Sci-Fi Opening Sequence Analysis - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Sci-Fi Opening Sequence Analysis - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Year released: 1977

Director: George Lucas

Studio: Lucasfilm

Top Billed Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher

The genre of A New Hope is science fiction (sci-fi), this can be seen instantly through the opening extreme long shot of a large spaceship flying through space which fires lazer beams at a smaller ship, chasing after it. This along with the fanfare non-diegetic soundtrack create a grand atmosphere that feels epic and large in scale which is perfectly inline with how a sci-fi film should feel, epic, fresh and leave audiences in awe and the scale and size, this was executed to a high standard especially considering it was 1977; it goes to show that simple scenes can create magical feelings for audiences.

The tone of the opening sequence is exciting and fresh, it feels original. This is most effectively shown when the door of the spaceship is blown open by the soldiers dressed in white who then enter the ship and fire and those onboard, engaging in a face off. This is just pure excitement since explosions and gunfights have an international appeal and engages many different generations. The explosion itself even looks from the future coloring shades of purples and orange which alone could capture the attention of every single person watching. This all sets a thrilling tone that feels like you are in for an adventure of pure fun, no gore, or overly complicated twists it just feels simple yet executed to the highest degree possible.

The audience is especially engaged by the clever use of CGI throughout the sequence, such as the laser beams and blast effects; it looks like its from the 2000's not the 70's which suggests a timeless quality to the product. Once again the colour purple is used, now for the lazer effects which highlights the effective use of the color for the future since it seems futuristic and experimental, not a possibly typically safe color to work with since most films use red/orange for gun fire/explosions.

The character of the young woman presented to us is that she is strong and independent like a role model to young girls of the 1970's were gender equality wasn't quite there yet. This is shown when she takes down a soldier in white by shooting it which is a lot more than the other incompetent other 'friendly' soldiers in green. It reinvents the wheel of a damsel in distress and those captured are not useless but they can fight back. We are also shown a metal droid who appears to be introduced as the 'comic relief' with his comedic rigid motions and black facial expression and even his dialogue like when he says 'i'm really going to regret this' when he jumps into an escape pod. Finally the last major character presented to us is a villain who is dressed in all black with expressionless mask, this automatically provides the connotations he is a powerful evil character and that he is ruthless because we are shown him choking someone to death on the spot.

Based on the whole opening sequence I think the narrative will follow what the gold and small white/blue robots get up to and where their escape pod takes them too, i also believe the narrative will present focus on how to the young woman is going to be rescued from the clutches of the villain in black. The sequence i feel was a very successful opener for the film, it set up some key characters whilst presenting to us a bit about their personalities but most importantly introducing us to what looks like the key antagonist of the film and the power he contains.