ST The nuances / ingredients that make a Star Wars film

1) Fantasy as opposed to reality
2) Ground breaking special effects
3) Drama
4) Heaps of imagination
5) Great characters and situations
6) Brilliant designs/concepts
7) Quasi - religious overtones
7) A great soundtrack

 

The 20th Century Fox Logo

...Too soon?

 

Shall I be the first?

1. Stars
2. Wars



But seriously, much of what Darth PJ said.

 

Heroism, villainy, scum,sabres, iconic space craft and battles, troopers of some kind, breakneck chases, creatures foul and friendly, spirituality/ mysticism, the highest of stakes, fun, friendship, heart and adventure.

And John Williams.

 

Droids, creatures, underworld, space battles, shootouts, action, adventure, comedy, drama, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, hero's journey, conflict, familiar yet new.

 

Explosions...

...in space

 

A happy ending (for the last episode, at least)

 

This. Star Wars would not be the same without that famous scream.

 

- fantastic visuals
- imaginative, exciting action sequences
- a few moments where theme and emotion transcend the pulp adventure genre
- an overall essence that refuses to be anything other than pulp adventure
- goofy aliens and stuff

 

There are a ton of incidental stylish things that create the feel of a SW film. Like the quiet as the Long time ago comes up then the horn blitz of the opening theme/crawl. Panning down from the crawl. Swipes from locations. The silent "cliffhanger" at then when we see shots of the main characters -- all combine to create that feel we love so dearly.

 

That goes without saying.

 

Fans
Nice special effects
Opening crawl
Lightsabers
Starships and speeders
Jedi
Sith
Politicans
Aliens

 

Wipes.

Not the baby kind, mind you.

 

-A summer movie that should be fun, but have more depth then the typical blockbuster.

-Enough humor to keep things light enough throughout movie.

-Characters that have good chemistry that you will care about for a trilogy of movies.

-A few dramatic situations that will give the viewer an emotional response.

-Lightsaber battles & Space battles along with top notch special effects.

-Someone utters "I got a bad feeling....."

-Memorable musical score.

 

The line "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I am indeed being serious. If that line is not in Episode VII, I will cry.

 

Characters with approximately two seconds of screentime being turned into action figures with elaborate backstories printed on the back of the box.

Big Bearded Map Pointing Guy was a descendant of the both the famous Skywalker family and the Binks family, though he knew nothing of his ancestry. So instead of becoming bombad Jedi, he pointed at maps. But he was amazing at pointing at maps. His map pointing skills assisted in Luke Skywalker destroying the Death Star, so if you don't have this toy of Big Bearded Map Pointing Guy in your Star Wars action figure collection your Luke Skywalker action figure (sold separately) will never be able to destroy the Death Star playset (also sold separately) in his X-Wing Fighter (you get the idea, sold separately). Look for these toys and others in your local toystore.

Includes interchangeable hand with pointing finger and five different maps to choose from! May the Force be with you, young Jedi! And buy more toys!

 

Stuff not being completely explained.
Names of prominent characters never being said in the movie.
Color schemes for different environments.
"Used future."
Repeated lines and "rhyming" themes.
Organic-sounding names and clothing not "going too far".
A closing scene or scenes without dialogue.
Evolving designs.
Similarities and odd juxtapositions. (Good guys become bad guys. Palpatine is held hostage in a chair and room similar to his chambers on the Death Star.)

 

... a few other things:

- Tatooine (Home is where the heart is)
- Threepio & R2 (our initial pov into the series)
- Ben Burt
- Iconic villains (with great voices)
- Light speed (Versus Warp speed)
- Poetic shots of spaceships landing and blasting off (ahhh)
- Ben Burt
- Yak Face&Co. (lol funky)
- Robotic limbs (symbolism!)
- Errant laser blasts (red and green)
- Ben Burt
- Space Royalty (teen-aged)
- The Force (yep)

 

... And the rest is totally up for grabs? ;^)