47. The Greatest Villain Ever
Okay so the real chief villain of A New Hope is in fact Grand Moff Tarkin, played to perfection by the inimitable Peter Cushing, but everyone knew even then that Darth Vader was the man to watch. He is malignance personified, his blind commitment to the Empire's vision for dominance and the complete destruction of all foes matched only in its ferocity by his presence on screen. He may have been only a glorified henchman (just as Darth Maul would play in Episode 1), but that look, and the cold chill that his presence inspired, thanks to the imposing figure of David Prowse and the equally impressive voice work of James Earl Jones pushed him to the forefront of the audience's consciousness. He would of course go on to flex his villainous muscles even further, and the prequel trilogy is very much his own, but his comparatively sparing appearances in A New Hope were so jarring that a legend was born almost immediately. And not only that, he's the perfect poster-boy for vengeful asthma sufferers...
48. It Made Jedi-ism a Viable Religious Alternative
Let's be honest, nobody cares about the Census. The only aspect of it that grabs any attention once the results are in is the Religion column, with the media invariably reporting the percentage populus who claim to be fully paid-up members of the Jedi faith. Admittedly, this phenomenon probably has more to do with the protest movement in 2001 that saw people encouraged to state Jediism as their religion of choice on the census, and there is no official recognition of the faith in any country in the world (yet), but there are those who follow the teachings of the Jedi as gospel. Thanks to the syncretistic nature of Jediism in the film universe (as mentioned above), the "faith" holds many universal moral codes and offers an approach to spiritual living that is as ancient as some of the religions it references.
49. Quote:
"I find your lack of faith disturbing"
50. It began a Franchise to end them all
Regardless of how you feel about the prequel trilogy, the Star Wars franchise, and its many, many branches is still ridiculously popular and hugely successful as a financial concern, with the first film inspiring a world of other spin-offs, including some to forget - the Ewoks - some to rewatch - the Clone Wars - and others that are some of the most hotly anticipated future projects - like The Old Republic MMORPG. That kind of longevity across multiple platforms and media types is never likely to be achieved again, and it all stems from that first film way back in 1977.
51. The Greatest Sequel Ever
Forget The Godfather Part II, forget Aliens, even forget the two outstanding Toy Story sequels: the greatest ever movie sequel, without any shadow of a doubt in my mind is The Empire Strikes Back - it is the closest thing to sci-fi perfection there is, and the manner in which it progresses the story lines established in the first film, and escalates the drama is simply extraordinary. And let's be honest here, without a great original, there can never be a great follow-up, and it was the seeds sewn in A New Hope that allowed the blossoms of awesomeness in The Empire Strikes Back to bloom.
52. This Dude
http://youtu.be/3GJOVPjhXMY There we have it, 52 irrefutable reasons that confirm A New Hope's ultimate awesomeness. Is it the greatest film of all time? Who can tell - what is certain though is that it remains one of the movie events of Hollywood's entire illustrious history, and the blu-ray release, with its myriad extras and the promise of unprecedented quality in the transfer is one of the few undeniably essential purchases for every film fan. So what do you think? What makes A New Hope great? And if you don't agree, why not? We really want to hear your thoughts, as usual. Star Wars is released on
Blu-ray from TODAY!!!