Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (originally titled Star Wars) is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by George Lucas. It was the first film to be released in the Star Wars saga, but it is the fourth part of the series by chronology of events. Among fans, it is commonly referred to as ANH.
Nineteen years after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Luke Skywalker is thrust into the struggles of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived in seclusion for years on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke’s Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire. Unlike Episodes I-III, this film, along with the two films that follow, are mostly focused on the events of one particular sector of the galaxy, rather than the intersteller perspective that the first three films take.
The film was released on May 25, 1977, and was re-released, sometimes with significant changes, in its later releases. Most notable was its 1997 Special Edition theatrical re-release, which was heavily modified with CGI effects and re-done scenes. A 3-D release is planned for 2007.
A novelization was written in 1976, and a radio drama was produced by, and broadcast on, the National Public Radio in 1981. The popularity of the 1977 release also spawned the little known Star Wars Holiday Special, which was shown on TV in 1978, and featured characters from A New Hope.
The opening crawl reveals that the galaxy is in a state of civil war. The Rebel Alliance has stolen secret plans to the Galactic Empire's secret weapon, the Death Star. (The Rebel Alliance operated an efficient and widespread intelligence network of Bothan spies.) Through this network, the Alliance learned of the construction of the Death Star, an extremely powerful space station capable of annihilating entire planets with its superlaser.
Rebel prisoners aboard the Death Star managed to riot (Death Star Uprising) and got control of a technical readout while Imperial-turned-Rebel Kyle Katarn retrieved further plans (Battle of Danuta). From there they beamed it to Leia's ship, the Tantive IV, while the 501st Legion, under Darth Vader, tracked Rebels to Polis Massa (Battle of Polis Massa), however this was only a set-up for the Empire. Even so, the Rebels, who fought with the defensive upper hand, were crushed. Imperial forces soon discovered the true plot and the Star Destroyer Devastator, under the command of Darth Vader himself, captured the Tantive IV in a space battle above Tatooine (Attack on Tantive IV), where Leia had been trying to reach. She hoped to enlist the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was a fugitive Jedi in hiding on the planet and was watching over the young Luke Skywalker.
Film
Stormtroopers of the 501st take control of the ship, and Darth Vader arrives to assess the damage. Vader is outraged and questions Captain Antilles, whom he eventually strangles and kills. Hiding on the ship, Leia is spotted by part of the 501st, and is shot with a stun blast. Before taking her prisoner, Vader questions her as well. However, before being detained, Princess Leia is able to record a holographic message and give it to R2-D2 to take to Kenobi. Vader orders a command be sent to the Imperial Senate on Coruscant that the ship was destroyed, with everyone on board killed. The droids R2-D2 and C-3PO use an escape pod which brings them to the planet Tatooine.
On Tatooine, the droids are captured by Jawas while wandering the desert. They come into the possession of Owen Lars and his nephew, Luke Skywalker. Luke accidentally triggers part of the holographic message, causing him to suspect that the R2-D2 may have been stolen, and that it really belongs to an "Obi-Wan Kenobi". Returning to his garage before nightfall, Luke discovers that R2-D2 has escaped.
The next day, Luke and C-3PO set out to find R2-D2. After finding him, they are attacked by Sandpeople, but rescued by the arrival of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke and the droids are brought to Obi-Wan's hut, where Obi-Wan tells of his days as a Jedi Knight and reveals to Luke that his father was a Jedi as well. When Luke asks how his father died, Obi-Wan says he was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader. He then talks about the mysterious energy field called the Force. Finally, Obi-Wan and Luke see the holographic message from Princess Leia, who asks for Obi-Wan's assistance to take the droid and the plans to the planet Alderaan. Obi-Wan invites Luke to come with him to Alderaan, but Luke refuses, citing his responsibilities at home. On Coruscant, the Emperor permanently dissolves the Galactic Senate, giving regional governors direct control of their regions. (The Senate had been slowly becoming just a figurehead in recent years, with regional governors growing in power, but this final step could only come with the completion of the Death Star and the power it represents.)
On Tatooine, Obi-Wan, Luke and the droids discover dead Jawas and scattered Bantha tracks. Obi-Wan suspects that Imperial Stormtroopers ambushed the Jawas in an attempt to find the droids. Realizing that the troopers likely learned who the droids were sold to, Luke races back to the Lars homestead, only to find his family murdered and his home destroyed. He returns to Obi-Wan and decides to come to Alderaan and become a Jedi.
The group goes to Mos Eisley Spaceport, where they encounter a smuggler named Han Solo who agrees to transport them on his ship, the Millennium Falcon. As the old Jedi and his companions make their way to the ship, they are attacked by Stormtroopers. They hastily board the Millennium Falcon and make a speedy launch. After leaving the planet's surface and dodging attacks, the ship and its crew escape.
On the Death Star, Leia remains imprisoned and has resisted interrogation. However, when threatened with the destruction of her home planet of Alderaan, she discloses that the Rebel Base is on Dantooine. Grand Moff Tarkin destroys Alderaan anyway, as a display of the Death Star's power. Later, when it is discovered that the Rebel Base on Dantooine is deserted, Tarkin orders the Princess executed.
En route to Alderaan, Obi-Wan instructs Luke in the ways of the Force. When they arrive at where Alderaan should be, the crew discovers only a hail of debris and a moon-sized space station - the Death Star. A tractor beam takes hold of the Falcon and pulls it into the Death Star. Inside the Death Star, Obi-Wan attempts to disable the tractor beam holding them there. The rest of the group learns that Leia is being held in a nearby cell awaiting execution. They make their way through the station and rescue the Princess.
After switching off the tractor beam, Kenobi encounters Vader, and a lightsaber duel ensues. The duel distracts the guards long enough to allow Luke and his companions to board the Falcon. Once he sees that they are safely near the ship, Obi-Wan allows himself to be struck down by Vader, which causes Kenobi's body to vanish, and allows him to become one with the Force. Luke screams in horror, gaining the attention of the Stormtroopers, who attack Luke and company. Obi-Wan advises Luke through the Force to run into the Falcon.
The Millennium Falcon escapes, fighting off Imperial starfighters along the way. Unknown to them, the Empire allowed the escape in order to track their ship to the Rebel Base. They finally reach the Rebel hideout, where they pass the plans on to the Rebel leadership. The Rebels retrieve the Death Star plans and make preparations to assault it. The tactic involves flying along a canyon-sized groove in the station's surface, then firing a torpedo down a narrow ventilation shaft. The torpedo will travel to the main reactor and start a chain reaction that will destroy the entire station.
Luke and a group of Rebel fighters begin their assault on the approaching Death Star. They make it down to the canyon, with Vader in pursuit. As Luke makes his run down the canyon, he hears the voice of Kenobi, instructing him to use the Force. Vader closes in on Luke. Just as he is about to deliver a fatal blow on Luke's X-Wing, Han Solo and Chewbacca fly in and fire a shot at, and destroy the fighter of one of Vader's wingmen. Panicked, the second wingman attempts to take evasive action, but his fighter hits Vader's and sends it flying out of control into deep space, while the wingmen's own fighter crashes into the Death Star. Luke, hearing Obi-Wan's voice, turns off his targeting computer of the Rebel fighter, and successfully launches torpedoes down the shaft, destroying the Death Star and scoring a huge victory for the Rebellion against the Empire.
In a civil ceremony at the Massassi Temple rebel base on Yavin IV, Luke and Han are awarded medals by Leia for their valor in the battle. [top]
Copyrights and trademarks for copyrighted material displayed on this website but not owned by Edge Portals are held by their respective owners and their use is allowed under the fair use clause of the US Copyright Law.
