(W) George Lucas, Lwarence
Kasdan
The phenomenal success of George Lucas's first Star
Wars trilogy quite simply revolutionized the cinema; but what sets
Lucas's films apart from their legion of imitators is the quality
of their screenplays. Lucas originally intended this trilogy to be
a single film, but the epic scope of the story (combining hi-tech,
sci-fi cinephilia with elements of Arthurian myth and mysticism)
demanded that it be split into three. The first panel of the
triptych is A New Hope.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, young Luke
Skywalker leads a dull, isolated existence on his uncle's
homestead. One day, two androids, C3PO and R2D2, show up bearing a
message from Princess Leia, the leader of the rebel forces engaged
in a struggle against the vicious tryranny of the Empire - as
personified by the rasping presence of Darth Vader. The message
leads Luke to realize his heritage as a Jedi
Knight.
He sets out on a wild adventure across the galaxy and,
together with Leia and rogue pilot Han Solo, attempts to thwart the
Empire by destroying its menacing base of operations: the Death
Star.
