CT How much of a cliffhanger was ANH?

At the time of movie, Vader escaping was the one big hint of a sequel. A scene that even a little kid understood. The Joker escapes Batman to fight again another day.

And then Splinter, and then... seriously... The Christmas Special and you got the picture that this thing isn't over

But nothing was a cliffhanger. The story was in a state where they could do pretty much anything. You had characters awaiting their orders.

 

If it was a cliffhanger then the teaser for Empire Strikes Back would not have had to bark at prospective audiences "Luke Skywalker and Han Solo rescued the princess and blew up the death star, BUT THEIR STORY DOESN'T END THERE!"

 

Vader is alive, Emperor is alive, Rebel base is no longer a secret...
Like i said, same as TPM.
Only TESB and TFA are cliffhangers.

 

Cliffhanger, no, but plenty of potential for further adventures. It's been argued that the story was written to the point that it was indicated that the Empire put all of their eggs in one basket with the Death Star, and that its destruction ultimately signified the end of the Empire itself - obviously that wasn't necessarily the case, as the Saga (and the Empire) continued along in a grand old fashion. The film could, however, still have stood alone on that basis.

Vader's recovery in his TIE Fighter from a chaotic spin and zooming off to who-knows-where is a classic tease for more to come, but not what you'd call a 'cliffhanger', though. Definitely not when you compare it to the next entry.

 

A cliffhanger is a suspenseful, unresolved ending designed to make the viewer eager to see the next part.

 

It's called a cliffhanger because the hero hanging from a cliff at the end of the episode or at commercial break with their fate and the outcome of the plot unresolved perfectly encapsulates the type of ending that attracts that label.

There's several reasons why Star Wars ending doesn't merit the term, regardless of the subsequent development of characters, relationships and conflicts.

Where Star Wars earns its association with cliffhangers is in the nature of the plot contained within it. The obstacle or impasse immediately followed by swift reversal or resolution before the story can proceed.

R2 captured / reunited with 3PO and sold to Owen

Luke attacked / Obi Wan introduced

Falcon captured / evasion of search party

R2 and 3PO about to be captured / 3PO conning trooper into letting them go

Detention centre stand off and trash compactor / R2 shuts off compactor

Luke and Leia's chasm swing

You can't have a whole story with cliffhangers of course. But the ticking clock nature of the third act is a sort of long drawn out cliffhanger.

 

I don’t think it ended on a cliffhanger. I agree that the only hint of a possible sequel was Vader surviving. Other than that it was a pretty finite ending.

 

ANH was not really a cliffhanger. We saw the final outcome therefore it was a self contained story. What would have made it a cliffhanger would be seeing Vader at the very end in space regaining control of his ship and make contact with his Star Destroyer.

 

Does anybody remember those T-shirts around 1978 or 1979 (could have been earlier, but I haven't seen any then) with Vader's picture on them reading "Darth Vader Lives"? Some kids in my school wore them. That sure was meant to be a hint.

But of course by the time ANH became so successful it was already clear there would be a sequel. Only before it was released it was unclear because most people involved expected the movie to be a disaster, especially Lucas himself. Practically nobody expected ANH to be a hit. I guess Lucas might have had the whole story in his head (VERY vaguely) but was prepared to let ANH be the only SW movie. I guess he wanted to keep his options open just in case the movie would be a success. I think in Empire of Dreams the first time anyone actually believed it might succeed was when they watched the first rough cut with music. So no, in my opinion ANH was not really meant to be a cliffhanger at the time it was made.

 

From what I heard from the older folks seeing ANH in the thatres - it felt as if the Movie was complete ... but that there was a sense that there could be sequels because of the open story parts you mentioned.... :">

 

Yep, the fact that the Death Star was destroyed did make it feel as if the Empire was defeated... :">

 

ANH was the first SW movie I ever saw, and its ending has never really felt like much of a cliff hanger to me.

Although Vader's survival does leave the possibility of sequels on the table.

 

Cliffhanger? No. Open for a continuation of the story? Yes. Honestly the only part of it we saw onscreen that hinted that there could be something more was Darth Vader surviving. Everything else had somewhat of a definitive end. But IMO the story should have continued as it did, cos Darth Vader was too formidable a villain in the film to just let him fly off into the distance and us never learn what became of him.

My parents (who are not big movie people) thought ANH when it was released was meant to be just one film. And when ESB came out, they protested it, feeling that it was just a cash-grab sequel. I've tried to help them understand over the years that the saga as a whole is all one continuing story, and nothing is rehashed (TFA's similarities notwithstanding), but they still refuse. In their minds, ANH is the only one that should've ever existed...