Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (TMC): The Influences of George Lucas

Broadcast this Monday, January 16, 2023 at 9:25 p.m. on TMC, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope marks the origins of a cult saga that rocked all generations. The opportunity to delve into the sources of inspiration of George Lucas to build a rich universe.

On May 25, 1977, a monument to the seventh art was born. The general public discovers a kind of visual UFO, Star Wars, currently available on Disney+. Released at the time under the name of Star wars in France, the film tamed the international box office that year with 530 million dollars harvested. This episode is the first film in the saga in release order but the fourth in chronological order. It introduces characters who have become legendary in popular culture, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Princess Leia played by Carrie Fisher. These come to stand against the Galactic Empire at the hands of the tyrannical Darth Vader.

The influence of cinema

Difficult to mention Star Wars not to mention some cinematic influences. Among the elements that make up the collective imagination of the saga is the lightsaber. Weapons inspired by samurai movies like The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. Moreover, the qualifier “Jedi” echoes the term Jidai-geki, Japanese name given to the theatrical, cinematographic and television genre devoted to medieval Japanese history. The world of Star Wars also gives pride of place to the large desert expanses that serve as the setting for westerns. The character of Han Solo played by Harrison Ford, motivated by the lure of profit, recalls the figures of anti-heroes à la Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone’s dollar trilogy.

The importance of literature

The universe of Star Wars would probably not exist without Joseph Campbell, who established the concept of the “hero’s journey” in his book The hero with a thousand and one faces, who brings together the main studies on the heroes of antiquity. A major work for George Lucas, who gave life to the character of Luke Skywalker confronted with an initiatory odyssey. Like a Chiron, mentor to Achilles in Greek mythology, Luke Skywalker receives advice from old Obi-Wan Kenobi on his journey. The filmmaker also drew on the science fiction literature of Isaac Asimov, a pioneer of the genre, to imagine the design of his droids. Also, there are many similarities in the narrative structure between Star Wars and Dunes by Frank Herbert; a struggle of rebel forces carried by a hero with mystical powers, Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) and Paul Atreide (Dunes), and who challenge the authority of a tyrannical order, the Galactic Empire on one side, the Imperium on the other.