25 Perfect Shots From Star Wars Movies

Star Wars is one of the greatest franchises to hit the big screen: it is critically acclaimed (mostly), gold-plated and only criticisable against its own high standards. In short, the property has risen to the level of a cultural icon, ensuring that even those who haven’t seen the movies (all three of them) understand certain sayings. You can say “help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope” or “Luke, I am your father” to anybody and they will understand exactly where these iconic lines were first uttered, even if they may be surprised as to why you are quoting Star Wars to them in Costco. The original trilogy is incredible, of course, and even the mistakes in the prequel trilogy is counter-balanced by something worth remembering that makes most other sci-fi films look pale by comparison. Not least in terms of the aesthetics: you can criticise George Lucas for a lot of things, but like Tim Burton, his imagination is his chief selling point. He knows exactly how something should look, and even when the substance of a scene is garbage, you can bet your house on it looking stunning.

Everything about this scene is perfect; the music, the juxtaposition between the white walls of the laudable Rebel ship and the dark, sinister tone of Darth Vader’s costume and the tall stature of David Prowse allowing the character to tower of everybody else.

It didn’t matter that this was the first sight of him in the franchise, it was clear that this was a guy you did not want to mess with. The scene set the Sith Lord up as a massive villain, and it made sure that audiences saw him as the epitome of evil... until the Emperor made his grand entrance.