Watch a Stunning Side-by-Side Comparison of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' and 'A New Hope'
Serious Star Wars fans likely had a feeling of déjà vu when enjoying last December’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams’ follow-up to George Lucas’ original, beloved sci-fi trilogy. And as a new fan-made video demonstrates, that wasn’t an accident. (Watch it above.)
Scored to John Williams’ music, Vimeo user Zachary Antell’s new comparison clip spends four minutes doing nothing more than juxtaposing scenes from The Force Awakens and 1977′s Episode IV: A New Hope. The results are, if not wholly surprising, nonetheless quite stunning. Though not every link made throughout this bit of sly film criticism is rock-solid, its overarching point is clear: that J.J. Abrams helped channel the series’ maiden entry by calling back to multiple Lucas visuals.
Be it a hand reaching out to a droid, a rogue putting on a headset and manning the Millennium Falcon’s turret gun, or a hero removing his stormtrooper helmet to reveal his true identity, Antell’s short evocatively lays out the many ways in which Abrams gave his latest its retro vibe. While some of the moments found were noticeable upon first Force Awakens viewing (say, the holochess scene), quite a few — such as Han’s first entrance aboard the Falcon or the finale’s air assault sequence — were far subtler examples of Abrams’ old-school approach. As this shrewd video shows, Abrams sometimes mimicked A New Hope not just in overt style and spirit, but all the way down to a fundamental compositional level.
The Force Awakens’ debuts later this week on home video (April 1 on digital HD, April 5 on Blu-ray).
Related:
Lupita Nyong’o Tweets Behind-the-Scenes Video of ‘Force Awakens’ Performance
Han Solo Forever: New Comic, Prequel Ensure Rogue Will Live On
This ‘Star Wars’ Fan Film Is Seriously Strong With The Force
