Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Directed by	George Lucas
Produced by	Gary Kurtz Rick McCallum< (Special Edition)
Written by	George Lucas
Starring	Mark Hamill Harrison Ford Carrie Fisher Peter Cushing Alec Guinness
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	Gilbert Taylor, BSC
Editing by	Richard Chew Paul Hirsch Marcia Lucas
Distributed by	20th Century Fox Lucasfilm
Release date(s)	May 25, 1977 (USA) October 27, 1977 (Australia) December 27, 1977 (UK)
Running time	121 min. (original) 125 min. (Special Edition)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$11,000,000

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is the very first movie in the amazing Star Wars story. It came out in 1977. This film mixes exciting science fiction with fantasy, lots of action, and some drama. It introduces you to a galaxy far, far away, filled with heroes, villains, and incredible adventures.

The Story of Star Wars

The movie begins with Princess Leia Organa, a brave leader, being held captive. She is a prisoner of the evil Galactic Empire. The scary Darth Vader works for the Empire. He is trying to stop a group of rebels who want freedom. The Empire has a giant space station called the Death Star. This station can destroy whole planets!

A young farm boy named Luke Skywalker soon gets involved. He teams up with the wise Obi-Wan Kenobi and a daring space pilot named Han Solo. They also get help from two cool robots, called droids: R2-D2 and C-3PO. Together, they go on a dangerous mission to rescue Princess Leia. Their goal is to stop the Empire and bring peace back to the galaxy.

Meet the Characters

Here are the main actors and the characters they play in the movie:

• Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker – A farm boy who dreams of adventure.
• Harrison Ford as Han Solo – A brave pilot with his loyal co-pilot, Chewbacca.
• Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa – A strong princess and leader of the Rebellion.
• Alec Guinness as Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi – A wise old Jedi Knight.
• David Prowse as Darth Vader – The scary villain, voiced by James Earl Jones.
• Anthony Daniels as See Threepio (C-3PO) – A polite golden robot.
• Kenny Baker as Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) – A brave little robot.
• Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca – Han Solo's furry Wookiee friend.
• Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin – A powerful leader in the Empire.
• Denis Lawson as Red Two (Wedge) – A rebel pilot.

More Star Wars Movies

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is just the beginning! Here are other movies in the saga:

• The Phantom Menace
• Attack of the Clones
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Return of the Jedi

Images for kids

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  Luke Skywalker (Hamill), Princess Leia (Fisher), and Han Solo (Ford)

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  Director/writer George Lucas in 2007, describing the difficulty of pitching Star Wars, being turned down repeatedly, until 20th Century-Fox bought the idea for "a little strange" film.

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  Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz (pictured in 2002)

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  Ralph McQuarrie in 2008. Lucas commissioned him to create conceptual photographs for the film, which visualized the characters, costumes, props, and scenery.

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  Hotel Sidi Driss, the underground building in Matmata, Tunisia, used to film Luke's home

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  Tikal, Guatemala, which served as the setting of the Rebel base

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  Steven Spielberg said he was the only person in the audience to have enjoyed the film in its early cut screening.

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  Original vinyl release

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  A crowd outside Leicester Square Theatre the day after the film's premiere.

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  Introductory graphics for the film that feature Suzy Rice's Star Wars logotype; the film's cinematic re-release in 1981 added Episode IV and A New Hope to the head of the opening crawl.

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  The 20th anniversary theatrical release poster of the 1997 Special Edition (art by Drew Struzan)

See also

In Spanish: Star Wars: Episodio IV - Una nueva esperanza para niños