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Star Wars: A New Hope poster

Star Wars: A New Hope

year 1977decade 70sdirector George Lucasgenre Space opera

121 minutes

IMDb
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Star Wars: A New Hope | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Sean Fennesseyhost Van Lathan format Part Two
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Producer credits not yet identified.

Most Rewatchable Scene

The trench run wins two votes; the cantina is the strongest alternate, with the Death Star escape and several other sequences also praised.

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:26Read transcript
  • The opening firefight and first Darth Vader entrance begin the candidate list.
  • Luke meeting his mentor and learning about his father and the Force is praised for its economical mythology.
  • Vader's conference-room intimidation is nominated for establishing the Force as more powerful than the Death Star.
  • The cantina sequence is called one of the best scenes of the 1970s for its creatures, droid exclusion, Han Solo negotiation, and Greedo shooting.
  • Tarkin forcing Leia to watch Alderaan's destruction is praised for cruelty and for establishing the stakes.
  • The Falcon sequence combines holochess, Luke training, Han doubting the Force, and the mentor teaching, running several character beats at once.
  • The Death Star infiltration, rescue, trash compactor, and escape are praised as a long escalating run.
  • The mentor and Vader duel is discussed as sacrifice rather than a modern athletic lightsaber fight.
  • The Millennium Falcon's surprise return during the trench run is recalled as a theatrical cheer moment.
  • The final medal ceremony is nominated, with the exclusion of Chewbacca and the droids criticized.
  • The cantina receives one firm vote because it combines a first lightsaber use, a severed limb, Han and Greedo, music, creatures, and escape.
  • The trench run receives two final votes for its enduring aerial-action structure and signature place in Star Wars.
  • The disguised rescue of Leia and the broader Death Star escape remain personal favorites without displacing the final trench-run majority.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Chewbacca is called the most overrated sidekick, then defended as a co-pilot, mechanic, marksman, strong fighter, and the contact who arranges passage with Han.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:27Read transcript
  • An early take labels Chewbacca the most overrated sidekick because his size makes him conspicuous and his speech is unintelligible to almost everyone.
  • The rebuttal credits Chewbacca as a co-pilot, mechanic, expert shot, and source of physical strength.
  • Chewbacca talks to the mentor and arranges the deal that gets Luke and the mentor onto Han's ship.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Practical effects, primitive laser bursts, creatures in suits, and Mark Hamill’s television haircut define 1977.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:26Read transcript
  • Some laser blasts and explosions resemble sparklers despite the overall effects achievement.
  • Practical creatures played by people in suits are selected as a defining 1977 quality.
  • Hand-drawn imagery, matte paintings, models, and optical effects are praised as practical craft that remains appealing.
  • Mark Hamill's period haircut and his departure from the Eight Is Enough pilot are offered as another marker.

What’s Aged the Best?

The film’s influence, Leia, practical craft, mythmaking, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, world-building, and cultural afterlife form a long field.

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:58Read transcript
  • Interconnected cinematic universes and ILM are credited as foundations of contemporary Hollywood storytelling.
  • Leia is praised as a fearless hero rather than a passive damsel, with particular importance for young viewers.
  • Lightsabers update the durable screen appeal of sword fighting through a futuristic design.
  • The fast spaceships are traced to hot-rod culture and Lucas’s American Graffiti experience.
  • The Force works especially well as an almost-forgotten spiritual discipline practiced by a few remaining believers.
  • Minor details such as squadron check-ins and a stormtrooper hitting his head became durable shared lore.
  • The trench run is treated as an enduring aerial-attack template copied by later action films.
  • Darth Vader is the leading answer because he expanded from mysterious villain into the franchise’s most recognizable tragic figure.
  • Introducing Vader immediately is defended because later stories reveal the saga to be partly his story and the Emperor to be the deeper evil.
  • The secret that Vader is Luke’s father is praised for leaving subtle retrospective possibilities without revealing itself.
  • Obi-Wan is praised as an archetypal mentor and every Vader entrance retains power.
  • The strange creatures, villains, opening crawl, and constant parody produced a distinct world with an unusually long cultural life.
  • The long-concealed Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford affair is offered as something that aged well because their chemistry remains visible in the film.
  • Blasters age well relative to bullets because their clean impacts make the movie accessible to younger viewers and avoid ammunition-count questions.
  • Carrie Fisher’s advice that she and Mark Hamill should accept their defining roles is praised as a healthy view of fame.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Luke watching the binary sunset wins over the Death Star corridor, escape pod, post-duel reaction, and Alderaan’s destruction.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:58Read transcript
  • The binary sunset wins because it conveys Luke’s hunger for a larger life without explanatory dialogue.
  • The bottomless Death Star corridor is praised as an astonishing matte-painting illusion made with old compositing methods.
  • The escape pod against the stars is cited as an early digital effect that still feels tactile.
  • The wide view of Luke frozen after his mentor falls is another emotional composition.
  • Alderaan’s destruction is admired as the first overwhelming demonstration of the Death Star.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

No consensus emerges: Mark Hamill’s early performance is criticized and defended, while Porkins is an alternate.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:39Read transcript
  • The first response says, 'I couldn't think of one.'
  • Mark Hamill is criticized as limited beside Fisher and Ford and described as an intentionally young, whiny system quarterback.
  • The defense says Luke must begin uncertain and off-kilter so his confidence and scars across the trilogy register as growth.
  • Kurt Russell is acknowledged as a cooler alternate who may have brought too much confidence to early Luke.
  • Porkins is another answer because the pilot is immediately lost despite the rebellion’s thin roster.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Retitling, representation, the reduced Fox slate, franchise alterations, and mishandled extensions dominate the criticism.

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:19Read transcript
  • Adding A New Hope to the original Star Wars title is called unnecessary and irritating.
  • The movie is called a 'big sausage party' with only Leia and Luke's aunt identified as women.
  • The film’s assumption that fascism is obviously bad is jokingly said to feel less secure in 2025.
  • After Star Wars succeeded, 20th Century Fox reducing its annual slate from about twenty films to seven is criticized as a lost opportunity.
  • The original story’s incestuous tension is awkward in retrospect, though Luke does not know Leia is his sister.
  • A Marvel comic run ending after 107 issues is treated as a missed opportunity for continued storytelling.
  • Disney’s early rejection of the screenplay is contrasted with its later purchase of Lucasfilm for four billion dollars.
  • The film could have used more than twelve minutes of Vader, though his limited screen time may strengthen him.
  • Contemporary criticism of the film’s whiteness and of black imagery being attached to Vader is preserved as historical reception.
  • The special-edition alterations, Holiday Special, and empty early-bird toy boxes are cited as mishandled parts of the movie’s afterlife.

Van Lathan Award for Did This Movie Need More Black People?

The lack of Black characters matters, while one participant also values fantasy as a temporary escape from real racial burdens.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:00Read transcript
  • Seeing Black people in fantasy is described as reassurance that imagined worlds have not erased them.
  • The counterpoint says this particular fantasy offers relief from thinking about real-world racial barriers.
  • Chasing Amy is praised for satirizing the racial politics of the original Star Wars.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

The takes propose an accidental Luke–Leia sexual relationship, criticize Han’s treatment of Luke, and call Star Wars both great art and damaging industrial precedent.

Flex pick · Van Lathan

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:11Read transcript
  • The trilogy is said to become darker and better if Luke and Leia unknowingly have sex before learning they are siblings.
  • The imagined guilt is argued to give Luke a stronger pull toward the dark side.
  • Star Wars is called both one of the best films ever and one of the worst things to happen to Hollywood because of its industrial influence.
  • Han is called a cock-blocking dickhead who pursues Leia and tells Luke not to get cocky after Luke's success.

Casting What-Ifs

The original casting search is reviewed across Luke, Leia, Han, Obi-Wan, Vader, Chewbacca, and physical Vader.

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:10Read transcript
  • Lucas and De Palma auditioned actors together for Star Wars and Carrie, producing overlapping candidates.
  • John Travolta, William Cat, Robby Benson, Kurt Russell, and Charles Martin Smith are among the discussed Luke possibilities.
  • Andrew Stevens is said to have competed with Hamill for both The Oregon Trail and Star Wars.
  • Karen Allen, Amy Irving, Cindy Williams, Linda Pearl, and Joe Foster are discussed as Leia possibilities, with uncertainty around some claims.
  • Russell is said to have auditioned for both Luke and Han because his age placed him between the roles.
  • Jack Nicholson is an intriguing Han thought experiment, while James Kahn and Al Pacino later claimed to have declined the role.
  • Richard Dreyfuss was reportedly considered for the voice of one of the droids.
  • The lead actor from many Kurosawa films reportedly declined the mentor role because he feared it would diminish samurai cinema.
  • Orson Welles was considered for Vader’s voice but rejected as too recognizable; James Earl Jones was used without an initial screen credit.
  • Peter Mayhew and David Prowse were offered a choice between Chewbacca and physical Vader and selected the good and bad roles respectively.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Peter Cushing is proposed, then questioned as too famous in Britain for the category.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:31Read transcript
  • Peter Cushing is the initial answer as Tarkin.
  • His long run as a Hammer Horror lead makes the That Guy label questionable.
  • The remaining supporting cast is described as working British actors without an obvious second role for the panel to cite.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Darth Vader wins over the cantina ensemble, Greedo, inserted Jabba, and Admiral Motti.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:38Read transcript
  • Vader is selected for dominating the film in roughly twelve minutes.
  • The cantina ensemble and Greedo are proposed as compact alternatives.
  • The digitally inserted CGI gangster is rejected aesthetically but acknowledged as a significant one-scene character.
  • The officer choked by Vader is the final alternate.

Recasting Couch

Mark Harmon or young Kurt Russell as Luke are the principal new suggestions.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:42Read transcript
  • Mark Harmon is proposed as a handsome, athletic Luke coming out of UCLA.
  • A younger Kurt Russell is ultimately preferred as a plausible but slightly cooler Luke.

Half-Assed Internet Research

The research block covers an early Han design, Lucas’s directing style, crew resistance, practical discomfort, the lost cut, and studio notes.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:44Read transcript
  • An early script version made Han Solo a large green-skinned monster with gills.
  • Carrie Fisher recalled that Lucas gave little actor direction beyond faster or more intense.
  • The British crew reportedly disliked Lucas enough to stop promptly at quitting time even in the middle of a setup.
  • Hamill’s line about not seeing through the helmet was retained because he actually could not see.
  • The Chewbacca suit became foul after remaining wet following the trash-compactor sequence.
  • An early multi-hour assembly contained much more of Luke on Tatooine before later editors substantially tightened it.
  • Studio executives wanted Chewbacca to wear shorts, a note the panel considers disastrous.

Apex Mountain

George Lucas, the franchise’s craftspeople, multiple actors, science-fiction lore, sound, and blockbuster culture receive separate apex checks.

Flex pick · Craig Horlbeck

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:55Read transcript
  • Lucas’s apex is placed around 1981 after Empire and Raiders, though selling Lucasfilm for four billion dollars is another candidate.
  • Star Wars is judged an apex for science-fiction movies, galaxy adventures, and film-created fictional mythology.
  • The movie is accepted as Mark Hamill’s apex and a possible early apex for Carrie Fisher.
  • John Williams is difficult to pin to one apex, but Star Wars is preferred over later cultural competitors.
  • James Earl Jones is placed closer to Field of Dreams, Coming to America, or Mufasa than to his uncredited Vader voice.
  • Harrison Ford receives an explicit apex check and is rejected because his apex had already been named earlier.
  • The movie is an apex for 20th Century Fox because profits and stock value rose sharply.
  • The film is credited with beginning the cultural ascent of nerd fandom rather than representing its final apex in 1977.
  • Its sound effects remain exceptional, including Vader breathing, TIE fighters, droids, and lightsabers.
  • The saga is called a leading story of absentee fathers because Vader reappears only after Luke becomes powerful.
  • The film is declared the apex of Apex Mountain categories because so many people, crafts, objects, and institutions peak around it.

Cruise or Hanks?

Tom Cruise wins as a young Luke; Hanks as the mentor or Han is discussed.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:10Read transcript
  • Early-1980s Cruise is selected as Luke for his still-youthful quality.
  • Hanks is considered as an older mentor or a Volunteers-era Han but rejected as too tall for the latter.

Picking Nits

Coincidence, military competence, continuity, grief, Obi-Wan’s sacrifice, and the Death Star strategy drive a long nitpick section.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:22Read transcript
  • The escape pod carrying both droids lands improbably close to Luke, possibly through the Force.
  • The Empire declines to destroy an empty pod despite detecting it, allowing the plans to escape.
  • The possibility that R2-D2 is Force-sensitive is raised to explain repeated favorable outcomes.
  • Stormtroopers fail to inspect the Falcon effectively and repeatedly miss exposed targets at close range.
  • The mechanics of mapping and navigating a vast galaxy are questioned and answered only with hyperspace and existing maps.
  • The princess's white outfit stays too clean after the garbage dump and fighting.
  • The mentor's claim that he never had any droids conflicts with later-created prequel continuity.
  • The panel debates whether later continuity may be used to judge a 1977 movie whose mythology was not fully fixed.
  • Leia, Luke, and the others recover almost instantly from planetary destruction, burned relatives, and the mentor’s death.
  • The mentor’s decision to accept death remains unclear because the Falcon crew might have escaped anyway.
  • Luke trusts a spiritual force learned days earlier enough to switch off targeting equipment during the galaxy’s decisive shot.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

The franchise has tried sequels, prequels, and prestige television, while a future all-Black Star Wars film is proposed as a remaining format.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:55Read transcript
  • An all-Black Jedi story is proposed both as an appealing film and as a challenge to racist online backlash.
  • The format is described as the franchise’s remaining frontier after sequels, prequels, and prestige television.

Just One Oscar

Sound wins over George Lucas, picture, and John Williams.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:13Read transcript
  • The panel considers picture, Lucas, Williams, and sound before choosing sound.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The section asks about the gold protocol droid’s design, the Wookie’s body, and Halloween uniformity.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:43Read transcript
  • The gold protocol droid’s shape is asked to resemble an Oscar, though the Metropolis robot is cited as the closer model.
  • The panel asks whether the Wookie has genitalia and how he goes to the bathroom.
  • Halloween 1978 is proposed as a peak for many people wearing the same costume.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

A lightsaber wins, with Han’s blaster, Luke’s landspeeder, and Vader’s mask as alternatives.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:14Read transcript
  • A lightsaber is the immediate consensus memorabilia choice.
  • Vader’s red saber and Anakin’s saber carried by Luke are the main specific preferences.
  • Han’s blaster, Luke’s landspeeder, and Vader’s mask are strong non-saber alternatives.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Trust the Force and raise your own children are the two lessons.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:47:17Read transcript
  • Trust the Force is applied as a general lesson and joking reassurance about future television.
  • Raise your own children is the second lesson because an abandoned child may later overthrow the parent’s empire.

Who Won the Movie?

George Lucas wins by majority, with Harrison Ford a serious alternate.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:18Read transcript
  • Harrison Ford is nominated for keeping the movie attached to human cool and charisma amid robots and an uncertain young hero.
  • George Lucas is chosen for creating Hollywood’s most indelible franchise and retaining enormous financial upside.
  • The final consensus says no one in the industry may have won one movie as completely as Lucas won Star Wars.
Podcast choices
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Harrison Ford
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George Lucas
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George Lucas
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Harrison Ford
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George Lucas
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George Lucas

More from the conversation

Part Two exists because Part One ran long before the discussion reached the categories.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:03Read transcript
The opening scene discussion examines Han shooting first and the later edit that made Greedo fire first as a change to Han’s character arc.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:06Read transcript
The ceremony discussion preserves the long-running criticism that Chewbacca and the droids received no medals.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:18Read transcript
The closing credits the movie’s originality, accessible good-versus-evil story, and fun with generating a vast experiential world.
Approx. transcript time · 01:49:59Read transcript
Theme-park rides and Galaxy’s Edge are discussed as ways the film’s world became a physical experience.
Approx. transcript time · 01:52:39Read transcript