Episode IV: A New Hope

[ji...@haddock.uucp]

Have any of you ever seen the original *Star Wars* in recent release?
The epigraph is somewhat changed. It now says: "Episode IV: A New Hope"
as a new title for the movie.

I imagine it has been like that for a long time now; at least since it
made its first run on subscription television. I imagine this is old hat
for many of you, but could someone explain why and how this was done?
Was it simply to make it conform to "The Empire Strikes Back"?

Jim Campbell

[Dave Hsu]

Exactly correct. For more info, you Time magazine back-issue collectors,
check the issue with a ??? painting of Darth on the cover circa 1980.

-dave

[Donald Eastlake]

Lucas always wanted it to be A New Hope (Episode IV of Star Wars)
but the backers wouldn't have it. They wanted a nice simple title
that sounded SCI FI. It would have been a bit bizzare to admit that
the first file was the 4th in a planned sequence of 9...
--
+1 617-492-8860 Donald E. Eastlake, III
ARPA: dee@CCA-UNIX usenet: {decvax,linus}!cca!dee

[King Ables]

[I wonder if he really cares about anything... or anybody / I care! ]

"Star Wars" was retitled when "The Empire Strikes Back" was released
to conform to the titling in the second (fifth, depends on your point
of view) movie. As soon as 'the first one' played in re-release after
Empire premiered, it had the new title.

-King
ARPA: ables%cyb-en...@ut-sally.ARPA
UUCP: ...{ctvax,gatech,ihnp4,nbires,seismo,ucb-vax}!ut-sally!cyb-eng!ables

[Dave Trissel]

Since we just started getting this newsgroup here I may be repeating something
already known.

Before the original Star Wars was out and a success Lucas had an broad story-
line in his head. He envisioned enough to produce several movies. After SW
profits poured in the idea expanded to three triligies (9 movies.)

The robots (3C and R2) were to be connectives in that they were to have
existed even before the first trilogy and continue after the last. In a sense
everything happens through their "eyes" so to speak.

The first trilogy was to be based on the Jedi knights. Darth Vadar was a
friend of Luke's father (yes you are reading this correctly) and a fellow
Jedi in training. But he turns to the dark side which ends up forcing a
confrontation with Luke's father and OB1 at the top of a volcano. Darth
kills Luke's father and then OB1 continues the fight (much younger back then)
eventually forcing Darth to fall into the volcano. However, being ever kind
the Jedis rescue Darth from certain death - thus the breath mask to assist
in breathing and covering the ugly scares (as seen in Vader's meditation
chamber in Episode V.)

Remember in the first SW when OB1 hands Luke his father's light saber? At
that time it WAS his father's saber because Vadar wasn't Lukes father. This
also forced later scripts to have OB1 apologize for lieing to Luke.

Things radically changed for the episodic scenarios when the planning for
Episode V started underway. Thats when the idea of having Vadar be Luke's
father came into being (a very powerfull emotional ploy) and Yoda came into
being. It appears also that having the princess be Luke's sister was decided.

By the time of the third movie I think Lucas had had enough SW and
wanted to end it all. Ever since the start of making the second movie he had
complained quite a bit about it being too much work. Thats why I think he
had the Emporer killed off (?) to put a capstone to the work.

The facts behind this all are taken from personal interviews given by Lucas
very shortly after Star Wars first came out (Cinemefantastique magazine
for the most part.) My magazines were never returned after lending them out
and so I hope I am quoting accurately from memory. My apologies if I get
something wrong. I always felt there would never be a first trilogy because
Epsisode III would have to be a downer - the empire ends up crushing
everything in its path leaving very little cheer about. Remember how the
critics decried Epsisode V since it didn't lead to any conclusion? (I didn't
like it because of that myself.)

Comments welcomed. Especially if someone has the original interviews and can
give us some direct quotes. Again sorry if this is rehash.

Motorola Semiconductors Inc. Dave Trissel
Austin, Texas {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!oakhill!davet

[Joseph S. D. Yao]

> ... It would have been a bit bizzare to admit that

> the first file was the 4th in a planned sequence of 9...

I don't know ... it sounds awfully like most newsgroups' sequencing!

Joe Yao hadron!jsdy@seismo.{ARPA,UUCP}