Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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BUY IT ON DVD - Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)


BUY IT ON DVD - Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)

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PG for sci-fi violence and brief mild language.

Gary Kurtz

George Lucas

Rick McCallum (Special Edition)

John Williams

Gilbert Taylor, BSC

Richard Chew | Paul Hirsch | Marcia Lucas

20th Century Fox

Lucasfilm

United States

English

Tikal National Park, Guatemala (Fourth moon of Yavin)

Ajim, Jerba, Tunisia (Mos Eisley, Tatooine)

Chott el Djerid, Nefta, Tunisia (Lars family homestead, Tatooine)

Death Valley National Park, California, USA
(Tatooine)

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK (studio)

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK (studio)

Sidi Bouhlel, Tozeur, Tunisia (Tatooine)

Sidi Driss Hotel, Matmata, Tunisia (Lars family homestead, Tatooine)

Yuma, Arizona, USA (special edition)

Academy Awards

1978 Won Oscar Best Art Direction-Set Decoration John Barry,Norman Reynolds,Leslie Dilley,Roger Christian

1978 Won Oscar Best Costume Design John Mollo

1978 Won Oscar Best Effects, Visual Effects John Stears,John Dykstra,Richard Edlund,Grant McCune,Robert Blalack

1978 Won Oscar Best Film Editing Paul Hirsch,Marcia Lucas,Richard Chew

1978 Won Oscar Best Music, Original Score John Williams

1978 Won Oscar Best Sound Don MacDougall,Ray West,Bob Minkler,Derek Ball

1978 Won Oscar Special Achievement Award Ben Burtt (as Benjamin Burtt Jr.) for sound effects. (For the creation of the alien, creature and robot voices.)

1978 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Supporting Role Alec Guinness

1978 Nominated Oscar Best Director George Lucas

1978 Nominated Oscar Best Picture Gary Kurtz

1978 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen George Lucas

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

1997 Won Special Award For its 20th Anniversary.

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Costumes John Mollo

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Director George Lucas Tied with Steven Spielberg for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Make-Up Rick Baker,Stuart Freeborn

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Music John Williams Tied with John Williams for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Science Fiction Film

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Special Effects John Dykstra,John Stears

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor Alec Guinness

1978 Won Saturn Award Best Writing George Lucas

1978 Won Saturn Award Outstanding Editing Paul Hirsch,Marcia Lucas,Richard Chew

1978 Nominated Saturn Award Best Actor Harrison Ford

1978 Nominated Saturn Award Best Actor Mark Hamill

1978 Nominated Saturn Award Best Actress Carrie Fisher

American Cinema Editors, USA

1978 Nominated Eddie Best Edited Feature Film Richard Chew,Paul Hirsch,Marcia Lucas

Awards of the Japanese Academy

1979 Nominated Award of the Japanese Academy Best Foreign Language Film

BAFTA Awards

1979 Won Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music John Williams

1979 Won BAFTA Film Award Best Sound Sam Shaw,Robert R. Rutledge,Gordon Davidson,Gene Corso,Derek Ball,Don MacDougall,Bob Minkler,Ray West,Michael Minkler,Les Fresholtz,Richard Portman,Ben Burtt

1979 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Costume Design John Mollo

1979 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Film

1979 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Film Editing Paul Hirsch,Marcia Lucas,Richard Chew

1979 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Production Design/Art Direction John Barry

British Society of Cinematographers

1977 Nominated Best Cinematography Award Gil Taylor

Directors Guild of America, USA

1978 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures George Lucas

Evening Standard British Film Awards

1979 Won Evening Standard British Film Award Best Actor Alec Guinness

1979 Won Evening Standard British Film Award Best Film George Lucas

Golden Globes

1978 Won Golden Globe Best Original Score - Motion Picture John Williams

1978 Nominated Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture George Lucas

1978 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture - Drama

1978 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actor in a Supporting Role Alec Guinness

Golden Screen, Germany

1978 Won Golden Screen

Grammy Awards

1978 Won Grammy Best Album of Original Score written for a Motion Picture or Television Special John Williams

Hochi Film Awards

1978 Won Hochi Film Award Best Foreign Language Film George Lucas

Hugo Awards

1978 Won Hugo Best Dramatic Presentation

Kinema Junpo Awards

1979 Won Readers' Choice Award Best Foreign Language Film Director George Lucas

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

1977 Won LAFCA Award Best Music John Williams

1977 Won LAFCA Award Best Picture

MTV Movie Awards

1997 Won MTV Movie Award Lifetime Achievement "Chewbacca" For the Star Wars trilogy, also including Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). Chewbacca had been played by Peter Mayhew.

National Film Preservation Board, USA

1989 National Film Registry

People's Choice Awards

1978 Won People's Choice Award Favorite Motion Picture

Satellite Awards

2005 Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Classic DVD For the Star Wars Trilogy. Also for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).

Best Overall DVD For the Star Wars Trilogy. Also for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

1978 Won Special Award

Writers Guild of America, USA

1978 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen George Lucas

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A naive young farm boy (Mark Hamill), a mystical old sage (Alec Guinness), and a smuggler (Harrison Ford) get caught up in an intergalactic rebellion.

After directing THX1138 and the hugely successful American Graffiti, George Lucas found himself in great demand in 1974. Apocalypse Now looked to be next on his slate, having been prepped by collaborator Francis Ford Coppola, and suitably in keeping with the young director's previous mature and intelligent work. Instead, he surprised everyone by heading off to England to make a Flash Gordon movie with tin robots, space wizards and a seven-foot dog.

The film's success at the box office (and in exploiting its promotional and merchandizing potential) is now legendary. If you adjust for inflation, the worldwide gross stands at nearly $2 billion, and that doesn't include revenue from sequels, video games and merchandize. Nor does it reflect the large proportion of the populace who consider the film an abomination. Quite why it remains so divisive is hard to understand. There are certainly flaws, particularly in the dialogue and performances, but these are generally no more relevant to the film's critics than to its fans, detractors preferring to cite vague concerns over the film's influence on Hollywood's increasing commercialism. But that is to miss the point entirely. It is inevitable that success will bring about change in any industry; we should be grateful the film which became the medium's most popular offspring is one of such charm, innocence and all round quality. The score is one of the greatest ever recorded, the effects are photo-real, the production design is timeless and the whole thing is stuck together with a masterly ability for storytelling.

For most of the generation lucky enough to discover Star Wars before its formula was imitated and diluted, it remains the shared, innocent and fantastical experience we remember from childhood, and nothing can change that.

George Lucas started writing the screenplay in 1974.

Over 60% of this film was shot with a film that was so prone to fading, it was discontinued in the early '80s.

Darth Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now *I* am the master.
Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth.


Obi-Wan: The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.

At the end of the movie, many of the gathered soldiers are plainly cardboard cutouts.

At the start of the Vader vs. Ben lightsaber battle, when Ben turns his on, a cord can be seen that runs up Ben's sleeve.