Saga Which moment from the films typifies to you what Star Wars is/should be all about?

For me, It HAS to be the scene in ESB where the Falcon is desperately trying to escape the Empire and the hyperdrive won't work. And they proceed into the asteroid field to try and escape. The action, music, dialogue. Everything is spot on and typifies for me what SW is all about. What about yourselves?

 

The binary sunset from A New Hope, with the binary sunset/Force theme playing behind it. The sunset has a special meaning in Star Wars. It represents destiny and what our heroes yearn for. It's the spirit of adventure, far beyond whatever miserable lot in life we have now, that's waiting for us if we can heed its call and begin a journey towards greatness.

 

Coruscant twilight. An eternal city bathed in dying light, wondrously alien yet strangely mundane. Just a stunning combination of quiet contemplative characterization and painterly blending of CGI--which wowed me on a visual level more than any vaunted practical effect or backdrop.

 

Luke smiling at the Ghosts of Anakin & the Masters. It's the perfect summation of all the battles/tragedies that occur throughout the saga, but at the end good prevails.

 

Nice observation. It reminded me of Ghost in the Shell and the 'Qatsi films when I saw it first. Very beautiful moment.

For me it's either the Duel of the Fates or the Battle of the Heroes, two of the absolute high-points of action filmmaking and modern mythmaking from movies in the past fifty-odd years or so. The intercutting of different action strands is also a great element, and something that's helped BotH rise for me over time-- DotF is inarguably the better duel, but seeing Anakin and Obi-Wan's angst-ridden fight broken up by Yoda taking on the Emperor in the Senate, with all the grand specatacle and symbolism that implies, is just classic.

 

Yeah definitely this is the most iconic moment in Star Wars.
It is the music that really makes it for me though. When I saw ROTS and the Force Theme played as Obi Wan and Anakin flew in at the start I was thinking "THIS IS STAR WARS!! OH NO THIS IS IT! I'VE BEEN WAITING 22 YEARS TO SEE HOW THIS TURNS OUT!!! HELP!"
I even shed a tear during the Family Guy spoof of the binary sunset. I probably need help.

 

The ruminations scene

 

When you watch the rest of the saga, and then go back and watch Darth Maul's entrance in TPM it's just like "****. This is where it all started!"

 

ESB when Vader first appears to Luke on Cloud City.

"The force is with you young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet".

It is the perfect scene

 

ANH -- Leia pecking Luke on the cheek, before he swings her across the Death Star chasm. Elegant, romantic and soulful.

(Lucas riffed on this moment in ROTS, where Kenobi and Vader clash swords while dangling on cables--two angels warring in Hell. Awesome stuff.)

 

Nice interpretation of the ROTS moment. I'm still trying to think of a few good anime connections to make with the Prequels, and ROTS has that feel in parts especially. The Battle of the Heroes at times feels like it could be ripped from a Final Fantasy cut-scene.

 

I have two moments that generally were the two moments that defined my vision of Star Wars. I also think Maul's entrance in TPM is probably one of the best moments in the whole saga, however the two (probably less iconic) moments for me were:

(1) In ROTJ, after the scene where the AT-ST shoots the tree on endor, it cuts to the space battle - the following 45 seconds is basically carved into my mind. The epic space battle, the music, when you see the Falcon pull into the battle, the whole thing (for me) just typifies the Star Wars galaxy.

(2) For some reason, when I went and saw TPM at the movies, I loved the part where Qui Gon and Obi are fighting off the seps at the start of the movie, but my favourite part of the whole thing is when Gunray starts yelling "This is impossible!" as they're cutting through the blast doors - something about the music and the look on Qui Gon's face make this one of my favourite moments.

 

I would say the opening crawls always remind me that it's Star Wars, and they always get my heart pumping and excited.

 

Well agree. Those two moments are among the best and the most compelling, Especially the carbon-freezing chamber duel.

Hard to chose one for me actually.

I'll add the scene in the Death Star in ROTJ, when Vader searches and speaks to Luke, before the final fight occurs and Luke rushes upon Vader to slay him. Terrific scenery, dialog and music.

Also the senate scene in the TPM (Palpatine manipulating the queen and Valorum removed). Most memorable scene of the PT to me. Great cinematography, special effects, dialog, scenery and drama.

 

It would have to be the scene where Luke defies the Emperor in RotJ. You know the one. "I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

That's the moment when a man decides that he'd rather die than betray his principles. That's the moment when he decides he'd rather be destroyed than become an agent of evil. It's the moment when he finally comes to terms with his legacy, and accepts his father, good and bad.

It's a moment that isn't about genetics, or position, or money. It's about a man making a selfless choice. That's true heroism.

That sums up the whole spirit of Star Wars for me. What's best about it is that it served as a perfect dramatic conclusion to all three films of the OT. Now, post-prequels, it serves as the perfect dramatic conclusion to all six films of the Saga.

Episode IX has a lot to live up to.

 

The scene where Luke and Leia swing across the Death Star chasm while being fired upon by stormtroopers...Very swashbuckler/serial feel like Uncle George was going for and a great adventure moment!

PS: Jedi Comedian do you remember writing this when you were me? I know it was a few regenerations ago my fellow Doctor... lol....

 

Swinging across the chasm has to be one. Luke first drawing his saber against Vader is another.

For the PT, I think it goes to the MTT's unloading their massive amounts of droids in the Phantom Menace. Shows a clash of a primitive people against seemingly impossible odds.

 

Well, that was a long time ago. Lifetimes - I was a different man back then.

 

The Binary Sunset, crossing the chasm, going to lightspeed, Han coming in destroying the tie-fighter: Luke destroys the DS, "The Force is with you young Skywalker but you are not a Jedi yet", The asteroid field, Vader and the Emperor arriving on the DS, The final duel between Vader and Luke, Anakin throwing Palpatine down the shaft, the Rebel fleet assembled at Sullust and about to attack the 2nd DS. All that for the OT but not sure for PT.

 

Oh wow, agreed so much with that Phantom Menace moment. When I watched it as a kid, hearing that Force theme play for the first time, seeing the zen-like concentration on Qui-Gon's face, and hearing Nute Gunray's exclamation of disbelief...it was my first introduction to Jedi, and on a broader scale, Star Wars. Couldn't of asked for a better start.

 

I can't even describe it, but when I first saw Attack of the Clones everything and anything pertaining to Kamino just left me in awe (still does, actually). I think that one of the top moments in all of Star Wars for me would probably be Obi-Wan encountering the Clone Army for the first time on Kamino. The atmosphere is just perfect, the mystery surrounding the scene in brilliantly woven in, and the imagery is striking. Its beautiful and absolutely horrific at the same time. The Republic's only hope for salvation lies in the lab-grown soldiers that are, for all intents and purposes, biological robots that will inevitably one day gun down the very Jedi that lead them into battle and assist the Emperor and Vader in their goal to conquer the galaxy.

 

It's the Binary Sunset scene in the original film for me. Who hasn't had that moment in their life when they felt that they were destined to do something great? Whether that "great" thing is to be a doctor, a father, or just a great friend, it doesn't matter.

 

The entire last portion of RoTJ, from the Rebel fleet going into hyperspace till the credit roll. The Special Edition version helps here - the new Ewok song is way better than the original.

Honorable mention: Yes, TPM isn't very good, but the Darth Maul fight is still amazing, and the saving grace of that movie. That's what lightsaber fights should be. And yes, I've seen even more visually impressive ones (Palpatine vs. Maul and Savage in The Lawless, for example), but somehow the TPM one still really sets the gold standard.

 

Both scenes in which Anakin switches sides of The Force. So emotionally powerful.