Star Wars - Opening Scene

[bazatc01]

Spaceballs is better than this rubbish...

[goldAUsilverAG]

I wish I could have lived to see this during its initial release so I could have been amazed at the difference between this masterpiece and "the usual shit". The special effects were/and currently are mind blowing for its time.

[SCE2AUX]

:23 to :30 First time in the theatre: "Holy....Freakin'.....SHIT!!"

[slapmyfunkybass]

30 years on, and it's still amazing

[thekingofRIS]

I know that the Empire Strikes Back is the best but I can't help loving this one.

[Unit1138327]

@silverthehedgehogrox The first one is the CR90 Corvette Tantive IV, the second is the Imperial-class star destroyer Devastator.

[1legomaster]

The original trilogy KILLS the new trilogy. Ep. 1 2 and 3 can all go and explode for all care.

[silverthehedgehogrox]

wots the good guys ship called?

[khyron62]

I find the lack of faith of the 2 "don't like" people disturbing

[66612345678]

They should make episodes IV, V, and VI into 3D!!

[LegoProductionstudio]

@66612345678 Lucasfilm is actually doing that theyre releasing Episode I next year in 3D followed by EP II EP III and so on

[ghroit]

I remember sitting in the theatre the first week it came out, and being blown away by that ship that didn't seem to end. It was the size of the universe, and it just kept going and going. Massive!!!!!

[ArmoredSaint2010]

The best cameraposition ever!!!

[stonebridge999]

Most memorable intro to any film, ever...

[matrixleader]

whenever i watch this scene, i always have goosebumps all over!

[BadEggCymru]

I was a little boy sitting in a cinema in South London and to have a giant spaceship flying over your head was totally amazing,it took my breath away,no matter what anyone says this is the best opening ever as it had never been done before,FUCKING BRILLIANT

[luis6079]

I thought the Enterprise had a dish on the front and not a hammerhead?

[workingtools]

I can remember way back to 1977 when I saw this one. Prior to that, the best SFX we had was either Logan's Run, (ick!), Planet of the Apes (okay), and 2001 (very good). This blew them (and the audience) away. I saw it 3 days before the general premiere in SF in 70mm and (I don't know how many tracks) incredible sound. The whole theatre shook when that big ship flew over our heads. The audience was so awestruck by it that they started cheering (yes, this was the *beginning* of the movie!).

[WilfredIvanhoe]

I was going to say "the best opening scene ever", but someone got there first.

[stegatops]

There should be a number plate on the back of the Star destroyer saying......."We brake for nobody!" (re- Spaceballs.)

[PatchesRips]

What's this? A recruitment film for the United States Navy? :D

[VenomShock]

@PatchesRips Haha?

[hectvm78]

one of the greatest beginnings of all times.

[SonOfYoungwood]

This is the greatest opening shot in scifi history - even beating out 2001.

[sonnydaytona]

@SonOfYoungwood agree 100%!



[GREENDAYforever2]

I remember my Dad showing me star wars when I was about 4years old my reaction was WOW A SPACESHIP when the rebel space ship came into screen then when the star destroyer came into view and I said WOW A BIGGER SPACESHIP.

[misterviv1959]

With current state of the art graphics in movies and gaming, it's difficult to put across how groundbreaking this opening sequence was. I went to London for the premiere, and yes, as the empire's ship passed over you thought 'this must be the back of the ship'. But no,it was the hangar in the centre. Then 'ok,THIS must be the back of the ship'. wrong again.And so on. And it just got better. I came out after the movie and rang all my pals from a call box (no mobiles then) just to say WOW!

[guyloader]

Amazing, my dad always said to me that I could never imagine how exciting it was for people his age to see massive ship flying overhead at the cinema. Great scene, great films.

[Waterwarp]

long star destroyer is looooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­ooooooooooooooooooooong

[dokaw]

Just when you think that second ship is going to be only slightly larger than the first one, the hull just keeps dragging on....and on....and on.... xD

[buffyslayer30]

great shir right here.

[truetype80]

just love the way the star destoryer just keeps geting longer and longer like its never gonna end

[rhymeandreasoning]

believe it or not, i am 45..and have never once watched this movie....the only thing Star Wars I evern purchased was the 45rpm of the Star Wars disco theme by Meco back in the 70s..

[veevee305]

@rhymeandreasoning Then you are missing out! Truly an epic, engaging, and rich series/universe. Start with the prequels, those will introduce you to the background.

[taabuu2342]

@rhymeandreasoning :O You should try an see them. Trust me you are missing out.

[jimmyupthemountain]

@rhymeandreasoning

so what you are trying to say is your gay

[rhymeandreasoning]

@jimmyupthemountain oh yeah..absolutely GAY..hell yeah :-)

[jayce79]

This is gonna blow my mind in 3D.

[stege]

Impressive!

[darthteej1]

And lo, was teh summer blockbuster born...

[Mantikal]

Add to that the "over the top" layer of violent dramatic music and sounds effects and it gets to you. The scene shifted from a spacey, heavenly relaxing and wondrous floating star field & music to " sharp & uncomfortable" objects cutting into the frame with a rampaging war unsettling ( even nerve wrecking) sounds - very psychologically and subliminally effective on the viewer.

[Mantikal]

The reason it works is because it has "graphic design principles" and the "psychology of shapes" built into to the scene. It's literally graphic design in motion! People don't like sharp objects (like daggers) pointed at them = danger & fear. The pointy Star Destroyer tears or cuts into the rectangle scene frame like a knife and creates a dynamic point of focus at its point which also creates a crushing feeling in the viewer and again = danger & fear. The planet is round = comfort & safety.

[kabloom321]

As a child, I always played with my little toy Star Destroyer above my head for that same effect. haha.

[HelmutVillam]

@kabloom321

Thank God I'm not alone!!

[veljon]

my mom told me that when she saw it in 1977, everybody was amazed by the little rebel blockade runner that zoomed in from the top right corner, but their amazement was suddenly trumped by the even longer wider star destroyer

[thx291]

@veljon - I was 9 years old when I saw this in 1977. The only special effects I had really seen were from the "Star Trek" reruns and stop motion effects. This movie (and this opening scene) totally blew everyone away.

[thx291]

Special effects still hold up 33 years later.

[arohk1579]

nothing was more cooler then seeing that for the first time in '77 best movie of all times.

[shadowlink00125]

wow SD crawls for 12 seconds lol

sci-fi would be lacking in this sense of enormity if not for Star Wars

[Tyguy161]

didnt look like the guns were doing much to each other

[crackshack2]

that shot not only good but its powerful and describes a lot of the two main opposing forces

The Rebel's Small ship showing how weak and small they are against the Huge and powerful Empire and the length of the ship representing how far the Empire's reach is

But I watched someone else s review and I though what they said described the scene the best words can.

[MidgardEagle]

Look at that! The poor activists on the diplomatic vessel try to run the imperialist blockade, and are attacked without provocation! Then the dogs board the ship and start killing defenceless people for no reason, and--

...what? The Galactic Empire is not Jewish? Oh, sorry, my bad.

[Ralph64]

The legend, of course, is that George Lucas and Gary Kurtz (the producer) were strolling around in the evening looking for a movie to see, and George mused aloud, "Wouldn't it be cool to see an old Flash Gordon movie playing here?"

Legend... it gets more interesting in the retelling.

[JaspenCorp]

this opening explaines the entire plot of the movie. in this one shot they explaine that the movie will be about rebels cowering in fear over a vast and overpowering empire. so amazing...

[PredatorianStyl]

I think this is the best movie opening ever

does anyone know something you can even compare to it?

[jazzx251]

"2001 - A Space Odyssey"

opens with a black screen and eerie music for 5 minutes - then we get to see our ancestors pissing about. 20 minutes later, the film opens properly with a bone turning into a space station to the sounds of Strauss.

also

"Bladerunner" as the screen explodes onto a dramatic nightmare panorama of a futuristic Los Angeles. Unforgettable.

But this is comparable to those with the massive spaceship chasing after the little one (which is actually fairly big).

[Policestate2000]

No.

[samsam29]

I also think this is the best but the opening to The Two Towers was also epic.

[LookAtTheWookie]

Why didnt the rebels just hit the breaks then the star destroyer would have flown right past them.

[Anakin1Vader]

Play Rogue Squadran and watch happens when you near a Star Destroyer - ) just because they did not show all of the lasers in this scene doesn't mean that's all it got. Lord Vader just wanted to damage the ship, board it to find out what happened to the plans, not totally destroy it.

[freakinajar]

there are no brakes in space

[filiperodriguesaquin]

Best movie opening ever. Period.

[douardinio]

@filiperodriguesaquin Best MOVIE ever

[R8erNation636]

Keptain Kirk can pwn darth veder and maek princeess leia his bitch.

[PaterTuus]

Stop smoking crack, a single Imperator-class star destroyer can annihilate the Star Trek Federation by itself.

[scrye493]

Depends on the era. Back when Kirk was cowboying around, Starfleet basically WAS the Enterprise (at least, if all the episodes where non-Enterprise ships were destroyed are any indication), so the Empire would certainly have a huge numerical advantage. But once we get up to TNG, it's a different question.

[Idazmi7]

@PaterTuus Fanwank Alert! Fanwank Alert! Embarassment to fanbase detected..!

[R8erNation636]

lol whut

[Barricade]

I -barely- remember seeing this when it originally came out, other then this first scene with my father next to me muttering: "That's one bloody big ship" when it -finally- clears the screen.

[Yoshi5020]

Haha, my dad still talks about seeing this as a teenager!

And remember, as Lucas has said, a whole half of the movie experience is the sound, which is also what this movie pioneered.

[WarhammerftwXD]

Yea. Only there is no sound in space tho :P But ofc, this movie would suck with no sound, so ofcourse they had to make sounds :)

[KillSwitch2]

Incredible that this was made in 1977. This opening scene still impresses me more than all 2 hours of last year's "Transformers".

[Thetruetoast]

Makes me want to build a life sized one. lulz. (May not fly, but hey, I could live in it and drive it or something :P)

[TomthatiscalledTom]

I read that when this was first released, audiences actually ducked in the aisles f movie theatres because nothing like this had ever been done in a movie. The Star Destroyer looks like it really is about a kilometre long...CGI 'effects' are basically glorified cartoons, this is so much better

[gitmeout]

The models actually look more real than the cgi

[hitman2070]

I think you're right. These films and special fx still look amazing to this day, and cgi stuff looks so fake.

[miltonluvsno1]

It also has the awesome echoing blaster noises from the star destroyer unlike the new films

[Enzo012]

I think that is CGI, I don't think the fight in space was in the original, it just started with the boarding.

[hitman2070]

Wrong my friend.. This is the opening scene from the original film before the stormtroopers boarded and attacked. I saw it numerous times in theaters back in 1977 when I was 8. No CGI here, it didn't exist back then.

[starwarsrebel2006]

You are wrong sir. I saw this in the movie theatre in 1977...many times. I was 10 years old and it only cost a dollar to see it back then.

[kaioxygen]

Best scene of any film ever

[drew102065]

I remember seeing this in the theaters when I was 11 and I still think it's still the best opening ever filmed.

[Robinsonmaraboli]

Maitreya is an antichrist is a deception of the rebels extraterrestrials (demons). The rebels control the anarchy, communism and socialism and its international goal is conquering the world. Their leaders are: The general Lex Luxor (Hades, Quetzalcoatl, satan) and Ela Morgana (Persephone, Shiva, Diana). They are on our planet more than 20000 years ago. Jesus (Kyle) is the king of extraterrestrials, but the rebels do not accept it.

LET MORTAL KOMBAT BEGIN...

[XxxC0nn3r]

i remember seeing this when i was like 4 or 5 years old and remembering how awesome it was seeing it for the first time, man star wars is the best, thank god for it

[pivotmaker130086]

i have the original theater version of the saga on a VHS

[XxxC0nn3r]

dude so do i!!

[Scarpacci21]

This is what started it all. In 1977 people were skeptical about a space story. But starting the movie with this bang was excellent. The rest is history. 2nd most grossing movie of all time only behind Titanic.

[Youtengei]

The empire must have horrible aim lol.

[Ralph64]

I've been told that the usage of the "small model" Star Destroyer for the initial shot was meant to be test footage...

There was a plan to build a huge [40-ft-long??] model for this first shot--so important was the 'suspension-of-disbelief' effect for Lucas.

But the test footage came out so spectacular that it became the first SFX clip shown in any Star Wars film!

Any old-timers from ILM out there, please correct or clarify my understanding of the story.

[TomthatiscalledTom]

I saw this for the first time on the big screen aged 6....I was blown away. I still am today

[arod889]

was this the intro to the 1st movie??

[guguigugu]

I can imagine the reactions to a scene like this back in '77. That was frikkin 30 years ago... WOW

[pantzertank]

IM WAS BORN IN 77

[Ravenkliff]

Judging by your use of all caps and malapropism, sure you don't mean 2007?

[Pawn1787]

I still remember the first time I saw this opening shot in June of 1977 and visually being blown away.

[jpedwar]

As much as I love this opening scene, it contains one glaring flaw...the small runner ship disappears in the distance above the horizontal plane of the imperial destroyer. Cut to the next scene and it's suddenly visible below the same horizontal plane.  But I still love it!

[Ravenkliff]

maybe the star destroyer pulled up to hit it better. or maybe the runner went down.

[Neasyorc]

Naw man this is the best opening for a number of reasons. I mean when i first saw this movie back in 77 this was the shit. I mean to see it on the big screen. My god, they dont make films like this anymore.

[Kyzersawsay]

This was 1977, They couldnt edit those out, and besides, They didnt have the good ability to edit out in film, CGI was science fiction back then.

[Barricade]

Its the most wanted opening shot in all of cinema history. EVERYONE since Star Wars came out has tried to come up with a shot like this, or tried to come up with a better one. Nothing has ever succeeded.

[svaran]

I agree its the best opening sequence ever, its what hooked me when I first saw it in 77, awesome.

[SecretAgentNo1]

Ya really

[ah3133]

i saw the star wars re-release in 1997, and this scene really impressed me even though i'd seen it on tv a thousand times. the wide screen and they way they film the imperial ship look makes it look massive.

[USCtrojansgamer]

yeah, but watch the 2004 version of Star Wars

[samustflego]

@USCtrojansgamer why?? the 1977 is the best one!!

[finnflight]

@ah3133 Lol, implying they actually filmed the ship.

[SecretAgentNo1]

I like it but i wish it would of lasted longer!!

[USCtrojansgamer]

yeah, me too!