9. The Cantina Sequence Is A Franchise Highlight
The whole Mos Eisley sequence could feasibly be used as an example here, not least the part where Obi-Wan negotiates his way past the Stormtroopers by using his Jedi mind tricks, the first instance of them in franchise history (and preceded by one of the sagas great lines, too: Never has there been a more wretched hive of scum and villainy). But to pick just one part, it has to be the Cantina sequence, which takes part in Chalmuns Spaceport Cantina and sees Luke and Obi-Wan enter the bar to the inimitable sound of Figrin Dan and the Modal Nodes Mad About Me, one of the sagas catchiest musical interludes. The opening sweep of the shot introduces us to an array of alien characters, all on screen for less than five seconds but all memorable in their own right. This is world-building of the highest order, and Lukes aghast expression at the scene he walks in on does justice to the wretched hive Obi-Wan spoke of prior. From there, its Luke and Kenobis altercation with Ponda Baba, which sees the music stop only to start again (when the fracas is over) for one of the great Star Wars moments. Culminating in Han Solos shootout with Greedo (more on that later), the Cantina sequence is a top-ten Star Wars moment, one nicely mirrored in Attack Of The Clones, which turns the scene into a
Film Noir-esque subversion.