Star Wars

So, here it is. There’s no need to be patient any more. George Lucas has finally decided to join the rest of us in the 21st Century and release his original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy on DVD – and I’m sure it won’t come as a major surprise to any of you that it’s been worth the wait.

It’s hard to imagine there might still be anyone out there who’s unfamiliar with the basic storyline behind this first movie in the series but, just in case, here’s a brief run-down. R2D2 and C3PO are two robots – one a midget, one a bit camp – who escape from The Death Star, a Russell Grant-sized war ship helmed by intergalactic sod Darth Vader (David Prowse, with vocal assistance from James Earl Jones). They end up on a remote desert planet, where adventure-seeking 70’s-haired scamp Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) takes them under his wing. Upon hearing from them that Vader has kidnapped space-toff Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Luke teams up with the insufferably wise Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and smirking woookiee-loving mercenary Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and sets off on the rescue mission of all rescue missions. Huzzah!!

Along the way they go for a paddle in a vat of inter-planetary waste, dress up as Darth’s henchman, and even get into a pub brawl in the makey-uppy city of Mos Eisley. According to old Obi Wan, it’s “a wretched hive of scum and villainy” – so think Dundee only with better-looking residents and a lower crime rate.

Part Samurai legend, part swashbuckler and part Buck Rogers, Lucas’ brainchild is a rip-roaring amalgam of practically every brand of adventure story you can think of. It’s fantastically-paced to move practically seamlessly from one awe-inspiring cosmic setting to the next, and the plot under-pinning it all makes up for a teensy lack of depth with some gripping set-pieces. Meanwhile, John Williams’ heart-pounding score must go down as one of the most instantly-recognisable in celluloid history.

Of course, it’s not perfect: the characters are a tad under-developed, some of the dialogue is only so-so, and the CGI that was needlessly tagged-on back in 1997 sticks out like a sore thumb. But, faults or not, it’s largely down to this movie that big-budget action blockbusters have since become the staple diet of mainstream cinema-goers the world over. It’s a ground-breaker, and it’s a good ‘un.