Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) opens with a pan down to reveal a massive planet when suddenly a huge spaceship (Star Destroyer) comes into the shot expanding until it fills the screen chasing a smaller ship (Tantive IV). On board the Tantive IV we meet various important characters in the film. The lighting on the ship is expansive of what one might expect a futuristic ship to look like. The three point lighting scheme sets up a broad view of the surroundings that are unfamiliar in our world.
When the audience meets certain characters a specific set up with lighting, prop positioning, and scenery is used to indicate the importance and purpose of each character. These aspects used together make up the mise en scène which is French for staging or rather for what is placed in the scene (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). For Star Wars, the important characters are introduced individually as they have not met yet. The first main character to appear is Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) who we see aboard the Tantive IV she is cast in red light as her character is in danger and she is shrouded with a veil/hood to hide her face as her character sneaks plans into an astromech droid named R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). The next character we see is Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil) who is found on a desolate planet named Tattooine. Luke is first cast in much light, but as his character ventures off from his childhood home darker lighting is found around him (also as the movie series progresses and his inner struggle with dark side is revealed). We meet the final main characters of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) in a dim lit bar scene as this introduces them as the shady smugglers they are and the audience is left wondering if they can be trusted or not.
Star Wars has spawned many generations of fans despite its rough beginning. The high lit scenes often denoted this film as a children’s movie rather than a science-fiction adventure genre film (Schickel, 1977). From its start in 1977 two more sequential films followed in the form of Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Later on the world would be introduced to the prequel films of Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005). All of these prequel films present the characters in the same manner where lighting and scenery influence the audience’s opinions of the characters that they are being introduced to.
Years after the original movie and the Star Wars franchise has spawned many venues of entertainment from movies to television shows to literature. Through all of these reincarnations of the franchise the same look, feel, and excitement is widely received by fans of Star Wars all over the world. The mise en scène presented in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) helped to set the mise en scène and fandom for years to come.
References
Bloom, J. (Producer), Kurtz, G. (Producer), Lucas, G. (Producer), McCallum,R. (Producer), Watts, R. (Producer), & Kershner, I. (Director). (1980). Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back. [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
Bloom, J. (Producer), Kazanjian, H. (Producer), Lucas, G. (Producer), McCallum, R. (Producer), Watts, R. (Producer), & Marquand, R. (Director). (1983). Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Gurtz, G. (Producer), Lucas, G. (Producer), & Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
Lucas, G. (Producer), McCallum, R. (Producer), & Lucas, G. (Director). (1999). Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace. [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
Lucas, G. (Producer), McCallum, R. (Producer), Orleans, L. (Producer, & Lucas, G. (Director). (2002). Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones [Motion picture] United States: 20th Century Fox.
Schickel, R. (Writer), & Guenette, R. (Director). (1977, September 16). The Making of Star Wars [Television broadcast or Television series]. In Guenette, R. (Producer). United States: Disney-ABC Television Group.
Lucas, G. (Producer, McCallum, R. (Producer), & Lucas, G. (Director). (2005). Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith [Motion picture].United States: 20th Century Fox.
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