The Success of Star Wars IV-VI: Discussion

What do Tunisia, the California Redwoods, and the Hardangerjøkulen glacier in Norway have in common? Certainly not topography. Visually, they couldn’t be more different, which is exactly why George Lucas chose them as settings for each of his original Star Wars films.

That’s just one aspect of today’s discussion about the original Star Wars movies, one of my all-time-favorite trilogies. But while I love so much about them, the films aren’t flawless. That’s why we’ll be looking at what worked and what didn’t work, both in content and style. Plus, we have to talk about the music. We simply must. In fact, let’s start there.

WHAT WORKED MUSICALLY

John Williams’ Magic

I was 2 weeks old when Return of the Jedi hit theaters. My parents thought it would be a good idea to take their firstborn infant to see the conclusion to this cultural phenomenon on the big screen, and consequently my dad spent a good portion of the movie out in the lobby. I may have cried about some of the corny lines or maybe the death of that ewok, but I’ll tell you one thing: I sure wasn’t crying about the music. In fact, that must have been where my John Williams obsession began.

The man is a genius. Everything he touches turns to gold. I mean it! Have you ever considered what Star Wars would be like without John Williams as the score’s composer? I shudder to think of it. So how did George Lucas win the musician jackpot? He owes it all to Steven Spielberg. Spielberg had just finished working with Williams on the score for Jaws, and it was brilliant. At Spielberg’s suggestion, Lucas hired “Johnny” Williams to compose the music for Star Wars, and the rest is history.

Songs Too Good Not to Mention

While I could (and may) write a whole article just about the music of Star Wars, today I’ll have to settle for merely mentioning the supreme awesomeness of a few of the songs. Most iconically, there’s the Main Title theme at the beginning of the film as the yellow-toned story rolls into the distant stars. Even as you read that sentence, you’re hearing the song in your head. The variety of attitude within that song alone is brilliant. But then there’s the Imperial March. I mean, who else could have come up with such an unpredictable series of chords to yield that imposing, militaristic theme?

The Cantina Band song is pure fun—a jazzy little gem in the midst of classical orchestration. And I simply must acknowledge Han Solo and the Princess. The tension and beauty of the theme is a perfect encapsulation of their dynamic, and I may or may not (but definitely did) walk down the aisle to a string quartet version of this song. I wish I had time to talk about The Throne Room, Luke and Leia, Parade of the Ewoks, and so many more, but I’ll leave it alone for now. Just promise me you’ll give the scores a listen, and soon!

WHAT WORKED STORY-WISE

Plot and Quotes

While there are so many groundbreaking aspects of Star Wars, the story isn’t completely new. That’s not a criticism; it’s a fact about Lucas’s strategy and success. As I mentioned last week, Lucas used Joseph Campbells The Hero with a Thousand Faces to organize his plot for A New Hope, and that’s part of what made it so great. And it may have seemed like an odd choice for him to begin such a sweeping tale by following the antics of two bumbling droids, but that was a tactic he learned from one of Kurosawa’s films in which the story is told from the perspective of two peasants. C-3PO and R2-D2 aren’t heroes or villains; they’re melodramatic and plucky (respectively), and their hapless plight gives us a reference point in the grand saga. As much as I’d like to be Princess Leia and you’d like to be Han Solo, let’s face it: we’d be one of the droids. And that’s all right.

But Lucas and his screenwriters can take full credit for the quotable lines throughout the films, especially those coming from Han Solo. I mean, you can’t do better than, “You could use a good kiss,” “Never tell me the odds,” “I have a bad feeling about this,” and, “Fly casual.” But my favorite line is from A New Hope when Han is dressed as a storm trooper and is trying to bluff his way through the ruckus in the detention block. “Everything’s perfectly all right now. We’re fine…we’re all fine here…now…thank you. How are you?” The acting, the timing, the expressions—it’s a home run.

Sequel Successes

While The Empire Strikes Back is the darkest of the trilogy, it’s the favorite of many fans. There’s great tension between Han and Leia, we get to meet Yoda, everyone loves a good training montage like we see in Dagoba, Han becomes a lovely piece of wall decor in Cloud City, and of course there is the big revelation of parentage. Visually, Lucas did a great job of choosing contrasting settings, not just for Empire but for all three films. Deserts, swamps, glaciers, forests, asteroids, stars…it’s a feast for the eyes.

But my personal favorite really is Return of the Jedi. I can’t put my finger on exactly what makes it the best to me, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the Ewoks and the forest of Endor. I’m a lover of big trees and small critters, so even though there’s mixed opinion about the Ewoks, I’m still a fan. But the film also features such wonders as the strangulation of Jaba, the revelation of Luke and Leia’s relationship, the growth of Han and Leia’s love, the faceoff between Luke and his father, and the ultimate redemption of Vader. Others might cite a certain metal bikini as an important aspect of this film, but I’m pretty neutral about that. I think she’s more attractive dressed as a bounty hunter threatening Jaba to save Han.

WHAT WORKED TECHNICALLY

Those who were old enough not to cry through the theater release of these films will definitely remember the striking contrast between Star Wars’ audio/visual quality and, say, every movie before it. Sadly, I can’t fully appreciate that contrast because I grew up after other movies had begun incorporating similar effects. But by all accounts, Lucas’s use of new visual and audio technologies had thrust Star Wars into a league of its own. The sound effects painstakingly recorded and edited; the moving cameras to capture the perfect angle; and especially the ability to portray high-speed space chases, explosions, and battles were all passionately micromanaged by Lucas, the mother hen of all things technical.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK AS WELL

Edits

But to a perfectionist like Lucas, even this was not good enough. As technology improved throughout the years (with much thanks to his own companies), Lucas went back and tampered with the original trilogies, sharpening the quality and—controversially—tweaking content. And thus began the fan criticism over things like the unfortunate musical number in Jaba’s palace and the infamous “Han shot first” argument.

Was Lucas right to go back and fix what had already been released successfully and loved unanimously? Should he have stopped after sharpening the A/V quality? Would he have done well to simply apply his new technologies to the prequel films instead of imposing them on the original classics? Well, it’s not my place to say, and I certainly won’t drop any hints about my true feelings. Those were just hypothetical questions.

Story

There are, of course, some discrepancies between the original and the prequel trilogies. For example, when Obi-Wan seems not to recognize the droids, I’m surprised R2 didn’t zap him with his little lightning bolts. I mean, after all they’d been through together! Obi-Wan also says that Luke’s father had wanted him to have his old light saber, but last time Obi-Wan was with Anakin, the Jedi was slicing off his Padawan’s legs and leaving him to burn in lava. No sentimental handoff of family heirlooms there.

But here’s the thing: Lucas didn’t realize he’d be allowed to make more than one film out of his story, due to lack of funding and support. This, as he mentions in an interview, caused him to use up a lot of his good plot stuff in A New Hope. He killed Obi-Wan and blew up the Death Star. But is it just me, or does it seems like he was kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel for a crisis in Return of the Jedi? I mean, another Death Star? And with a similar weakness? At least he tried to up the ante (and the Ani?) by placing Vader and the Emperor on board.

WRAPPING IT UP

Anyway, as I re-watched Episodes IV-VI to prepare for these articles, I took plenty of notes. (Leave it to me to turn fun into homework.) I noticed other small issues like some corny acting, the stilted dialogue between Vader and Obi-Wan during their duel, and Yoda’s strange shift of personality in Dagoba, but I don’t want to nitpick an otherwise fantastic trilogy. (We’ll save that for the prequels. …Juuust joking.) Instead, I want to celebrate the success of Lucas’s fabulous films while simply acknowledging a few weak areas. Besides, there are plenty of other geeks out there who list very specific issues, so there’s no need to rehash it.

For now, I’ll leave you with this thought: despite any problems with the films, the original Star Wars trilogy will always be one of the most influential, groundbreaking, and enjoyable sagas of all time. I heartily applaud Lucas for his vision, and so should you. Now go make some popcorn and start watching Episodes I-III so you’ll be ready for the next installment!

Today’s Question: Do you have a favorite quote from the original trilogy?

Sources:
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/john-williams-and-star-wars/