Star Wars 1977

"Only a master of evil Darth." Obi One Kenobi

☆☆☆☆☆ Iconic

Stars Wars (1977) is an iconic film whose Force is eternal.

Directed by George Lucas.

Starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Alec Guinness among many others.

I recently watched Stars Wars (1977) in its entirety for the first time. I was struck by how timeless the story is and how well the special effects hold up. The Flash Gordon type of serialized adventure storytelling is fantastic. The musical score give it added weight. The aliens that populate it universe drew me into the fantasy. While the immortal saga of good versus evil triumphing against all odds gave it humanity. I could go on and on, but suffice to say that it is an iconic film.

As I marvelled at Lucas' creation I realized that he had pulled off what only H.G. Wells had done, so brilliantly in his stories. George, like H.G. had imbued his mythical stories with plausibility. Instead of King Arthur and his Knights of the round table fighting with swords against powerful sorcers with magic, or of Robin Hood and his merry men in the forrest of Sherwood fighting with bows and arrows against an evil monarchy you have Jedi knights using the Force to fight the dark side of the force. From the opening crawl through the happy ending I was completely immersed in George's world. I had a similar escape with Andy and Lana Wachowski's, The Matrix (1999).

The scene below showcases the superb special effects and masterful editing that revolutionized film making. It still looks great today.

Film  Scene

Trivia - Harrison helped George audition actors by reading with them during their auditions. George soon realized that only Harrison could play Hans Solo.

Film Trailer

Film Script

The Matrix

"Free your mind" Morpheus

☆☆☆☆☆ Masterpiece

The Matrix (1999) put the final nail on 35mm prints coffin and ushered in the digital film making age.

Directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski.

Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving among many others.

I remember going to the theater early in the morning to see The Matrix when it first opened.
I was so amazed at the visuals that as soon as it finished I went back to the box office and saw it again. I did this one more time. The film still has that visual impact when I saw it again recently.

The Wachowski brothers freed my mind to the limitless possibilities that exist within our imagination. The opening scenes with Carrie-Anne and the bullet dodging scenes throughout the film forever changed the way movies are made. Andy and Lana also helped me to visually understand the mental freeing process that The Actors Studio MFA program had been helping me to attain. Whether we are in a Matrix or not, is not as important to me as having the freedom to explore the world we are in and who we really are. Most of the philosophical dialogue went over my head, but the visuals explained everything to me. The Matrix visually reminds me of Michelangelo Antonioni's, L 'Avventura (1960). Andy and Lana like Michelangelo prefer to tell a story visually. The story and dialogue only further the visuals impact.

Hugo's acting is superb throughout the film. Weaving's slow, methodical, menacing and humorous line delivery was a joy to watch. I compare Hugo's vocal delivery to Merly Streep. Both actors use their voice's to bring out the subtext that the dialogue alludes to. The scene below illustrates Hugo's masterful vocal delivery to bring out a deeper understanding of the character that the story lacks. Enjoy!

Film Scene

Trivia - Metacortex, the name of the company Neo works for means, "transcending the boundaries of the brain." Meta, transcending; Cortex, the grey outer part of the brain.

Film Trailer

Film Script