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

R2-D2 vs. the Buzz Droid

It’s not just a moment; it’s a heroic moment. It is the entire movie (the entire saga) devoted to the briefest narrative. I love how R2-D2’s victory is scored with the classic action theme familiar to the OT, which I believe marks the first and only time it is ever heard in the PT. I also love how Anakin and Obi-Wan cheer him on:

"Get 'em, Artoo! …Watch out!"

"Artoo, hit the buzz droid center eye!"

"Yeah! You got 'em!"

"Great, Artoo!"

Most other films and filmmakers would be too-cool-for-school to do a scene like this, or they would only do it as a half-joke, with hip irony or pithy self-awareness. Not here. Lucas keeps it genuine. He throws it up on the screen wholeheartedly--a 'gee-whiz!' moment as sincere as any. Pure, 24k Star Wars fun.

 

Anytime someone ignites their lightsaber while staring down an enemy - that is when i know its Star Wars.

 

I like this. The scene for me is when Qui Gon &
Obi Wan walk on the Trade Federation ship with their hoods on.

 

Another underrated scene is "I sense something, a presense I have not felt since......and Vader turns to walk away nervously.He surely sensed Obi Wan, but I often wonder does he sense a little of Padme with the presense of Luke & Leia at the same time? The last time he felt any presense was on Mustafah, but he never mentions that out loud.

 

It was kind of like watching your little brother deal with a bully knowing he had to accomplish it on his own. Surely Anakin could have flicked that buzz droid aside with the Force but why not give Artoo his own personal victory.

 

Then why didn't Obi-Wan flick the buzz droids off his own ship with the Force?

 

I think Obi-Wan spent all his energy/concentration on flying the ship, particularly since he complained about flying and exclaimed that those buzz droids were "all over" him.

Anakin had great strength in the Force and may have been able to do it, but delegated to Artoo -- his loyal hero droid.

I like the interpretation above. It's neat and imaginative.

 

@Arawn_Fenn, ^ That.

 

the binary sunset represents the yearning that is at the heart of Star Wars and real life.

Luke's defiance of the Emperor shows what Anakin/Vader needed to learn - that the choice was always individual.

the funeral pyre shows the emotion a son has for his father

the 1983 ghosts looking at Luke and friends shows forgiveness among themselves and pride in the new generation.

All of these show what I think a Star Wars film(s) should be about.

 

these are the 2 that i came into this thread to post.

 

Aw, these are like potato chips. You can't have just one. Here's two for me:

The starry scene with Anakin and Qui-Gon ("I'm gonna be the first one to see 'em all!")

And R2 on tiptoes outside of Yoda's hut.

 

There are so many. Is there a limit to just one moment?
TPM-
Hooded Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arriving on the TF ship, being greeted by a protocal droid. And later when the droids open the door the Jedi ignite their sabers visible through the gas.
Anakin leaving his mother, who tells him "don't look back". Emotional and meaningful.
Obi-Wan vs Maul. This part is so cool, it reminds me of seeing the movie in 99.
Qui-Gon's funeral.
Padme's smile to Anakin during the celebrations at the end of TPM. Innocent yet foreboding.
AOTC-
The moment Anakin realises his mother has died, and the music that follows. The Tatooine scenes really save the movie for me.
ROTS-
"Master. General Grievous's ship is directly ahead." Love that he still calls Obi-Wan Master.
Padme and Anakin talking about the dream he just had. So depressing.
Anakin acting more Jedi like than in the other five movies... "I say patience"... "I have no excuse"... "Master. I've disappointed you" etc.
Sidious beginning the "Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise".
The thunder during the turn scene, Anakin's "I need him!", and the force (IMO) going way further out of balance with Anakin's turn.
The dark moment Anakin walks into the room where the younglings are hiding.
The inversion of the Binary Sunset as Vader looks at an eclipse.
The mask being lowered on Vader, and Anakin's metaphorical death on hearing Padme has died.
ANH-
The pod containing Artoo and Threepio floating down to Tatooine.
"No. I don''t like you either." Anything from R2 and 3PO in this movie is gold.
Binary Sunset, of course.
Jedi mind-trick on the Stormtrooper.
Luke training, blocking the practice shots with the visor on.
Obi-Wan sensing Alderaan's destruction.
Vader waiting for Obi-Wan with his saber ignited, and generally the dialogue in this scene.
Han returning, and Luke using the force to destroy the deathstar.
ESB-
The moment (and music) when Han first arrives back at the base on Hoth early in the movie. The "da da DA DA Daaaaa" lol.
The music kicking in and the Ties chase the Milennium Falcon through the asteroid field.
Dagobah generally, from "It's like something out of a dream..." and "Feel like what?" to Yoda's later teachings.
Han going into carbonite.
The whole duel and Vader's revelation.
The ending... beyond words.
ROTJ-
Luke arriving at Jabba's palace.
The triumphant pwning of Jabba's sail barge.
Vader and Luke sensing each other as the main characters arrive above Endor.
Luke igniting his saber while fighting the speeder bike.
The conflict in Luke as The Emperor (and later Vader) taunt him into fighting.
Luke defying The Emperor and Vader/Anakin saving Luke's life.

 

It's not the flashiest, most action packed, or most awe-inspiring moment in he saga, but for me, the hut scene between Obi-Wan and Luke in ANH is everything.

I honestly think that scene might be what drew me in to Star Wars with such a ferocious passion, though it is admittedly hard to remember.

You see, I was 4 years old when the SE's were released back in '97. First movies I ever saw in a theatre. I remember the opening logo startled me, and Darth Vader scared the living hell out of me, but as soon as the two droids touched down on tatooine, my attention was no longer held. It was getting boring.

Then Old Ben showed up.

I had(fortunately still have) a very wise, very charming grandfather, so it was fixed in my brain that when an old man with an interesting voice and a grey beard shows up, YOU SHUT UP AND YOU LISTEN TO HIM. So I did. I latched on to every word that man said.

Let it be known that Alec Guinness' acting in ANH is, in my opinion at the very least, the single best preformance in the saga. He makes you believe in this world. He makes you feel at the bottom of your being that this crazy place full of aliens and spaceships and lightsabers has a beating human heart at its core.

Not to mention, his preformance is more or less the saving grace for the legitimacy of the rest of the saga. You probably already know what I'm talking about, but there's a moment, just before he tells Luke how his father died, where Alec looks down and away from Luke, with just the slightest hint of pain in his eyes. That was before even George Lucas knew that Obi Wan might be lying. It's with great acting instincts that Alec made a plot twist, 3 years later, feel credible. You get the sense that there is more to the story that what's being said. Which brings me to my main point.

I fall in love with the saga again every time I hear Obi-Wan talk about the force and the Old Republic. It's perfectly scripted. It's perfectly preformed. Most importantly, and what gripped me as a 4 year old, was that Obi Wan was laying down a mythology that existed far beyond the screen. The idea that this world I was seeing, with its run down technology and sandy wastelands, was only the tip of the iceberg absolutely KILLED me as a child. The day after we saw the movie, my older brother bought a huge pack of Star Wars trading cards, and I examined the pictures with a ravenous hunger, searching for any additional glimpse into this larger world.

I understand (and about half the time agree with)a lot of the criticism towards the prequels, but what I absolutely don't understand are the people who, out of spite, wish that the prequels had never even been attempted. I cant fathom someone who heard Obi Wan talk and didnt want to know what the Old Republic was like, what a real Jedi Knight was. I wanted to know more about the force. I wanted to know what the galaxy was like before the Empire (as a 4 year old, the mere idea that governments could change was mindblowing as well).

For me, and the reason I consider the Star Wars universe to be the most interesting fictional universe ever created, is that these movies feel like the tip of the iceberg. They communicate to you a feeling of endless possibility, that there is a whole expansive world out there beyond the screen, full of people and worlds and, yes, other star-wars. And that sense of wonder and curiosity originated, and is best exemplified, by that wonderous conversation between a wide-eyed young kid and a weathered old wizard.

 

So hard to choose, but if I limit myself to just two examples for each what I see as three main "essential components" of what SW is/should be:

--for the action/adventure aspects of SW: the lightsaber duel between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan and the space battle at the beginning of ROTS

--for the emotional/mythic "core" of the story arc: Obi-Wan's last words to Anakin on Mustafar ("You were my brother!") and, even more so, Anakin's dying words to Luke (especially: LUKE: "I've got to save you!" ANAKIN: "You already have, Luke.") [personal side note: I fully admit to having my own "father redemption" issues that never fail to inform my emotional response to that scene...]

--for the sheer fun of a universe filled with all sorts of unusual life forms: the "opera" performance in ROTS and any scene with R2D2 (counted as an artificial "life form"

 

The asteroid chase scene in AOTC was spectacular. Great use of sound.

 

The entire coming out of lightspeed at the Death Star II, "it's a trap", start of the epic space battle scene!

 

This part:

... leading all the way through this part:

 

Luke, Leia and the Death Star bridge. Pure Star Wars.

 

There's this one moment during the Mustafar duel where Anakin and Obi-Wan are on opposite floating platforms, lightsabers ignited, and they zoom past a pair of Mustafarian workers who are busy mining lava. Its a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot, but for some reason it really stood out to me. Here are these two myth-like warriors dueling with the fate of the galaxy in the balance, and here are two average aliens getting on with their business. It exemplifies the big and small in Star Wars; the fact that no matter how gargantuan the proceedings are, there is a universe of beings that will continually live out their routine without knowing that world-changing conflict is occurring. It's almost humbling, to remember that these heroic larger-than-life figures we've been watching are just tiny pieces in a galaxy-sized puzzle.

Or it was just an excuse to put some CGI in the frame, but I prefer to analyse it

 

It's hard for me to explain this, but there are two sides to Star Wars with me: the "Neimoidian" side of things (which has worked its way into, literally, my everyday life), and the "Star Wars" side of things. Both are equally important to me; sometime they're separate and sometimes they meld together (creating the absolute best scenario!), but I have no less love for either. I VERY much appreciate the non-Neimoidian side of things (and I think a lot of my posts here show it), and even if I weren't drawn to them, I would still be madly in love with Star Wars - Neimoidians just add that extra something

That being said, I think the moment that truly typifies the Neimoidian-dominated side of things for me is the initial invasion of Naboo. There's just a certain something about that scene that touches me - I'm reminded of my childhood and seeing Episode I for the first time, appreciating how different it was from the OT and yet how familiar, and my initial affinity towards the Neimoidians, even as an 8 year old. It's the nostalgia factor as much as anything that does it for me - not necessarily the power of the Trade Federation. I think, in the back of my mind, something is saying "Yes! They're here to stay! We're going to see more of them!". Not only that but the Trade Federation is so integral within Neimoidian culture, I don't see how that scene cannot remind me of my precious Neimoidians.

For the non-Neimoidian-dominated part, it has to be the Cantina Scene (no, it's not because of the Duros! ). It's truly moments like this, I believe, that set Star Wars apart from other sci-fi - we're in a grimy, non-pristine, war-torn galaxy. Real, everyday life carries on all around the space battles and political struggles; it's very "down to Earth" for lack of a better term, and I think really allows the audience to connect even more to the film. The cantina is FILLED with different species, going about their business; some are interacting with each other, some are sitting alone, and there's even an awesome "alien" band playing in the background! This is something you could go and see at your local pub on a Wednesday night, and yet here we are, on a desert planet, in a distance galaxy, surrounded by all kinds of beings doing the exact same thing! For me, there is so much more to Star Wars than just the battles and action, and there is no better way to exemplify it than this. THIS is what Star Wars is about: a galaxy filled with more beings than is possible to count, living their lives in the midst of conflict, and even joining it!

 

I can't just pick one, so I'll pick several

Star Wars
-The Binary Sunset, need I say more?
The Empire Strikes Back
-"For my ally is the force". An amazing scene that expands upon what Ben said in Star Wars and shows the true nature of the force that I thought was degraded by the Prequel trilogy.
Return of the Jedi
-Vader's Redemption. The music, the expressions, and Vader's action make this an amazing scene. That is why it tears me to shreds that Lucas added, "No. Noooooo!"

 

There is but one scene that I believe summarizes exactly what the Star Wars saga is; the magic of it, the power and beauty of its music being able to immerse and make you believe in this world. This whole scene is the power of Star Wars, from the dialogue, to the characters, to the action.

 

The showcase of the cantina aliens.