Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope-2

Watch: The ‘Star Wars’ Climax and the Movies Behind It

It’s hard to watch the climactic scene in ‘Star Wars: Episode IV’ without breaking a sweat. Why is that? Is it the stakes involved in the story at this point, in which Luke’s quest to destroy the Death Star would read to anyone who had been paying attention as the one thing that could save all human and non-human life? Is it the pacing of the scene? The jump cuts? The constantly changing perspective? Or George Lucas’s shrewd assimilation of myriad influences into one burst of cinematic energy? Julian Palmer has chosen this scene as the final episode in his ‘Discarded Image’ series with 1848 Media, and fittingly: by the end of the scene, one really does feel stunned, wiped out, and, optimistically, gratified, to a degree with which few films of its era could compare. Palmer does an excellent job of exploring the scene, getting under its hood and finding out how it works, and, by extension, telling us quite a bit about Lucas himself, as well as the film’s historical context, in this piece: I look forward to seeing what Palmer will do next.

Watch All Six ‘Star Wars’ Films at the Same Time. Literally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTHTEKwaYdI

Words to describe this film by ‘Archer’ animator Marcus Rosentrater, which superimposes all six ‘Star Wars’ movies, on top of each other, for a 2-hour 22-minute run time, could be: exhilarating. Exciting. Passionate. Detached. Confusing. Deranged. Brilliant. Turbulent. Regenerative. Transformative. Muddled. Cumulative. Or none of these, or maybe all of them at once, on top of each other. We’ve got R2D2 and C3PO melding into each other, sort of like Bergman’s ‘Persona,’ but different. Elsewhere, we’ve got Obi-Wan Kenobi having his head bisected by a large fighter plane. Anything you might imagine, in fact, you’ll find in here. So, watch it. You can focus on it, and slowly derange your senses. Or, you could use it as a backdrop, on a large-screen TV, as you do something mundane, like cleaning house or saving the galaxy.

Watch: Listening to the Sounds of ‘Star Wars’

It’s been observed many times that muscles are crucial to human memory–that we remember things as much with our arms, legs, and fingers as we do with our brains. It stands to reason, then, that sounds can call up a range of memories about the experience with which they’re associated: sometimes in direct connection, sometimes not so direct. This new video by Rishi Kaneria takes us through the most familiar sounds of 1977’s ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope,’ which is a milestone in the memories of many viewers. In so doing, Kaneria reminds us that, thanks to the sound design of Ben Burtt, the auditory experiences of the film–R2D2’s beeps, C3PO’s Anglo-robotic accent, Chewbacca’s grunt-howl–were as much responsible for the movie’s penetration of the public consciousness as its entertainment value. Close your eyes, and listen to the sounds of the place where this particular story began–or where we began to hear it told.

MATT ZOLLER SEITZ: The Fan-Made Star Wars Uncut Is the Greatest Viral Video Ever

Star Wars Uncut: Director's Cut, a full-length sweding of the original Star Wars made by hundreds of participants, might be the greatest viral video in the still-young history of the Internet. It's also the best argument I've seen for an overhaul of outmoded copyright laws which, if enforced to the entertainment industry's satisfaction, would make such works illegal and essentially un-viewable.

The project started out as a bit of a lark. In 2009, director Casey Pugh asked fans to re-create a fifteen-second piece of Lucas's 1977 Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope as a building block for a feature. To everyone's surprise, the result won an Emmy last summer in the still-young "interactive media" category. That accolade is surely one of the reasons why YouTube, which has been slammed by big media companies over unauthorized uploads and forced to adopt a "guilty until proven innocent" attitude toward infringement, is hosting all two hours and ten minutes of the project. Well, that and the fact that Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox, rapacious big media companies for the most part, have often adopted a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward the Star Wars saga, a franchise that has somehow overcome its deficiencies as drama to become as much a part of everyday life as the lyrics to "Happy Birthday" (which, of course, is also copyrighted).

The sheer variety of storytelling modes showcased in Pugh's cut-rate epic is a show in itself. Star Wars Uncut includes countless examples of live-action "drama" (scare quotes mine), some of it staged on elaborately decorated sets, the rest performed in kitchens, rec rooms, living rooms, basements, and backyards. Some of the actors are surprisingly good; others are merely spirited. The movie also boasts cel animation, flash animation, Claymation, 3-D animation, old- and new-school video-game graphics, stop-motion-animated action figures and Lego characters and paper dolls, masked performers, and sock puppets.

If you would like to read the rest of Matt's article, click here at New York Magazine.

A critic, journalist and filmmaker, Matt Zoller Seitz is the staff TV columnist for New York Magazine and the founder of Press Play.

STAR WARS UNCUT: DIRECTOR’S CUT may be the strangest, most enchanting fan remake of that classic ever attempted

[EDITOR'S NOTE: In 2009, Casey Pugh asked thousands of internet users to remake Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from that film however they wanted. Within just a few months, Star Wars Uncut grew into a wild success. Press Play urges each and every one of you to take 10 minutes (the film is over 2 hours in length), click on this link and look upon this effort. Pick any scene you want. By now, this story is so widely known and so completely understood in such minute detail that there is nothing left to interpret, nothing left add to a discussion about it and nothing left to do but wait around until George Lucas decides to release another version of it into theaters, having ordered his team of talented artists to change it one . . . .more. . . .time. (3-D, anyone?) But, here is Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia's triumphant story presented once again — performed by an amature cast of hundreds, stitched together with Bondo and dental floss, shot in environments real and animated, presented and reconceived with a low-tech, zero-budget aesthetic. And still the story survives. Take heart, Lucas-haters, if this mythic tale can survive this democratic treatment, it can even survive its creator. It is quite possibly the sweetest, funniest tribute to the Star Wars fable ever mounted. Look upon it, you should.]

VERTIGOED: A Press Play mash-up contest

VERTIGOED: A Press Play mash up contest

EDITOR'S NOTE: You may have heard that Kim Novak, costar of Vertigo, took out an ad in Variety protesting the use of Bernard Herrmann's Vertigo score in Michel Hazanavicius’s modern silent film The Artist. "I WANT TO REPORT A RAPE," the headline blared. "I FEEL AS IF MY BODY—OR, AT LEAST MY BODY OF WORK—HAS BEEN VIOLATED BY THE MOVIE, “THE ARTIST," Novak wrote, and went on to decry the “USE AND ABUSE [OF] FAMOUS PIECES OF WORK TO GAIN ATTENTION AND APPLAUSE FOR OTHER THAN WHAT THEY WERE INTENDED.” Novak's word choice was unfortunate — more than one person, including yours truly, said that was akin to somebody sitting through the Star Wars prequels and witlessly declaring, "George Lucas raped my childhood."

Press Play contributor and film editor Kevin Lee followed this Novak/Lucas line of thought to its logical — or illogical — end. Just for the hell of it, he matched the Vertigo cue used in The Artist with the last three minutes of the Death Star battle in Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, uploaded it, and sent the link to several Press Play contributors to get their reactions.

And it's here that things got interesting: rather than generate cheap laughs at the expense of Novak, Lucas, The Artist or Star Wars, the mash-up inspired delight. Simply put: Kevin's experiment confirmed that Bernard Herrmann's Vertigo score is so passionate and powerful that it can elevate an already good scene — and a familiar one at that — to a higher plane of expression. Score one for the master of film scoring!

We encouraged Kevin to put the same piece of music under a bit from Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace and the training sequences from Rocky and Rocky IV. Same result: The scenes seemed deeper, subtler and more haunting, solely because of Herrmann's music.

Kevin joked that these clips had been "Vertigoed" — a reference to the low-budget "Swedeing" of Hollywood movies in the cult classic Be Kind, Rewind. The term stuck, and inspired us to declare a Press Play "Vertigoed" contest.

THE RULES:

1. Take the same Herrmann cue — "Scene D'Amour," used in this memorable moment from Vertigo — and match it with a clip from any film. (You can nick the three-minute section from one of Kevin's mash-ups if it makes things easier.) Is there any clip, no matter how silly, nonsensical, goofy or foul, that the score to Vertigo can't ennoble? Let's find out!

2. Although you can use any portion of "Scene D'Amour" as your soundtrack, the movie clip that you pair it with cannot have ANY edits; it must play straight through over the Herrmann music. This is an exercise in juxtaposition and timing. If you slice and dice the film clip to make things "work," it's cheating. MONTAGES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

3. Upload the result to YouTube, Vimeo, blipTV or wherever, email the link to pressplayvideoblog@gmail.com along with your name, and we'll add your mash-up to this Index page.

The Press Play Vertigoed contest ends at 5 PM Eastern time on FRIDAY, JANUARY 20. No mash-ups posted after that time will be considered. Press Play staff will choose a winner over the weekend and award a $50 Amazon gift certificate. The pairing that our judges decide is most imaginative and altogether satisfying will win the prize. The victor will be announced Monday, January 23.

Now get Verti-going!

–Matt Zoller Seitz

1. STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE by Kevin B. Lee

2. ROCKY by Kevin B. Lee

3. ROCKY 4 by Kevin B. Lee

4. THE GREAT DICTATOR by Jonathan Amerikaner

5. A LIEN by William D'Annucci

6. BONNIE AND CLYDE by James Grebmops

7. STRAW DOGS by James Grebmops

8. AKIRA by Greg Stevens

9. VAMPIRE'S KISS by Jake Isgar

10. THEY LIV E by Chris Mastellone