Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

By: Rob DeCamp

            Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, directed by George Lucas, is a famous science-fiction trilogy that takes place in a galaxy far far away. Episode IV is actually the first of seven movies. The film opens on a big Rebel space shuttle that is being attacked by members of the Empire, commanded by sith lord Darth Vador.  The movie then switches onto the life a young boy, Luke Skywalker. Luke lives on the planet of Tatooine and is befriended by Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO and R2-D2. Luke and his newly made friends go on a mission to save a leader of the Rebellion, Princess Leia, who has been captured by Darth Vador and the Emperor on the Death Star, a massive space command center.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MftSEu4vgg0

            In the opening scene of the movie, the viewer sees the Rebellion space shuttle being attacked by Darth Vador and members of the Empire. In this scene when Darth Vador makes his grand entrance, the music switches from the action/gun fighting music, to more dramatic, evil music. This scene is definitely trying to add a dramatic side to the story. The music shows that Darth Vador is the bad guy because of the way the horns are playing and because of how the music changes when he makes his entrance. The music also becomes louder when he enters, to show dramatic affect and significance. This scene shows the audience that the Empire is powerful and obviously winning the battle because of all the Rebellion soldiers that are shot and killed. When Darth Vador enters the music almost conveys a lack of hope for the rebellion, showing that the Empire is just too powerful for them. The arguments presented in this scene are that Darth Vador is the bad guy and that the Empire cannot be stopped. I think the arguments are convincing because the music portrays that Darth Vador is intimidating.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gpXMGit4P8 

            As the movie goes on, it switches over to life of young Luke Skywalker. In this scene Obi-Won Kenobi has recently confronted Luke about the space droid he has recently purchased, R2-D2. When Luke is repairing R2, he comes across a message from Princess Leia asking for Obi-Wan’s help. After Obi-Wan asks Luke for help we come to the scene when Luke is looking out into the distance at the two suns. The music playing in the background is different than the music that plays when Darth Vador enters. This music is more soft and a more comforting pace. When the camera switches over the Luke, the audience sees that he is under distress and does not know what to do. The audience begins to feel sympathetic for Luke. Luke also seems lost in this scene, which allows the audience to feel for him. The arguments being presented in this scene are that Luke is lost and does not know what to do. I also see that Luke is sad because he feels trapped on his home planet of Tatooine but he is also scared to leave because he has never done so before. This is an important seen because this allows the audience to join Luke and Obi-Wan’s side.

            The writer of the music in this film, John Williams, does a wonderful job of presenting arguments and allowing the audience to create their own answers. He also does a great job of causing the audience to generate emotions. If you have not seen any of these films, I highly recommend it!