Star Wars: A New Hope
1977 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Van Lathan
Aired May 6, 2025
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Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: A New Hope
Film credit
Mark Hamill
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 2
- Movies in this archive
- 3
Rewatchables episodes featuring Mark Hamill’s films
Star Wars: A New Hope
1977 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Van Lathan
Aired May 6, 2025
Displaying all 2 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Apex Mountain
Science-fiction movies, galaxy adventures, fictional mythology, Mark Hamill, 20th Century Fox, and Apex categories: yes
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. — Bill Simmons
- 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. — Bill Simmons
- Harrison Ford receives an explicit apex check and is rejected because his apex had already been named earlier. — Bill Simmons
- The movie is an apex for 20th Century Fox because profits and stock value rose sharply. — Bill Simmons
- The film is credited with beginning the cultural ascent of nerd fandom rather than representing its final apex in 1977. — Sean Fennessey
- 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. — Van Lathan
- The film is declared the apex of Apex Mountain categories because so many people, crafts, objects, and institutions peak around it. — Chris Ryan
The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award
Chewbacca and Mark Hamill’s loud, whiny moments
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:18Read transcript
- Chewbacca is nominated after a long run of criticism directed at the character. — Van Lathan
- Mark Hamill’s loud complaints, especially his insistence that he is a capable pilot, are the other answer.
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. — Chris Ryan
- Porkins is another answer because the pilot is immediately lost despite the rebellion’s thin roster. — Chris Ryan
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. — Sean Fennessey
- Leia is praised as a fearless hero rather than a passive damsel, with particular importance for young viewers. — Sean Fennessey
- Lightsabers update the durable screen appeal of sword fighting through a futuristic design. — Sean Fennessey
- The fast spaceships are traced to hot-rod culture and Lucas’s American Graffiti experience. — Sean Fennessey
- The Force works especially well as an almost-forgotten spiritual discipline practiced by a few remaining believers. — Chris Ryan
- Minor details such as squadron check-ins and a stormtrooper hitting his head became durable shared lore. — Chris Ryan
- The trench run is treated as an enduring aerial-attack template copied by later action films. — Chris Ryan
- Darth Vader is the leading answer because he expanded from mysterious villain into the franchise’s most recognizable tragic figure. — Van Lathan
- 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. — Bill Simmons
- The strange creatures, villains, opening crawl, and constant parody produced a distinct world with an unusually long cultural life. — Bill Simmons
- The long-concealed Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford affair is offered as something that aged well because their chemistry remains visible in the film. — Bill Simmons
- 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. — Bill Simmons
The most 1977 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. — Sean Fennessey
- Mark Hamill's period haircut and his departure from the Eight Is Enough pilot are offered as another marker. — Bill Simmons
Displaying all 5 discussions
