater cheered CRAZILY when the 1st star destroyer bay passed overhead ... and there was still MORE star destroyer still passing overhead.
Correct, that was the pivotal moment when we knew it was going to be everything we had hoped for wrt special effects etc.
I can still hear the gasp of the audience as the Star Destroyer thundered overhead chasing Leia's tiny ship.
@@GM-fh5jp For me in 77 when the pan down to Tatooine happened just before the SD the audience let out a huge gasp, my first experience of a group reaction
Absolutely. I even got to see it at the outdoor theater in out town. Amazing to see that and enjoy the mono sound coming out of the metal box hanging off the window.
Aye, 70mm Dolby stereo on Arizona's largest screen, the second week it was released. Mind = blown.
The Jabba the Hutt scene wasn't in the original theatrical cut. The scene was filmed in 1977, but with a human actor standing in for Jabba. At the time, George Lucas hadn't figured out what Jabba the Hutt was going to look like. The plan was to try to do hand-drawn animation on top of the film to give the actor playing Jabba an alien look. It didn't work out, though, so the scene was abandoned. The deleted scene was then finished with CGI 20 years later as part of the 1997 Special Edition re-release.
The original Jabba is a not too subtle Baron Harkonnen expy - a bloated gangster running a spice empire - that they turned into an even less subtle Leto 2 expy - a worm with arms and a face running a spice empire 🤣🤣🤣
“Jabba, you’re a wonderful human being”
@@diegopansini3152 Worst insult imaginable. 🤪
One of THE most foolish additions. If he wanted to add a few little desert mice, or a dewback, that's set dressing. Taking that scene, adding in a Jabba with 1990s CGI technology: horrible. For one thing, it turns Jabba into a figure of jokes and disrespect. Stepping on his tail?! For another thing, it severely dilutes his appearance later on: it worked so much better as a major reveal. For another thing, this Jabba is more or less human-sized, and a year or two later he's enormous? Ridiculous. Ill-conceived, ill-rendered, just an all-around poor decision. I know that artists are never truly satisfied, but at some point you have to let it be what it is, and his constant "fixing" and tinkering just made things worse.
-My 2¢
@@TSIRKLAND It was a lot better idea than turning Darth Vader into a crying little sissy.
Imagine being 6 years old and seeing this on a movie screen in 1977 for the first time. Nothing like this had been seen before. ❤
I was 7. I thought the storm troopers were robots also.
I was 10 & it came out on my BDay weekend.
One of the best movies of its time. It was the era of Star Wars, Close encounters, JAWS & many other now classics.
I don't have to imagine it. I still remember seeing Darth Vader for the first time.
It was amazing❤️
I was 6 and 13 days. My dad took me to see it after I got my shots for school. Those needles in my ass pissed me off so bad, I made him carry me in and out of the theater.
Finding an original version of Star Wars without "A New Hope" is hard because Lucas doesn't allow the original version to be sold anymore. But it can be seen if you go to the Audio-Visual Conservation at the Library of Congress Packard Campus. Located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Culpeper, Virginia. Lucas demanded that the library return the original copy for a replacement of the new version. The library politely told Lucas to go pound sand. The libraries job is to preserve history, not update history.
I'm really happy that I still have the original VHS release of Star Wars. I do everything I can to keep it safe. I need to digitize it.
There was a DVD of the original 1977 print available in the mid 2000s. Thankfully I picked a copy up from the WalMart in Charlottesville VA. Unfortunately, I've not had a DVD player in 10 years.
@@robertgallegly8267 I had delusions of Mandela Effect when it came out digitally, but I was still able to find an original version on VHS to prove to myself I wasn't losing my mind!
The nascent CGI of the time was absolute rubbish compared to the original practical effects & puppets too. Breaking the suspension of disbelief cost so much more than the additional vignettes added, but it's what Lucas wanted, so...
@@scottperry6604as I recall it was low res and not anamorphic. The best home movie versions of the originals are on laser disc.
There's a fan cut of the original trilogy on the internet called the "Despecialized Edition". It's got the enhanced audio and visuals of the newer versions without the changes everyone hates.
To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi: Coby, “you have taken your first step into a larger world.”
Old fool, I knew you were going to say that.
"Great, kid, don't get cocky"
I don't watch many Star Wars reactions anymore, mostly because I vehemently disagree with first-time viewers (especially adult ones) watching them in release order -- even though about 98% of reaction viewers still pig-headedly insist on it (and 98% of reactors also indulge them as a result). It's as if they don't care that it largely spoils Eps. I-III. 🤷♂(And, for the record, I'm an old school fan, not a Millennial.)
@@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy There is absolutely nothing wrong with watching them in release order.
@@kennethbaker5223 Other than the whole aforementioned going into the prequels already knowing their general outcome and thus potentially not being as invested in its story as a result. I know those of us who grew up on the movies and saw them as they came out didn't have a choice, but don't deny that choice to people who now *do* have it.
Great reaction. None of us in the audience in 1977 knew anything before seeing this movie. You asked many of the same questions we did. :)
I remember getting my mother to watch it with me in the theater. She ended up loving the whole trilogy. Sadly she passed away from cancer in 2011. This movie will always be special to me. She was the best.
Sorry for your loss. 😢 Was it the last film she ever watched before she died?
I saw it in the theaters originally with my mom as well. She kept poking me and asking "Do you like this?" and I kept telling her to shoosh. LOL.. Ironically, when my mom was in the hospital and out of her mind with drugs, a few years before her death, she told me that in her huluscinations , she was seeing aliens attacking everyone and that "I knew I had to get to you, because your the person who would know how to handle aliens." LOL, Still arguably the greatest compliment I have ever gotten.
@@BillyButcher90 We saw It's a wonderful life . I kissed her goodnight. The next morning she passed away. Now whenever I hear a bell ring I know she got her wings.
@@broodhunter21 I can tell she was a wonderful lady.
My mother passed away in 1989 when I was 9. Ernest Saves Christmas is the last movie I remember watching with her.
I was 13 years old in 1977. Star Wars wasn't just another movie, it was a life altering experience!
same. people born later just can't really comprehend how world-changing this film was at the time. there hasn't been anything so impactful since. the previous milestone had been 2001, released 9 years earlier, which changed film entirely, not just sci fi.
I love the meme where Leia is comforting Luke after Obi Wan died.
“My entire planet was just destroyed but I’m so sorry that the old man you’ve known for a day is dead.”
R2D2: "Ooooooh snap!" - Robot Chicken
It is from a Robot Chicken bit actually voice by carrie fisher before she died. It is as funny as Gary the Storm Trooper standing up for his daughter on bring daughter to work day
@cartwright,
Apparently, people have quick recovery times in far-away galaxies.
Too much crying in the movie would've made it maybe weird?? BTW: we all grieve in different ways!!
@@cartwrightworm1317 I think it also characterizes them well. She's a diplomat and a princess while Luke is a farmer who just lost his family and Ben. Realistically Leia has spent days or even weeks mourning her planet because the time to travel from Tatooine to Alderaan is pretty long.
Chewbacca was played by Peter Mayhew, a 7'3" hospital orderly. He continued to play the role until 2015, when health issues forced him to split the work with a younger actor, who then took over the role in subsequent movies. Sadly he passed away in 2019. Chewbacca's "voice" was created by mixing various animal noises.
And on 'the other end' was Kenny Baker, aka R2D2.
The "younger actor" is a former basketball player from Finland, Joonas Suotamo. He's 6'11".
Fun fact, Peter Mayhew spoke all his lines in the films, so every actor can react to his actual lines. Of course it was all covered over by the noises
I got to meet him at Dragon*Con in 2006 I think. It's really hard to describe how TALL 7'3" is. The whole place would kind of stop and watch him get up and walk. And David Prowse was there too. He was also the sweetest guy. Shook my kids' hands, his hands were like five times their size. You could totally tell he was the guy inside chewbacca's suit, too. The way he moved and the way his eyes moved. They were part of the character. A beautiful human being.
I hear George Lucas patterned Chewbacca's voice after the sounds coming out of his Husky. I can guarantee that's exactly what Husky dogs sound like when they try to talk back.
I'm still salty that Chewie didn't get a medal at the end here. He deserves one too.
According to, I think, the Heir to the Empire trilogy, Leia mentions that Chewie turned down the medal because he hates being touched by a lot of beings.
The awarding of medals is not the way of Wookie culture.
Chewie may not have gotten a medal but he did have the last line in the movie.
@@sirjohn2248 A nice bookend. C-3PO started us off. So the first and last lines of dialogue are delivered by non-Humans.
Like the start say a long time ago in a Galaxy far far away. So no Earth I always put it at the time of the Dinosaurs. The story got to us in 1977. Traveling millions of years in space.
"THERE'S NO UNDERWEAR IN SPACE"... George Lucas had to convinced Carrie to go Commando under her outfits, explaining that underwear was "an Earth Thing".
The braless look was in in the seventies. Lots of women went braless in movies and in their personal lives. The braless look was even associated with feminism. Carrie Fischer certainly embellished the story to make it seem more sleazy than it really was.
White gown, wet trash compactor... 😬
But if you know what he contributed to Raiders, George has always been a creeper.
Farewell, Carrie Fisher. "Drowned in moonlight, strangled by her own bra", as she wanted to be remembered.
That's so 70's
Braless anyway, Lucas told her that they didn't wear bras in space. She gave him crap for it when she got older and wiser.
It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing this as a kid on the big screen in 1977. It was like the very first day of my existence...........
Agreed!
Totally mate there really is nothing contemporaneous that you could compare it to. I think I was like nine years old at the time and my sister took me to see it and my mind was just blown. I still have my Star Wars cards.
Yes. Very much like Dorothy stepping through that door in The Wizard of Oz, this movie changed the way everything looked when I saw it when I was 7 years old. I imprinted on Carrie Fisher like a baby chick.
I was 6 in 1977. Star Wars blew all of our minds, as kids. Nothing was ever seen on the screen like this before. It was life altering.
This is now one of my favorite videos I’ve ever watched. Star Wars is and has always been a huge part of my life; it’s been a comfort in times of despair and a beacon of (a new) hope in my life as a husband, father, teacher, and writer. Watching you experience the original film brought me so much joy; I’m not exaggerating when I say it was truly moving. I know these films backwards, forwards, and behind the scenes, but seeing you witness it all for the first time brings all the magic I’ve loved since I was a little kid right back. Thank you for this! It’s aaaaalmost as much fun as sharing these movies with my daughter for the first time! I can’t wait to continue watching your first journey through that galaxy far, far away. May the Force be with you!
Here's a fun little fact -- when Luke tells 3P0 the number of the garbage masher's door to open, Mark Hamill says he just improvised and said his home phone number.
mark hamill busted a blood vessel in his face being under water so long in that scene
I've always thought the number 3263827 was a hot rod car reference from Lucas: Pontiac 326, Chevy 327, both 8 cylinder engines.
@@jimmyboy131 That makes NO sense! NO where in that number does 327 run consecutively!!! Peace out...
@@Ramjetwarrior Just look at it creatively and the numbers are there: 326 and 327 are there along with the 8.
"prisoner transfer from cell 1138" is a reference to Lucas's first movie THX 1138, which is also the source of the name of the sound quality assurance company THX, created for the sound in Return of the Jedi.
"Boring conversation anyway" does pop up from time to time but it's probably one of those deals you may not have even known it was a reference in context.
It actually was used in the movie "Navy SEALs"
little baddie.
Harrison Ford forgot his line, and improvised.
"Situation normal" is favourite line😊
If by "forgot his lines" you mean "intentionally didn't learn anything but the gist of the dialogue to sound like someone trying to come up with the right thing to say" then yes, yes he did.
I watched this movie the first day it was released in 1977 as a 16-year old kid, and have been a fan since then. I had never been to a movie where the line went around the outside of the building for hours.
It is difficult for someone to understand the distinctiveness of this movie when watched for the first time in 2024. Some truly groundbreaking features were seen and heard when this movie was released: Modern CGI was essentially invented for this movie, incredible camera tracking, an amazing musical score, and an ongoing script requiring multiple movies to complete the story. This was mind-blowing a movie when released, with nothing like it seen before.
First saw it in ate July (I had joined the army in June). When the parking lot features a guy basting the soundtrack out of his Camaro flaunting a HUGE SW belt buckle and T shirt in OK well...Oh and have you ever seen it in German?
Cgi was not invented for this movie. Babylon 5 used cgi in 93/94 when it was released. It may have been used before that.
Silly people were SO OBSESSED with this movie in 1977. Just couldn't understand them AT ALL. I only saw it a mere eleven times in a Cinerama theatre in Denver.
@@jughead4845 ruclips.net/video/v_QoigEbwyA/видео.htmlsi=WlbpJDbA0ImjdAXd
Creating Computer Graphics for Star Wars: Episode IV (1976)
In 1976, pioneering computer animator Larry Cuba was responsible for creating the 45 second animated Star Wars sequence as the Rebel leaders are explaining how to attack the Death Star. Here he explains his process and what was involved in creating the historic schematic on PDP-11/45, the computer that led eventually to Pixar and the digital effects we see all the time now. This, in a big way, is where it all started.
@@jughead4845 There is a video here on RUclips called: "Creating Computer Graphics for Star Wars: Episode IV (1976)"
ruclips.net/video/v_QoigEbwyA/видео.htmlsi=VnHPzQ99SfRYo3yM
That says the following:
"In 1976, pioneering computer animator Larry Cuba was responsible for creating the 45 second animated Star Wars sequence as the Rebel leaders are explaining how to attack the Death Star. Here he explains his process and what was involved in creating the historic schematic on PDP-11/45, the computer that led eventually to Pixar and the digital effects we see all the time now. This, in a big way, is where it all started."
I think one thing that most don't ever really mention ever is that humans only walked on the moon in 1969. In about 8 years, this movie as we as other space movies came out. Can you imagine someone age 10 watching the moon landing, and THEN watching this movie!? Freakin INTENSE!
I don't understand your comment.
I'm so jealous of anyone who gets to experience Star Wars for the first time. There is nothing like that feeling of awe and escapism George Lucus' galaxy of stories gives you. I was never the same after the first time I saw it. The senses of hope, freedom, to fight for what's right, to strive to be a hero... All of these emotions completely cemented within me as a child, from the moment I watched this movie.
Now, watching you, Coby, (and you're so naturally intelligent in your guesses of the story lines and impacts of any given moment, it is such a pleasure watching you're reactions. You're brightness and joy as you discover and react. It's enough that this ol' Aussie movie geek is falling in love with you.
I daydream to have a girl as bright and beautiful as you to share in movie watching joy like this. And then have so much to chat about it with. You're pretty special, hey?!
Never change superstar 🤩 ❤J 😘
I’ve just watched it today for the first time. It truly was amazing! Such a fun watch. I’ve started the Star Wars series a few days ago in chronological order. “A new hope” is by far my favorite. ❤
Both Vader and Governor Tarkin answer to the emperor, who was mentioned in this movie but not seen.
yes, but vader does not answer to tarkin, he respects him and defers to him because hes commander of the death star. but overall, vader is the number 2 power in the universe, behind the emperor.
Yes, "empires" tend to be pretty large affairs, with lots of bases and armies, and fleets, and generals...
@@foreignmilkexactly, Vader is the emperor's attack dog, a free agent, not unlike an inquisitor. Not part of the military / imperial command structure. Any one of those officers could be cut down by Vader and no one would blink an eye, or cause a fuss. Even Tarkin, but Vader, yes, respects Tarkin and his decision making, quite severe and hard-nosed, like Vader himself.
@@foreignmilk But that's not what is presented in the original film and not how viewers would have perceived it in 1977. Cushing was deliberately cast as essentially the main villain to give the Empire a human face, as Lucas explained. Vader was the important breakout character, rather like a Bond henchman with a great back story. If Tarkin is Goldfinger, Vader is Oddjob, to make a clumsy comparison. He clearly does defer to Tarkin, ("holding his leash") but that is retconned slightly in The Empire Strikes Back when he gains his own Star Destroyer and is presented as the main villain. It was a narrative decision. But viewed on its own, the 1977 film does show Vader in a different light, rather like an emissary from The Emperor to keep an eye on things and act as his strong arm. He's the thug sent to do the dirty work.
@@simoncroft5416that is all completely correct as of this film, however, i, without giving anything away, was remarking on the broader scope of the story vs this film alone. this is the only film where it could be seen that tarkin was in control, and in all other films, it isnt even in question, so officially, vader is number 2. but even in iv, it didnt make sense that tarkin would be in charge. vader just by the force alone couldve been in charge if it wasnt for the emperor, so it may have even just been clunky writing or editing to not expressly show vaders positionbof authority. having said that, none of it actually matters considering its all make believe lol
The "next one" is Empire Strikes Back. The best Star Wars movie and it's not even close. Do not miss it!
III comes close.
Better writing but slower direction, more like a traditional Hollywood movie.
@@mwvidz324 Hahahahaha, nothing made after 83 comes close, nothing made after 83 is real star wars. The prequels were an abomination. Worse than the sequels.
@@edix1673 Why do some people always have to be this gatekeepy?
@@SpielkindFR because we respect a great fanchise and are saddened by its ongoing decline into mediocrity.
There was no scene with Jabba before they remastered it. Jabba never showed up until Return of the Jedi originally.
Not in the film itself, but it had been shot with a guy with the intention of replacing him in post. That didn't happen due to cost. So they used CGI to do it in the Special Edition. I don't think they really knew what Jabba would look like and so we ended up with the scene where Han walks around him and also calling him a wonderful human being...
@@presencerocks2224 That "Wonderful human being" hits even better because we know now that Jabba is not a human.. So it feels like extra sass from Han. Unintended, but works great.
@@TarisSinclairThe line hits because Jabba was always supposed to be an alien.
Indeed. It's a strange one though because while it's not needed for "STAR WARS" as a standalone movie, the scene works as being in part 1 of a 3 part series.
Fun fact, that Droid that Colby said "Looks like a trash can" actually WAS a trash can that George "retrofitted" to make into a Droid for the film!
And that particular model of Droid was supposed to be a walking battery pack
Called a Gonk droid after the sound it makes.
Was George model building for the movie? or another George?
@@Joliie Is that a serious question, or are you trolling?
Gonk gonk!
I was 14, my brother 12. Mom dropped us at the theatre on a Saturday, 3 consecutive viewings of Star Wars later she picked us up. Best day of my life!!
Anthony Daniels was C-3PO, the late Kenny Baker was inside R2-D2 and the late Peter Mayhew was Chewbacca. Baker was only 3' 8" tall. Peter Mayhew was diagnosed with giantism and also had Marfan's Syndrome. His peak height was 7' 3". The late David Prowse (6' 6" tall) played Darth Vader with James Earl Jones doing the voice.
Every Star Wars film begins with "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" meaning this story takes place a million years ago in a galaxy other than our own, so it has nothing to do with Earth at all.
Kid me liked to think that this story from a very long time ago in this distant galaxy was only reaching us 'now' after travelling at the speed of light to get here. Then George made the prequels and that theory went out the window for university me...
Apparently there was a comic book, definitely *not* canon, where Han Solo crash landed on Earth and was killed by native Americans. Centuries later, his remains are found by Indiana Jones, searching for the Sasquatch, who turns out to be Chewbacca. 🤣
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” should be interpreted within our context. Our solar system which consists of our planet earth and the moon 🌙 and the sun ☀️ and all the planets 🪐 are circa 4.5 billion years old. The whole universe is circa 14.5 billion years old. Our sun which is just a humdrum star is about middle age so it should continue to burn and sustain the solar system for about another 4.5 to 5 billion years. Other galaxies have star systems very much like ours but have already come and gone within 9 to 10 billion years since the Big Bang began. All this means that the place, story and creatures of the Star Wars universe have already come and gone in very ancient times in another remote galaxy and only their story survives
@@mattp6089That was meant to be it. That's why it's a long time ago, because it was far away and the light took time to reach us. Not because of us seeing Star Wars through a telescope, but the inspiration of the time and place setting is the fact that when you look at a far away galaxy you are seeing it in the distant past.
The prequels don't ruin any of that. It's just looking at the slightly further past.
That's like saying that learning about Julius Caesar ruins what you learned about Claudius.
I know that it was not because of the information in the prequels, it was the time setting. But it was destined to be written about since at least 1980. So that's before Return of the Jedi was complete. So I can't think of what you could have learned from the University that changed it.
I understand about the light reaching us. But dude, my man, the movie starts with writing on the screen, so it was telling you about the story and then you see the vision. You can't think that you were seeing it from Earth. Prequels have nothing to do with that or with University.
If someone was to see Star Wars for the first time and they started at Episode 1, it's going to be the same for them as it was when you were a kid and the same thing if they started at Episode 4, or any of them, even episode 7 (even though it sux).
Please tell me what you learned about in University that you didn't know about as a kid.
When I was a kid we knew that the light from the Sun took 8 minutes to get to the Earth and that the other stars were lightyears away and that lightyears are a measure of distance. We also knew that galaxies were hundreds of lightyears apart.
So we knew from the scroll that if Star Wars is in a galaxy far far away, then it was a very long time ago if you looked at it because of the light travelling that vast distance to reach us.
I don't know what more you could have learned from the University on the subject. 🤔
Maybe you (people) just get older and less fun and you think that it was because of going to University.
I would not know, not having been to University myself.
Anyway I thought that I ruined Star Wars for myself when I learned about Einstein's theory of relativity when I was a kid, and that it was not scientificly possible to go to "light speed" but it was explained to me by theoretical Physicists that they were thinking of the possibility of "folding" space for warp travel.
So I don't think I will rule out anything. Even time travel?
Of course, time travel is fun. But not too much time travel.
And really, what did I know about the FTL drive on the Millennium Falcon when I was a kid?
I didn't even know what a carburettor was. 😂
@@Yngvarfo What? Stop! Is that really true?
50:04 Holy shiza! Did Coby really just say she's 40? I wouldv'e guessed 29 tops. Killing it!
Yes, an extreme classic beauty. Don't tell her I'm gushing over her.
I agree. She is a fine looking woman.
that's it, i give up guessing ages... just the other day i met one looking like 30 but was 44 and now this... it's cheating i say, cheating.
@@raistormrs yup. Maybe its because we are getting older and all attractive women now look younger.
@@raistormrsMy mom turns 80 in 3 months, but people are still sometimes skeptical that she qualifies for the senior discount.
I was 11. My dad took me. There was a line around the theater and we ended up in the front row which I remember my dad grousing about. From the moment the stormtroopers came down that corridor, total brain reboot. From what we played with, read, drew pictures of in class, talked about, and covered our walls with (though my KISS Spirit of '76 poster didn't budge) all changed.
This might be the best reaction to Star Wars I’ve ever seen. I loved how authentic you were throughout…I could tell how intently you were watching, and picking up on little things (like when you said about Luke’s aunt…”she knows something”). Considering you knew next to noting about the movie, only some names and images, it was so much fun to see how excited you got when you met certain characters for the first time…like when Obi-wan appears and you mentioned you had goose bumps. For someone who almost prided herself on having never watched it, you still permitted yourself to give it a totally fair chance and just went along for the ride.
I also found it interesting that you thought that the “gang” was together from the start, and were surprised to find out that was not the case. I can see that. In other franchises like Star Trek, typically the main characters are all together from the start. But, I never thought about it from the POV of someone who has never seen it, but who would have been exposed to the characters all their lives.
Anyhow, great reaction! And welcome to the fandom…nerd! 😉
I love watching people's reactions for their first time watching Star Wars! This did not disappoint, I'm glad you enjoyed! It's like watching it for the first time vicariously through you and it's sooooo gooood! Can't wait to see more!
Fear not, yes, there are millions of Star Wars nerds out there willing to troll beginners.. But these are just movies. They are meant to be enjoyed first and foremost. Have fun!
We have been training for more than three days with Yoda to tackle the comments section! We are ready. May the force be with us.
I prefer to just troll the Star Wars nerds themselves? 🤣
Governor Tarkin (the "older" guy "bossing around" Darth Vader) is British classic horror film actor Peter Cushing. (Cushing starred in a number of horror films with Christopher Lee, who appears in the prequels as Count Dooku).
Obi-Wan Kenobi is another famous British classic film actor Sir Alec Guiness ("The Bridge on the River Kwai" among others).
You probably know that James Earl Jones (another famous classic film actor) voices Darth Vader (the man in the suit is someone different).
R2D2 and C3PO are supposed to be kind of a parody take on "Abbott & Costello".
All of your questions including family relations will eventually be answered if you watch all 3 films, plus the 3 prequels, and even "Rogue One" which takes place between episodes 3 and 4.
Yes, aside from the very small handful of CGI creatures and effects that Lucas added in later, most everything else is matte paintings, blue screen (back then), large sets (on soundstages and in the Tunisian desert), models, costumes, and real special effects.
Developed by George Lucas and his team and his newly formed company Industrial Light Magic (ILM) which went on to become Hollywood's premier special effects company. 😊
The 2 droids are also directly copied from the old samurai film The Hidden Fortress, as well as some other aspects of this movie.
@@3DJapan That film is by the modernist auteur Akira Kurosawa (who subverted some of the then-standard Japanese period drama conventions), the filmmaker who also made The Seven Samurai (remade in Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven), Rashomon, Yojimbo (remade as A Fistful of Dollars), and Ran (his version of Shakespeare's King Lear). As it happens, the Japanese (samurai) period film genre is referred to as "jidaigeki". Pretty obvious how George Lucas used a shortened version of that word to name those light-side "Force" users in Star Wars lore.
At no point in the filming of Star Wars did Peter Cushing wear shoes. He refused to wear them 🤣
Actually, C3-PO and R2-D2 were more a take on Laurel and Hardy than Abbott and Costello.
The 70s was a magical decade to grow up in. First in 75 you had the hallmark of summer blockbusters...Jaws. The the bicentennial 76. I was 14 in 77 when Star Wars hit the screen. Everyone was blown away it raised yhe bar for movies. Think about it. Where would movies be without Star Wars? Even the music of the 70s was magical. No autotune. People had talent. If you weren't alive then I feel for you.
Speaking of music, I always thought it was funny the Cantina song was on the top 40 for music that year. They played it on the radio constantly
"Turn the Volume up" i almost died laughing knowing that loud song was about to play.
Droids are common place within Star Wars. They are used for all sorts of things and are considered property. The Stormtroopers not questioning C3P0 wouldn't be unusual just because there are tons of droids working on the Death Star. In addition what makes R2D2 so special is that he has never had his memory wiped so he has accumulated years and years of knowledge. Most droids will have their memories wiped on a regular basis to avoid them gaining enough knowledge to potentially rebel against their owners.
I thought C3P0 and R2D2 had their memory wiped after the end of episode 3.
@@venomdonut6905 Only C-3PO.
To watch the original, "un-special edition," you need to find Harmy's Despecialized Edition. It is a complete restoration of the original, produced by dedicated fans in the Fanedit community. It represents Star Wars as originally seen in its first theater run.
I have a copy of the original on VHS. But, I don't have a VHS player.
@@douglasmagowan2709 They're still made, you know. BUT ... if that's an original 70s tape, might wanna just keep that.
Did it say “episode VIII(8, maybe, I don’t remember what exact number it was)” since Lucas wanted it to appear as if this movie was just another in a line of movies with no actual intention of making any prequels.
@@turbopokey the original version doesn't have any episode subtitles. Just goes straight to "It is a period of civil war ..."
@@wonderfulwookiee6443 not the one I’ve watched. It did the “Star Wars “ thing the started the crawl with “episode (something, but definitely not 4): a New Hope”
18:19 "Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."
That simple line has spawned not only laughter from fans who have witnessed otherwise throughout the series, but also some very interesting theories to support Ben's remark.
And thank you. It was fun reliving Star Wars for the first time with you, and you made some very insightful and accurate observations along the way.
and what about all of the dead rebel scum on Leias ship?
@@damianmactavish6717 Evidence for said theories!
I met Dave Prowse when I was ten. Massive guy. He visited our school in his guise as the Green Cross Code Man (British safety ‘superhero’ for kids). He picked me up with one hand - I always claimed it was with the force. I was the coolest kid in the school. For at least 2 or 3 days, anyway. Great times.
You need to go back and watch the Binary Sunset again without talking through it. Right after Luke has dinner with his aunt and uncle, he goes out and watches the sunset, and it has some of the most beautiful music from any movie ever.
One of my favorite scenes as well.
Your are so right my friend!!!
a scene with no dialogue and no action that would not be made today.
Thank you!! 🙄
Highlight of a soundtrack full of iconic movements.
(I wore out the vinyl AND the 8Track)!
Most of the original visual effects are still in the film. They were groundbreaking at the time, and it's only a handful of scenes that have been updated, and you can usually tell by the CGI. Realistic CGI wasn't really a thing until the mid 90s.
I only regret they CGI'd Jabba....they made him WAY too much of a push-over...that part should have remained cut.
Despecialized or similar fan editions of the movies are the best way to watch them now. None of the official available versions are as good.
@@Pianodean well there is more cgi incoming to regret in the other films
some of the explosions are a bit extra but easier to wave them off than Jabba that's for sure
the extra animals or floating droids aren't that bad, only the "Han shot first" bit compares to showing Jabba so early
changing that from a sneak attack to a dodge and counter was just a bit too far
@@fastertove I have the old official theatrical release, that is the best one to have. The OG film before the updates. It might be cleaned up I dunno but it's exactly how everyone remembers seeing it. The set also comes with the updates version and maybe an ad for xbox lego star wars. I just know I checked the store every time to find it, and there were like 30 different versions of these movies. None of the other sets I saw were clean. I just got lucky one day.
Industrial Light and Magic special effects company was born from the efforts to create the effects for this film.
If you're a Jedi you can't fight with vengeance because any kind of anger leads to the dark side
Tell that to Anakin
@@tru3sk1llThey tried... Too late
@@raybernal6829 He sees through the lies of the Jedi.
@@Progger11 😉 but missed Palpatines
@tru3sk1ll She'll learn about Anakin soon enough
My dad took me to the movie theater when I was 5 in 1977 when was just called, “Star Wars.”
It’s AWESOME on the big screen…bigger than life.
I recall watching this, when it came out, at the Continental Theater in Denver. "The theater had a 35' x 83' screen, seated 916 people, and could be responsible for up to 35% of a film's business in Denver. It hosted many 70mm presentations over the decades, including the original Star Wars trilogy." It was one of those huge, wiiiide, curved screens so rarely seen with a monstrous sound system. When they were flying in the ditch the wide screen wrapped so far around you felt as if you were in it with them. After the movie was over everyone leaving the lot in their cars were juiced and whipping around on Hampden and I-25 as if they were fighting for The Alliance. It was so large it is now being turned into two apt. buildings with 417 units.
Thats sad its gone now, that would have been great to see in that theater. I saw it in our small town theater, a big old screen in a theater that had been there since the 20's. We used to go in after the bar closed and play poker on the stage and listen to the sound system, or watch a movie. I really miss theaters.
The Jawa transporter is left over from stuff abandoned by a mining consortium that tried to make Tatooine pay off. They used them to transport large quantities of ore. When they went broke, they abandoned the transporter crawlers, which were taken over by Jawas, with each one becoming home gor one Jawa clan.
Oh that makes sense.
Remember the empire is everywhere in the galaxy it's not Just the deathstar ..that was just a super weapon they had
I love the way C3-PO was panicking when Luke got back and offering his parts to fix R2-D2 (for all the arguing they do, they are brothers)
Coby was saying she thought they were best friends, and I was like "welll, best friends and an old married couple and siblings, really."
A lot of first time viewers assume storm troopers suck at shooting. But Obi-wan said earlier "only storm troopers are this precise" with the Jawa Tank. So they were missing very precisely on purpose to allow them to get away so they could track them to the base on Vader's orders.
It’s refreshing to see you noticing Lucas’ retconned CGI effects. Many other reactors just make comments like, “I didn’t realize they had such good special effects in the 70s.”
"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away".
"Is that Earth?" Hilarious. :)
I’ve seen it so many times.
Yes, for all the jagoffs who insist that Star Wars is sci-fi first and foremost as opposed to fantasy, show me where Earth factors into its universe. 🙄 I'll wait.
can sci-fi not take place in any universe besides our own?
@@westcoast7429 it can, doesn't change the fact that SW is more of a fantasy / fairy tale - that happens to take place in space - than being sci-fi
the pure existence of technological devices doesn’t make it science fiction. it's about the themes the movies focus on. sci-fi stories focus on the effect of science and technology on society... the main question of sci-fi movies is “what would be if we had technology XYZ or scientific knowledge ABC?” in SW futuristic technology exist, but the story is never about said technology and their impact. thematically, SW is fantasy and, at the end of the day, tells us a very classical fairy tale of good versus evil
the same could be said about the dune movies too.. very classical fantasy story as well..
@@crappiefisher1331 Ahhh you never read Dune you would find it full of details about EVERYTHING, Dune cannot be equated with Star Wars at least if you read the book it is far more intellectual than Star Wars can even dream of being. Dune is certainly science fiction in fact it is the science fiction answer to War and Peace.
One of my favourite movie experience moments was when I first watched this in theatres when I was 12 years-pld in 1977. When the Millennium Falcon swooped in out of nowhere in the attack on the Death Star. The entire theater cheered aloud.
Your old
_A long time ago, in a movie theater about 50 miles away ..._
*THERE WAS NO EPISODE TITLE*
The studio didn't think this film would make much money. Lucas was crossing his fingers that it didn't bomb. For all he knew, Lucas was making one standalone movie. "Episode IV" and "A New Hope" were added in later releases, to be in line with the numbering adopted with Episode V.
I first saw _Star Wars_ in 1977, at the Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, US (a city of about 1M). The Indian Hills was one of the last remaining Cinerama theaters in existence (it's long gone, now).
Cinerama was an experimental widescreen format seen in the 1950s and 1960s. It had an extremely curved screen, such that films shot in Cinerama used _three cameras_ and _three projectors_ : one for the center of the screen and one for each side. Everything had to be constantly synchronized so that the film looked normal onscreen.
If you see Cinerama films on DVD/Bluray/streaming today, it often looks distorted on the left and right. This is caused by converting a curved film to a flat screen.
So there I was at the Indian Hills at the tender age of 12 -- the film's precise target demographic. The Indian Hills seated 810 patrons: 662 on the main floor and 148 in the balcony. It was completely packed, as was every screening of _Star Wars_ in every theater in the world, until the film left theaters.
I'd gotten to the theater rather late, forcing me to sit in the center seat of row one.
This turned out to be fantastically good bad luck.
Today, the center of row one is a terrible seat due to parallax distortion. In a theater the size of the Indian Hills, that distortion didn't exist because the screen was far enough away from the seats. However, it was close enough so that it filled my field of view from top to bottom.
The screen was large and curved enough so that it filled my field of view from periphery to periphery.
_Star Wars_ was shot in CinemaScope, a more popular widescreen format that we still see today. While not technically the same as Cinerama, it still lent itself well to that screen.
I watched _Star Wars_ with the film filling my entire field of view from top-to-bottom and side-to-side. I didn't have to turn my head to watch it unless I wanted to, and I usually didn't.
It was an astonishingly immersive experience. Not even IMAX comes close.
Add to that the massive audience reaction that shouldn't be overlooked. It was a shared experience that I've only seen at _Infinity War_ and _Endgame_ on their opening nights, when there were a lot of fans present.
This audience reaction happened at every screening, in every theater, everywhere in the world, until _Star Wars_ left the screens.
Imagine 810 people all cheering, clapping, jumping to their feet, and occasionally crying all at once. The shared experience was amazing, as it fed on itself. No one held back, it just kept growing and growing until the destruction of the Death Star -- which prompted massive roaring from the audience.
The film itself was like nothing put to the screen at that time. While cinematically based on old _Flash Gordon_ and _Buck Rogers_ movie serials of the 1930s, this was a big-budget, big-screen version like nothing anyone had ever seen before.
It completely changed science fiction on the movie screen. Until that time, you occasionally got a good science fiction film, but they tended to be years apart. After _Star Wars_ , there were multiple good science fiction movies every year, a trend that continues to this very day.
There would be no modern _Star Trek_ without _Star Wars_ . _Star Wars_ was such a massive hit for 20th Century-Fox that Paramount quickly looked around and said, "Aha! We have this _Star Trek_ thing that Trekkies are always saying they want more of. Let's make it into a movie!"
Thus _Star Trek - The Motion Picture_ was released in 1979. Without that, there would be no _Star Trek_ today.
_Star Wars_ changed filmmaking from a business perspective. The film grabbed audiences like nothing seen in the entire history of cinema. While _Jaws_ was technically the first summer blockbuster, _Star Wars_ cemented summer as the time to release action-heavy, family-friendly films.
The special effects of _Star Wars_ were utterly innovative, and the tools created by the likes of John Dykstra became commonplace in films that don't even have special effects.
Almost all special effects in the Original Trilogy were achieved either in-camera, with optical effects, miniatures, extremely detailed paintings, or a combination of those techniques. CGI that allows an entire film to be shot on a green screen wasn't even a glimmer in anyone's eye.
In 1977, the most advanced computers were the size of an SUV and didn't have the computing power of your phone. CGI as a primary filmmaking technique wasn't popularized until _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_ in 2004. By then, computing power/square centimeter had skyrocketed exponentially.
The special effects spawned Industrial Light and Magic, a company created and owned by George Lucas. ILM is still in existence today, constantly innovating with new technologies to create visual effects for many, many films and TV series. From it's inception, ILM has been considered the gold standard of VFX companies.
In short, this film was nothing like what had come before. It changed _everything about cinema_ .
And I got to see it with an audience of 810, on a screen so immersive that I got nauseous during the Trench Run.
Hold up. Explain that about Sky Captain again? That movie bombed, even though I liked it. There were plenty of movies that came out before 2004 that used CGI as a primary filmmaking technique, two of them being Star Wars movies. So unless there's a technicality I'm not understanding here, please explain further.
@MeanMrMustard1 _Sky Captain_ bombed, but it was shot 100% on a green screen. There were no sets of any kind. Even things like the cockpits were all green.
Behind-the-scenes interviews with actors routinely show them as frustrated with the entire process because they had absolutely no idea what they were supposed to be reacting to nor interacting with.
Yes, there were films prior to 2004 that made use of green screens, but they still had at least some sets. _Sky Captain_ was all green. Since then, other films have followed suit for certain scenes, but still have at least some sets.
I just meant that _Sky Captain_ marked the first time you could make a movie totally on a green screen with no sets whatsoever.
As a 40-year veteran in computer science, I simply mark that film as the moment when computing reached a new milestone, nothing more. I rather enjoy the film because it's got so many nods and homages to older scifi films.
When Polly is describing the arrival of the giant robots over the phone, her dialog is exactly the same as part of the 1938 _War of the Worlds_ radio broadcast. The robots themselves are nearly identical to those seen in the 1941 Fleischer Brothers Superman cartoon, "The Mechanical Monsters" (though they're much larger). The people pointing to them and the police shooting machine guns at them are nearly shot-for-shot the same as in the cartoon.
The film is Baron Laurence Olivier's final screen appearance, a couple of decades after his death, achieved via CGI and footage from films in his youth.
There's a lot of that in _Sky Captain_ . I understand why it bombed, but it's something I get a kick out of.
So it was just a computing milestone, that's all. CGI had certainly been used before, with _Jurasssic Park_ being its first major milestone. However, _Sky Captain_ was a milestone because it was 100% green screen. 👍
I saw it at the Cooper in Lincoln!
@billolsen4360 I lived in Lincoln. I'm sure I saw it multiple times at the Cooper, too!
Probably also at one of the drive-ins when it reached them. As I'm sure you remember, as kids, our parents took us to the drive-in so they could throw us out of the car to the playground in front of the screen, and probably to watch the movie until it got too cold or the mosquitoes came out.
Ah, the joys of Gen-X! 😁
the lord of the rings movies and star wars prequels used CGI and green screen a lot and it was before 2004. btw that was one of the most common complaints about these movies.
My brain is hardwired at this point to give me chills when I see even the few seconds of the climax that you kept in this edit, just need the three key elements: 1) The glowing torpedoes veering down the shaft 2) just a few notes of John William's score at its bombastic peak 3) Mark Hamill's gasp of relief and lean back in his cockpit. Effects, music, and acting = all time iconic action scene.
I was a military brat living overseas in 1977... we came back stateside on vacation to visit my great grandmother who wasn't going to be around much longer. On a Saturday during that vacation I went and saw StarWars and Smokey And The Bandit back to back at a small town two screen theater. Pretty good Saturday!!
A fun fact I found out only today myself, When Luke, Han, and Chewbacca enter the elevator (in Stormtrooper garb and prisoner), Luke says something "I can hardly see in this thing", Hamill thought the cameras weren't rolling and was actually saying that to Harrison Ford. It became a keeper. I love that stuff. There's less overall fixes and adds than you may think though Lucas did clean up some things that really bothered him. He tweaked each of the films to some degree.........On the Deathstar when Han chases the stormtroopers to a bunker full of them, it was originally just a dead end and the few troopers turned around and chased Han back. The bunker full of troopers makes it more stressful and fun. Enjoy this galaxy, think you will love it.
Oh nice! Your editor edited this scene --- 23:13 --- as it should have been as originally shot back in 1977 but infamously altered in 1997. Kudos to the editor!
Thank you for noticing
@@popcornroulettereactions of course! Seeing that Lucas changed it back in 1997 pissed me off, lol
Ahhh the infamous debate where the only right answer is Han shot first lol
Damn right! Han shot first!
Lol, I was bracing myself for "maclunkey"!
The trench run at the end is based on real events. In WW2 Brittish bombers blew up three German Dams and they had to run a gauntlet of anti aircraft fire to get to the target. Most of the planes never returned. There is a movie called the dam busters about it. Its a classic movie, and worth a watch.
Also, the trench run in that move is shot by shot super similar to the trench run in this film.
Those snooty British bomber pilots were always so damn casual about it too. You can't convince any of them to take credit for doing a fantastic job in WW2...mostly because they only consider their comrades who didn't return from the dogfights as the real heroes.
I love that Coby recognizes that Star Wars is based on old-time serials. As far as having the confidence to start with episode IV. George Lucas wanted to make a six episode serial, but the studio would only back three movies, so he made the last three as there was still enough information for people to understand the story and still feel complete
that smile at 19:42 when Luke says he wants to go to Alderan....thats why these reactions are so beautiful to watch, seeing the joy, the goose bumps, the tears of someone feeling these movies for the first time just brings back all those emotions for all of us who have memorized every line from these movies and so many more. keep it up darling ill be watching Empire after this
7:05 Yes, Anthony Daniels is inside the C-3PO suit and the late Kenny Baker is inside R2-D2 (most of the time).
There's a rumor that Baker left behind R2DooDoo in the costume a couple times just because the director & actors were too worn out after a day of shooting and didn't want to add a bathroom break cuz it was really late in the evening,. 🤨
The Emperor is the top baddie. They talk about him during the conference meeting where Vader chokes one guy. Moff Tarkin is the head of the Death Star and one of the Emperor's top military commanders. You hit it on the head, Vader isn't military, he's more like the Emperor's attack dog, or lead henchman. Lord Vader is technically not military, more like the Speaker of the House (lol).
A better simile is that Lord Vader is to Emperor Palpatine like how a Mob enforcer is to a crime family's Godfather.
@@pauld6967 Great analogy! That's what I was going for and you did it better! Well done.
@@minnesotajones261 Thank you. I am glad to have been of help.
So, imagine Vader as a dignitary coming aboard a vessel. The commander of the ship is still in charge of the vessel, and therefore has some command over the visiting dignitary while on board. But, they are of separate command structures overall (within The Empire).
Darth Vader is the Sheriff of Nottingham for those who remember another famous swashbuckler the Adventures of Robin Hood which was also cited as an inspiration for Star Wars.
Peter Mayhew a 7-foot-3-inch Englishman is in the Chewbacca costume he sadly passed away in 2019.
A New Hope 1977 is my favourite Star Wars film.Also personally I think Coby and The Golden-Haired Girl are the two prettiest girls on this channel.
You have to not overthink the movie. It’s a kids movie really…made for kids. It’s simplistic and fun and that’s all it’s supposed to be. It’s amazingly awesome.
George Lucas really spent some time trying to make this an old fashioned hero's journey. He studied Joseph Campbell's work on old myths and the elements that make them up.
He also clearly took inspiration from Japanese samurai films. Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress" in particular. If you watch it, you'll immediately see where C-3PO and R2-D2 came from. 😄
The exact relationship between Luke and his uncle and aunt is made clear in the prequels.
Clearly, you already know that you're watching a revised version. I don't mind it as much as others. The effect of the stun ray on princess Leia in the beginning was as it always was, I think. Maybe cleaned up a little. However, the entry into the Mos Eisley spaceport was greatly expanded, clearly to make it look like a city. There was no overhead view in the original, and we saw very few buildings. I'm not sure if there was some model work, or if it's all CGI. Clearly, all the creatures who populate the streets are CGI.
And you weren't the only one who got confused about who was getting blown up in the final battle. Denis Lawson played Wedge, the other remaining pilot, but when he saw the movie, he saw an explosion that he thought was his death, so he was surprised to be asked to come back for The Empire Strikes Back. 😊
Coby, please don't read the rest of my comment. It regards spoilers.
Yngvarfo, don't hint at future spoilers. You don't have to tell her certain things will be revealed later. She doesn't know what to expect so let her enjoy the ride blind, like many of us did.
@@MeanMrMustard1 - Considering that there were several actual spoilers here concerning things like Jabba and The Emperor, and she did ask the question several times, I thought it better to just say that it would be addressed later, and so leaving it dead, rather than letting her question be left dangling and possibly be actually spoiled later like other questions have been.
There is an actor, Kenny Baker, inside the Artoo suit *some* of the time. Other times it is entirely mechanical and controlled from offstage. If Artoo is traveling, its a remote controlled version. This version generated bloopers as it occasionally went off on its own, and frequently fell over.
Threepio is Anthony Daniels, who wore the suit and later did voiceover as well, dubbing over himself in post.
Why do people put Artoo instead of R2?
@@robogreek3157For the same reason they say Threepeo instead of 3P0.
24:25 in the original filming of the scene, Jabba was just a human, but the scene was ultimately cut from the movie because it didn't really serve any purpose (we already learned everything we need to know from the Greedo scene in the cantina). reintroducing the scene with a CG Jabba is one of those things Lucas did just because he could at the cost of solving the "who is Jabba" mystery way too early. but at least it gave us the line "Jabba, you are a wonderful human being."
i grew up watching all the original star wars movies at least once or more a week as a kid growing up in the 00s and the films are so iconic.
i get goosebumps every time i hear the intro
Obi-Wan Kenobi's name isn't really Ben, it was just an alias he used when he hid on Tattooine after the Fall of the Republic and to watch over Luke. This will be explained in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, so I won't spoil it here.
coby + star wars? priceless
In case you missed it, Coby I've watched a few New Hope reactions. You did a fantastic job, this was really fun watching it with you.
Also, don't be afraid of watching popular movies. We watch you because we trust you and your taste in these movies. So be at ease, and May the Force be with you. 😘
17:42 You are born with the Force (called force sensitivity) but to be good at it you must be training and focus.
Unless you're a Disney character...
@@FuckRUclipsAndGoogle Hahaha Yeah! 😁🙂👍
I won't spoil force sensitivity for her. Just wait for the prequels, it will all be explained there.
@@kevinmoore2929 Definitely no need to get too into the details, but the concept does help explain things like Vader's "the force is strong with this one" comment even from the beginning.
The music when Obi-Wan remembers his name still gives me chills.
This is the Stars Wars people love. Character building. You said you thought they started out together because most movies start out powerful and a team these days. But this, character building, team building. It was part of the experience.
"Do we go to earth?" That was answered just before the title of the movie: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."
Lotta people in the comments assuming that just because the first scene we see is in a galaxy far far away, that they couldn't travel to another one later :P
(Yeah yeah I know canonically it's all one galaxy, just sayin, this is space fantasy and they didn't rule it out within the film!)
Carrie Fisher was 18 during the making of this movie. Harrison Ford and Carrie had a fling while making this movie.
@Cosmo-Kramer when it came out she was 19
One of my favorite Sci Fi movies ever made!
It was nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture but won for
Best Visual Effects
Best Film Editing
Best Costume Design
Best Production Design
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Effects
Best Original Score.
It made $777 million dollars ($2 billion dollars today) against a $10 million dollar budget.
Believe it or not, the cancelled 1975 DUNE adaptation was one of the major inspirations for the movie, as well as the western and samurai films.
I was so mad that it lost Best Picture to "Annie Hall."
LOVE seeing the enthusiasm of someone watching it anew and with an open mind and heart about it, willing to give it a chance.
I saw this at a drive in when I was six. They still used the clip on window speakers. Between the movie, drive in, staying up late it was an awesome night.
It was a delight watching with you. I'm gonna have to sign up for more...
Artoo has such a fowl mouth they beeped all his dialog
Artoo?? Wtf
@@robogreek3157Different way of saying R2, just like Threepeo is used to refer to C3P0.
@@Parallax-3D but why? Isn't R2 easier
The reason the banthas (the sandpeople's mounts) look so much more convincing and cooler than the "dewback lizards" (the stormtrooper mounts) is the original dewbacks (which looked awesome, IMO) have been degraded with the "updated" special effects. Personally, I don't know anyone who saw the original films in the theaters (as I did) who thinks the updated effects are anything but a desecration -- either superfluous, adding nothing, or totally breaking the spell of the original films.
I don't like the updates either.
Agreed. Saw ANH in the theatre and the "updated" version as well. Not an improvement, the original effects were awesome as they were.
Yeah, the updates feel pretty alien. In Ep. 4, it's not all that bad, I can easily ignore it, but what I really hate is the extended scene in Ep. 6 in Jabba's palace with the CGI singer that's screeching around and doing her little show for Jabba. That's horrible, it's embarrassing, and it totally interrupts the whole story. I'd like to go back to the originals, but sadly, I only had the before CGI version on VHS (what I like though is replacing the actor playing Anakin with Hayden Christensen at the end of 6; Lots of people don't approve of that, but I like that they did this).
@@claudiag8823 -- 100% agree: Return of the Jedi suffers the most from the "updates" (then A New Hope, with Empire the least degraded by the added/enhanced scenes, IMO). I hate the insertion of bad-CGI-Jabba in Star Wars IV, but yes, the new & "improved" all-Muppet/CGI band in Jabba's palace (in Jedi) is beyond cringe.
Most maddening, personally: I have DVDs with the original films remastered -- minus the 1990s additions -- but no matter what player I used, they appear tiny, tiny in the center of my screen, the size of a half-sheet of paper. Feels like a damn conspiracy to prevent me from enjoying some of my favorite films of all time!
@@jamesodonnell3636 I have those discs too, discovered that some DVD players will play them as anamorphic widescreen on the *component* output.
Saw this in the theater when it came out, first day. We sat on the theater floor in line for 1½ showings of the movie, playing cards, because we had tickets for the later show which was at 10:00 p.m. I think. We weren't even sure we were going to be able to get tickets that day. It was four of us - me and my girlfriend, my sister and her boyfriend.
Showtime arrived and we watched the previous crowd coming out of the theater, trying to get a clue from their faces about how good the movie was. Lots of smiles and jabber but that was about it.
We sat down in the theater in the perfect spot. The studio fanfare plays over the normal sound system, and then silence.
Then CRASH, the insane loud orchestra playing over a sound system we hadn't heard before, with the tympani and cymbals and horns, the instant cut to black space and stars everywhere, no action at all, and then the text scroll starts from the bottom and we're all reading and trying to keep up with the text, not understanding anything about what's going on. Then the ship flying over, lasers blazing - sound everywhere.
Experiencing that movie was magic right from the beginning. Nothing else had ever been anything like it except maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey 9 years earlier, which was a much slower and quieter movie. At the end, the entire audience stood and applauded and cheered. We knew something special had happened. Movies were different now.
No, not everyone can be a Jedi, first they have to be born with the capability to feel and use it and then train to tap into it. There are also varying degrees of how much power they can access, how much they can draw from it, meaning that the weaker you are in it the harder youd have to train to touch the power, while those more powerful in the force are able to more easily tap into it and even do things without even know you're doing it, as well as just being stronger and having better results, i.e. pushing or lifting things higher/faster/further.
Jabba was added, was originally a human in a cut scene. Cgi was used to add Jabba in the re-release. Han shot first, Greedo didn't shoot in the original. Planet explosion, some fighter sequences, the rest is original. Those are the biggest changes of note. imo
Yup. In the original, Greedo was aiming his pistol, unaware of Han reaching for his holster under the table. Then, suddenly… bam! Greedo drops to the table.
There were several versions, as George kept changing it, of Greedo and Han shooting simultaneously. None of them made sense.
This scene seems to have become a bit of an obsession for Mr. Lucas. There wasn't anything wrong with the first version where Han just blasts Greedo with no warning. But Lucas felt that this made Han look bad. Maybe a little, but that only enhanced his character arc. So Lucas changed it to Greedo shooting first, but hitting the wall about a foot above and 2 feet right of Han's head. That looked absurd, because Greedo was supposedly a bounty hunter and the gun was about 3 feet from Han. Then he had a version where Han seems to unnaturally move his head, as if to explain how Greedo missed by so much. That one looked unnatural. Then he added a version where Greedo say "MAKLUNKY" before they both shoot. I don't even know what that was about. @@visionaryventures12
"...The rest is original..."
Tons of background stuff was added with CGI. Like 9:46 "is he an updated graphic?"
You are far too young to understand but in 1977, this movie was absolutely groundbreaking. The special effects, practical though they were, were like nothing anyone had ever seen. It was a true cultural phenomenon and those of us who were around to see it in '77were forever changed by it.
She's 40
Originally the only episode and called just Star Wars, "Episode IV A New Hope" was added later when the franchise expanded to six and then nine episodes. Surprisingly, Darth Vader escapes despite no sequel planned at the time.
Oh I'm sure Lucas was hoping for the success, that's why he left the ending opened to expand it later
yes the title was added later but we knew, early on, that Lucas was contemplating a series, and that this movie was in media res, even if the story wasn't fleshed out yet.
by the time the first three were done, it was pretty well accepted they were to be the middle set of a nine movie arc.
Star Wars was always planned to be bigger, but Lucas was worried he wouldn’t get a chance to make another film if the first one failed. That’s why he skipped to the middle of the story.
I've always loved playing beloved movies for my family and friends and watching their emotions running through the films.
I have surprised myself though, with how much joy I just got out of watching a stranger experience this movie for the first time..... It's kind of made my day.
I've just found your channel. Your comments, questions, perspective and insight had me smiling and grinning the whole time. My dad took my sisters and I to see Star Wars in the theatre when we were young. I feel so lucky to have been a kid as these movies were released. This is the first video of yours I've seen and am going straight to your Empire Strikes Back. (If it matters, I hardly ever comment but i just felt I had to.) Please keep it up.
I'm cooking while i watch, I can't wait for you to meet Yoda and the Ewocks(sp?) 🙂
May the Force be with you.
Here we GOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Oh, and a light saber vs your fingernails....you'd win 'hands' down every time.
Force sensitivity is like musical talent. You either have it or not, but if you have it, you can train it and learn to use it.
WTF im speechless Coby never watch Star wars? Welcome to our Universe of Star Wars this is going to be awsome watching Coby discover all the characters and storys. Cant wait for more. Great reaction like always.
Im very happy that you started watching Star Wars with a New Hope. Watching the prequel movies first, ruins every surprise that the original trilogy has.
Bail Organa was on Alderaan when the Death Star blew it up, so he died with his wife and the rest of the citizens of the planet. This is confirmed in a scene in Rouge One: A Star Wars Story which is set shortly before A New Hope.
She called Darth Vader’s tie fighter a McNuggets box. 😂 too funny!
Mvp reactor comment right there
Which planet 🌍 hasn’t heard of this universal 🎥 movie?
Alderaan 🤭🤣
@@arkturusprod1991 TOO SOON 😥
😁 😂 Great come back on that.
The bizarre/annoying thing about the effects updates is that the original - Academy Award-winning - effects have aged far better than the 1990s era CGI. Lucas took all that amazing work from the 1970s, and finger-painted shitty CGI all over it.
We'll let you off this time, but no human must talk whilst John Willams' Binary Sunset theme is playing.
I was 11 yrs old in 1977. I saw this opening week 6 times and 12 times that summer. It's impossible to explain how this story and the aesthetics/effects were mind-blowing at the time.
So far in the reaction world, I have seen one person watch the movies in their pre-"Special Edition" form. At this point, that isn't to be expected but that is the best way to get a good understanding of the original impact of the films. Most wouldn't think there was anything inferior about the original visual effects without changes pointed out to them.
It's a shame that there has never been an official "theatrical cut" release of the original trilogy on DVD/Blu-ray. The practical effects of the original cut hold up better than the CGI additions to the special editions. I like many others would gladly give Disney my money for a de-specialized original trilogy. I guess they hate money.
I have the Despecialized Edition of the trilogy on discs and they were hard to come by.