Word: leia
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Along with Luke, Darth Vader will be back, as menacing as ever, as will Princess Leia, Han Solo, the Wookie Chewbacca and computerdom's cutest robots, Artoo Detoo and Threepio. There will also be several new characters, "of various genres," as Creator George Lucas phrases it, together with "aliens, robots and others, including humans." What about Obi-wan-Kenobi, the role that last week brought Alec Guinness an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor? Lucas is suddenly circumspect. "Obi-wan's aura will be there," he says cautiously, "his essence, if you like...
...characters imposes severe restrictions on the range of dramatic possibilities available to the actors; there are only so many ways that an actress can play the role of a Joan of Arc figure that is an unabashed stereotype, as Fisher probably learned as she approached her Princess Leia character, the leader of the insurrectionists. And Lucas undoubtedly never intended Star Wars to be a showcase full of stars, perhaps bearing in mind that some recent releases with similar box office potential did not have to assemble a blinding array of celebrities to turn over a very large buck (Jaws, Billy...
...shattering pitch as one rebel craft after another falls prey to the marauding pilots of the imperial forces. The toll of casualties among the rebels keeps adding up until one lone plane remains; naturally, it is manned by Luke Skywalker (Hamill), the naive twenty-year-old enraptured by Princess Leia's beauty who seeks to avenge the death of his father during the space age totalitarians overthrow of the republic. Luke is an irresistible figure, the country bumpkin with just the right touch of idealism and star-struck awe to endear him to any audience. He saves...
With all the wonderful illusions and tricks, the actors-the live actors, that is -sometimes felt like robots themselves. "They don't exactly give you a course in acting in a science fiction movie," says Carrie Fisher, 20, who plays Princess Leia. "At one point I'm supposed to react to seeing my planet blow up. You know, there go my parents, my record collection, everything. What do I see? A hand waving to tell me where to look." Adds Mark Hamill, 25, who plays Luke Skywalker: "Acting in this movie, I felt like a raisin...
Despite the talent and the money arrayed against it, Star Wars has one clear advantage: it is simple, elemental, and therefore unique. It has a happy ending, a rarity these days. Princess Leia is saved, the Death Star is vaporized-oh, come on, you knew it all along-and Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Artoo Detoo and Threepio receive the gratitude of freedom lovers everywhere. For most audiences the only sadness in the climax is that the film ends and cannot go on and on and on. It is surely one of the swiftest two hours on celluloid...