CT What did you think of the Tantive IV battle with the Stormtroopers?

Great scene because it first develops through the POV of the rebel soldiers. To me it's all about the tension and the outcome, not that stormtrooper armor is way cool. Other areas of SW often focus too much on that latter perspective.

 

The whole opening of A New Hope is the ideal way to start the film. After the opening crawl, you see the Tantive IV being pursued by the Star Destroyer. The long tracking shot establishes just how superior the Empire is in comparison to the Rebel Alliance in terms of both equipment and technology. A sense of foreboding is immediately created as the Star Destroyer closes in on the smaller craft and it becomes clear that a boarding is inevitable.

The brief glimpses we get of the Rebel soldiers shows a group of men of various ages and experience which sharply contrasts with the professional and uniform Imperial Stormtroopers, who inevitably gain the upper hand and drive the Rebels back. Hardly any dialogue has been uttered and we already see how much on the backfoot the Rebel Alliance is, despite recently scoring their first victory.

It's an amazing opening to an amazing film.

 

This sequence feels very "real" to me. I enjoy it and George Lucas' handling of it, very much