Editor

Marcia Lucas

3: briefs
13:00: average
39 min: in total

On film.briefs3

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

George Lucas · 1977

George Lucas's 1977 space opera sends farm boy Luke Skywalker into a rebellion against the Galactic Empire after he acquires stolen plans for a planet-destroying superweapon, teaming with smuggler Han Solo, Princess Leia and Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Made for $11 million after multiple studios turned the project down, it became a surprise blockbuster, grossing $775 million across its releases, winning six Academy Awards, and establishing the modern template for franchise filmmaking.

13:00

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

Irvin Kershner · 1980

Irvin Kershner's 1980 sequel sends the Rebel Alliance into retreat as the Galactic Empire hunts them down, splitting Luke Skywalker's training under Jedi master Yoda from Han Solo and Princess Leia's flight from Darth Vader's forces. Written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan from George Lucas's story outline, it went well over its original $8 million budget to a reported $30.5 million, became the year's highest-grossing film, and is now widely regarded as the strongest entry in the Star Wars series.

13:00

Taxi Driver

Martin Scorsese · 1976

Martin Scorsese's 1976 film follows Travis Bickle, an insomniac Vietnam veteran driving a New York taxi through the city's worst hours, as his isolation and contempt for the people around him build toward an act of violence aimed first at a political candidate and then at the pimp controlling a twelve-year-old sex worker he has taken an interest in. Written by Paul Schrader, shot with a jittery, restless camera, and scored by Bernard Herrmann in the days before his death, the film was made for $1.9 million and returned over $117 million, winning the Palme d'Or and later becoming entangled in real-world controversy after inspiring an actual assassination attempt.