Tagline: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
Curiosity: Some folks from Vimeo remade Star Wars (Or Episode IV/A New Hope or whatever the hell we’re supposed to call it now) by stitching together 15-second homemade recreations. People then voted online to select the best submissions. The result is essentially a real life Be Kind Rewind.
Plot: Really? You don’t know the plot to Star Wars? Basically, a whiney farm boy, a whiney princess, an old guy, a super cool cowboy and his best friend who is also a dog/bear/gorilla thingy, and their two gay robots fight imperialism… IN OUTER SPACE. Some of them use this thing called “the force.” It’s kind of like Neo in The Matrix. The farm boy studies magic from the old guy, like Harry Potter and Dumbledore but with swords instead of fake Latin phrases. It kicks off an epic trilogy. Sort of like a sci-fi Lord of the Rings. It’s kind of like the Masters of the Universe of the ’70s, now that I think about it. And it has that guy from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!
Thoughts: With all of the remakes I’m dreading (Total Recall, The Toxic Avenger, freaking Spider-Man), you’d think I’d be against anyone touching the original Star Wars trilogy. Hell, after the remastered editions and the “new trilogy,” I’ve been burned out on Star Wars for the last few years. But mastermind Casey Pugh and a massive group of loyal fans have created something charmingly low tech and humorously faithful. By breaking New Hope up into 15 second clips, this adaptation made me realize that the entire movie is one big iconic quote fest. New Hope is a film I’ve seen countless times. It’s ingrained in my DNA. So it was fun for me to watch this fan film and try to figure out what was going on. Sometimes the shots that make no got-damn sense are just as compelling as the ones that do.
Considering the film is 90 minutes long, it’s insane how many people contributed 15-second clips. There’s a lot of repetition, though. Pretty much anytime people try to include a pop cultural riff, they fail, either because so many folks do it (Too many Star Trek and Simpsons references. Come on, nerds, try harder!), or because they force a reference in without actually making a joke (Clerks, Space Balls). It’s the Date Movie approach to filmmaking. Also, the CGI scenes look like crap (Just like in the real movies!).
Still, though, the film overall is a humorous tribute. Here are my top five favorite parts:
- Anything involving children, animals, or both, which is the exact opposite of what I look for in “real” movies. The only thing better than Han Solo and Chewbacca is Han Solo as a little kid and Chewbacca as a dog.
- Anything with stop-motion or hand-drawn animation.
- Anytime someone impersonates Chewbacca.
- The first time Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theater 3000 show up as C-3PO and R2-D2.
- Han shoots first!
The movie is an amazing hodgepodge of animation and home video. The special effects vary greatly, which is neat. The audio varies too, which is frustrating. But it’s a fun curio, a nice reminder that a long time ago, before all the cash-ins, we all loved Star Wars.
Click here to watch the full film.
Reflection: That’s it, I’m gonna make a tribute film to The Marine.
Star Wars Uncut "The Escape" from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.
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