It is a period of Total War. Republic ships, fighting alone against the unstoppable fleets of the Galactic Empire, have won their first victory.
During the battle, Republic spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empires planned invasion of the neutral Confederation, and the location of a secret weapon of unimaginable destructive power.
Pursued by the Empire's forces, Captain Organa races home on her starship, custodian of the information that may save the Republic and bring peace and freedom to the Galaxy...
During the battle, Republic spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empires planned invasion of the neutral Confederation, and the location of a secret weapon of unimaginable destructive power.
Pursued by the Empire's forces, Captain Organa races home on her starship, custodian of the information that may save the Republic and bring peace and freedom to the Galaxy...
I couldn't imagine what it must've been like to see that crawl, nearly 40 years ago now, and not knowing the massive success and cultural icon that it would unleash on the world. Ridley Scot had undoubtedly found further success after the first three movies, but there's no denying the impact his first project as a director had on the British film industry and entertainment in general.
Scott on the set of the Tantive, the crucial first scene of Star Wars I.
While films before it went over to America, Star Wars of all films managed to somehow drag America to Europe, establishing a more permanent bridge across the Atlantic and even broke Hollywood's grasp on big-budget film in America. Odd for a film that (at least for the first film), basically told the story of Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union during 1940-1941, except in space. Maybe it was the effects, or the score, or the writing and characters, but there were few places on Earth that didn't get sucked in to the tale.
Now, with the latest series of 414 Squadron finishing on the BBC and a new main trilogy on the way, and the occasional thread discussing a British Trek, I thought all the talk and pondering could be put to use on a scenario: What if Star Wars had been made by an American director, with an American writer, studio, and at least a good deal of the cast? Who would be good candidates for the film in 1977? What would the core differences be in the first film? How might the franchise spawned by it differ? (Scott once said that he had wanted to make at least one film set before Star Wars I, there's an idea for a difference. Yeah, yeah, the 'Rise of Order' novels tell the story of the Empire's birth, but I'm talking proper films here.) How about impact on the industry, does 'foreign film' get resigned to a corner of the store, drowned out by 'local' work?
And even if we can't make solid predictions, it's nice to think where other directors would take the core idea