Star Wars: 50 Greatest Moments - Ranked
24. Trash Compactor (Star Wars)
The rescue of Princess Leia goes awry, as she, Han, Luke, and Chewie are backed into a tunnel by the Stormtroopers, and in the end it's the Princess who does most of the saving, as they escape down the garbage chute and (unknowingly) into the trash compactor.
The saga - and in particular this first movie - is centred around these three heroes, and this is a key moment of them coming together and working as a team for the very first time.
There's the bickering between Han and Leia that we'd become so accustomed to, with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher playing off each other wonderfully, the thrilling danger of the walls closing in, the creepy monster lurking underneath, and the comedy of C-3PO's perspective on the situation, before R2-D2 - naturally - saves the day. In short, most of the elements that make Star Wars so great.