#the point was the power of coincidences and coalescence of human will and working together even unintentionally to survive

[nozomijoestar]

I know people hate SMT Nocturne's approach to characters but I love this shit, they feel like puddles that drag you down into an ideological sea once you start thinking on what they represent and the context of the situations the game put them in or what they say/how they act pre and during Vortex World, and their isolation from the player makes them doomed from getting any help being faced with their ugly inner selves until it's too late

[sparrowsabre7]

Say Something Nice About Every Star War part 7 A New Hope

Opening shot is perfection.

The slow burn opening, while odd by today’s standards really helps with world building and gives the story scope and scale.

The shootout on the Tantive IV still feels dangerous and exciting

Leia gets to be the first named hero to murder a dude in Star Wars and that is cool as fuck.

Used universe aesthetic started here (in SW at least, I don’t know if it was the progenitor, but I know Lucas did make a conscious choice for the blasters to look like guns rather than the 50s “raygun” aesthetic).

Imperial officer uniforms not so subtly nazi-inspired, and all imperials are white, human, men (and yet people still complain about “politics in muh star wars”).

R2 and 3PO’s personalities are immediately established despite only one of them being able to speak. Shout out to Ben Burtt for A+ sound design as always.

Vader’s entrance is striking (also fun fact: since the Imperial March has not been composed yet, A New Hope remains to ONLY live-action Star Wars film to not feature it at all).

The cosmic coalescence of coincidences that bring the heroes together is great. I know people rag on about how small the galaxy seems because everyone knows each other but chalk it up to will of the force and move on.

Blue milk!

Binary sunset, nuff said.

Uncomfortable connotations of “sand people” aside, the Tuskens are an interesting group and while it’s not elaborated on for decades, seeds of the idea of them as an indigenous people retaliating against invaders is sown here. After all, Luke strays into their territory. It’s also quite telling that Obi-wan doesn’t come in and kill them in a badass display of power but merely frightens them off. 

The whole scene in Ben’s home is really well done, as is the uncomfortable expression Ben gets when Luke asks him about his father. I don’t know how much of SW was planned in advance at this point, but allegedly Lucas told Alec Guiness to act like he was lying with the answer here. 

I really love the Landspeeder’s design. I love all landspeeders but there’s something so neat about this one because it does look kinda shitty but in a cool way.

Mos Eisley really feels like a living breathing town/city. 

Mad About Me by Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes is a bop. 

Thus begins the tradition of Obi-wan cutting off someone’s arm anytime he goes to a bar.

Han shooting Greedo under the table is cool, regardless of who shoots first.

Harrison Ford is acting like he’s always a little bit drunk in this one.

The Millennium Falcon’s design makes me want to weep it’s so good.

Han’s lil driving gloves.

Peter Cushing is great and I think is emblematic of what made SW stand out vs other genre pictures. Look at something like Highlander or Flash Gordon etc and everyone is hamming it up to the nines, everyone in SW plays it 100% straight regardless of how mad the situation is. I think hiring a lot of theatrically trained actors helped with that. (He’s also wearing slippers throughout because he’s never ever in full shot.)

Luke, Han and Chewie have to share one compartment to hide in while Obi-wan needs one all to himself on account of his MASSIVE BALLS.

tHe CoNvErSaTiOn. “We’re all fine here…. how are you?”

Princess Leia saving her own ass proving once again she’s the only competent human in SW. 

The Han Solo Chargetm

The duel may be a little tame but the dialogue is fire.

Obi-wan calling Vader “Darth” like it’s his name.

The little smile before he dissolves. (Also, look up the original non-special edition version of that scene because it’s fucking hilarious - I cannot seem to find it anywhere so it must have been on a BTS dvd extra but he gets cut in half, and the bottom half falls to the floor slightly before the top half) 

The whole gunner sequence is great even though it really shouldn’t work because it’s basically two dudes playing space invaders.

I like that they added back the scene of Luke and Biggs as it gives a sense of the connection and stakes going into the trench run.

The trench run manages to make what is ultimately quite small scale dogfight, in terms of the number of combatants, feel tense, urgent, and exciting. I DO think the special edition improves this scene massively too. The unedited shots, while good for the time, look a lot more static now. It’s still largely the original models at work, but the added/edited shots give a sense of inertia and mobility. 

The dramatic trench run score melding into the force suite is beautiful. 

I love the discrepancy in the X-wing and TIE targeting computers and the fact that the TIE pilots wear breathing apparatus while the Rebels don’t. It’s a subtle way of showing that the Empire cares more about killing its enemies than the safety of its pilots, as well as the wealth backing the Emprie vs Rebellion. 

Darth Vader’s “WAT?” when Han shoots the first TIE.

YEEHOO!

The final award ceremony is another great piece of music (used it to leave the church for our wedding). 

The fact Han’s formal outfit is literally his normal outfit, but with a buttoned up collar is hilarious. 

R2′s lil wiggles.